An independent software vendor (ISV) can thrive right now. Software suppliers have the chance to establish a new revenue stream while also gaining a larger percentage of new business customers as more companies use software solutions that accept payments. How? by incorporating applications—like the capacity to handle payments—into their software.
The main issues an ISV must address, however, are how to incorporate payment processing into the software and, more precisely, who to collaborate with in this effort.
An ISV is what?
An ISV is described as "a company that provides software solutions that aid in managing different functions of a business operation" by The Strawhecker Group. ISVs typically target a single merchant vertical with their solution, sometimes down to the granular level.
Customer engagement tools and phone intelligence tools are two examples of integrated applications, but ISVs are also excellent candidates to include an integrated payment solution. The Strawhecker Group explains that in that case, "vendors offer payments to businesses on a complementary product and open up a new merchant sales channel. Due to the crucial role a multi-functional software system plays, the ISV
Channel is frequently characterized by high merchant retention rates.
How much influence I want to have over my users' experiences is one of the important choices a software supplier needs to make. It's a choice that affects more than just the user experience. For instance, you could store, process, and send cardholder data within your program if you select a web service or full API integration that gives you entire control over the user payment experience. This could have expensive PCI compliance implications. On the other hand, the need for PCI compliance may be reduced if you're ready to give up control.
Similar to this, you might need a partner in payment processing who can be flexible with merchant onboarding. Supporting numerous payment methods and providing additional security features like encryption and tokenization, the latter of which includes exchanging cardholder account information for a randomly generated digital identity (or token), are other functionalities that are popular these days.
Revenue Sharing Creates New Revenue Opportunities
An integrated payment solution's ability to establish a recurring revenue stream using one of three common partner models is one of its main advantages. ISVs placed price/commission as the second-most significant consideration, only behind customer service, when choosing a payment partner, according to a recent study by The Strawhecker Group.
Associated Models
The referral model, the agent program, and the ISO program are the three common partner models, regardless of your personal priorities.
The referral model - In this case, the software provider merely recommends potential new merchant customers to their payment partner, who handles all sales and customer service duties.
The agent program - In this approach, the payment processor's responsibilities are restricted to training, activation, and customer support, while the software vendor typically handles sales and onboarding.
The Independent Sales Organization (ISO) program - If the software vendor operates as an ISO, it keeps all sales and support operations in-house. This paradigm gives the software solution the greatest control over the user experience, but it comes at a higher cost and with a bigger portion of the blame than the other two models.
Work with a payment partner that offers a specialized team of sales specialists if you decide that a more partnership-oriented approach is best for you. You should seek out a sales team that is knowledgeable about your industry, eager to learn your product, and knowledgeable about your clients' demands. Your partner should collaborate with you closely to develop specialized, co-branded marketing initiatives that are consistent with your client engagement philosophy. Given that it has experience of working with more than 60 verticals, Global
Payments Integrated fits the bill
We at Global Payments Integrated make investments in the skills of our partners. Together, we develop a product roadmap to continuously improve the range of solutions we make available to our partners. Our main goal is to support our ISV partners as they continue to grow their customer base and profit margins while giving their clients a better overall experience.