Payments are more than just transactions – they are a strategic tool for growth, customer experience enhancement, and cost efficiency. But while merchants, organizations, and SaaS platforms recognize the value of payments, they often overlook the critical role of payments data ownership.
When payments data is locked within a single Payment Service Provider (PSP), companies face increased dependency risks, reduced agility, and potential revenue loss. This lack of control can have significant consequences, from limiting strategic opportunities to creating vulnerabilities in the event of a PSP outage, bank closure, or change in business direction.
To mitigate these risks, organizations must rethink how they manage and secure payments data. While bringing data in-house may seem like a path to autonomy, it requires extensive resources and compliance efforts. Instead, a PSP-agnostic tokenization and data devaluation provider offers a more effective solution, enabling businesses to retain control over their payments data while reducing operational and compliance burdens.
By prioritizing data autonomy, merchants, organizations, and SaaS platforms can not only safeguard their operations but also position themselves for long-term success in an increasingly privacy-conscious and regulated landscape.
The Hidden Costs of Payment Data Ownership
As reported in Bluefin and 451 Research’s white paper, The Strategic Importance of Payments Data Ownership, three in four respondents stated that having access to customer payment data is crucial, while 88% emphasized the importance of standardizing this data across multiple channels, such as e-commerce and in-store purchases.
Yet, despite its value, many organizations are unknowingly giving up control over this critical asset.
To simplify compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), companies rely on PSPs for tokenization – replacing sensitive card details with secure tokens during transactions. While this reduces the burden of data security, it often ties an organization to a single PSP, limiting their ability to access or transfer payment data freely. This vendor “lock-in” can create significant challenges, including:
- Reduced Agility: Without true ownership of payments data, businesses may struggle to adapt to market changes or seize new opportunities.
- Dependency Risk: Relying on a single PSP for payment tokens can compromise operational flexibility and cost efficiency.
- Conflict of Interest: When switching to a new PSP, the existing provider has little incentive to facilitate data migration, often charging high fees and delaying the process.
Breaking Free: The Power of True Data Ownership
The root of these challenges lies in the asymmetrical relationship with PSPs, where merchants, organizations, and SaaS platforms unknowingly relinquish control over their most valuable data.
This is where ShieldConex® Orchestration comes in. Our platform provides a secure, data exchange solution that seamlessly integrates multi-channel tokenization and PCI-validated P2PE, reducing PCI compliance scope and enhancing data security without vendor lock-in. Companies can work with multiple processors simultaneously, allowing for greater flexibility and cost savings. And tokens remain valid across all processors, eliminating the need for costly data migrations.
By prioritizing true data ownership, merchants, organizations, and SaaS platforms can regain control, enhance operational agility, and protect their interests.
Learn more about ShieldConex® Orchestration.
