diff --git a/lib/event_source/operations/mime_decode.rb b/lib/event_source/operations/mime_decode.rb
index f147182..1f5bc8e 100644
--- a/lib/event_source/operations/mime_decode.rb
+++ b/lib/event_source/operations/mime_decode.rb
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ class MimeDecode
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Success<String>] if decoding is successful
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Failure<String>] if an error occurs (e.g., invalid MIME type, decoding failure)
       def call(mime_type, payload)
-        valid_payload = yield validate_payload(payload, mime_type)
+        valid_payload, mime_type = yield validate_payload(payload, mime_type.to_s)
         decoded_data = yield decode(valid_payload, mime_type)
 
         Success(decoded_data)
@@ -38,15 +38,18 @@ def call(mime_type, payload)
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Success<String>] if the payload is valid
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Failure<String>] if the payload is invalid
       def validate_payload(payload, mime_type)
-        unless MIME_TYPES.include?(mime_type.to_s)
+        unless MIME_TYPES.include?(mime_type)
           return Failure("Invalid MIME type '#{mime_type}'. Supported types are: #{MIME_TYPES.join(', ')}.")
         end
 
-        if mime_type.to_s == 'application/zlib' && !binary_payload?(payload)
-          return Failure("Payload must be binary-encoded for MIME type 'application/zlib'.")
+        # Allow JSON string payloads to pass validation to avoid processing failures
+        # for existing JSON messages in the queue. These messages may have been queued
+        # with the wrong MIME type ('application/zlib') but are still valid JSON.
+        if mime_type == 'application/zlib'
+          return Failure("Payload must be binary-encoded for MIME type 'application/zlib'.") unless binary_payload?(payload) || valid_json_string?(payload)
         end
 
-        Success(payload)
+        Success([payload, mime_type])
       end
 
       # Decodes the payload using the specified MIME type.
@@ -58,7 +61,7 @@ def validate_payload(payload, mime_type)
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Success<String>] if decoding is successful
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Failure<String>] if decoding fails
       def decode(payload, mime_type)
-        decoded_data = Zlib.inflate(payload) if mime_type.to_s == 'application/zlib'
+        decoded_data = Zlib.inflate(payload) if mime_type == 'application/zlib' && binary_payload?(payload)
 
         Success(decoded_data || payload)
       rescue Zlib::Error => e
@@ -75,6 +78,13 @@ def binary_payload?(payload)
 
         payload.encoding == Encoding::BINARY
       end
+
+      def valid_json_string?(data)
+        data.is_a?(String) && JSON.parse(data)
+        true
+      rescue JSON::ParserError
+        false
+      end      
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/event_source/operations/mime_encode.rb b/lib/event_source/operations/mime_encode.rb
index c5b6f8e..4bd551c 100644
--- a/lib/event_source/operations/mime_encode.rb
+++ b/lib/event_source/operations/mime_encode.rb
@@ -18,60 +18,69 @@ class MimeEncode
       # For example, compresses the payload using Zlib for 'application/zlib'.
       #
       # @param mime_type [String] the MIME type for encoding (e.g., 'application/zlib', 'application/json')
-      # @param payload [String, Hash] the payload to encode; must be a Hash or String
+      # @param payload [Any] the payload to encode;
       #
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Success<String>] if encoding is successful
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Failure<String>] if an error occurs (e.g., invalid MIME type, payload type, or encoding failure)
       def call(mime_type, payload)
-        json_payload = yield validate_payload(payload, mime_type)
-        encoded_data = yield encode(json_payload, mime_type)
+        mime_type = yield validate(mime_type)
+        encoded_data = yield encode(mime_type, payload)
 
