By PYMNTS | October 20, 2026
A merchant can negotiate a better payment processing rate and still face an expensive move if its saved customer credentials are tied to its existing provider.
That tension sits at the center of payment orchestration’s promise. The technology connects businesses to multiple payment providers and directs transactions among them, giving merchants more choices about who handles their payments. But connections alone don’t guarantee freedom to switch. Control over the information providers hold can determine how easily a business can act on a better offer.
Research from PYMNTS Intelligence and Spreedly showed how limited that control remains.
Most Companies Share the Keys
According to the July PYMNTS Data Book “The Orchestration Advantage: Why Five Payment Capabilities Separate Leaders From Laggards,” 93% of surveyed companies lack full control over payment tokens and credentials. Only 7% have full control. Most share it with payment service providers or depend on provider-managed credentials.
Tokens substitute for sensitive payment details, allowing businesses to process payments without exposing the underlying card information. For merchants with subscriptions or returning customers, those saved credentials help keep purchases moving.
Lacking full control doesn’t mean credentials cannot be transferred. It can, however, mean switching requires migration work, compliance reviews and technical integration. Having another processor available is like having a second delivery company ready while someone else controls access to the loading dock.
The study surveyed 110 companies in the United States with annual revenue of at least $10 million in March.
Credentials Carry Only Part of the Value
Saved credentials support the next payment. Transaction histories help businesses understand what happened during previous ones.
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In a September interview with PYMNTS, Spreedly Executive Vice President of Product Strategy Adam Hiatt described the opportunity to turn payments data into better operating decisions. Across providers, that information includes approval rates, routing performance, costs and fraud.
For merchants evaluating a move, this raises the separate consideration of whether historical records can travel in a usable form alongside payment credentials. If they cannot, a business could retain the ability to charge customers while losing some of the context that helps it choose where to send those charges.
That is an operational risk to assess, rather than a finding the survey quantified.
The research did show a broader performance gap, as 78% of companies with all five core orchestration capabilities reported transaction completion gains of at least 2%, compared with 7% of companies with one or two. Credential control was one of those capabilities. The findings didn’t establish that control alone produced the gains.
Portability Becomes a Purchasing Decision
Providers are responding. In July, Spreedly introduced a standalone payment vault, allowing merchants to store credentials without adopting its full orchestration platform. The company said the credentials work across more than 100 payment providers.
Merchants still need to distinguish between using credentials across supported processors and moving away from the vault provider itself. They also need to examine transaction records separately. Spreedly documented both payment method exports and transaction report downloads, underscoring that these are distinct functions.
For finance and payments leaders, the purchasing checklist should extend beyond processing fees. Which records can leave? In what format? How long will a transfer take? Can the business preserve the connections between customers, credentials and previous transactions?
Orchestration can expand a merchant’s choices. Making these choices practical requires knowing what the business can take with it before signing the next contract.
At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.