How ISVs Can Unlock Revenue With Embedded Payments

As more software platforms handle payment transactions, independent software vendors (ISVs) are discovering a powerful—and often untapped—revenue stream: embedded payments. Rather than sending users to a third-party payment portal, embedded payments allow customers to complete transactions directly within the software interface. It’s fast, intuitive and increasingly expected by today’s digital-first users. 

Think of the everyday convenience of in-app purchases or paying a medical bill directly in a patient portal. That’s embedded payments in action—and it’s transforming how platforms operate across industries like healthcare, property management and retail. 

Yet many ISVs still rely on outdated redirects or payment referral models—unwittingly giving away both revenue and control. By embedding payments, ISVs not only create a smoother experience for users but also open the door to a reliable stream of recurring income from transaction fees and value-added services. 

In this blog, we’ll explore what embedded payments are, why they matter for ISVs and how platforms can monetize them effectively—at their own speed and on their own timeline, only taking on the heavy lift of becoming a registered payment facilitator when and if it becomes the right move for their business. We’ll also discuss what to look for in an embedded payments partner, and how to get started—smarter and faster. 

 

What Are Embedded Payments?  

Embedded payments refer to payment functions that are built into a non-payment application or software platform. End users pay directly within the app or software interface, without being redirected to an outside payment portal. 

Examples of embedded payments: 

• Healthcare Patients: A patient logs into the portal to view medical records and can see an outstanding balance, then pay it directly within the portal without being redirected to a separate billing site. 

• Property Management Software: Tenants can pay rent directly within the tenant portal, streamlining the payment process for both residents and property managers. This not only eliminates the hassle of checks and manual payment tracking, but also integrates payment history, late fees and lease renewals into one centralized dashboard—making management more efficient and improving tenant satisfaction. 

• Government Services: Residents can pay taxes, fees or permit applications directly within government portals, improving accessibility and streamlining the user experience while enhancing operational efficiency for agencies. 

The terms “embedded payments” and “integrated payments” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they aren’t the same. Integrated payments is a broader term that describes any payment functionality that is connected to a business’s core software systems. The payment system exchanges data with these systems to improve accuracy, simplify reconciliation and streamline workflows. But the payment interface might involve a separate window, a redirection or a clearly distinct module. The payer is aware of entering a payment zone and may feel uncertain about the security measures in place.  

 

Why Embedded Payments Matter for ISVs  

They help ISVs stand out in a crowded software market. By offering embedded payments, ISVs deliver a more seamless, full-service experience—attracting more merchant customers and outshining competitors that rely on separate payment systems. 

They help retain merchants by improving the end-user experience. Embedded payments reduce friction for end users, leading to higher conversion rates, more on-time payments, and greater customer satisfaction and retention. Furthermore, embedded payments provide a feeling of security that portal redirects cannot. Redirecting users—especially less tech-savvy ones—to an unfamiliar checkout page with different branding can feel disjointed and raise security concerns. For Gen Z users accustomed to seamless digital experiences, redirects may seem outdated and damage trust in the platform. Security is the top payment concern influencing how consumers choose to pay online, endorsed by 60% of survey respondents.  

Embedded payments deliver the smooth, secure experience today’s consumers expect. Happy merchants who experience the benefits of embedded payments are likely to continue using the ISV’s software platform.  

They generate a new revenue stream from payments. Embedding payment processing allows ISVs to tap into transaction fees and related charges every time a payment is processed within their software solution. This recurring revenue stream can significantly contribute to the ISV’s overall earnings. 

 

How ISVs Can Monetize Payments  

ISVs can monetize payments in several ways: 

Referral partnership: The ISV refers potential customers (merchants) to a payment processing provider in exchange for a commission or fee. In this model, the ISV doesn’t handle the payment processing directly. Instead, it leverages its network to bring new business to the payment provider. ISVs can focus on their core business while benefitting from moderate revenue potential through referral commissions.  

Payment facilitation: Payment facilitation streamlines the entire transaction process—making payments faster, easier and more convenient for everyone involved. It covers everything from setting up and managing payment methods to processing payments, reconciling transactions and preventing fraud. The goal? To deliver secure, seamless and accessible payments for both individuals and businesses.  

A payment facilitator is a company (such as an ISV) that provides payment processing services to other businesses (e.g., merchants). The company acts as an intermediary between the merchant and the acquiring bank and handles payment processing on behalf of the merchant.  

By acting as a payment facilitator and embedding payments, ISVs can earn a larger share of transaction revenue. 

But how do payment facilitators make money through payment processing?  

