Why Payment Optimization Is a Discipline, Not a Project

In this episode of Real Talk Payments, Kapil Mokhat is joined by Pagos co-founders Klas Bäck and Albert Drouart for a candid conversation about one of the most overlooked areas in payments: cost optimization.The episode focuses on four common myths that keep merchants from truly understanding and improving their payment costs. First, they address the belief that lowering costs is simply about negotiating a better processor rate. Kapil, Klas, and Albert explain why that approach only scratches the surface, and why merchants need to look deeper at interchange, network fees, chargebacks, fraud costs, FX markups, value-added services, and the operational decisions that influence total payment acceptance costs.They also challenge the idea that payment cost optimization is a one-time project. Instead, the group makes the case for continuous monitoring, better data, and a more disciplined approach to understanding how costs change over time. As payment networks evolve, processors update systems, merchants release code, and customer behavior shifts, costs can move quickly—and teams that are not watching closely can miss significant issues.Kapil, Klas, and Albert also explore the myths around benchmarking payment costs and assuming the “lowest cost” option is always the best option. They discuss how merchants can accidentally hurt revenue, conversion, performance, and customer experience when they optimize cost in isolation.This episode is a practical conversation for enterprise merchants, payment leaders, finance teams, and anyone responsible for improving payment performance. It is a clear reminder that true payment cost optimization is not about chasing the lowest rate. It is about using better data to make smarter, ongoing decisions across cost, performance, and growth.