- Three minutes read
ISO/ISV convergence: Successful partnerships in action
For both ISOs and ISVs, the key to thriving in a changing environment is having close working relationships with the right payment partners (PSPs).
As my Paysafe colleagues, Todd and Sarah have explored in previous blogs, the world of Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) is changing.
Merchants’ payments needs have transformed in recent years. Growing consumer demand for card and alternative payments, and increasing pressure to expand into the worlds of eCommerce and mCommerce, have all changed what merchants want when approaching payment partners. As a result, a growing number of ISOs and ISVs are evolving their service offering, blurring the lines distinguishing the two sub sectors.
For both ISOs and ISVs, the key to thriving in this changing environment is having close working relationships with the right payment partners (PSPs).
A case in point
A good example of the importance of such partnerships is our own recent collaboration with the global payment and commerce leader, Verifone.
Our company is the first adopter to offer the integrated cloud-based product, Verifone Connect, to ISOs serving quick service restaurants and small businesses across the US. As a result, we are able to support ISOs in providing merchant customers with next-generation software that can do even more process payments. It can help them optimise estate management and other day-to-day operations, and even increase consumer engagement through apps and other digital tools. For ISVs that have their own proprietary and feature risk software applications, the Engage line from Verifone defines offers interactive payment devices that complement the ISV solution.
Merchants – of all shapes and sizes – need more options and agile solutions to manage and grow their business. With this partnership, we can empower both ISOs and ISVs to help their merchant customers to consolidate payments and other critical business management processes into a single solution that can streamline their operations and simplify their supply chains.
This is just a snapshot of the potential offered by collaborations with the next generation of innovative PSPs. With the right relationships, ISOs and ISVs, regardless of their history or traditional product offering, can offer a wide variety of additional services that can help improve the end-to-end experience for merchant customers. In doing so, they can ensure they stand out in a competitive market and attract new merchant customers too.
More than just payments
As we explore in our new whitepaper, The ISO/ISV Convergence: Do Payments Systems Hold the Key to Helping Both Sides Thrive?,partnering with suitable PSPs can help in a number of key areas, beyond payments and business management.
For example, PSPs can offer big data that can provide merchants with key insights into customer behavior, such as how buying habits are affected by the weather and at what time of day sales increase for certain types of product. This kind of information can be crucial to help merchants tailor their services to improve their relationship with consumers, and increase their revenue.
In addition, such partnerships can enable ISOs and ISVs to provide their merchant customers with up-to-the-minute expert advice and guidance on changes in payments and retail, so they in turn can equip their businesses to face future challenges. Ultimately, strong relationships with payment partners can help ISOs and ISVs become even better partners to their own customers.
Time to team up
The merging of ISOs and ISVs is not slowing down, and is likely to be the major trend in 2018 and 2019. As our work with Verifone shows, if ISOs and ISVs want to thrive in this dynamic landscape, working with payment providers that are dedicated to pioneering new ways to support both sides of the industry through this convergence phenomenon is critical. Providers that understand the requirements of ISOs and ISVs can provide both with the insight and services to evolve in order to meet their customers’ changing needs.
In doing so, we can help everyone in the payment ecosystem thrive in this fast-moving payment landscape.
To find out about how Paysafe can support the growth of your ISO or ISV with integrated payment solutions, please contact: iso-isv@paysafe.com.
Download the full whitepaper here.
