Every child entering primary school learns about the three Rs: reading, writing, and arithmetic. All three are essential for survival in society. The payments market has its own set of three Rs: rules, requirements, and regulations. Staying on top of the payment industry’s three Rs are essential for survival for all payment operations, whether commercial entities, merchants, or financial institutions. Most organizations relegate the management, compliance, and administration of the three Rs to back office and IT organizations. Staying on top of all the changing aspects of the three Rs is becoming a major pain point for organizations as payment markets continue to expand.
Payment market expansion includes new payment types, schemes, acceptance methods, and consumer form factors. Organizations should quickly adopt these newer payment methods to meet market needs and consumer/client demands. To do this, organizations must always comply with all three Rs or be exposed to numerous risks. Risks can span a wide continuum from erroneously declined transactions to litigation or regulatory sanctions and fines. Staying ahead of the three Rs can take significant resources to cull through the different operating system standards and rules, scheme mandates/requirements, and geographical regulations. Other market dynamics can also impact or influence corporate policy and governance.
The resources needed to support compliance with the three Rs take away from growing and operating the core business revenue drivers. It is essential to carefully consider how to manage and administrate the three Rs to comply with all industry standards. Organizations can lean on qualified payment providers with experience and expertise in adhering to and implementing the three Rs. Just like reading, writing, and arithmetic, the payment industry’s three Rs are the essential core of payment facilitation. They need to become a front-and-center consideration point
ACI Enterprise Payments Platform 
