White-Label Payments Infrastructure Gains Favor With Merchants

When it comes to payment solutions, merchants today have a growing number of options. But all the options in the world don’t translate to business success, and the integration of innovative payment solutions into existing business models isn’t always as seamless as merchants might want.

“It is about monetizing payments in the best way possible,” Ben Griefer, COO at Maverick Payments, told PYMNTS.

From the perspective of sales organizations, such as independent software vendors (ISVs) and independent sales organizations (ISOs), the ability to swiftly onboard merchants is crucial for those merchants to be able to enhance their revenue streams while also enjoying reduced operational burdens.

“The ideal offering is a turnkey solution where neither merchants nor sales organizations deal with all the burdens of back-end processes like underwriting, risk management, compliance, technology development, dealing with sponsoring financial institutions. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes,” Griefer said.

“Going to market quickly without being overwhelmed by back-end operations is key,” he added.

After all, as payments become increasingly digital and embedded, handling the tech stack and managing the financial stakeholders powering solutions like merchant acquiring card processing, ACH processing, digital wallets, contactless near-field communication (NFC) options and more, can be a daunting prospect for the parties involved.

Advantages of White-Label Offerings

Against the backdrop of today’s payment offerings, and in the interest of giving revenue a shot in the arm through payments optimization, payment solution sales organizations are increasingly leveraging white-labeled payment offerings.

White-labeled payment processing platforms are essentially turnkey solutions that allow businesses to offer payment processing services under their own brand, without having to develop the technology. This model provides a seamless way for companies to integrate payment processing into their existing offerings, enhancing their value proposition and customer experience.

By turning to white-label offerings, both sales organizations and the merchants they sell to are able “to go to market and start monetizing payments very quickly. They don’t have to build anything. They don’t have to build out technology, infrastructure, operational staff,” Griefer said.

“The other thing is that the payments landscape is constantly changing, both from a technology perspective and then also from a compliance and regulatory perspective, and by turning to a turnkey solution, ISOs and ISVs don’t have to constantly stay relevant with payment gateway products, services, fraud management, chargeback management, API stacks, etc.,” he said.

White-labeled payment processing solutions, like those offered by Maverick, are designed to be highly scalable, accommodating the growth of businesses without the need for significant additional investment in payment infrastructure. This scalability ensures that companies can continue to provide reliable and efficient payment services as they expand, without compromising on quality or user experience.

This allows sales organizations to leverage their core competencies while the payment solution provider handles the back-end operations.

Targeting the Ideal Merchant Base by Anticipating Future Innovations

While building an in-house payment infrastructure may offer greater control over the merchant experience, it frequently entails significant costs and complexities. White labeling offers a turnkey solution that minimizes upfront investment and streamlines operations. However, Griefer noted that it’s essential to strike a balance between control and convenience, ensuring that the chosen approach aligns with the organization’s objectives and resources.

“The end user, the merchants, need more products and services to run their business,” he said, noting that the marketplace is becoming increasingly defined by “more and more crossover” between ISVs and ISOs.

“Everyone is trying to deliver the merchant a great solution of secure payment processing that’s cost effective and has tools and integrations built in, with third parties to help them run their business more efficiently,” Griefer said.

Looking ahead, he predicted a surge in innovative payment products and services, driven by advancements in technology and evolving market demands. This will include a broader array of financial products being offered, including post-purchase financing, banking-as-a-service solutions and enhanced fraud prevention tools. The evolution of the payments solution marketplace promises to empower merchants with greater flexibility and efficiency in managing their finances, ultimately driving business growth.

“Observing financial services as a whole, you’re going to see a massive expansion of the service providers that maybe 10 years ago were only offering merchant credit card processing. Now they’re offering checking accounts, money movement services, financing options. It’s going to turn into a robust stack of various products,” Griefer said.