Building a successful payments strategy: How ISOs and ISVs can drive scalable growth together

The future is not ISOs versus ISVs. It’s ISOs and ISVs working together.

By: Josh Bennett, Vice President of Partner Business Development – U.S. Bank | Elavon

The payments industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace, driven by innovations such as agentic commerce, instant payments, and embedded financial services. Yet for Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), the most significant shift may be how merchants purchase payment solutions. Today, more than 90% of U.S. small businesses rely on Independent Software Vendor (ISV) solutions to run their operations[1], making software a primary driver of payments adoption. As a result, offering payment processing alone is no longer a sustainable strategy for ISOs seeking to expand their market presence and revenue opportunities.

ISVs provide the software merchants depend on every day, while ISOs bring payments expertise, distribution networks and customer support. Together, they deliver an integrated experience that helps merchants operate, grow and accept payments within a single experience. Their respective strengths make a compelling combination.

Many ISVs develop highly verticalized platforms and applications but often lack the sales coverage needed to accelerate adoption. Conversely, ISOs maintain extensive merchant distribution networks but may have limited access to differentiated technology offerings. By partnering, ISVs contribute vertical expertise and product innovation, while ISOs provide market reach and payments expertise, creating a more compelling offering for merchants.

For ISOs, these partnerships can unlock new avenues for growth, differentiation and long-term profitability. They also help strengthen merchant relationships, expand revenue opportunities and deliver greater value through the payments experience.

Here are five ways these partnerships can help drive business success:

• Diversify revenue streams: Move beyond traditional processing fees by offering ISV-developed software solutions, such as back-office tools, accounting platforms, and vertical-specific applications, creating new recurring revenue opportunities.
• Deliver greater value to merchants: Expand beyond payments to offer integrated solutions that support the entire customer journey – from flexible point-of-sale lending solutions to money movement capabilities.
• Reduce merchant churn: Embedded financial services create deeper operational integration, increasing merchant reliance on the solution and strengthening long-term retention.
• Leverage complementary strengths: ISVs bring software innovation and integration expertise, while ISOs contribute payments knowledge, sales resources and established distribution channels.
• Capitalize on growing market adoption: Demand for industry-specific software continues to rise as businesses invest in cloud-based solutions, AI and digital transformation initiatives, creating significant opportunities for collaborative growth.

As ISOs look to capitalize on these opportunities, choosing the right payments partner becomes increasingly important. Success depends on more than technology alone. It requires a partner with the expertise, support and flexible partner programs to build a long-term payments strategy.

Behind every payment, there’s an opportunity to grow – Elavon by U.S. Bank

Whether you’re an ISO looking to expand into a new vertical through software partnerships or an ISV embedding payments into your platform, Elavon delivers the expertise, technology and support to help you grow. We empower our partners to accelerate speed to market, expand revenue opportunities and scale their business with confidence. Through our banking and money movement APIs, integrated payments ecosystem, and Avvance™ point-of-sale lending solution, we provide the tools to move your business forward.

With decades of partner experience, we’ve built a proven implementation and enablement approach designed to support your business. It’s why more than 1,000 integrated partners, 350 ISOs/MSPs, and 1,700 financial institutions choose Elavon to grow their business. Find out what’s possible. Call 800.725.1243.

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[1] McKinsey & Company – Decoding ISV maturity: A global playbook for payments growth, January 2026