         Success(encoded_data)
       end
 
       private
 
-      # Validates the payload and MIME type before encoding.
-      # Ensures the MIME type is supported and the payload is either a Hash or a String.
+      # Validates theMIME type before encoding.
+      # Ensures the MIME type is supported
       #
-      # @param payload [String, Hash] the payload to validate
       # @param mime_type [String] the MIME type for encoding
       #
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Success<String>] if the payload and MIME type are valid
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Failure<String>] if the MIME type is unsupported or the payload is invalid
-      def validate_payload(payload, mime_type)
+      def validate(mime_type)
         unless MIME_TYPES.include?(mime_type.to_s)
           return Failure("Invalid MIME type '#{mime_type}'. Supported types are: #{MIME_TYPES.join(', ')}.")
         end
 
-        unless payload.is_a?(Hash) || payload.is_a?(String)
-          return Failure("Invalid payload type. Expected a Hash or String, but received #{payload.class}.")
-        end
-
-        Success(payload.is_a?(Hash) ? payload.to_json : payload)
+        Success(mime_type.to_s)
       end
 
       # Encodes the payload based on the MIME type.
       # For 'application/zlib', compresses the payload using Zlib.
       # Logs the original and encoded payload sizes for debugging.
       #
-      # @param json_payload [String] the JSON stringified payload to encode
+      # @param data [String] the JSON stringified payload to encode
       # @param mime_type [String] the MIME type for encoding
       #
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Success<String>] if encoding is successful
       # @return [Dry::Monads::Failure<String>] if encoding fails
-      def encode(json_payload, mime_type)
-        encoded_data = Zlib.deflate(json_payload) if mime_type.to_s == 'application/zlib'
+      def encode(mime_type, payload)
+        case mime_type
+        when 'application/zlib'
+          json_payload = payload.to_json
+          encoded_data = Zlib.deflate(json_payload)
+          log_encoding_details(mime_type, json_payload, encoded_data)
+        when 'application/json'
+          encoded_data = payload.to_json
+        end
+
+        Success(encoded_data || payload)
+      rescue JSON::GeneratorError => e
+        Failure("Failed to encode payload to JSON: #{e.message}")
+      rescue Zlib::Error => e
+        Failure("Failed to compress payload using Zlib: #{e.message}")
+      rescue StandardError => e
+        Failure("Unexpected error during encoding: #{e.message}")
+      end
 
+      # Logs details of the encoding process.
+      def log_encoding_details(mime_type, payload, encoded_data)
         logger.debug "*" * 80
         logger.debug "Starting payload encoding for MIME type: '#{mime_type}'"
-        logger.debug "Original payload size: #{data_size_in_kb(json_payload)} KB"
-        logger.debug "Encoded payload size: #{data_size_in_kb(encoded_data)} KB" if encoded_data
+        logger.debug "Original payload size: #{data_size_in_kb(payload)} KB"
+        logger.debug "Encoded payload size: #{data_size_in_kb(encoded_data)} KB"
         logger.debug "*" * 80
-
-        Success(encoded_data || json_payload)
-      rescue Zlib::Error => e
-        Failure("Failed to compress payload using Zlib: #{e.message}")
       end
 
       # Calculates the size of the data in kilobytes (KB).
diff --git a/lib/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy.rb b/lib/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy.rb
index 4dd1b2c..a73e6d3 100644
--- a/lib/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy.rb
+++ b/lib/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy.rb
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ class BunnyExchangeProxy
         # @attr_reader [EventSource::Protcols::Amqp::BunnyChannelProxy] channel_proxy the channel_proxy used to create this exchange
         attr_reader :subject, :channel_proxy
 
+        DefaultMimeType = 'application/json'.freeze
+
         # @param [EventSource::AsyncApi::Channel] channel_proxy instance on which to open this Exchange
         # @param [Hash<EventSource::AsyncApi::Exchange>] exchange_bindings instance with configuration for this Exchange
         def initialize(channel_proxy, exchange_bindings)
@@ -50,7 +52,6 @@ def publish(payload:, publish_bindings:, headers: {})
 
           logger.debug "BunnyExchange#publish  publishing message with bindings: #{bunny_publish_bindings.inspect}"
 
