Independent Payment Infrastructure Research
An independent project focused on payment infrastructure, integration strategy, and the structural shifts shaping European payments.
Savion Systems is an independent project focused on payment infrastructure research, provider analysis, and integration thinking.
The Fundamentals
Most explanations oversimplify. We break down every transaction into its structural components — from initiation to final settlement.
A payment begins when a payer authorizes a transfer of value — via card tap, bank transfer, digital wallet, or invoice settlement.
The transaction is authenticated, risk-scored, and routed through the appropriate network — card scheme, ACH, SEPA, or real-time rail.
Obligations are netted between institutions, then funds move between accounts — often through central banks or clearing houses.
All parties reconcile the transaction against their records. Fees are extracted. Disputes are flagged. Reporting is generated.
The ECB's CBDC project is one of the most significant structural shifts in European payment infrastructure in decades. We are tracking its architecture, policy implications, and the implications for existing intermediaries, integration models, and infrastructure decisions.
Latest Thinking
Breaking down interchange plus, scheme fees, and acquirer margins across major card networks in cross-border e-commerce.
Read →How the next iteration of European payment regulation will reshape PSP architectures and open banking economics.
Read →A comparative framework assessing RTP system maturity across 14 markets — from UPI to FedNow to PIX.
Read →Get in touch if you want to discuss payment infrastructure, provider selection, integration strategy, or the digital euro.