Payroc Blog

Driving Growth for Health and Wellness ISVs in 2025: The Role of Seamless Payment Integration

Written by Todd Bellino | Feb 24, 2025 11:22:19 PM

The health and wellness market is, well, healthier than ever, projected to reach an estimated 9 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide by 2028, according to Statista. Consumers are increasingly prioritizing their physical and mental well-being—and they’re willing to spend a great deal of time and money to feel better, manage chronic diseases, and prevent illness.

 

Of course, ISVs engaged in software development for health and wellness ventures are an integral part of this trend. If you’re developing applications for either bricks-and-mortar-based health businesses such as gyms, yoga or dance studios, martial arts schools, or boutique fitness clubs, OR remote or app-based services like corporate wellness programs, lifestyle coaching, nutrition planning, and much more, it’s essential for you to consider your integrated payments partner one of the most important keys to the applications’ success.

 

Now more than ever, ISVs must deliver seamless, flexible, and secure payment integrations to drive revenue growth, improve member retention, and enhance user experience. While most ISVs already have a payments integration, optimization is the key to unlocking new revenue streams and scaling software for long-term profitability.  

 

Payroc is a strategic payments partner empowering health and wellness ISVs with next-level payment solutions that improve the customer experience and drive business growth. We welcome you to this discussion of the outsized role of integrated payments optimization in health and wellness application viability and long-term success.

 

Why Payments Are Critical to ISV Growth  

Too many ISVs view payments as a background function that simply processes transactions. This is a common misconception—one that hampers growth and leaves profit on the table.

The reality is that payments are keystone processes that are constantly evolving. Failing to optimize at launch and continue optimizing moving forward often leads to lost revenue, customer churn, and operational inefficiencies. 

 

  • Shifting Consumer Expectations: Today’s consumers want choices, convenience, and speed. Mobile wallets, contactless payments, and alternative payment methods are becoming standard.

In the health and wellness space, many consumers are able to use Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) to pay for eligible wellness and wellness expenses.ISVs that integrate HSA/FSA payment acceptance help gyms, studios, and other wellness businesses capture additional revenue while offering members more (and more cost-effective) ways to pay. Ensuring compliance with HSA/FSA regulations and integrating these payment types sets ISVs apart in a competitive wellness tech landscape. 

 

Likewise, ACH—recurring or single transaction—is the preferred payment option for many customers with monthly membership or subscription fees. Your integrated payments tool must not only accommodate ACH but handle it seamlessly and equally among payment methods.

 

When it comes to mobile wallets, consumers increasingly expect merchants to accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other NFC-based mobile payments for all purchases. About 50% of Americans now use digital wallets—a number that rises to over 80% for Gen Z customers. Payroc provides mass enablement for Apple Pay, automating the merchant registration process and making this an excellent payment option for all parties.

 

Equally important, omnichannel payments are no longer a nicety but a necessity because customers expect their stored account payment information to work seamlessly regardless of where in the app, on the website, in the social media account, or in the physical storefront they happen to be. Robust tokenization and a comprehensive payments-type menu are essential. Many ISVs lack a truly unified payment solution, leading to friction and inconsistencies in how customers pay, which in turn causes dissatisfaction and attrition.

 

  • Changing Models: Industry revenue models are changing. More sophisticated payment flows, including automated split funding, are needed to handle multi-party transactions. Let’s say you’re developing an application for a regional chain of gyms that pays personal trainers a percentage of the fee for each training session. Your integrated payment tool should automatically apportion deposits by sale SKU into any number of pertinent accounts, reducing operational headaches.

  • Payments as a Growth Strategy: If you’ve ever used an app or website with a clumsy payment handoff, you know that friction in the payment process directly impacts customer experience and retention. After all, the customer is king, and frustrating payment experiences can lead to attrition, even when the bulk of the business’s service delivery is good. ISVs that optimize payments can differentiate their software and improve user adoption.

Keep in mind that what worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. The payments landscape is evolving rapidly. New pricing models, alternative payment methods, and embedded finance are reshaping expectations. Competitors that offer more seamless, flexible, and modern payment options gain a significant advantage.

