Clearent
Established ISV payment partner now operating as Xplor Pay with expanded embedded payment capabilities.
Overview
Clearent built its reputation as an ISV-focused payment processor with transparent interchange-plus pricing and dedicated partner support. Now rebranded as Xplor Pay, the platform combines Clearent's ISV payment expertise with broader embedded payment infrastructure, merchant onboarding, and revenue sharing tools.
For the latest on Clearent's ISV capabilities, documentation, and partner programs, visit xplortechnologies.com/us/products/xplor-pay.
Pricing
Interchange-plus with ISV revenue sharing
Interchange-plus pricing with revenue share on merchant processing volume. ISV partners earn recurring revenue from their merchant portfolio. No setup fees for ISV integrations.
Full pricing breakdown →Pros
- ✓ Deep ISV payment expertise built over years of partnership focus
- ✓ Transparent interchange-plus pricing with clear margin visibility
- ✓ Revenue sharing model aligned with ISV business goals
- ✓ Strong merchant onboarding and support infrastructure
Cons
- ✗ Brand transition from Clearent to Xplor Pay may cause merchant confusion
- ✗ Technology platform modernization ongoing during rebrand
- ✗ International capabilities still expanding compared to global processors
ISV Fit
Strong for ISVs already in the Clearent ecosystem or evaluating Xplor Pay. The combined platform offers ISV-first economics with an expanding technology stack. Existing Clearent ISV partners benefit from continuity during the transition.
Note: Clearent has rebranded to Xplor Pay. This review reflects the combined capabilities of the Clearent/Xplor Pay platform.
Clearent Review: An ISV’s Perspective
This review evaluates Clearent specifically from the ISV and SaaS platform perspective. While many reviews focus on small business or e-commerce use cases, ISVs have fundamentally different requirements: embedded payment facilitation, sub-merchant onboarding, revenue sharing, and white-label capabilities.
What ISVs Should Know About Clearent
Clearent scores 4.3/5 in our ISV-focused evaluation. The rating reflects the platform’s capabilities for embedded payments, not general payment processing. A provider can be excellent for direct merchants but mediocre for ISV integration — and vice versa.
For ISVs, the key evaluation criteria are:
- Merchant onboarding speed: How quickly can your software’s users start accepting payments? Minutes vs. days matters for activation rates.
- Revenue sharing model: What percentage of each transaction does your ISV earn? This directly impacts your payment revenue line.
- White-label capabilities: Does the payment experience carry your brand or the processor’s? This affects merchant perception and switching costs.
- API quality and documentation: ISV developers need clean APIs, comprehensive docs, and responsive sandbox environments.
- Compliance burden: How much of the PCI, KYC/KYB, and regulatory compliance does the platform handle vs. leaving to the ISV?
Who Should Consider Clearent
Clearent fits certain ISV profiles better than others. The platform’s strengths align with specific vertical markets, transaction volumes, and integration depth requirements. ISVs should evaluate Clearent alongside 2-3 alternatives using a structured scorecard that weights ISV-specific capabilities higher than general payment features.
The Bottom Line
No payment platform is perfect for every ISV. Clearent has clear strengths and weaknesses that make it ideal for some integration patterns and less suitable for others. The right choice depends on your specific vertical, merchant profile, transaction volumes, and how much control you want over the payment experience.