What to Look for in a Payments Partner: A Vertical SaaS Provider’s Guide

TL;DR – Top 5 Takeaways for ISVs

Why Choosing the Right Payments Partner Matters

For SaaS providers managing software platforms, embedded payments are no longer just a nice-to-have feature. They’re a strategic growth lever.

A strong payments partner can help your platform:

But all of these benefits hinge on choosing the right payments partner. The wrong partner can introduce friction, hidden costs, and operational headaches, while the right partner becomes a strategic extension of your business, helping you scale faster and smarter.

Embedded payments are powerful, but only if your partner supports your platform and your merchants every step of the way.

To help ISVs evaluate prospective partners, we’ve broken down the most critical areas into six actionable sections. Each highlights common SaaS pain points and the characteristics of a partner that can solve them.

1. Integration That Works Beyond Launch

Many ISVs focus on getting payments live, but real challenges often appear after go-live:

The new standard for integration is a full end-to-end testing environment (sometimes called an INT environment) that mirrors production. Unlike traditional sandboxes, these environments allow vertical SaaS providers to:

Why this matters for ISVs:

Key Takeaway: End-to-end, production-like testing is now the baseline. Any partner offering only a basic sandbox is behind the curve. Full integration testing accelerates integration, reduces risk, and ensures reliable launches.

2. Support That Actually Supports Growth

Feedback from SaaS providers consistently highlights support as a top pain point. Typical complaints include:

A payments partner should provide:

Key Takeaway: Evaluate support not as an afterthought, but as a growth lever. The right partner reduces friction, accelerates adoption, and ensures both your internal teams and merchants succeed.

3. Pricing Clarity Is Critical

Pricing can make or break adoption. SaaS providers often hear from their merchants that fees feel confusing or too high, which can slow adoption and create friction on the platform.

The ideal payments partner provides:

Key Takeaway: Clear, fair pricing reduces adoption friction, builds trust with merchants, and lets vertical SaaS providers forecast revenue accurately. Pricing transparency is one of the top factors to consider when choosing a payments partner.

4. Portfolio Visibility Is a Must

Operators managing multiple merchants need visibility at scale. Without dashboards and reporting APIs, tracking transactions, settlements, declines, and disputes can become manual, error-prone, and slow.

A strong payments partner offers:

With this level of visibility, ISVs can:

Key Takeaway: Portfolio visibility is no longer optional. Vertical SaaS providers must have real-time insights into transactions and revenue at scale to manage risk and drive growth effectively.

5. Roadmap Alignment and Go-to-Market Support

A payments partner is more than a vendor. They are a strategic business partner. ISVs should look for partners who:

Key Takeaway: A partner that aligns with your business strategy and actively supports go-to-market efforts turns payments into a revenue-generating engine instead of a back-office utility.

6. Integration, Monetization, and Long-Term Value

SaaS providers should evaluate partners across three dimensions:

Key Takeaway: Integration is just the start. Monetization, visibility, and growth support determine whether payments become a scalable revenue lever.

Conclusion

Selecting a payments partner is one of the most strategic decisions vertical SaaS providers can make. The right partner delivers:

SaaS providers who focus on these factors can turn embedded payments into a scalable revenue engine, improve retention, and differentiate their platform in the marketplace.

Frequently Asked Questions: ISV Questions About Payments Partners

Q. What is a production-like integration environment, and why is it important?

A. It’s a testing environment that mirrors live operations, including approvals, declines, disputes, and reporting. SaaS providers can test every workflow end-to-end, reducing surprises at launch and speeding integration work.

Q. How do I evaluate support quality?

A. Look for SLA-backed, proactive support for both your platform and merchants. Dedicated relationship managers and clear escalation paths indicate a partner that will act as an extension of your team.

Q. How should I evaluate pricing?

A. ISVs should expect clear, predictable pricing for both the platform and merchants. Flexible monetization options and clear statements prevent confusion and accelerate merchant adoption.

Q. What portfolio visibility should I require?

A. SaaS providers need real-time dashboards and reporting APIs to track transactions, settlements, declines, disputes, and revenue across their merchant base. This allows confident decision-making at scale.

Q. What other factors should I consider when choosing a partner?

A. Ensure your partner aligns with your roadmap, provides co-marketing and co-selling support, innovates on features that matter to your vertical, and helps drive long-term growth and revenue.