Forward, a US-based startup offering payments as a product services for software companies, has raised a $16 million seed round.
The round was led by Commerce Ventures, Elefund, and Fiserv.
The startup says the financing will meet accelerating demand from software partners while applying artificial intelligence to the risk functions of payments.
"Most software companies get the technical part right, but fail to achieve their business goals," say founder and CEO Brandon Lloyd. "We believe many software companies who have 'integrated payments' should be generating greater revenue from these products, and Forward is here to help them do that."
For Fiserv, the investment matches its ambitions to move deeper into the embedded finance market, a strategic shift that was unveiled in October last year. In addition to providing financing and technology, Fiserv (NYSE: FI) is utilizing Forward capabilities to expand and enhance the payment services it provides ISVs, including managed PayFac services.
"With our expansion into the managed PayFac space we are making it even easier for our clients to access payment services and go to market faster," says Jon Halpern, SVP and head of ISV at Fiserv. "Fiserv and Forward are moving the industry into the future with a collective commitment to power the ISV experience."
Ten years ago, less than 10% of credit and debit card volume was integrated with software, and analysts at JPMorgan Chase are now forecasting software market share of payments to reach 50% of the US market by 2030.
"We want this seismic shift in the industry to benefit software companies,' says founder and CTO Derek Victory. "Payments should feel like an extension of their brand, not a disjointed hand-off."