ISVs can navigate change and add value in the payments arena by focusing on a few key goals

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) face a web of new challenges in facilitating payments: Merchant expectations are rising, payment environments are getting more complex, and software platforms are under pressure to deliver more connected, secure and value‑driven commerce experiences.

These challenges require ISVs to sharpen their focus on what’s most important to succeed in the current environment. For 2026, we advise ISVs to concentrate on three key goals. These represent the biggest opportunities to strengthen competitive position, deepen merchant relationships and unlock new revenue.
 

1. Deliver a unified, omnichannel payments experience

Merchants today expect seamless payments across every touchpoint – in‑person, online, mobile and contactless. ISVs that consolidate acceptance into a unified payment layer are better positioned to reduce complexity, improve performance and deliver consistent experiences at scale, whatever the channel.

In 2026, many ISVs are focusing on simple, unified omnichannel acceptance through a single integrated payment layer that supports:

• Countertop and smart terminals

• Mobile POS

• eCommerce and online checkout

• QR code and text‑to‑pay flows

• Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)

This unified approach can help ISVs:

• Reduce technical complexity through consolidated payment flows

• Deliver a consistent merchant and customer experience across touchpoints

• Increase security through tokenization and encrypted data

• Keep pace with merchant demand for flexible payment options

As regulatory requirements expand, ISVs are also turning to payment partners to embed PCI, P2PE, tokenization and KYC into the payments stack – eliminating operational overhead and enabling them to offer fully white‑labeled experiences.

2. Lean into embedded finance to deepen value and drive revenue

Embedded finance covers a wide range of solutions, but the most actionable and highest‑impact opportunities for ISVs today center on working capital and disbursement solutions – capabilities merchants increasingly expect inside the software they already rely on.

Recent small‑business research from PYMNTS finds that more than one‑third of SMBs are highly interested in switching to software providers that offer embedded lending options – especially working capital and short‑term financing tools.

Meanwhile, McKinsey’s 2025 ISV‑maturity research shows platforms with embedded financial tools achieve deeper merchant adoption and stronger revenue expansion. Together, these findings highlight a clear trend: merchants increasingly expect their core software platforms to help them manage cash flow as easily as they accept payments.

For ISVs, embedded finance delivers several key advantages:

• Stronger platform stickiness

• New revenue opportunities through working‑capital programs

• More complete value delivery compared to software‑only competitors

• Differentiation in crowded verticals

To bring these capabilities to market quickly, ISVs should partner with payment providers who handle underwriting, servicing and compliance – enabling software platforms to scale while creating a smoother experience for merchants.

3. Strengthen fraud defense without compromising experience

Fraud continues to accelerate across payment channels, placing new expectations on ISVs to deliver strong protection without slowing down the checkout experience. According to the 2025 Javelin Identity Fraud Study, identity‑fraud losses climbed to $27.2 billion in 2024, driven by more data breaches and faster, more sophisticated attacks. 

As fraud grows in scale and complexity, ISVs are prioritizing low‑friction, embedded controls that protect merchants without slowing down checkout. The most effective approaches include:

• Advanced anomaly detection to spot unusual behavior in real time

• Velocity checks, IP intelligence, and geolocation controls

• Tokenization and PCI‑validated P2PE to secure card data end‑to‑end

Tokenization, in particular, demonstrates strong impact. Recent Visa data highlights how impactful tokenization has become for both security and payment performance. In 2025, Visa reported that network tokens delivered a 6% improvement in approval rates and a 30% reduction in fraud as adoption grew 44% year over year. Additional data shows tokenized payments helped prevent $650 million in fraud losses in a single year and can reduce fraud exposure by up to 60%. 

For ISVs, these layered controls translate to:

• Higher approval rates and fewer false declines

• Lower fraud exposure across channels

• Greater merchant trust in their software platform

• A stronger payments experience overall

By embedding modern fraud defenses directly into the payments workflow, ISVs can protect merchants while maintaining the seamless, high‑conversion experience today’s buyers expect – a balance that will increasingly define competitive differentiation in 2026.
 

Clarifying your strategy

ISVs that treat payments as a strategic growth engine, rather than a functional add‑on, will be rewarded in 2026. The software platforms gaining momentum are those unifying omnichannel acceptance, delivering practical embedded‑finance tools like working capital and disbursements, and strengthening fraud defense with modern, low‑friction controls. Together, these priorities help ISVs deepen merchant loyalty, improve operational efficiency and create new revenue opportunities in an increasingly competitive market.

If you’re exploring how to enhance your platform’s payments strategy in 2026, Fiserv can help.