Contrary to what many payment experts will say, there are a variety of ways to monetize payments with differing models, each with their own set of rules/regulations, risks, and rewards. Getting into payment processing and monetizing payment volumes is not a simple task; it is, however, a potentially a very profitable one.

Check out TSG's recent article The Merging of Software and Payments.

PE firms and the management at the software companies must consider a few key questions:

1. How much do you know about the payment’s ecosystem and the key players that function within it?
2. What in-house resources do you have available, or already dedicated to this initiative?
3. What current technological capabilities do you possess?
4. What is your risk appetite?
5. Do you plan to outsource any part of the operation?
6. Do you have the human capital/resources to support customer services, boarding, or chargeback processes?
7. Do you have the expertise/know-how to take on sales of payment services?
8. What will your pricing strategy look like?
9. Do you understand what the PCI impacts will be as you take on greater payments’ responsibility?