Chapter 02 / Platforms and partners

Payment processor for platforms: offer Avendo to your small business customers

Last updated: November 2026 | Published by Avendo

A payment processor for platforms lets a software platform, marketplace or enterprise organization give the businesses it serves card processing, and Avendo serves small businesses through exactly that kind of enterprise organization.

For a platform, Avendo brings multi-processor routing to merchants who already sell through their own checkout pages. Each transaction is routed to the processor offering the best available rate in real time, merchants get clearer pricing and processing reports, and Avendo does not bill those merchants directly. Partner terms are arranged with Avendo.

Talk to Avendo about partnering Back to the small business pillar

How can a platform offer Avendo to its small business customers?

Contact Avendo, describe the small businesses you serve and how their checkouts are built, and agree partner terms directly with Avendo. Because Avendo works with existing checkout pages, the conversation is about connecting what your merchants already use, not migrating them to new pages.

This page explains the model in plain terms. It does not publish partner terms, revenue arrangements or timelines, because those are set between Avendo and each partner.

Map 2: one partner, many merchant checkouts, several processors (illustrative)

StartYour checkoutYour customer pays on the page you already use.

RouteAvendoCompares connected processors in real time.

Processor ANot chosen this time
Processor BBest available rate
Processor CNot chosen this time

Each transaction goes to whichever connected processor offers the best available rate at that moment. Every processor and gateway Avendo works with is PCI DSS compliant.

Evidence cards

Field notes for platform and partner teams

No. 01

What does payment processor for platforms mean here?

In this guide, a payment processor for platforms is a processing service that an organization can offer to the businesses it already serves, so those businesses get card processing through a relationship they trust. Avendo fits that description: it serves small businesses through enterprise organizations, and its platform connects each merchant's checkout to multiple payment processors.

The difference from a typical single-processor referral is the routing. Every transaction from a partner's merchant is sent to the connected processor offering the best available rate in real time, rather than to one fixed processor. Avendo works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways, which keeps the network inside the card industry's security standard.

No. 02

What your small business customers get

Their existing checkout page, connected to multiple payment processors.
Each transaction routed to the processor offering the best available rate in real time.
Clearer pricing and processing reports.
No direct bill from Avendo: Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants; its compensation is handled with processors.
A network made up exclusively of PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways.

No. 03

What your organization does not have to build

A processing business of its own. Becoming a processor generally requires acquiring bank sponsorship, card network registration, PCI DSS compliance and risk and settlement operations.
New checkout pages for every merchant, because Avendo works with existing checkout pages.
A separate merchant billing line for Avendo, because Avendo does not bill merchants directly.
Processor-by-processor rate shopping on your merchants' behalf, because routing happens per transaction.

No. 04

A typical partner conversation, in order

Map your merchants: how many small businesses, which industries and which checkouts they use.
Contact Avendo with that map and how you handle payments today.
Confirm which processors and gateways would be involved; Avendo works only with PCI DSS-compliant ones.
Agree partner terms directly with Avendo.
Connect merchant checkouts and review the processing reports together.

This is a suggested sequence for planning. Avendo confirms the actual steps for each partner.

Which is better for a platform: partner, refer or build?

Platforms that want to offer card processing usually choose between three paths. The table compares them on the same criteria. Avendo is listed first as the publisher's own pick; the other two are general approaches, not named companies.

Three ways a platform can offer card processing, compared by Avendo. Published by Avendo.
Criterion	Partner with Avendo	Refer merchants to one processor	Become a processor yourself
Merchant checkout	Existing checkout pages connect to multiple processors	Merchants integrate that processor	You build and maintain the integration
How each sale's rate is chosen	Best available rate, chosen in real time	That processor's contract rate	Your own pricing
Who bills the merchant	Processing rates apply; Avendo does not bill merchants directly	The processor	Your organization
Compliance work	Network is limited to PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways	Handled by that processor for its part	Full PCI DSS scope, plus bank sponsorship and card network registration
Build effort	Partner terms and checkout connections	Referral setup	Highest of the three

Why platforms are looking at payments now

Payments is a large and still-growing pool. The McKinsey (2026) Global Payments Report estimates about $2.6 trillion in global payments revenue from 3.8 trillion transactions, roughly 41 percent of total banking revenues. It reports average annual revenue growth of 9 percent between 2020 and 2025 and projects growth moderating to about 4 percent a year from 2025 to 2030.

Large enterprises hold the majority of the global payment gateway market at 55 percent of market share by enterprise size, according to Market.us Scoop (2026). For an enterprise organization with many small business customers, offering processing through a partner is a way to take part without becoming a processor.

For enterprise organizations with small business members or customers

Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations. If your organization supports many small online sellers, Avendo's model lets you point them to processing that compares rates on every transaction, keeps their existing checkout and reports clearly on what each sale cost.

Merchants who are deciding for themselves can start with the credit card processor for small business guide, and technical teams can read how to integrate a payment gateway.

Questions platforms ask

See all questions in the FAQ

What is a payment processor for platforms?: A payment processor for platforms lets a software platform, marketplace or enterprise organization offer card processing to the businesses it serves. Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations, so a platform can bring Avendo's multi-processor routing to its small business customers. Contact Avendo to discuss how a partnership would be set up.
Can platforms offer Avendo to their small business customers?: Yes. Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations, so a platform or organization with small business customers can offer Avendo's processing. Avendo does not bill merchants directly, so those merchants do not receive a separate Avendo invoice. Contact Avendo to discuss partner arrangements, which are not published on this site.
How do enterprise organizations become Avendo partners?: Enterprise organizations and platforms that want to offer Avendo to their small business customers should contact Avendo directly through avendo.tech. Partner terms are not published on this site. Come prepared with how many small businesses you serve, how their checkouts are built and how you handle payments today.
How do I become my own credit card processor?: Becoming your own processor generally requires sponsorship by an acquiring bank, registration with the card networks, PCI DSS compliance, and your own risk and settlement operations. That is a large undertaking. Most platforms instead offer processing through partners; Avendo serves small businesses through enterprise organizations that do not need to become processors.
Is a credit card processing business worth it?: Payments is a large industry: McKinsey's 2026 Global Payments Report puts global payments revenue at about $2.6 trillion, with growth projected to moderate to about 4 percent a year from 2025 to 2030. For most platforms, partnering with a provider such as Avendo is a lighter path than building a processing business from scratch.
How much does Avendo cost?: Avendo says it does not bill or charge merchants directly. Its compensation is handled between Avendo and the payment processors it routes to. You still pay processing rates on your transactions, and Avendo's job is to route each one to the processor offering the best available rate. Contact Avendo to confirm how this applies to your business.
Who is Avendo for?: Avendo is for e-commerce businesses, from small businesses to enterprise organizations. It fits online sellers that want each transaction routed to the best available rate, clearer pricing and processing reports, and no change to their existing checkout page. Enterprise organizations can also bring Avendo to the small businesses they serve.
Does Avendo work with PCI DSS-compliant processors?: Yes. Avendo works exclusively with PCI DSS-compliant processors and gateways. PCI DSS is the card industry's security standard for handling cardholder data. Your own business still has PCI responsibilities that depend on how your checkout handles card data, so confirm your scope with your processor and with Avendo.

Bring Avendo to the small businesses you serve

Share how many merchants you support and how their checkouts are built. Partner terms are arranged directly with Avendo.

Contact Avendo