UK-based Cardstream Group has launched Flowes, the new brand under which it is taking its white-label Payment Facilitation-as-a-Service (PFaaS) offering to market. Cardstream announced the PayFac-as-a-Service offering in April 2023. Flowes is aimed at acquirers, platforms, payment service providers (PSPs), independent software vendors (ISVs), and independent sales organisations (ISOs), and its launch is supported by Discover Network, Diners Club International, and Equifax.
PayFac, marketplace, and merchant of record models
Flowes allows partners to build payment services under their own brand and commercial model while using existing infrastructure. It supports payment facilitator (PayFac), virtual PayFac, marketplace, and merchant of record models, and provides multi-acquirer connectivity as well as payment models beyond traditional card acceptance. According to the company, acquirers can activate new payment facilitators, marketplaces, and channel partners within days, while existing providers can re-platform without upfront capital costs.
New payment facilitators can onboard their own merchants within minutes and launch within days. Platforms, PSPs, ISVs, and ISOs can embed payment acceptance into their services, create additional revenue, and make more of their existing merchant relationships. Adam Sharpe, CEO of Flowes, said businesses increasingly want to own the customer experience and commercial relationship around payments without building the entire payments stack themselves.
Platforms reshape payments distribution
Jamie Heath, VP of Global Acceptance at Discover Network, said embedded payments for platforms is a fast-growing opportunity because businesses want more control over their customers' payment experience and the wider payments process. He added that the payments space is changing quickly and that Flowes offers businesses more control over how they manage payments for their merchants.
Dan Carr, Principal at Flagship Advisory Partners, said embedded payments are changing how payments are distributed in Europe, as software platforms increasingly influence how merchants buy payment services. He added that many payment providers were built to serve merchants directly rather than to give platforms the onboarding, pricing, funds flow, and risk management tools they need. Alongside the launch, Flowes has published a white paper titled Own the Experience, Not the Complexity.
