At Fintech Meetup 2026, Teresa Biko, Head of Business Development for the U.S. at Aevi, addressed an issue that has plagued the financial services industry for years: the fragmentation of payments. Aevi highlights that the payments landscape is complicated by an array of specific acquirers, different hardware, local methods of payment, and varying regulations. This complexity is particularly frustrating for Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), who are often forced to rebuild pieces of their payment infrastructure every time they try to scale or enter a new market.
A major risk Aevi identifies is the resulting lack of flexibility, which severely limits an ISV’s growth potential. If a company is locked into a specific acquirer or device, their expansion is restricted by that vendor’s market reach and capabilities, which may not match the ISV’s global ambitions. The solution, according to Aevi, lies in establishing a true abstraction layer, or open orchestration, that completely separates the ISV from the underlying complexities of in-person payments.
This open orchestration approach fundamentally shifts the balance of power and by gaining independence from specific vendors, ISVs acquire significant control. This power can be leveraged in multiple ways, such as negotiating favorable pricing terms with both acquirers and hardware providers which is something that is often impossible under current, restrictive contracts. This newfound flexibility allows ISVs to dictate their own pace of growth and market entry. Aevi projects that this change will be transformative. Payments, which many ISVs currently view as a necessary evil will become a major strategic advantage and this efficiency and speed will allow them to scale and win in new markets much faster.
