If you’ve operated in the world of software, fintech, or B2B technology for any length of time, you’re likely familiar with concepts like problem-market fit, product-market fit, and platform-market fit.
But for SaaS companies, marketplaces, and vertical platforms, there’s a powerful fourth “P” that rarely gets the spotlight—payments led growth.
Why Payments Led Growth Matters for ISVs
For years, embedded payments strategy was the red-headed stepchild of software companies—deprioritized, under-resourced, and viewed more as a necessary evil than a growth lever. But that mindset is shifting.
The fastest growing, vertically-focused ISVs and SaaS platforms recognized very early on in their evolution the powerful contribution that optimizing an embedded payments strategy into their platform can impact both the top and bottom line of your financial statements.
A well-designed payments led growth strategy for ISVs is no longer optional—it’s a competitive advantage.
Key Monetization Strategies for Embedded Payments
Think of this as an a la carte menu of ways to generate revenue from payments and payments related services as part of an over-arching embedded payments strategy within your software offering:
Monetization Component Parts:
1. Margin on Payments:
Reselling payments as an embedded, core component of your SaaS offering and making a margin on the profitability of the processing.
2. Grow Your TAM & SAM:
Expanding your serviceable addressable market of potential clients by availing the 4-5 most popular card and non-card-based payment methods specific to each industry vertical or business segment your software supports.
3. Optimization:
Taking advantage of smart (intelligent) routing to maximize conversion rates to optimize revenue at one end of the spectrum, as well as benefiting from optimal interchange rates depending on card type and business model at the other end of the payments journey.
4. Value-Added Services:
Generate revenue from value-added services that sit around and support the payment transaction itself. Think about fraud protection, chargeback management, FX and other valuable services.
5. Minimizing Cost:
Drive down the cost of payment processing in certain business segments or geographies by supporting popular payment methods where the cost per transaction is fixed, regardless of the transaction value, as opposed to cost being calculated as a percentage of the average order value.
6. Payouts & Disbursements:
Many ISVs evaluate payments through the lens of accepting payments only. Does your solution or business model necessitate payouts or disbursements? You are leaving money on the table.
7. Revenue Sharing:
ISVs can share in the larger revenue pie that is created with your embedded payments partner in areas like customer referrals, support, marketing initiatives and co-selling and cross-selling opportunities.
About KORT:
KORT empowers ISVs, software platforms, merchants and fintech’s to transact, scale, and thrive effortlessly.
Our enterprise-grade, global orchestration platform, KORTex, is the foundation of this transformation.
As we expand our geographical footprint, I invite you to join us and be a valued member of our early, strategic partner program; unlocking business, operational and revenue opportunities to help fuel your exponential growth aspirations. You can contact me here.