Top metrics to consider when evaluating a payments platform’s performance

Choosing a payments platform isn’t just about getting money from A to B. For CTOs, heads of engineering, and payment leads, it's about how well that journey performs—under pressure, across borders, and at scale. The right metrics can uncover overlooked inefficiencies, flag critical issues, and spotlight opportunities to reduce costs or increase business growth. But with so many data points available, how do you know which ones to track? Let’s get into the key metrics and KPIs that matter most.

Metrics vs KPIs – understanding the difference

Every transaction tells a story, but not all stories point to strategy. Metrics are raw, operational data points: the number of failed payments or the average checkout time. KPIs, or key performance indicators, go a step further. They interpret that data against goals. Think of authorisation rate as a metric, and revenue uplift from improved authorisation as a KPI.

Both matter. Metrics help you troubleshoot. KPIs help you benchmark progress. Together, they shape decisions around your payment processing system.

Core payment processing metrics

A payments platform isn’t just a gateway but a performance engine. And that engine needs to be tuned, tracked, and understood. The table below outlines the key core processing metrics that help you assess speed, stability, and reliability across your payment infrastructure:

A payment gateway that delivers 99.9%+ uptime builds confidence in the checkout process and maintains momentum during high-traffic campaigns.

Fraud and dispute metrics

Fraud and disputes are two areas where payment performance meets real-world risk. These metrics help uncover whether your system is not just functional, but secure, and whether it protects both your business and your customers.

Fraud detection rate

This measures how many fraudulent transactions are blocked before they’re settled. It includes indicators like mismatched card data, suspicious velocity, or known fraud patterns. A high fraud detection rate without too many false alarms means your system is filtering bad transactions before they become expensive problems. It also means less damage to your reputation and fewer refund processes.

How to calculate: Fraud detection rate = (Number of fraudulent transactions blocked ÷ Total number of attempted fraudulent transactions) × 100

Chargeback rate

A chargeback happens when a customer disputes a transaction and asks their bank to reverse it. This metric tracks how often that occurs. Too many chargebacks could mean there’s confusion in your payment flow, poor communication, or even malicious buyers taking advantage of unclear refund policies. Keeping this rate low reduces costs, preserves credibility, and often helps you stay in good standing with credit card networks.

How to calculate: Chargeback rate = (Number of chargebacks ÷ Total number of transactions) × 100

Chargebacks are a drain on revenue, trust, and time. Monitoring your chargeback rate and chargeback ratios helps identify areas for improvement. A rise in friendly fraud or unauthorised claims could point to UX gaps or a need for stronger verification.

Customer experience and financial metrics

These metrics give you a sense of how payment performance shapes the broader customer relationship and affects your top-line results. They reflect not just how smoothly money moves, but how payment options, speed, and transparency influence behaviour and loyalty.

Customer satisfaction (CSAT)

CSAT is typically measured by asking customers to rate their satisfaction immediately after a transaction. It reflects how your payment flow impacts perception of the brand. If checkout feels clunky or slow, even a great product experience can be diminished. A smooth and reliable payment process can push satisfaction scores well above the 85% benchmark, helping drive repeat business.

Why it matters: Happy customers convert more and churn less. When payment friction is low, confidence in your platform rises.

Average order value & revenue by payment type

Average order value (AOV) tells you how much customers spend per transaction. When broken down by payment type, this metric shows you whether certain methods drive higher-value purchases. For example, instalment or credit card payments might support larger baskets, while e-wallets may encourage quicker, smaller checkouts.

Tracking revenue by payment method also reveals which options your customers actually use—vital insight for localisation.

Why it matters: Choosing the right mix of payment methods can help increase revenue and support smarter decision-making about checkout design and regional strategies.

Backend and reconciliation metrics

These metrics focus on the accuracy and efficiency of your financial backend. For payment leads and finance teams, these indicators ensure that what's been paid aligns with what's reported—and that cross-border complexity doesn’t compromise clarity.

Payout and settlement reporting

This measures how frequently and accurately your payment processor delivers reports on money settled to your account. It includes the timeliness of those reports, whether adjustments are needed, and how easily the data aligns with internal ledgers. Clean, consistent payout reporting means your finance team spends less time chasing anomalies.

Why it matters: When data flows smoothly between payments and accounting, reconciliation is faster and less prone to manual errors.

Multi-currency reporting and FX management

If you operate in multiple currencies, you need visibility not just into the local amount but also how FX rates are applied. This metric refers to how well your platform tracks, applies, and reports foreign exchange conversions in settlements. It also affects how accurate your accounting is across markets.

Why it matters: Flawed or opaque FX reporting can lead to overestimated revenue or unaccounted losses—especially in high-volume international sales.

Payment data is only helpful if it reflects real-world conditions. If your reconciliation doesn’t handle currency variation or foreign exchange costs, you’re likely missing key insights. Proper FX management makes global reporting feasible and trustworthy.

Summary table of metrics by category

Final takeaways

Evaluating a payment processing system without data is like steering blind. Tracking key metrics and KPIs highlights both success rate measures and areas for improvement.

Antom’s approach supports transparent tracking across your entire payment journey, helping merchants monitor, measure and optimise performance.

Curious how your current provider measures up? Audit your payment processing KPIs or talk to Antom to see what optimisation looks like in practice.