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Payment Routing

Route every card payment to the best path. Ottu Router evaluates each payment in real time — BIN, country, scheme, amount, recent health, and fees — and sends it through the payment connection most likely to succeed at the best cost, with a safe fallback.

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Payment Connection refers to your acquiring/gateway connection used to process a payment.

Why It Matters

BenefitDescription
Higher SuccessRoutes to the best-performing connection
Cost EfficiencySteers to lower-fee connections to cut processing costs
Customer SatisfactionFaster, more successful checkouts improve the experience
ScalabilityAdapts to volume spikes and new markets without manual tuning
Risk MitigationAvoids single-point dependence by switching based on real-time health
Market ExpansionPrefers local connections to improve cross-border approvals

How It Works

Ottu Router runs each payment through four clear stages:

PaymentBlockersRouting RulesRouting Strategies(Chosen Payment Connection | Fallback)Processor

  • Blockers: Guardrails that can stop a payment outright
    • Blocks or allows transactions by card BIN range
    • Controls transactions by issuing country
    • Filters by card network (e.g., Visa, Mastercard)
  • Routing Rules: Decide which payment connections to route the payment through
    • Routes by BIN match
    • Routes by issuing country
    • Routes by card type (Visa, Mastercard)
    • Backup route if no match (fallback)
  • Routing Strategies: Pick the best payment connection from the eligible set
  • Fallback: If no payment connection qualifies, route to the default connection
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The Router always logs its decision: which blockers applied, which connections were eligible, which strategy was used, and why the final connection was chosen.

Payment routing sequence diagram

Blocker Rules

These rules filter transactions before routing begins.

BlockerDescription
BIN Access ControlAllows or blocks transactions based on the card's BIN range
Geographic RestrictionRestricts or permits transactions based on card-issuing countries
Card Scheme RestrictionFilters transactions by supported card networks such as Visa or Mastercard

Routing Rules

These rules assign valid transactions to the correct payment connection.

RuleDescription
BIN-Based RoutingRoutes a transaction to a specific payment connection based on BIN match
Country-Based RoutingDirects transactions to payment connections depending on the card's issuing country
Supported SchemesRoutes based on card type like Visa or Mastercard
Fallback RoutingActs as a backup route when no other rule matches

Routing Strategies

Once the Router finds valid payment connections, selection strategies decide how to pick the best one.

Multi-Selection Strategies

These consider several payment connections and select based on rule logic.

StrategyDescription
Exclude UnavailableRemoves connections with too many recent errors. Can blacklist for hours or until midnight. Automatically expires after a set time
Transaction SizeRoutes based on transaction value. Each connection can have a minimum and maximum amount
Country BasedRoutes payments based on card country issuer/acquirer
Currency BasedRoutes payments based on acquirer payment connection vs card currency

Single-Selection Strategies

These narrow immediately to one best payment connection.

StrategyDescription
DistributionDistributes traffic by fixed percentages across connections. Example: KNET1 20%, KNET2 50%, KNET3 30%
Success RatePicks the connection with the highest recent approval rate
Cost-OptimizedPicks the connection with the lowest effective fee
Round RobinDistributes transactions evenly across connections by cycling through gateways
FallbackActs as a safety net — sends to a default connection if no other options are available

FAQ

What's Next?