 

 

How ISVs Can Optimize Their Payment Integrations  

For health and wellness ISVs, a well-optimized payment strategy can enhance member retention, streamline operations, and create new revenue opportunities. Here’s are some ways in which payments should be a strategic priority: 

 

  • Frictionless Transactions = Higher Retention
    For health and wellness ventures, payment failures are a leading cause of membership churn. Automated billing, account updater services, which automatically refresh expired or replaced card details, and flexible payment options (recurring, pay-as-you-go, installment plans, and more) help ISVs keep payments seamless and customer-friendly. Subscription-based wellness models rely on robust recurring payment solutions, yet many ISVs struggle with declined transactions, outdated retry logic, and ineffective churn management. 
  • Mobile & Contactless Payments Are Expected
    Consumers now expect to be able to pay however they want to—via their smartphones, smartwatches, contactless cards, self-service kiosks, and even RFID wristbands for certain applications. On the horizon, we’re also looking toward biometric payments via facial recognition. If your integration doesn’t support all these payment methods seamlessly, your clients may be losing business. The upshot is that ISVs that enable mobile and contactless payments empower wellness businesses to meet evolving consumer expectations and thus maximize revenue. 

By optimizing payment integrations, ISVs can position themselves for long-term success—boosting retention, increasing revenue, and delivering a seamless user experience that keeps them ahead. 

 

Selecting the Right Payments Partner  

There are payments vendors, and then there are payments partners. The former may more or less get the job done, but only the latter will work closely with you to truly integrate and optimize payments both at launch and down the road, as the payments landscape evolves.

 

  • Scalability & Reliability
    Payments are mission-critical, and downtime directly impacts revenue and customer trust. A provider with 99.999+% uptime ensures that transactions are processed without disruption, even during peak usage periods. 

    As ISVs grow, their payments infrastructure must scale alongside them—supporting increased transaction volumes, new revenue models, and global expansion without compromising performance.Robust tokenization ensures swift and secure payments acceptance across locations, platforms, and channels.
  • Flexible Integration Models
    How would you prefer to integrate payments? Your payments partner should offer flexible options that suit your software and business model.
    • API Integration: Ideal for ISVs looking for a fully embedded experience, allowing you to control every aspect of the payment flow.

    • Cloud API: A modern, scalable solution that enables ISVs to integrate payments without managing local device dependencies. Cloud-based architecture supports remote device management, seamless software updates, and faster deployment of new payment features.

    • SDK-Based Integration: A streamlined way to add payments without the complexity of building everything from scratch.

    • Hosted Solutions: Secure, PCI-compliant hosted fields or hosted payment pages that simplify compliance while maintaining a seamless user experience.

    • Hybrid Approaches: No two ISVs are the same, which is why payment integration must be adaptable to different software environments. At Payroc, our payment integration specialists work with each unique ISV to develop a solution that balances customization and ease of implementation.

Regardless of integration type, ISVs should be looking for payment partners that deliver exceptional service and amenities.

 

  • Payments should be a revenue driver for ISVs, not just a service. A strong partner provides revenue-sharing models that allow ISVs to monetize payments.
  • Payroc supports referral, ISO, and managed Payfac models to align with different ISV needs.With Payroc Path, you have the best of both worlds. ISVs can bring their current payment processor to the payments integration, leveraging Payroc’s gateway while maintaining existing provider relationships.

  • The best payment partners offer Go-to-Market support, including co-marketing opportunities, sales enablement tools, market development funds, and strategies to drive adoption among end users.
  • Payments are complex. Having a provider with dedicated technical, operational, and sales support ensures ISVs can troubleshoot issues, optimize performance, and plan for future growth.

A Healthier Future Starts Now

We hope we’ve helped you consider some of the ways in which the right payments partner is integral to the success of your health and wellness applications. The bottom line is that done well, an optimized strategy can transform payments from a necessary function into a competitive advantage.

 

With more than 1,200 ISO and ISV partners, $100 billion in annual processing volume, and 1,100 employees, we are well-structured to work closely with you to achieve your goals on your current health and wellness project as well as projects to come.

 

Payroc is dedicated to partners. We support ISVs with innovative and proven solutions, programs, and strategies that fuel growth. We invite you to schedule a demo today.