March 10, 2024 • 12 min read
While Stripe is excellent for most use cases, some businesses need custom payment flows, multi-party marketplaces, or specialized compliance requirements. At The Good Guys, we built custom payment orchestration to handle complex B2B transactions, installment plans, and integration with legacy financial systems. Learn when to build your own payment infrastructure and how to do it safely with PCI compliance, fraud detection, and global payment methods.
Custom payment systems give you complete control but require significant development and compliance investment.
PCI compliance is non-negotiable when handling payment data. Here's how we architected a secure payment system:
// PCI-compliant payment architecture
Payment Gateway Integration:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Frontend (PCI DSS Scope: Minimal) │
│ • Token-based payments only │
│ • No cardholder data storage │
│ • HTTPS everywhere │
│ • CSP headers and security policies │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Payment Orchestration Layer (PCI DSS Level 1) │
│ • Vault tokenization service │
│ • Multi-processor routing │
│ • Fraud detection engine │
│ • Secure key management (HSM) │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
↓
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Payment Processors │
│ • Primary: Direct bank relationships │
│ • Secondary: Stripe/Adyen for fallback │
│ • Regional: Local processors for specific markets │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘One of the most complex payment scenarios is handling marketplace transactions with multiple sellers, buyers, and service fees:
// Custom marketplace payment flow
public class MarketplacePaymentService
{
public async Task<PaymentResult> ProcessMarketplacePayment(
MarketplacePaymentRequest request)
{
// Step 1: Validate all parties and amounts
var validation = await ValidateMarketplaceTransaction(request);
if (!validation.IsValid)
return PaymentResult.Failed(validation.Errors);
// Step 2: Create escrow hold
var escrowResult = await CreateEscrowHold(request.TotalAmount);
if (!escrowResult.Success)
return PaymentResult.Failed("Escrow creation failed");
// Step 3: Process payment to escrow
var paymentResult = await ProcessPaymentToEscrow(
request.BuyerPaymentMethod,
request.TotalAmount,
escrowResult.EscrowId
);
if (!paymentResult.Success)
{
await ReleaseEscrowHold(escrowResult.EscrowId);
return PaymentResult.Failed("Payment processing failed");
}
// Step 4: Calculate and distribute funds
var distributions = CalculateDistributions(request);
var distributionResults = new List<DistributionResult>();
foreach (var distribution in distributions)
{
var result = await TransferFromEscrow(
escrowResult.EscrowId,
distribution.RecipientId,
distribution.Amount,
distribution.Description
);
distributionResults.Add(result);
}
// Step 5: Handle any failed distributions
var failedDistributions = distributionResults
.Where(r => !r.Success).ToList();
if (failedDistributions.Any())
{
await HandleFailedDistributions(
escrowResult.EscrowId,
failedDistributions
);
}
return PaymentResult.Success(paymentResult.TransactionId);
}
private List<Distribution> CalculateDistributions(
MarketplacePaymentRequest request)
{
var distributions = new List<Distribution>();
var remainingAmount = request.TotalAmount;
// Platform fee (our commission)
var platformFee = request.TotalAmount * 0.03m; // 3%
distributions.Add(new Distribution
{
RecipientId = "platform_account",
Amount = platformFee,
Description = "Platform commission"
});
remainingAmount -= platformFee;
// Payment processing fee
var processingFee = request.TotalAmount * 0.029m + 0.30m; // 2.9% + 30¢
distributions.Add(new Distribution
{
RecipientId = "payment_processor_account",
Amount = processingFee,
Description = "Payment processing fee"
});
remainingAmount -= processingFee;
// Distribute to sellers proportionally
foreach (var seller in request.Sellers)
{
var sellerAmount = (seller.ItemValue / request.ItemsTotal) * remainingAmount;
distributions.Add(new Distribution
{
RecipientId = seller.SellerId,
Amount = sellerAmount,
Description = $"Payment for items sold"
});
}
return distributions;
}
}# Custom Payment System ROI Analysis Development Investment: - Initial development: 6-12 months, $200K-500K - PCI compliance: $50K-100K annually - Ongoing maintenance: 2-3 FTE developers - Security audits: $25K-50K annually Break-even Analysis (Monthly): ┌─────────────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────┬─────────────┐ │ Transaction Volume │ Stripe Cost │ Custom Cost │ Savings │ ├─────────────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┤ │ $100K │ $2,900 │ $25K │ -$22,100 │ │ $500K │ $14,500 │ $30K │ -$15,500 │ │ $1M │ $29,000 │ $35K │ -$6,000 │ │ $5M │ $145,000 │ $50K │ +$95,000 │ │ $10M │ $290,000 │ $65K │ +$225,000 │ └─────────────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┘ Sweet Spot: $3M+ monthly transaction volume Additional Benefits: • Complete control over user experience • Custom fraud detection and risk management • Direct processor relationships (better rates) • Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities
Building custom payment solutions isn't about replacing Stripe for everyone—it's about recognizing when your business needs justify the investment. The key is understanding your specific requirements, calculating the true cost of ownership, and ensuring you have the security and compliance expertise to do it safely.