Forward, a tech partner that enables SaaS companies to integrate and monetize payments, has successfully raised $16M in seed funding. This round was spearheaded by Commerce Ventures, Elefund, and Fiserv. The new capital will help Forward cater to the growing demand from software partners and leverage artificial intelligence to enhance payment risk functions, significantly improving both client and merchant experiences.

Founded by experienced software industry professionals, Forward collaborates with SaaS companies to boost their revenue by two to three times by incorporating payments as a service.

“Most software companies get the technical part right, but fail to achieve their business goals,” stated 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.”

Besides providing funding and technology, financial technology leader Fiserv is employing Forward's capabilities to expand and refine the payment services it offers 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,” said 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.”

“The Forward team has an incredible vision for the future of integrated payments, built a product that will re-define the category, and have empathy and passion for helping SaaS companies succeed in their payments journey,” noted Commerce founder and managing partner Dan Rosen.

A decade ago, less than 10% of credit and debit card volume was integrated with software. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase now project that the software market share of payments will reach 50% of the U.S. market by 2030.

“We want this seismic shift in the industry to benefit software companies,” said founder and CTO Derek Victory. “Payments should feel like an extension of their brand, not a disjointed hand-off.”