Use case summary
Corefy routes each payment by the attributes that predict approval, such as card BIN, issuer, amount, country, and past results on that card. Returning cards go back to the merchant account that approved them before, and soft declines move to the next route. Result: more payments succeed on the first attempt, and fewer need recovering.
- Payment Manager
Why good cards get declined
Approval rates vary between providers in patterns that repeat. One acquirer approves domestic debit cards well and struggles with cross-border credit. Another does well on one issuer's cards and badly on the next. A third declines high amounts more often under its own risk rules.
A static routing setup does not use any of that. Traffic goes to a default provider or splits by a fixed percentage, and each transaction takes its chances with whichever acquirer it lands on.
Many of the declines that follow were avoidable. The card was valid, and the funds were available, but the transaction went to a provider with a weak record for that type of payment, and not every customer tries a second time.
How to route payments for approval
Routing for approval means choosing the provider for each transaction, using the attributes that predict whether it will go through.
- 1
Route on the attributes that predict approval
Routing rules can use over 100 parameters, including card BIN at 6 or 8 digits, issuer, card brand and type, authentication mode, amount, currency, and customer country. Each combination can go to the provider that handles it best.
- 2
Send returning cards back to what worked
Card bindings link a card to the merchant account that approved it and give that account top priority for the card's next payments.
- 3
Use each customer's own history
Rules can respond to how a previous attempt ended, how many successful payments a card or customer has made, and their transaction volume over a chosen period.
- 4
Let the platform choose the strongest route
The Optimal strategy selects the route predicted to deliver the highest conversion and falls back to another one when that route is unavailable.
- 5
Give soft declines a second chance
Cascading retries recoverable declines through the next route, up to five attempts by default. Hard declines follow card scheme retry rules and are not sent around the cascade.
- 6
See why each transaction went where it did
Routing schemes show the exact branch a transaction followed and a readable failure reason, so rules are adjusted on evidence from real traffic.
What you get
Each transaction goes to the provider with the best record for it, and your team can see the reasoning behind every route.
More revenue from the same traffic
Payments that would have been declined for routing reasons go through, which lifts revenue without spending more on acquisition.
Fewer customers asked to try again
More payments succeed on the first attempt, so fewer customers see a decline message, re-enter their details, or leave the checkout for a competitor.
Returning customers approved more consistently
Card bindings send repeat payments to the account that already approved that card, which matters most for subscriptions, top-ups, and repeat purchases.
Routing decisions you can explain and improve
Each transaction's path and failure reason are visible, so the payment team adjusts rules based on what happened and can show the effect to finance and management.
An Eastern European PSP raised conversion from 56.2% to 85.1% in a year
When an Eastern European PSP moved its traffic to Corefy, its conversion rate stood at 56.2%. Routing schemes were built to send each transaction to the provider or acquirer with the highest approval rate for that type of payment, using parameters such as card issuer, type, and brand, authentication mode, customer location, and amount. Where providers performed similarly, the cheaper one was chosen. Cascading, a clearer retry flow, and saved card details were added alongside the routing. Over a year, conversion rose to 85.1%, while the PSP's payment traffic grew threefold.