Global ticketing provider overcomes high-demand payment challenges

A leading global ticketing provider delivers hundreds of millions of tickets annually across more than 20 countries, generating billions in revenue while supporting global sporting events, major concerts, cultural venues, and festivals. Working with long-term partner ACI, the organization deployed intelligent payments orchestration and fraud management to handle extreme demand spikes, achieving a 70% chargeback reduction*, higher acceptance rates, and seamless expansion into new markets.

The challenges

Scaling payments under extreme, concurrent demand

• Extreme transaction spikes during high-profile event releases, with more than a million transactions processed across markets in a single hour
• Shifting buyer behavior demanding fast, secure, low-friction payments across multiple channels, and devices
• High-risk fraud environment, including activity from unauthorized resellers, threatening revenue, and customer trust

The ticketing industry is defined by extreme transaction spikes, particularly during high-profile event releases. As one of the few organizations capable of executing large-scale, simultaneous ticket sales across multiple regions, this provider processes high volumes of cross-border and domestic transactions, with sales releases often happening concurrently across markets, creating significant demand surges. At the same time, buyer behavior is shifting: Customers increasingly use multiple channels, requiring fast, secure, and low-friction payment experiences across devices. The organization must also meet local payment preferences across markets, adding operational complexity. Layered on top of this, the business operates in a high-risk environment that includes activity from unauthorized resellers, where any slowdown in transactions quickly impacts customer experience and puts pressure on systems.

The solution

Intelligent payments orchestration that flexes with every event

• The ACI Payments Orchestration Platform simplifies payments across channels while tailoring experiences to regional needs
• A multi-acquirer strategy enables dynamic acquirer selection based on cost, performance, and regional requirements, including regulatory exemption capabilities
• ACI’s fraud intelligence integrates with internal systems, allowing dynamic fraud strategy adjustments by event type, timing, and customer behavior

ACI Payments Orchestration Platform is the hero of this story, simplifying payments across channels while tailoring experiences to regional needs and ensuring high availability, regardless of transaction load. With ACI, the organization dynamically selects acquirers based on cost, performance, and regional requirements, improving approval rates and optimizing processing costs. The flexibility to add or remove acquirers allows the business to adapt quickly to regulatory and market changes, including leveraging capabilities, such as PSD2 exemptions. On the fraud side, ACI’s fraud intelligence works alongside the organization’s internal systems to identify and manage high-risk transactions more effectively. These strategies can be adjusted dynamically based on event type, timing and customer behavior, striking the right balance between controlling risk and maximizing approvals.

The results

Measurable gains in performance, cost, and trust

• More than 70% reduction* in chargebacks for high-risk events in key markets
• 1.7% increase* in acceptance rates, plus expansion into new markets with additional payment methods
• Improved platform stability, meaningful cost savings, and stronger trust with partners and customers

The introduction of ACI’s fraud and orchestration capabilities delivered a chargeback reduction of more than 70%* for high-risk events in key markets, translating directly into meaningful cost savings and a more stable, trusted platform for both partners and customers. Payments orchestration also drove a 1.7% increase*  in acceptance rates and enabled expansion into new markets with additional payment methods, while the multi-acquirer strategy gave the business far greater control over approval rates and efficiency. Looking ahead, ACI’s scalable platform continues to support ongoing expansion, simplified operations, and improved control over global payment performance, positioning the organization to keep growing efficiently and securely as market demands evolve.