01
Approval rate comes before commercial fee
Compare attempts and approvals by card brand, issuer, ticket size, and device. An overall average can hide bottlenecks.
Also ask how the provider handles retries and fraud false positives.
02
Local methods are part of the product
PIX is baseline for many Brazilian operations. Card installments can be decisive at higher tickets. Boleto may still play a role for specific audiences and offers when available.
Each method's experience needs to be clear and measurable.
03
Integration must survive scale
API, webhooks, idempotency, retries, and documentation matter when volume grows.
A webhook failure must not deliver the product twice or leave an approved buyer without access.
04
Reconciliation and payout timing affect cash flow
Understand payout schedule, anticipation (receivables advance), refunds, and reports. Finance needs to link transaction, order, fee, and settlement.
The lowest nominal fee can hide high operational cost.
05
Test migration with controlled traffic
Before switching the entire operation, run real scenarios, compare approval, and validate events.
Preserve subscriptions, pixels, and integrations so problems do not surface after the cutover.
06
Bringing this into your operation
Document the full transaction flow from checkout start through approval, settlement, possible refund, and reconciliation. Mark which systems receive events and who owns exceptions. This simple map reveals dependencies that usually surface only when volume grows or a campaign scales suddenly.
Read by cohort and source whenever possible. Ticket size, payment method, installments, product, campaign, and affiliate can produce very different economics. A healthy average approval or chargeback rate can hide a segment that destroys margin and pushes CPA up.
07
Metrics worth tracking alongside the decision
Track attempts, approval, checkout conversion, AOV, refunds, chargebacks, net revenue, and payout timing. Connect those numbers to media CPA and ROAS. The goal is not the highest isolated metric, but turning purchase intent into net revenue with controlled risk and cash flow.
08
The takeaway
The best payment gateway maximizes net revenue with reliable operations. Commercial fee is just one line on the statement.
Evaluate approval, methods, integration, reconciliation, support, and cash flow together.
09
What is the most important metric?
Approval rate and net revenue are central, along with stability and total cost.
10
Should PIX be mandatory?
For many Brazilian operations it is an important method, but the decision depends on audience and offer.
11
How do you compare gateways?
Use comparable periods and traffic, controlling ticket size, card mix, and source to avoid false conclusions.