Fintech partner programs pay you for introducing businesses to payments, business banking, lending, expense management, payroll and similar financial products. Payment is usually a one-time referral fee, a share of the revenue the provider earns from your clients' transaction volume, or a mix of both. Because earnings track client activity and the sector is regulated, the best programs combine clear revenue-share rules with careful compliance and strong onboarding for the businesses you refer.
Open financial partner programs
These listings come from the PartnersWatch directory's financial category. Terms are taken from each listing; check the current details on the provider's program page.
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every | Referral partner, Affiliate, Agency | Referral fee per active customer (amount not stated) | Flat fee / bounty |
| Dext | Affiliate, Referral partner | 50%+ of the first 6 months of revenue (about GBP 70-500 per referral) | Revenue share |
| Datarails | Referral partner, Affiliate | $500 per qualified opportunity plus $5,000 per closed deal | Flat fee / bounty |
| Aspire | Referral partner, Affiliate | Referral revenue per referred customer | — |
| Authorize.net | Reseller, Integrator / MSP, Referral partner | Commissions on reseller sales (rates not published) | — |
| Wave | Affiliate | Commission per new signup (rate not stated) | One-time |
| Brex | Referral partner, Integrator / MSP | On request | — |
| TradingView | Affiliate | Fixed rate per subscriber, e.g. $60 annual on Essential up to $400 annual on Ultimate | Flat fee / bounty |
| Trezor | Affiliate | Up to 15% of net order value | One-time |
| Crypto.com | Affiliate | Up to 50% revenue share on referred users' activity | Revenue share |
| Revolut | Affiliate | Commission per credited customer (rates shared on signup) | One-time |
| Tide | Referral partner, Affiliate | Referral commission (amount not published) | One-time |
Financial referral programs:
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every | Referral partner, Affiliate, Agency | Referral fee per active customer (amount not stated) | Flat fee / bounty |
| Dext | Affiliate, Referral partner | 50%+ of the first 6 months of revenue (about GBP 70-500 per referral) | Revenue share |
| Datarails | Referral partner, Affiliate | $500 per qualified opportunity plus $5,000 per closed deal | Flat fee / bounty |
| Aspire | Referral partner, Affiliate | Referral revenue per referred customer | — |
| Authorize.net | Reseller, Integrator / MSP, Referral partner | Commissions on reseller sales (rates not published) | — |
| Brex | Referral partner, Integrator / MSP | On request | — |
| Tide | Referral partner, Affiliate | Referral commission (amount not published) | One-time |
| Mollie | Agency, Referral partner | Referral bonuses plus seasonal campaign rewards (amounts not published) | One-time |
| Razorpay | Referral partner, Agency, Integrator / MSP | Fixed partner commission on clients' Razorpay transactions | Revenue share |
| SumUp | Referral partner, Reseller, Integrator / MSP | Commissions on referrals and sales; affiliates paid per approved order; resellers get scalable commissions and hardware discounts | One-time |
Revenue-share financial programs:
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dext | Affiliate, Referral partner | 50%+ of the first 6 months of revenue (about GBP 70-500 per referral) | Revenue share |
| Crypto.com | Affiliate | Up to 50% revenue share on referred users' activity | Revenue share |
| Razorpay | Referral partner, Agency, Integrator / MSP | Fixed partner commission on clients' Razorpay transactions | Revenue share |
| Payoneer | Referral partner, Affiliate, Integrator / MSP | Commissions based on referred clients' activity; milestone bonuses (Silver/Gold); custom revenue share (Platinum) | Revenue share |
Integrator programs for software platforms embedding financial products:
| Program | Partner types | Terms | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authorize.net | Reseller, Integrator / MSP, Referral partner | Commissions on reseller sales (rates not published) | — |
| Brex | Referral partner, Integrator / MSP | On request | — |
| Razorpay | Referral partner, Agency, Integrator / MSP | Fixed partner commission on clients' Razorpay transactions | Revenue share |
| SumUp | Referral partner, Reseller, Integrator / MSP | Commissions on referrals and sales; affiliates paid per approved order; resellers get scalable commissions and hardware discounts | One-time |
| Adyen | Integrator / MSP, Agency, Referral partner | On request | — |
| PayPal | Integrator / MSP, Referral partner | On request | — |
| Payoneer | Referral partner, Affiliate, Integrator / MSP | Commissions based on referred clients' activity; milestone bonuses (Silver/Gold); custom revenue share (Platinum) | Revenue share |
| Square | Integrator / MSP | On request | — |
Browse the full financial category, or the integrator and agent program types.
Types of fintech partner programs
Payments and merchant services
Card processing, online checkouts, point-of-sale hardware, invoicing and payment links. Partners refer merchants and often earn a share of processing revenue.
Business banking and accounts
Business current accounts, multi-currency accounts, cards and treasury tools. Usually a referral fee per qualified account, sometimes with activity conditions.
Lending and financing
Working capital loans, revenue-based financing, invoice finance, equipment finance. Often a fee based on funded amount. Lending is closely regulated, and in many jurisdictions introducing borrowers to lenders is itself a regulated activity, so check before you promote.
Spend, payroll and accounting
Expense management, corporate cards, payroll and accounting platforms. These frequently look like SaaS programs with recurring commission; see recurring commission affiliate programs.
Embedded finance for software platforms
Software companies can embed payments, cards or lending into their own product and share in the revenue. This is a deeper technical partnership, often run as an integrator or platform program.
