The future of payments will rely on processors and ISVs working together

by Jason Holderness

Sometimes collaboration is a great thing. In the ever-changing world of payments, this is especially true. Working with other businesses is the key to not only staying competitive, but remaining relevant as well.

The payments industry is a fluid one, subject to evolving consumer behavior as well as the latest technical trends, not to mention countless rules and regulations on top of it all.

That being said, the leaders in our industry are only able to keep doing what they do because they have adapted to the changing times and integrated with other businesses – mainly software and technology specialists – in relationships that are mutually beneficial.

National Merchants Association is no different and is certainly no stranger to collaboration and the positive outcomes that can result.

New unions always bring more opportunities for innovation and development while continuing to provide further vertical integration for processors like NMA. In our case, one of the partnerships we were able to form was with Phoenix Managed Networks, an innovative company that offered a robust payment gateway called PhoeniXGate. Partnering allowed us to develop a custom solution for our broad client base by leveraging PhoeniXGate’s advanced technology while allowing us to retain control over and focus on the customer experience.

Additionally, the availability of our own gateway meant control over transaction costs, ultimately providing a powerful incentive for other integrated software vendors (ISVs) to develop on NMA’s infrastructure. This means that we can now focus our energy on what we do best – creating processing solutions for merchants of all types and providing unbeatable service while we search for new technology partnerships to push NMA’s platform and our industry forward.

Partnerships like the one we have with Phoenix Managed Networks present an ideal way for processors to support emerging businesses in the payments industry. Similarly, commitment to development and being at the forefront of innovation is at the core of what integration is all about. Perhaps most importantly, leveraging advances made in the payments space can create massive new markets for businesses on both sides of a partnership.

It takes two – literally, and that’s why partnering is a successful way to approach mobile payments. ISVs and Value-Added Resellers (VARs) offer plenty of opportunities for integration and platform development. Partnering with either can be a rewarding experience as both rely on partnerships to expand their reach and increase efficiency.

Call it partnering, call it co-branding, call it whatever you’d like – in this industry, businesses need to be able to adapt quickly, and that means they’ll need to create partnerships in order to expand their offerings and remain relevant. That’s the future of payment processing and it’ll be here sooner than you think.

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Jason Holderness is the Chief Technology Officer at National Merchants Association and a member of the Forbes Technology Council.