Apexx Global

1. Overview

Smart Split is an intelligent, volume-based routing mechanism built into APEXX’s orchestration platform. It allows merchants to distribute transaction traffic across multiple acquirers according to  percentages that are defined via routing rules. 

Unlike cascading, which attempts to reroute failed transactions, Smart Split proactively divides traffic before processing begins.

Smart Split must first be enabled as a service at the parent level in the Atomic Portal.  Once enabled, Smart Split becomes available within the routing rule configuration interface. For Smart Split to function, it must be configured into a routing rule.

 NOTE 

To have further information on Smart Split or to enable it as a service please speak to your Implementations Manager (implementations@apexx.global) if you are an onboarding merchant, or to your Relationship Manager (relationshipmanagement@apexx.global) if you are a live merchant. 

2. How Smart Split Works

2.1.  Configuration

In a routing rule, Smart Split allows specific volume percentages to be assigned to different acquirers in increments of 5%. For example, 5 % of the GBP volumes could go to Acquirer 1, 15% to Acquirer 2, 80% to Acquirer 3. 

Merchants may request a specific split directly, or APEXX can assist by analysing historical data. Although there is no required pre-analysis,  understanding the goal —whether it's optimisation, cost comparison, or fulfilling minimum volumes— is essential to choosing the right split.

The Routing Engine uses a “counter” system to enforce this going to 100 - meaning that the first 5 transactions will go to Acquirer 1, the next 15 transactions will go to Acquirer 2, and the last 80 to Acquirer 3. Then once 100 is reached, the counter starts over and the first 5 transactions will be routed to Acquirer 1 and so on. There is strict validation to ensure that the total split always equals 100%. Rules cannot be saved or activated if this is not the case.

The counter value of 100 is sufficient even for merchants processing hundreds of thousands of transactions daily.

 NOTE 

Smart Split operates strictly at the transaction count level, not value. This is because tracking value-based splits would require real-time summing up of transaction amounts, which is not feasible given the variance in transaction sizes and the processing overhead involved.

2.2. Use Cases

Smart Split is highly valuable in A/B testing scenarios as it allows splitting a small fraction of the volumes (e.g. 5%) to test out a new acquirer, or a new payment method, while routing the bulk of the volumes according to the usual routing rule set-up. 

For instance, if a merchant wanted to compare costs and acceptance rates between Acquirer 1 and  newly-onboarded Acquirer 2 for wallet transactions, Smart Split would be used to route 5% of volume to the new Acquirer 2 and the remainder to Acquirer 1 for a short trial period. After the trial period, the rule could be retired, or the split expanded to 10% for example, but in all cases, the merchant would have gained actionable insights using real transaction data.

Smaller merchants can also benefit from Smart Split when they have contractual volume commitments with multiple acquirers. If a merchant needs to send 10,000 transactions per month to four different acquirers, a 25% split ensures compliance without manual intervention or ongoing monitoring.

3. Reporting and Monitoring

Apex provides a Smart Split-specific dashboard that filters transactions that have been routed using Smart Split, allowing merchants to see the actual distribution of volume by acquirer and MID. Routing rule names are also included for detailed analysis.

 NOTE 

Due to the counter system, merchants with low volumes may not see the expected split immediately. For example, if the rule is configured to split 5% of traffic but only a few amount of transactions transactions have been processed, the dashboard may misleadingly show a higher percentage going to the minority acquirer. This corrects itself over time, once the full counter cycle completes.

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