Scheme Packs Introduction

The IPF orchestration framework offers the ability to define payment flows to match customers' precise requirements for payment orchestration.

A flow can be defined for a specific payment type, or as a more generic flow with decisions and branch points to cater for the different requirements of specific payment types in sub-flows within a single governing flow.

Orchestration involves a combination of various functions including business validation and decisions; method of payment selection; CSM agent determination; reachability checks & routing; FX handling; automatic payment enrichment; operator intervention for approvals, repair etc.; calls to sanctions, fraud, accounts, reservation / booking and other external (to IPF) services.

Once payment orchestration is complete the manner of payment execution will have been determined and the transaction may be handed off to an IPF Scheme Pack aka CSM Module / CSM Service. Alternatively, clients may use their own scheme packs or similar services.

As payment schemes may be implemented by multiple CSMs (for instance SEPA Credit Transfer Instant scheme is implemented by a number of CSMs such as TIPS & RT1) we actually provide CSM specific implementations of payment schemes - so there is a Scheme Pack for RT1 and a separate one for TIPS.

This enables us to ensure that the specific CSM rules, validations & mappings are used in each Scheme Pack.

The interface between client solutions & scheme packs is via the IPF canonical format (a standardised ISO model), which enables clients to use a single interface format to interact with all IPF provided scheme packs.