Transaction and subscription fees: Through embedded payments, payment facilitators unlock a new revenue stream—earning a share of every transaction processed on their platform. They generate approximately 66% of their revenue from payment processing, according to PYMNTS research.  

Value-added services: ISVs can boost earnings by offering services that enhance the payment experience and open new revenue streams, such as Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments, surcharging programs (that pass credit card acceptance fees to cardholders), chargeback dispute management, fraud prevention, data analytics, reporting and more. Many executives estimated that their share of revenue would increase in the next year primarily due to an increase in value-added services.  

Strong merchant retention: Platforms that provide comprehensive solutions—including embedded payments—offer greater value to merchants, boosting platform stickiness and long-term merchant retention. 

 

Becoming a Payment Facilitator Can Be Complex and Expensive—But There’s a Workaround 

All that extra revenue sounds terrific!  So why aren’t more ISVs becoming payment facilitators? Because it demands major investments in time, money and dedicated resources, including: 

• Partnering with a sponsoring acquirer (and being vetted by the acquirer) 

• Obtaining Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) Level 1 certification 

• Legal and regulatory compliance [Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti Money Laundering, and other requirements] 

• Building a secure payment platform and infrastructure  

• Committing significant staffing and financial resources 

Many independent software vendors would rather focus on developing and maintaining their software platforms—not processing payments. Almost a third (31%) of ISVs that don’t support payment acceptance identify security and risk management as the top reasons.   

But there’s good news for ISVs. You can monetize embedded payments without the hefty investment and headaches of becoming a payment facilitator. How? 

By taking advantage of payment facilitation as a service (PFaaS). PFaaS refers to a business model where a company such as CSG provides payment facilitiation services to other businesses on a fee-for-service basis. The ISV outsources its payment processing to a third-party provider, who manages payment processing on its behalf.  

PFaaS is a turnkey solution that allows software platforms to embed payments and enjoy the revenue benefits of becoming a payment facilitator—without taking on the full regulatory, compliance and operational burdens.  

With the right payments partner ISVs can monetize payments without: 

• Taking on the risk or compliance burdens of a full payment facilitator 

• Managing KYC, PCI (Payment Card Industry) standards and Nacha compliance 

• Handling chargebacks or regulatory audits 

• Maintaining a payment gateway and handling updates 

Related content: 6 Ways to Increase Revenue and Decrease Risk with the Right Payments Partner 

 

What to Look for in an Embedded Payments Partner  

Not all embedded payments partners are created equal. To simplify the process of adopting payment functionality, look for a partner that offers: 

Industry flexibility: Choose a payments solution that can accommodate the specific requirements of different industries, ranging from healthcare and property management to education and field services.  

Modularity: You should be able to choose which modules to include in your payment system. Your partner should allow you to embed solutions like recurring payments (autopay), text-to-pay, account verification, and automatic updates.  

Built-in PCI compliance: The PCI council has strict rules for businesses that accept and process card payments. To protect cardholder data, businesses must: 

• Conduct routine network maintenance 

• Implement data encryption 

• Add security against malicious software 

• Restrict internal access to sensitive data 

Select a payments partner that provides the highest level of PCI compliant infrastructure (Level 1), including secure firewalls and network configurations, encryption of cardholder data. For compliance with PCI, Nacha, industry-specific (e.g., Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA), and state-level data security requirements, look for modern security measures, including   

• PCI validated end-to-end encryption 

• Tokenization 

• Hosted payment pages 

Choosing a partner that offers a PCI compliance program (including assistance with registration and validation and monthly vulnerability scans) simplifies the compliance process and avoids PCI non-compliance fees and risk exposure.  

Fraud prevention tools: Fight fraud with automated account authentication that validates payment information before processing the payment.  

Responsive customer support: Merchants must have swift, effective help when they encounter issues with their payment platform. Choose a payments partner that provides quality, consistent and knowledgeable support whenever merchants need it.  

Rapid onboarding: Look for a partner who gets you up and running in days, not weeks.  

 

A Smarter Path to Embedding Payments with CSG Forte

Embedded payments are more than a convenience for end-users—they’re a revenue stream for ISVs. 

Ready to turn your software into a revenue-generating payments engine without adding more staff? 

CSG Forte’s PFaaS partnership makes it simple and approachable. Flexible control payment processing allows you to choose your level of involvement and risk in the payment process.  

You can white label a CSG Forte solution for seamless integration, fast onboarding, lowered risk and reliable payment processing. Let Forte handle the hard tasks—such as compliance, onboarding and maintenance—so you can focus on product development and growth. 

Ready to get started with embedded payments? Visit CSG Forte to learn how we can help you boost revenue by embedding payments or talk to an expert today.