Compare payment partners on merchant fit, integration work, support, commercial terms, and exit planning.
Compare the same use case
Pick a representative merchant segment and payment journey before comparing proposals. A provider that fits monthly B2B subscriptions may not fit a platform collecting for regulated merchants. Record answers for the specific entity, geography, and activity you plan to support.
Merchant fit and onboarding
Ask: Which activities and locations are supported? Who underwrites each merchant? What information is required? Who handles exceptions? What distinguishes payments enabled from payouts enabled? Record limitations alongside each yes answer, and mark unconfirmed items as open.
Integration and operations
Ask: Which gateway and payment methods are included? Who owns the vault? How are recurring payments, partial refunds, disputes, and settlement reports handled? What test environment and escalation process are available? Include estimated engineering and support work in your comparison.
Commercial terms
Ask: What are the full processing and platform fees? What deductions define revenue share? What reserve or funding terms may apply? Who bears which losses? When are revenues paid? Compare the actual written terms rather than a headline rate or a sample illustration.
Portability and exit
Ask: Can customer payment data migrate, under what process, and at what cost? What happens to subscriptions, refunds, disputes, and earned revenue after termination? Identify obligations that continue after the relationship ends. A documented exit plan is useful even when you intend to stay.
Use a simple decision record
For each question, keep columns for Provider A, Provider B, evidence or contract reference, and the person responsible for follow-up. Bring the unresolved questions to MIDsource to discuss additional processing options. Resolve must-have requirements before scoring nice-to-have features.
Tell us about your software, your customers, and your current payment setup.
Discuss your ISV payment optionsSources and further reading
Provider examples illustrate specific policies and implementation patterns; confirm the requirements of your selected provider.