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Forward

Also a provider — view Forward’s profile →

“Can a vertical-SaaS-native PFAC platform beat Stripe Connect by owning the whole facilitation model with transparent economics and license portability?”

Founded2023
HQAustin, Texas, USA
FoundersBrandon Lloyd, Derek Victory
Total raised$16M
Latest roundSeed, 2024
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story

Founded 2023-2024 by Brandon Lloyd (ex-Bypass CEO, sold to Fiserv 2020) and a team of ex-SaaS/payments operators after seeing that vertical SaaS platforms were losing most of their payments upside to processors like Stripe. Forward's thesis: build a payment-facilitation platform explicitly for software companies — offering a Managed PFAC (Forward holds the license), a pathway to becoming a registered PFAC on the same tech (Rails), and layered growth/insurance services (Maximize, Protect). Positioned as the anti-lock-in alternative to Stripe Connect and legacy PFAC providers.

Last 12 months
2024-05
2024-09
Product timeline
2024
Company launched with $16M seed round to offer PFAC-as-a-Service to SaaS platforms· pivot
2024
Announced partnership with Cross River Bank for Payouts-as-a-Service· banking
2026
Product suite formalized across Managed PFAC, Rails, Maximize, Protect tiers· pivot
The stack
6 layers disclosed in Forward’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
CardConnectCross River BankGrailPayForward (self-operated PFAC)
Money movement
in the full report
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Open banking
in the full report
KYC
in the full report
Fraud
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
11 more providers across 5 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.

Forward — frequently asked

What bank does Forward use?

Forward discloses Cross River Bank, Cross River and fiserv as its banking providers, according to the Embedded Finance Index 2026.

Is Forward a bank?

Forward does not disclose a bank charter of its own; its banking services are provided through Cross River Bank, Cross River and fiserv.

Who is Forward's payment processor?

Forward processes payments through CardConnect, Cross River Bank, GrailPay and Forward (self-operated PFAC). Disclosed money-movement rails: ACH.

Which KYC provider does Forward use?

Forward uses Socure, Baselayer, TrueBiz, Experian and Mastercard MATCH for KYC and identity verification.

Which open banking provider does Forward use?

Forward connects to bank accounts through Plaid.

What fraud prevention does Forward use?

Forward uses Taktile for fraud prevention.

What is Forward's embedded finance stack?

The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 6 layers in Forward's stack: Payments / PSP (CardConnect, Cross River Bank, GrailPay and Forward (self-operated PFAC)); Money movement (ACH); Banking / BaaS (Cross River Bank, Cross River and fiserv); Open banking (Plaid); KYC (Socure, Baselayer, TrueBiz, Experian and 1 other); Fraud (Taktile).

Who founded Forward?

Forward was founded by Brandon Lloyd and Derek Victory and is founded in 2023, headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA.

How much funding has Forward raised?

Forward has raised $16M in total (latest round: Seed, 2024).

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