#Payments is a trojan horse to more profitable exits for SaaS companies but I think the most important aspect of the payments value add that often gets overlooked is data ownership.
It is not a “nice to have” in payments, yet it is often treated as such. If you just want to take a payment, there are dozens of vendors who will happily help. But almost none provide you with the merchant KYB/KYC onboarding data in addition to processing data. Instead you have to fight for it and pay expensive bills once you need it.
On the other hand, if you have this data, you have options.
You have the option to renegotiate your agreement with your current payments provider.
You have the option to move your processing volume to another provider.
You have the option to combine your processing volume with the acquiring company’s existing volume for better rates and terms.
This optionality that comes with it is a huge multiplier for your exit valuation.
It’s your data, your control, your future 💰. Make sure you don’t overlook this.