Payments were handled channel by channel, with no shared payment layer across the operating companies. Online stores, a customer payment portal, sales apps, ERP-initiated orders and a receivables platform each connected to card processing separately. Any new rule or new brand meant more one-off integration work.
Every system that stores or passes card data sits inside PCI DSS scope, and the client wanted that footprint smaller. It also wanted to offset card processing fees with surcharges, which must follow rules that differ across US states and Canadian provinces. Meanwhile, its tokenization provider was due to be retired, so stored cards had to move without disrupting customers.
The client needed one payment platform that every operating company could share, and a faster way to bring the next one on board.
Zimetrics designed a unified payment gateway that puts Stripe behind a single layer of reusable APIs. Every channel takes payments through the same APIs, and every payment flows back to the right ERP. Five design principles shape it:
Built on MuleSoft, the gateway separates channels from payment logic, and payment logic from back-end systems.
A new channel adds its own experience API and reuses everything beneath it.
Stripe-hosted components and tokenization are used wherever feasible to keep card data out of client systems. Security testing checks that card numbers and security codes are never stored or logged. Webhook signatures are verified, idempotency and retry controls cover every integration, and access runs on role-based controls with managed secrets.
In the pay-by-phone flow, a Twilio IVR verifies the caller before sharing any account data, then reads out open invoices fetched from the ERP. Card details are captured through Twilio Pay and processed by Stripe, with any surcharge calculated by InterPayments. The payment is posted and cleared against the chosen invoices automatically, referenced to the Stripe payment; only unmatched payments need manual clearing.
Card processing on the client’s receivables platform moves from legacy processors to Stripe merchant accounts and is validated end to end. Stored card tokens migrate from the outgoing tokenization provider in coordination with Stripe.
