As eCommerce sales are projected to surpass £6 trillion in 2024, the payment landscape continues to evolve rapidly, driven by factors like increased cross-border transactions and the growing shift to digital-first commerce. With an estimated 8.4% growth from the previous year, this expansion highlights the pressure on financial institutions to modernise their payment infrastructure.

This surge in digital commerce brings new challenges for financial institutions. Today's success isn't just about processing payments—it's about delivering exceptional merchant experiences, maintaining control over valuable data, and orchestrating complex payment flows efficiently. As transaction volumes grow and merchant expectations evolve, banks and payment service providers must adapt their infrastructure to stay competitive.

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The Strategic Crossroads

Banks and payment service providers (PSPs) face a crucial decision in how they handle merchant payments. While traditional PSP integrations might seem like a quick solution, many institutions are discovering this approach has significant limitations. Let's explore what's at stake:

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Working with Traditional PSPs

Traditional PSP integration offers a quick start but comes with trade-offs. Think of it as renting a house—you can move in quickly, but you're limited in what you can change. This means:
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• Quick setup through standard APIs.
• Limited access to valuable transaction data.
• Your merchants see the PSP's brand, not yours.
• Less control over costs and payment routing.

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Choosing White-Label Solutions

White-label solutions are more like owning the house—more initial setup but complete control over what you build. This approach delivers:

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• Full control over the payment experience.
• Complete access to transaction data and insights.
• Direct relationships with your merchants.
• Freedom to optimise costs and payment routes.
• Custom risk management for your specific needs.

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The Data Advantage in Practice

For payment professionals, the value of transaction data ownership goes far beyond standard reporting. Having full control of your data opens up opportunities that directly impact business performance and merchant satisfaction.

With access to real-time performance metrics, institutions can create intelligent routing systems that automatically choose the best path for each transaction. This smart approach to payment processing leads to better acceptance rates and lower costs. For merchants, this means faster payments, higher acceptance rates, and improved cash flow, which can help drive growth.

The real power comes from understanding detailed transaction patterns. This insight allows institutions to build custom risk management systems that protect both themselves and their merchants. More importantly, it enables the creation of tailored services that address specific merchant needs—whether that's helping an eCommerce business expand internationally or supporting a subscription-based company with recurring payment optimisation.

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Real Results: The ING Bank Story

ING Bank's experience shows how the right payment solution can transform business performance. They faced a common challenge: merchants wanted more payment options and better insights, but ING's existing systems were struggling to keep up.

By implementing Ginger's white-label solution, ING achieved remarkable improvements:

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• Increased payment options helping merchants reach more customers.
• Faster settlement through automated processes, improving merchant cash flow.
• 40% better merchant retention through improved service.
• Reduced costs through smarter payment routing.

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As ING's Head of Merchant Services explains, "We've transformed from being just a payment processor to becoming a true technology partner for our merchants. This has given us a real competitive edge in the market."

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Managing Technical and Regulatory Challenges

Modern payment systems face three key challenges:

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1. Staying Compliant
   ‍Financial regulations are constantly evolving. Modern payment platforms need flexible systems that can adapt to new rules like PSD2 and SCA while maintaining strong data protection. White-label solutions provide the tools to manage compliance effectively across different regions.

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2. Connecting Systems Effectively
   ‍Many banks rely on older systems that still work well but need modern payment capabilities. Today's white-label platforms bridge this gap with:

• Support for modern and traditional payment messages.
• Flexible integration options that work with existing systems.
• Customisable settlement and reconciliation.
• Real-time monitoring and reporting.

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3. Keeping Pace with Innovation
   ‍New payment methods emerge regularly. White-label platforms make it easier to add these options quickly while maintaining consistent processes for settlement and reconciliation.

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The Changing Payment Landscape

The payment world is evolving rapidly, driven by four key trends:

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1. Real-time payments are becoming the norm, not the exception.
   This means banks need systems that can handle instant transactions reliably, with sophisticated fraud prevention and liquidity management.
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2. Embedded finance is changing how payments work.
   Businesses want payment services built directly into their operations, requiring flexible systems that can adapt to different business needs while maintaining security.
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3. Account-to-account payments are growing in popularity, especially for larger transactions.
   They're often cheaper than card payments and offer better security and easier reconciliation—making them increasingly attractive to merchants.
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4. Open Banking has moved beyond regulatory compliance to become a source of innovation.
   It's creating new ways to make payments and handle data, offering opportunities for both banks and merchants to improve their services.

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The Ginger Advantage

Our platform takes these challenges and turns them into opportunities. We've built a system that:

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Handles Modern Payment Needs

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• Manages complex payment flows simply.
• Works with multiple payment schemes.
• Monitors transactions in real time.
• Routes payments intelligently to reduce costs.

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Gives You Complete Control

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• Full access through modern APIs.
• Detailed transaction data when you need it.
• Customisable risk management.
• Flexible reconciliation options.

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Looking Ahead

The decisions banks make about payment infrastructure today will shape their success tomorrow. White-label solutions offer the control and flexibility needed to thrive in this changing landscape while delivering the experiences merchants demand.

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‍Explore Ginger's White-Label Payment Solutions →

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‍Want to see how Ginger can help you better serve your merchants? Our team is ready to show you how.