According to PYMNTS.com, Maverick Payments Vice President of Product Justin Downey revealed that merchants, ISVs, ISOs and financial institutions are fundamentally changing how they interact in the payments ecosystem. Instead of competing for the same client acquisition opportunities, these players are increasingly recognizing the value of collaboration and specialization. Each stakeholder brings distinct priorities to the table – ISVs want embedded payments and API access, ISOs need sales tools and portfolio management, while FIs focus on compliance and risk. The key to making this work is creating governance structures that align partners around shared revenue goals while giving everyone access to real-time data. Maverick’s approach involves providing a white label platform that sits in front of legacy systems and handles compliance so partners can focus on their expertise. Looking ahead, Downey sees the industry shifting from card-present versus card-not-present transactions to human-present versus non-human-present scenarios driven by AI.
The Ecosystem Evolution
Here’s the thing about payment ecosystems – they used to be messy. Everyone was stepping on each other’s toes, trying to do everything themselves. ISVs wanted to handle payments, ISOs wanted to build software, financial institutions wanted to control the whole stack. It was inefficient and frankly, kind of chaotic.
But now? There’s a recognition that specialization actually creates more value for everyone. Think about it – when each player focuses on what they’re genuinely good at, the entire system gets better. The ISV builds amazing software, the ISO excels at merchant acquisition, and the financial institution handles the complex compliance stuff. That’s where platforms like Maverick’s come in – they provide the glue that holds these specialized pieces together.
Data Is The New Oil
Downey nailed it when he said “information is power.” Every stakeholder wants real-time data now, and that’s completely reshaping how platforms get designed. ISVs need deep reporting baked into their workflows. ISOs require flexible tools to board merchants quickly. Financial institutions demand robust risk management.
What’s interesting is how this data appetite creates both tension and opportunity. Everyone wants access, but they also want control. The platforms that succeed will be the ones that provide shared visibility without compromising security. Maverick’s dynamic risk scoring example shows how this works in practice – good transactions flow through while fraud gets stopped, all without slowing down legitimate business.
The Human Element
Now, here’s where it gets really interesting. Downey pointed out that cultural differences often block collaboration. You might have a super technical partner who lacks industry experience working with a sales-heavy organization that doesn’t understand the tech constraints. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right?
But when managed correctly, that diversity becomes a massive advantage. The technical team learns about real-world business needs, while the sales team understands what’s actually possible technically. It’s about creating structures where these differences become complementary rather than conflicting. Basically, you need clear rules of engagement so everyone stays aligned on the shared goal – making money together.
AI Changes Everything
The shift to AI and automation is going to rewrite the rulebook entirely. We’re moving beyond simple card-present versus card-not-present thinking into much more complex territory. Human-present versus non-human-present? That’s a fundamentally different way of looking at transactions.
Agentic AI will require completely new approaches to detection, authorization, and monitoring. The mission stays the same – let good payments through, stop the bad ones – but the methods have to evolve. And honestly, this is where having a collaborative ecosystem becomes absolutely critical. No single player can tackle AI-driven fraud alone. It’s going to take shared intelligence across the entire payment chain.
So where does this leave us? The payments industry is finally growing up. Competition is giving way to collaboration, specialization is replacing duplication, and shared infrastructure is becoming the norm. It’s about time, really. The companies that embrace this ecosystem approach will be the ones that thrive in the AI-driven future.