-          payload = payload.to_json unless is_binary?(payload)
           @subject.publish(payload, bunny_publish_bindings)
 
           logger.debug "BunnyExchange#publish  published message: #{payload}"
@@ -70,12 +71,6 @@ def message_id
           SecureRandom.uuid
         end
 
-        def is_binary?(payload)
-          return false unless payload.respond_to?(:encoding)
-
-          payload.encoding == Encoding::BINARY
-        end
-
         # Filtering and renaming AsyncAPI Operation bindings to Bunny/RabitMQ
         #   bindings
         #
diff --git a/lib/event_source/publish_operation.rb b/lib/event_source/publish_operation.rb
index ddb7fb9..13f1211 100644
--- a/lib/event_source/publish_operation.rb
+++ b/lib/event_source/publish_operation.rb
@@ -49,10 +49,7 @@ def call(payload, options = {})
     # @return [String] The encoded payload, or the original payload if no encoding is specified.
     # @raise [EventSource::Error::PayloadEncodeError] if the encoding process fails.
     def encode_payload(payload)
-      return payload unless @async_api_publish_operation.message
-
-      message_bindings = @async_api_publish_operation.message['bindings']
-      encoding = message_bindings.first[1]['contentEncoding'] if message_bindings
+      encoding = determine_encoding
       return payload unless encoding
 
       output = EventSource::Operations::MimeEncode.new.call(encoding, payload)
@@ -63,5 +60,19 @@ def encode_payload(payload)
         raise EventSource::Error::PayloadEncodeError, output.failure
       end
     end
+
+    # Determines the encoding for the payload based on message bindings or protocol defaults.
+    # - If message bindings are present, uses the 'contentEncoding' value from the bindings.
+    # - If no message bindings are present and the protocol is AMQP, uses the default encoding for the AMQP protocol. Other protocols return nil.
+    def determine_encoding
+      message_bindings = @async_api_publish_operation.message&.dig('bindings')
+      return message_bindings.first[1]['contentEncoding'] if message_bindings.present?
+
+      amqp_protocol? ? "#{subject.class}::DefaultMimeType".constantize : nil
+    end
+
+    def amqp_protocol?
+      subject.is_a?(EventSource::Protocols::Amqp::BunnyExchangeProxy)
+    end
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/event_source/operations/mime_decode_spec.rb b/spec/event_source/operations/mime_decode_spec.rb
index 7045177..17ddf62 100644
--- a/spec/event_source/operations/mime_decode_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/event_source/operations/mime_decode_spec.rb
@@ -52,5 +52,47 @@
         expect(result.failure).to eq("Payload must be binary-encoded for MIME type 'application/zlib'.")
       end
     end
+
+    context "when the mime_type is 'application/zlib'" do
+      context "and the payload is a JSON string but not binary" do
+        let(:json_string) { "Invalid compressed data".to_json }
+        let(:mime_type) { "application/zlib" }
+    
+        it "passes validation" do
+          result = subject.call(mime_type, json_string)
+    
+          expect(result).to be_success
+          expect(result.value!).to eq(json_string)
+        end
+      end
+    
+      context "and the payload is neither binary nor valid JSON" do
+        let(:non_json_payload) { "Invalid compressed data" }
+        let(:mime_type) { "application/zlib" }
+    
+        it "returns a failure with a validation error message" do
+          result = subject.call(mime_type, non_json_payload)
+    
+          expect(result).to be_failure
+          expect(result.failure).to eq("Payload must be binary-encoded for MIME type 'application/zlib'.")
+        end
+      end
+    
+      context "and the payload is not binary and raises an error when parsed as JSON" do
+        let(:corrupted_json_payload) { "Invalid compressed data" }
+        let(:mime_type) { "application/zlib" }
+    
+        before do
+          allow(JSON).to receive(:parse).with(corrupted_json_payload).and_raise(JSON::ParserError)
+        end
+    
+        it "returns a failure with a validation error message" do
+          result = subject.call(mime_type, corrupted_json_payload)
+    
+          expect(result).to be_failure
+          expect(result.failure).to eq("Payload must be binary-encoded for MIME type 'application/zlib'.")
+        end
+      end
+    end    
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/event_source/operations/mime_encode_spec.rb b/spec/event_source/operations/mime_encode_spec.rb
index ca91814..b2475d0 100644
--- a/spec/event_source/operations/mime_encode_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/event_source/operations/mime_encode_spec.rb
@@ -4,11 +4,15 @@
   subject { described_class.new }
 
