Fast Payment Acquirer Processing Implementation: How to Start in Less Than 90 Days with DECTA

Payment processing is always changing with a new emphasis on speed to market. Fintechs and lenders must be able to deploy their Acquirer processing platform in much shorter windows than previously allowed. DECTA, a multi-award-winning FCA-licensed financial institution in the UK and Certified third-party processor, is here to assist with a Fintech Fast Track program to develop an all-inclusive Acquirer processing platform in under 90 days.

DECTA’s accelerated implementation framework is designed to fast-track payment processing deployment for new acquirers and issuers. Through the Fintech Fast Track program and a customizable technical infrastructure, DECTA enables rapid market entry with minimal setup delays and 99.99% uptime support.

The Fintech Fast Track Program

Fast-tracking is not the easiest thing in the world to do when it comes to payment processing — unless you go through the DECTA Fintech Fast Track program which aims to Pilot an initiative that innovates how payment processing infrastructure is set up for new acquirers and issuers. DECTA seeks to reduce time-to-market barriers such as unnecessary setup expenses and average deployment timeframes that are far too long with one acquirer and one issuer selected each quarter at DECTA's discretion.

The Fintech Fast Track program is aimed at established companies in the financial domain that have their Regulatory foundation under control or can manage rapid placement. These are companies with their own Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license or Payment Institution (PI) license, previous history with applicable Visa/Mastercard memberships for announced regions, and reputable Legal entity structures in the EU, APAC, LATAM, or MENA. This allows for the possibility of technical implementation to proceed without waiting for regulatory approval.

Technical Infrastructure and Market Entry Velocity

Clients can go live within as little as two months when using DECTA. DECTA's platform and predominantly High-availability infrastructure (99.99% uptime support) is available 24/7.

The customization abilities on the platform mean that if things don't have to be customized, they aren't. This doesn't negatively impact go-live but rather enhances it. The fundamental technical layout is conducive to using widely provided Full API documentation, Test and production environments, and production environments housing the same functionalities as each other. Integration teams can test all features without having to reach out to live banking systems. Doing so allows clients to configure integration and testing concurrently on both environments, drastically reducing time to market.

Let’s look at the implementation timelines and phased rollout structure DECTA uses to onboard new clients.

Phase 1: Pre-Implementation and Documentation (Days 1–14)

DECTA's first step for implementation post-initial communication/integration is a review of documentation and a questionnaire to determine which functionalities of DAPI (DECTA API) functionalities will be required per unique business needs. This avoids implementing features that aren't necessary, creates less confusion, and expedites implementation.

DECTA provides its detailed documentation as well as the Test and production environment credentials including URLs and certificates required for integration. The Certificate-based authentication process happens once on behalf of each client in both test and production environments to simplify one's attention to security across the board while still maintaining adequate, PCI DSS compliance security.

This step also requires the setting up of Legal entity structures in the DECTA system. These entities need to be established prior to Merchant and terminal configurations and should be registered with respective authorities. DECTA API works to manage legal entities with the creation, edition, and assignment of rate plans.

Phase 2: Core System Integration (Days 15–45)

During this phase, all necessary card and client transactions come into play due to business operations. Clients only connect required functionalities, thereby enabling integration to be less complex.

Through DECTA's Merchant Management API, the payment acceptance infrastructure can be carded immediately. Merchant ID assignments take place at the merchant premise level, meaning the same ownership can have various Merchant IDs for alternate preferences or transaction types.

If an on-premise POS is required, Terminal ID creation takes place during this phase as well. DECTA boasts various types of terminals, all of which receive a Terminal ID upon carding. Terminal devices must be Level 3 certified terminals, complying with both Mastercard and Visa.

Phase 3: Testing and Validation (Days 46–75)

Ensure everything necessary works before production by utilizing DECTA's testing environment. The testing environment utilizes the same DAPI (DECTA API) functionalities as production, meaning it's used for discovering integration points and business logic.

EMV 3DS (3D Secure) implementations must be validated for all businesses, meaning every version of EMV 3DS (3D Secure) works as necessary for both Mastercard and Visa. The system will assign Strong Consumer Authentication (SCA) exemptions while determining multiple device channels—both should be tested exhaustively.

Testing integration with Tokenized payments like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Garmin Pay is also required. These payment processors empower Contactless NFC payments while maintaining PCI DSS compliance for eCommerce. Each token flow and acceptance security requires validation to ensure proper functionality across channels.

Beyond technical deployment, strategic partnership and integration support play a critical role in DECTA’s client onboarding process. Through industry connections, expert guidance, and ready-to-launch white-label gateway solutions, DECTA helps clients strengthen their market presence from day one.

Expert Guidance and Industry Connections

For example, part of DECTA's implementation includes Expert deployment guidance and integration once active since going to markets is more than the technical integration on day one. Therefore, operational positioning and guidance on partnership efforts are provided to these clients—especially beneficial for new fintechs that possess strong business models but face downfalls due to limited industry experience and payments expertise.

Thus, DECTA's extensive network in the financial services world can assist with required Merchant acquisition support and partnership opportunities at this going-live stage; such connection efforts assist in garnering credibility and operations early on.

For example, the integration of Identity verification services during the onboarding process with GetID integration has shortened the timeframe for identifications, resulting in more accurate onboarding.

White-Label Payment Gateway Integration

In addition, DECTA possesses a White-label payment gateway, preconfigured for integration, allowing different brands to customize it quickly and easily as they hope to launch. Such an aspect allows a seamless integration without worrying about building out the entire infrastructure from scratch while still allowing for customized functionality across all industries.

The solution supports both the SaaS deployment model and the Traditional infrastructure model, allowing flexibility in deployment without sacrificing speed. SaaS deployment models are particularly useful for Quick market entry solutions, letting acquirers focus on business growth and Merchant acquisition support rather than internal infrastructure.