How fintech partners are paid
| Model | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| One-time referral fee | Fixed amount when a referred business qualifies | Publishers, advisers making occasional introductions |
| Revenue share on volume | Percentage of the provider's revenue from your clients' transactions | Partners with active merchant clients |
| Basis-point share | A small share of the processed amount itself | Platforms and high-volume referrers |
| Funded-amount fee | Percentage of a loan or financing amount | Brokers and advisers, where permitted |
| Residuals | Ongoing monthly payments on a merchant portfolio | Independent sales agents and ISOs |
| Platform revenue share | Share of payments revenue from users of your software | Software companies embedding payments |
Why revenue share behaves differently
Subscription commissions depend on a price list. Payments revenue share depends on your clients' behaviour: how much they process, their card mix, refunds and chargebacks, and the pricing they negotiated. A few large merchants can dominate your income, and seasonal businesses produce uneven months.
Ask exactly what your share is calculated on. "Revenue share" can mean a share of gross fees charged to the merchant, or a share of net revenue after the provider's costs such as card scheme and interchange fees. The difference can be large.
Qualification conditions
Referral fees for accounts or cards often require the business to complete verification, fund the account, or reach a transaction threshold within a set period. Read these conditions closely; a sign-up that never qualifies earns nothing.
Compliance and risk
Financial services carry obligations that most affiliate programs do not.
Regulated activities
In many jurisdictions, introducing clients to credit, investments or certain payment services can be regulated. Some providers require partners to be authorised or appointed representatives; others restrict what partners may say. Do not give financial advice unless you are permitted to.
Approved messaging
Providers often require partners to use approved descriptions of fees, rates and features, and to avoid promising approval or specific pricing. Follow these rules: misleading financial promotions can create legal exposure for you as well as the provider.
Disclosure
Disclose referral payments clearly. For advisers and accountants, this is often a professional requirement; see referral partner programs for consultants.
Merchant risk and chargebacks
Payments providers vet merchants. If you refer high-risk businesses that are later shut down or generate heavy chargebacks, expect lost revenue share and possibly removal from the program. Refer businesses that fit the provider's acceptable use policy.
Data handling
Never collect or forward card data or sensitive financial details yourself. Send clients to the provider's own onboarding flow.
How to evaluate a fintech partner program
- Fit with your clients. Payments providers differ by business type, country coverage, online versus in-person focus and pricing approach. Match the provider to your clients.
- Calculation basis. Gross or net revenue share, basis points, or fixed fee, and on which products.
- Duration. Lifetime of the merchant, fixed term, or until a volume cap.
- Qualification rules. What a referred business must do before you are paid.
- Onboarding quality. Slow or rejected onboarding loses you referrals and damages client trust. Ask about verification times and approval criteria for your client types.
- Reporting. Visibility into each client's volume and your share. Without it, revenue share is impossible to verify.
- Pricing transparency. You want your clients to get fair pricing. Hidden fees will come back to you as complaints.
- Support for your clients. Who do they call when a payout is delayed or a terminal fails?
- Termination and portability. Whether residuals continue if you leave, and what happens if the provider changes its program.
Getting started as a fintech partner
A sensible first step is to pick one or two products per client need rather than joining every program. For most partners that means:
- One payments provider that suits the majority of your clients' business types and countries.
- One business account or spend product for clients who need better banking or card controls.
- Financing options only if you are permitted to introduce credit in your jurisdiction.
Test each provider's onboarding yourself where possible, read the partner agreement in full, and set up a simple record of which clients you referred, when and with what consent. Revisit your choices every year, because pricing and coverage in financial services change regularly.
Payments partnerships for software companies
If you run a software product used by businesses that take payments, embedding payments can create a meaningful revenue stream. Common routes:
- Referral integration. You integrate with a provider and refer your users; the provider handles everything and shares revenue.
- Platform or marketplace model. You onboard users as connected accounts and take a platform fee on transactions, with the provider handling compliance and money movement.
- Payment facilitator model. You take on far more responsibility for underwriting and risk. This requires significant investment, compliance capability and usually regulatory approval.
Most software companies start with referral or platform models. Think about which model your users would trust, and how you will support them when payment problems arise.
Fintech compared with SaaS partner programs
Fintech and SaaS programs look similar on the surface, but behave differently:
| SaaS programs | Fintech programs | |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings driver | Subscription price | Client activity and volume |
| Predictability | Fairly stable | Can vary month to month |
| Regulation | Light | Can be significant |
| Qualification | Paid subscription | Verification, funding or volume thresholds |
| Client risk | Churn | Churn, plus account closures and chargebacks |
If your audience is mainly software buyers, start with our guide to the best SaaS affiliate programs. If you implement financial tools for clients, an agency partner program may offer more. The PartnersWatch directory lists referral, reseller and integrator options side by side.
FAQ
What is a fintech partner program?
It is a program that rewards partners for introducing businesses or users to financial products such as payments, banking, lending, payroll or expense management. Rewards are usually a referral fee, a share of revenue, or both.
How do payments referral programs pay?
Many pay a share of the revenue the provider earns from your referred merchants' transactions, sometimes alongside an upfront referral fee. Check whether the share is calculated on gross fees or net revenue after the provider's costs.
Do I need a licence to join a fintech partner program?
It depends on the product and your jurisdiction. Referring businesses to payments or banking is often unregulated for partners, but introducing borrowers to lenders or offering financial advice can be regulated, so check the rules and the provider's requirements.
Why do my payments revenue share earnings change each month?
Revenue share depends on your clients' transaction volume, card mix, refunds and seasonality. Earnings rise and fall with their activity, unlike fixed subscription commissions.
Can software companies earn from payments?
Yes. Software platforms can refer users to a payments provider or embed payments and take a share of transaction revenue. Deeper models such as acting as a payment facilitator carry much more compliance and risk responsibility.