How to start a payments company: a plain-English plan for first-time founders
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
Every business needs to get paid, and many are unhappy with the provider they have. A payments company that serves one kind of business better than the big names can win customers fast. Here is how to start one without building the technology yourself.
Pick the businesses you'll serve
- Choose one group: salons, tradespeople, market traders, clubs, landlords or schools.
- Ask ten of them how they get paid today and what annoys them about it.
- Write down the one thing you'll do better: faster payouts, simpler links, fairer fees.
Decide how payments will work
You don't need your own merchant licence to begin. A platform whose payments are powered by licensed partners lets your businesses sign up and take payments by link, invoice or subscription under your brand, while the partner handles the regulated side.
Registration
What you need depends on your country and on whether you hold or move customer money yourself. We introduce you to specialists who handle it, free, and tell you before you pay which rules apply.
Set your prices
Most payments companies charge a percentage and a small fixed fee per payment, or a monthly plan. Keep it simple, and make sure you can explain it in one sentence.
Win your first ten customers
Go back to the businesses you interviewed. Offer to set them up yourself and stay on call in the first week. Ten happy customers in one trade bring the next ten.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What does the platform cost?
The white-label banking app cost guide lists every platform price and what each includes.
White-label banking app cost →Is there a step-by-step checklist?
Yes. The free launch checklist takes you from naming your app to winning your first ten customers.
Digital bank app launch checklist →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.