Understanding the Payments Layer Cake with Richie Serna

Historically, payments has been seen as a cost center, not a profit center. But today, ambitious software platforms are figuring out ways to generate more revenue by taking control of their payments stack. It starts by understanding how credit card and debit card processing fees work.

As a vertical software company that serves business focussed customers, you play a big part in how your customers serve their customers, and part of that is allowing them to accept payments through your software. Your platform needs to make accepting these payments easy and straightforward, for both your customers (the businesses using your software platform) and their customers (the end consumer). For example, if your software is designed for field services companies to manage their work, from quotes and scheduling through to invoicing and payment, integrating payments into your platform makes life easier for both the companies that use your software (the field services companies) and their customers who are paying for services through the platform. Integrated payments creates a seamless, white-labeled experience for the onboarding of your customers; allowing them to start accepting payments faster, and often with lower fees. The payment experience is also better for customers, as they’re not required to pay through a 3rd party website.