PaymentsNova Compare

Payment Gateway vs PSP vs Payment Orchestrator

Three terms that are often mixed together but serve different roles inside the payment stack.

CriteriaGatewayPSPOrchestrator

Primary roleConnect checkout to processingProvide payment services / processingManage multiple providers and routing

Relationship to methodsTransports transaction dataMay provide/acquire methods and acquiringCan connect multiple PSPs/APMs

Advanced routingLimitedDepends on PSPCore function

Multi-provider redundancyNot necessarilyNot necessarilyYes, where architecture supports it

SettlementNot alwaysFrequently part of the serviceDepends on connected PSPs

Which one do you need?

The answer depends on your current infrastructure, markets, number of providers, payment methods, routing requirements and settlement model.