Unlocking ISV potential through embedded finance

by Joshua Bennett, Vice President of Partner Business Development for Elavon Inc.

As payments technology and business models continue to advance and change at a rapid pace, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) have new opportunities to monetize their services and provide valuable tools for their customers. The concept of Embedded Finance, the integration of financial services such as credit card processing, ACH, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), lending, and financing into software and platforms is gaining traction as ISVs see significant benefits.  In fact, financial services embedded into e-commerce and other software platforms accounted for $2.6 trillion, or 5% of total U.S. financial transactions in 2021, and will exceed $7 trillion by 2026.

Not only do ISVs see substantial increases in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR), but their solution becomes a more attractive investment for venture capital and private equity firms.  As an ISV, it’s crucial to not only provide the capability for credit and debit card acceptance, but to also identify potential value-added services to enhance the payment experience and provide additional revenue streams. Such services include:

• Real-Time Payments, facilitating cash flow management and reducing fraud risk
• Automated Commercial Card Optimization for B2B transactions to decrease processing fees for merchants, improve payments efficiency, and increase ISV revenues.
• Surcharging Programs* that pass credit card acceptance fees to cardholders to offset the merchant’s costs associated with accepting credit card payments.
• Incorporating ACH or eCheck services that expand the customer base, particularly among B2B clients, by offering an alternative payment method to credit cards.

Businesses are increasingly looking for a wide range of financial services through a single provider, which is an opportunity for ISVs. The BaaS model is a more holistic solution that offers a variety of banking functionality through APIs. This enables ISVs to provide their customers financial services such as creating bank accounts, account management, and fraud detection without having to build and maintain their own banking infrastructure. Additionally, BaaS providers can help ISVs comply with financial regulations, reducing the risk of penalties for non-compliance.

Lending and financing services are another key aspect of Embedded Finance that can help ISVs further monetize their services. ISVs that support retailers, the services industry, and B2B merchants can benefit from offering lending and finance to their customers in several ways:

• Increased revenue: generate additional revenue through interest and fees.
• Improved customer retention: retain customers by making it easier for them to make large purchases or invest in new equipment or inventory.
• Competitive advantage: gain a competitive edge over other vendors that don’t offer these services and increase market share.
• New business opportunities: Provide new business opportunities for ISVs by attracting new customers who are looking for financing options.

It’s important to note that adding lending and financing can bring additional operational and regulatory complexity. ISVs should take that into consideration when they align themselves with a partner that handles the regulatory and compliance intricacies on a day-to-day basis.

Partnering for Success

Elavon, backed by the strength and stability of U.S. Bank, offers a comprehensive and diverse range of global financial services, including credit card, ACH, BaaS, lending, and financing solutions, along with advanced APIs for developers. Additionally, our Partner Journey Program gives ISVs the opportunity to progress from being “new to payments” with a simple partner model to growing into a Payment Facilitator with a more complex business structure. Payment Facilitation provides ISVs ultimate control over their customers’ lifecycle and will help to further establish themselves as a dominant player in the marketplace.

To learn more about how Elavon can help ISVs achieve these goals, visit https://www.elavon.com/partners.html

*Currently Credit Card Surcharge is not supported in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts, Puerto Rico or the Canadian Provinces. Although we offer surcharging in most states, Merchants are responsible for determining the legality of surcharging in their state, and merchants are liable if their activities are found to be unlawful. Credit card surcharge applies to credit card only, not available on debit cards.