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Defyne Payments

“Can a payments ISO build a sticky, proprietary processing platform (Privvy) that captures software platform partners and merchants that larger processors underserve?”

Founded2017
HQUnited States
FoundersDuayne Haskett, Steve Palazzo
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments

The story

Founded in 2017, Defyne Payments operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization (ISO) under sponsor banks Pathward, N.A. and Esquire Bank, N.A., serving over 15,000 merchants and 200 ISOs/ISVs across the United States. The company differentiates through its proprietary Privvy payment platform, which provides API-based payment integration for enterprise software, POS, and eCommerce systems. Rather than competing directly with Stripe or Adyen, Defyne positions itself as a channel-partner-friendly ISO focused on merchant services, dual pricing/surcharge programs, and white-label processing for software platforms.

Last 12 months

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Product timeline

2017

Founded by Duayne Haskett and Steve Palazzo as a merchant services and payment processing ISO/ISV company.· pivot

2023

Launched Privvy, a proprietary payment processing platform offering PRIVVY Office and PRIVVY VT products with API access for ISOs and ISVs.· banking

The stack

3 layers disclosed in Defyne Payments’s embedded-finance stack

Payments / PSP

Defyne Payments / Privvy (self-operated)

Money movement

in the full report

Sponsor bank

in the full report

Accounting gap: none

2 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.