Payment Processing Platform

Part of the worlds-biggest-software-project initiative.

An AI-native, open-source payment processing platform offering gateway, reconciliation, multi-currency, and fraud detection for merchants of every size.

A modern alternative to Stripe, Adyen, Braintree, Checkout.com and other proprietary processors. The platform combines a developer-first payment gateway with AI-driven fraud detection, smart routing, and reconciliation automation — addressing the gap left by incumbents that offer transparent pricing only at very high volumes and treat fraud decisions as a black box.

Why Payment Processing Platform?

Standard processor pricing (2.9% + $0.30 at Stripe; $25/mo + 2.9% + $0.30 at Authorize.net) is uncompetitive for mid-market merchants — interchange++ rates are reserved for negotiated enterprise deals at Adyen and Stripe.
Fraud decisioning at incumbents is largely opaque: rules and ML models block transactions without plain-English reasoning that lets merchants understand and improve.
Reconciliation across gateway records, bank statements, and accounting entries is still largely manual at every surveyed platform — particularly painful across multiple currencies and payment methods.
Legacy gateways (Authorize.net, Cybersource, Worldpay) lag on developer experience, modern fraud tooling, and API ergonomics, while modern platforms (Stripe, Adyen) require custom negotiation to access best pricing.
No significant patent or IP barriers exist — PCI DSS, EMV, 3DS2, ISO 20022, and NACHA are all open standards, and card-network access is gated by licensing rather than IP.

Key Features

Payment Gateway and Acceptance

Major card brand support (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover) with tokenization for recurring use
Multi-currency processing across at least 10 major currencies with real-time FX conversion
eWallet support including Apple Pay and Google Pay
Alternative payment method (APM) coverage targeting 20+ regional methods for international markets
Hosted payment pages and drop-in UI options to reduce PCI scope

Fraud, Risk, and Authentication

Rule-based controls (AVS, CVV, velocity checks, address verification) as a baseline
AI-powered fraud detection trained on merchant-specific and network-wide transaction patterns
Dynamic 3D Secure that applies authentication friction only to high-risk transactions
Chargeback prediction to flag high-risk transactions before processing and recommend intervention
Dispute evidence generation that compiles representment packets and scores which chargebacks are worth fighting

Routing, Settlement, and Reconciliation

Smart payment routing across processors based on card type, issuer, geography, and historical approval data
Multi-acquiring support to optimise cost and approval rates
Real-time settlement, transaction reporting, and bank reconciliation
AI-driven reconciliation matching gateway, bank, and accounting records and surfacing discrepancies
Dynamic currency optimisation that recommends the optimal processing currency per transaction

Developer Platform

REST APIs and webhooks for the full transaction lifecycle
Mobile SDKs for iOS, Android, and web
Developer dashboard for transaction monitoring, API key management, and analytics
Recurring billing and subscription primitives with tokenised payment support
Embedded finance APIs for platform-style integration into vertical SaaS applications

Merchant Operations

Real-time analytics dashboard covering conversion funnels, approval rates, fraud metrics, and decline analysis
Chargeback management and representment workflows
Split payments and marketplace primitives for multi-party payouts
White-label dashboard with branded merchant reporting
Payment method recommendations based on geography, device, and customer history

AI-Native Advantage

Where incumbents apply ML inside black-box fraud engines, this platform makes AI a first-class, transparent layer across the payment stack. Real-time adaptive fraud scoring evolves continuously with merchant-specific and network-wide signals, while intelligent chargeback management predicts which disputes are worth fighting and auto-generates representment evidence. Smart routing directs each transaction to the lowest-cost or highest-approval processor based on card type, issuer, geography, and historical authorisation data. Reconciliation automation matches gateway, bank, and accounting records — across multiple currencies and payment methods — surfacing discrepancies without manual intervention.

Tech Stack & Deployment

The platform aligns with the open standards that govern global payments: PCI DSS for cardholder data security, EMV for chip-card transactions, 3D Secure 2 and PSD2 SCA for card-not-present authentication, ISO 20022 for next-generation financial messaging, NACHA / ACH for US bank transfers, and open banking APIs (FDX, PSD2) for account-to-account payments. Integration is API-first via REST and webhooks, with mobile SDKs (iOS, Android) and web SDKs for merchants embedding payments. Card-network access requires licensing relationships with Visa, Mastercard, and Amex; acquiring licences are jurisdiction-specific regulatory requirements rather than IP barriers.

Market Context

The global payment processing market is very large and growing rapidly: the high-risk segment alone was valued at USD 63.46 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 214.8 billion by 2033 at 13.5% CAGR, while the broader payment infrastructure market spans trillions in annual transaction volume. Incumbent valuations underline the scale: Stripe at approximately USD 65–70 billion, Adyen at approximately USD 45 billion, and Airwallex at approximately USD 6 billion. Primary buyer personas are CTOs and payments leads at e-commerce and SaaS companies, CFOs at multi-nationals managing cross-border costs, product managers at fintechs embedding payments, and fraud and risk managers at large merchants.

Project Status

This project is in the research and specification phase.
Contributions, feedback, and domain expertise are welcome.

Contributing

We welcome contributions from developers, domain experts, and potential users. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Important: All contributions must be your own original work or clearly attributed open-source material with a compatible licence. Copyright infringement and licence violations will not be tolerated and will result in immediate removal of the offending contribution. If you are unsure whether a piece of code, text, or other material is safe to contribute, open an issue and ask before submitting.

Licence

Licence to be determined. See discussion for context.