Should You Build vs. Buy a Payment Orchestration Solution?

By SheueChee (Chee) Beh, SVP, APAC

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When it’s time to shop, it’s likely that you grab your phone and begin browsing, whether you’re on your couch, enjoying a coffee or commuting.

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You add items to your cart, and at checkout, you expect options – credit and debit cards, digital wallets, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) instalment plans, QR code payments, direct bank transfers and perhaps even a one-click purchase using facial recognition.

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This everyday experience reflects a broader shift in consumer expectations for payments across Asia-Pacific (APAC) – speed, flexibility, and security are no longer perks. They are the baseline.

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These expectations underscore the region’s rapid transformation in consumer habits, with e-commerce sales expected to reach US$3.2 trillion by 2028.

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Fuelled by e-commerce powerhouses such as Shopee, Tmall, and Alibaba, the region’s shift from traditional retail to digital commerce places mounting pressure on merchants to evolve their businesses swiftly.

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From offering a broader range of secure payment options and strengthening fraud detection capabilities to meet growing consumer expectations to mitigating risks for transactions, many businesses are strategically evaluating whether to build in-house payment solutions or adopt ready-made solutions.

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Opting for off-the-shelf software versus building a custom solution is much like choosing between dining out and preparing a meal from scratch.

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Cooking at home offers full control over every ingredient, but it demands time, skill, and effort.

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The same applies to building an in-house payment orchestration system.

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While it allows businesses to customise every layer to suit their specific needs, it also requires significant investment in infrastructure, talent, and ongoing maintenance – not to mention the added complexity of meeting regulatory requirements.

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On the other hand, choosing a ready-made payment orchestration solution is like being served a professionally crafted meal – fast, expertly prepared, and immediately satisfying.

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These third-party platforms provide instant access to advanced capabilities such as smart routing, tokenisation and fraud prevention – tools that are expensive and time-consuming to develop internally.

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This is where the “buy” approach begins to show its true strategic value, not just in terms of convenience, but in addressing real-world operational challenges at scale.

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Ready-made solutions are built for scalability, deployed faster, and often more cost-effective, allowing businesses to adapt quickly and stay focused on what matters most: growth and customer experience.

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As payment ecosystems become increasingly complex, the advantages of an off-the-shelf orchestration platform extend far beyond speed, also offering a foundation for sustainable, scalable growth.

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The “Buy” Advantage: Efficiency, Scalability and Cost-Effectiveness

In today’s ever-evolving digital commerce landscape, businesses grapple with a range of payment-related challenges: juggling multiple Payment Service Providers (PSPs), adapting to diverse regulatory environments, preventing fraud and maintaining seamless customer experiences.

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A third-party orchestration platform addresses these complexities efficiently by centralising payment management, offering intelligent transaction routing and embedding compliance features by design.

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This not only simplifies operations but also drives measurable gains such as optimised routing, which reduces transaction fees and declines, improves authorisation rates and, ultimately, revenue.

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Leading brands have also recognised these benefits and chosen to partner with Yuno’s comprehensive orchestration platform.

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McDonald’s, for example, has streamlined its payment processes and integrated PSPs to expand their payment options, streamlining its multi-country operations.

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Meanwhile in Mexico, Yuno collaborated with Viva Aerobus to develop an “Express Checkout” feature, allowing passengers to quickly pay for additional services at boarding lounges via QR codes, reducing processing time and improving efficiency.

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These examples highlight how adopting a robust orchestration platform can offer businesses a faster, scalable and more efficient path forward – meeting today’s payment demands while paving the way for future growth.

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Build, Buy… or Both? The Rise of Hybrid Payment Orchestration

As global commerce accelerates, the decision to build or buy payment infrastructure is rarely black and white.

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Much like how you sometimes want to be the chef and other times you just want dinner sorted, businesses often take the same view when determining whether to build or buy.

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Multinational corporations (MNCs) often grapple with legacy systems, strict compliance requirements and the need for tailored user experiences across multiple markets.

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Meanwhile, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) may require speed and scale but still seek control over sensitive financial processes.

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In such cases, a hybrid model that combines the strengths of both in-house and some external solutions may provide a more strategic path forward.

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Rather than fully committing to either building or buying, a hybrid approach allows organisations to leverage third-party platforms for orchestration efficiency while maintaining ownership of critical functions like user interface design, data handling or reconciliation.

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This balance enables flexibility, reduces time-to-market and supports localisation across diverse markets, all without compromising on control.

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One such example is our long-standing partnership with inDrive, which integrates Yuno’s platform for managing most of their PSP relationships, yet handles key aspects like settlement and reconciliation processes internally.

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This hybrid approach ensures both efficiency and control, which is essential for navigating APAC’s diverse and complex payment ecosystem.

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As a result of leveraging Yuno’s platform to optimise payment routing and integrate diverse payment methods, inDrive achieved a 90% payment approval rate and expanded into 10 new countries within eight months.

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Navigating APAC’s Payment Future

Across Asia-Pacific, digital payment adoption is anything but uniform.

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In tech-savvy markets like Australia, China and Singapore, cashless transactions dominate, driven by high digital penetration and consumer preference for convenience.

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But in emerging markets, such as Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, physical cash payments remain prevalent, reflecting varying levels of infrastructure, trust and consumer behaviour.

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For e-commerce businesses operating across such a diverse region, a one-size-fits-all approach simply will not work.

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Navigating this landscape demands flexibility, localisation and the ability to offer a wide array of payment methods tailored to each market’s maturity and expectations.

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Payment orchestrators like Yuno, hence, play a critical role in helping businesses remain adaptive and resilient.

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Whether through full adoption or hybrid integration, orchestration platforms enable merchants to scale seamlessly, optimise cost structures and improve customer experiences in real time.

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Looking ahead, payment orchestration – be it through buying, building or blending both – will be instrumental for businesses seeking to thrive in APAC’s dynamic digital economy.

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At Yuno, we keep businesses at the forefront of payment innovation by offering flexible, future-ready infrastructure.

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Our platform empowers merchants with freedom from vendor lock-in, competitive pricing and consistently high performance, ultimately delivering both customer satisfaction and long-term growth.

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The future of payments isn’t about picking sides, it’s about picking smart. And smart means orchestration: built to scale, built to last.

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This article originally appeared in FinTech News Singapore.