   describe "#call" do
-    context "when the payload and mime type are valid" do
+
+    let(:valid_payload) { { key: 'value' } }
+    let(:invalid_payload) { -> {} }
+
+    context "when MIME type is application/zlib" do
       let(:payload) { { message: "Hello, World!" } }
       let(:mime_type) { "application/zlib" }
 
-      it "successfully encodes the payload" do
+      it "compresses the payload using Zlib" do
         result = subject.call(mime_type, payload)
 
         expect(result).to be_success
@@ -16,7 +20,7 @@
       end
     end
 
-    context "when the payload is a string and mime type is valid" do
+    context "when MIME type is application/json" do
       let(:payload) { "Hello, World!" }
       let(:mime_type) { "application/json" }
 
@@ -24,7 +28,7 @@
         result = subject.call(mime_type, payload)
 
         expect(result).to be_success
-        expect(result.value!).to eq(payload)
+        expect(result.value!).to eq(payload.to_json)
       end
     end
 
@@ -40,15 +44,42 @@
       end
     end
 
-    context "when the payload is invalid" do
-      let(:payload) { 1000 }
-      let(:mime_type) { "application/json" }
+    context 'when payload cannot be converted to JSON' do
+      before do
+        allow(invalid_payload).to receive(:to_json).and_raise(JSON::GeneratorError)
+      end
 
-      it "returns a failure" do
-        result = subject.call(mime_type, payload)
+      it 'returns a failure with JSON::GeneratorError' do
+        result = subject.call('application/json', invalid_payload)
+
+        expect(result).to be_failure
+        expect(result.failure).to match(/Failed to encode payload to JSON:/)
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when Zlib compression fails' do
+      before do
+        allow(Zlib).to receive(:deflate).and_raise(Zlib::Error, 'Compression failed')
+      end
+
+      it 'returns a failure with Zlib::Error' do
+        result = subject.call('application/zlib', valid_payload)
+
+        expect(result).to be_failure
+        expect(result.failure).to eq('Failed to compress payload using Zlib: Compression failed')
+      end
+    end
+
+    context 'when an unexpected error occurs' do
+      before do
+        allow(valid_payload).to receive(:to_json).and_raise(StandardError, 'something went wrong')
+      end
+
+      it 'returns a failure with StandardError' do
+        result = subject.call('application/json', valid_payload)
 
         expect(result).to be_failure
-        expect(result.failure).to eq("Invalid payload type. Expected a Hash or String, but received Integer.")
+        expect(result.failure).to eq('Unexpected error during encoding: something went wrong')
       end
     end
   end
diff --git a/spec/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy_spec.rb b/spec/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy_spec.rb
index d9a2015..5cee63b 100644
--- a/spec/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/event_source/protocols/amqp/bunny_exchange_proxy_spec.rb
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 
   describe '#publish' do
     it 'publishes the payload with the correct bindings and headers' do
-      subject.publish(payload: payload, publish_bindings: publish_bindings, headers: headers)
+      subject.publish(payload: payload.to_json, publish_bindings: publish_bindings, headers: headers)
 
       expect(bunny_exchange).to have_received(:publish).with(payload.to_json, {
         correlation_id: '12345',
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
       expect(subject.logger).to receive(:debug).with(/published message:/)
       expect(subject.logger).to receive(:debug).with(/published message to exchange:/)
 
-      subject.publish(payload: payload, publish_bindings: publish_bindings, headers: headers)
+      subject.publish(payload: payload.to_json, publish_bindings: publish_bindings, headers: headers)
     end
 
     context 'when the payload is binary' do