Integrated Payments: The Strategic Growth Engine Behind 44% of ISV Revenue

Independent software vendors (ISVs) are no longer treating payments as an add-on feature. According to a TSG study of 150 growth-oriented ISVs, integrated payments now account for an average of 44% of total revenue, with some ISVs generating 90% or more from payments alone. As ISVs evolve from basic integrations to full-scale monetization and portfolio management, partner choice effectively becomes part of product strategy. This whitepaper, developed by TSG with Fiserv, traces how payments became central to ISV growth, outlines the typical “payments maturity curve,” and details what ISVs value most in a payments partner—from developer experience and migration support to co-marketing, performance transparency, and scalable monetization models. It also highlights key trends reshaping the landscape, including multi-rail acceptance, embedded finance, and growing expectations for strategic partnership beyond simple transaction processing.