The words behind PSPs, gateways, and orchestration

THE DRILL AS TEXT

1. The technical connection that captures payment details at checkout and passes them securely to the acquirer or PSP — a pipe, not a holder of funds.
   • Payment gateway
2. A regulated provider of payment services to merchants or users — often bundling a gateway, acquiring access, risk, and settlement into one contract.
   • Payment service provider (PSP)
3. A model where one master merchant onboards many sub-merchants under its own acquiring relationship, so small sellers accept cards without each holding their own contract.
   • Payment facilitator model
4. The legal entity that appears as the seller on a payment and carries responsibility for it — chargebacks, refunds, tax, and compliance — which need not be the actual retailer.
   • Merchant of record
5. A layer that routes each payment across multiple gateways, acquirers, or methods — choosing a path, cascading retries, and consolidating reporting.
   • Payment orchestration