Insights

For decades, the growth formula for ISOs was relatively straightforward. Recruit agents. Add merchants. Grow residuals.

That model still works today, but the payments landscape is changing. Increasingly, some of the fastest-growing portfolios are not being built through traditional sales channels. They are being built through software partnerships.

At KORT, we’ve seen growing interest from ISVs, software companies, ERP providers, and vertical SaaS platforms looking to embed payments directly into their products. While agent relationships remain an important part of the industry, software partnerships are creating a different type of opportunity for ISOs.

The Distribution Model Is Different

Traditional agents acquire merchants one business at a time. Software platforms often acquire merchants at scale.

A successful software company may already have hundreds or thousands of customers actively using its platform. Once payments become integrated into that ecosystem, merchant adoption can happen far more efficiently than through traditional prospecting.

This doesn’t eliminate the need for agents, it simply changes how growth is achieved. The focus shifts from acquiring individual merchants to building relationships that can influence entire customer bases.

Software Creates Stickier Merchants

One of the biggest challenges for any ISO is merchant attrition. When payments operate independently from the software a business relies on every day, switching providers is relatively straightforward.

When payments become integrated into order management, invoicing, inventory, accounting, or customer management workflows, the decision becomes much more complex. The result is often stronger retention and longer merchant lifecycles.

The Economics Can Be More Predictable

Traditional agent portfolios often depend heavily on individual sales performance while software partnerships tend to create a different dynamic.

As software companies grow their customer base, payment volume often grows alongside it. New merchant acquisition becomes tied to the success of the platform rather than the activity of a single sales representative.

This can create more predictable growth patterns and greater visibility into future opportunities.

Merchants Increasingly Expect Embedded Payments

Business owners are becoming accustomed to integrated experiences.

They expect payments to work seamlessly inside the systems they already use to run their businesses.

Whether it’s an ERP platform, field services application, property management system, ecommerce platform, or industry-specific software, merchants increasingly prefer solutions that reduce operational complexity.

The ability to access payments directly within existing workflows is becoming an expectation rather than a differentiator.

Not Every Software Partnership Is Equal

While software partnerships can be powerful, they are not automatically successful.

1. How engaged is the software provider?
2. How large is the active customer base?
3. Does the platform naturally support payments?
4. Is the integration likely to drive adoption?
5. Are the merchant verticals aligned with processor appetite?

The strongest software partnerships are built around genuine merchant demand rather than simply adding another revenue stream.

Traditional Agents Still Matter

None of this means traditional agent relationships are becoming obsolete. Experienced agents continue to play a critical role in merchant acquisition and relationship management.

In many cases, some of the most successful organizations combine both approaches, leveraging traditional sales channels while also investing in software distribution.

The question is no longer which model is better but whether an organization is positioned to benefit from both.

Where KORT Can Help

The payments industry continues to evolve. Merchants want simpler experiences, software providers are looking for new monetization opportunities, and ISOs are searching for more scalable ways to grow their portfolios.

At KORT, we continue to see software partnerships become a larger part of that conversation. Years of experience working with ISVs, ERP platforms, POS providers, and embedded payment opportunities have reinforced a simple reality: software is increasingly becoming the distribution channel through which merchants discover and adopt payments.

For ISOs thinking about long-term growth, the opportunity is not replacing traditional agent relationships. It is recognizing that some of the most valuable partnerships in payments may no longer look like traditional agent relationships at all.