Overview
Executive Overview
Fortis (formerly FortisPay) is a leading provider of integrated commerce technology and payment processing services. Founded with the mission to simplify the complex world of payments, the company has evolved into a comprehensive fintech powerhouse that serves as the "backbone" for thousands of businesses across North America. Fortis specializes in providing the infrastructure necessary for software developers, VARs (Value-Added Resellers), and ISOs (Independent Sales Organizations) to embed payment capabilities directly into their platforms.
The company’s core offering revolves around a unified commerce platform that supports a wide array of payment methods, including credit and debit cards, ACH, and contactless payments. Fortis primarily serves mid-market and enterprise-level organizations in specialized verticals such as healthcare, specialty retail, hospitality, and professional services. Their solutions are designed to handle the nuances of these industries, such as complex insurance co-pays in healthcare or recurring billing in service industries.
Throughout its history, Fortis has grown both organically and through strategic acquisitions, expanding its technical capabilities and market reach. Today, they are recognized for their ability to manage the entire payment lifecycle—from secure transaction processing and automated reconciliation to comprehensive reporting and analytics. Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Fortis continues to invest heavily in its technology stack to ensure it remains at the forefront of the rapidly evolving integrated payments landscape, focusing on security, scalability, and ease of integration.
Company Differentiation
Fortis distinguishes itself through a "people-first" business model that prioritizes high-touch service in an industry often dominated by faceless, automated support. Their organizational philosophy is built on the belief that payment technology should be a catalyst for business growth, not just a utility. This is reflected in their proactive approach to customer success, where they assign dedicated relationship managers and technical experts to work alongside clients, ensuring that payment workflows are optimized for specific operational needs.
Culturally, Fortis operates with an entrepreneurial mindset, valuing agility and responsiveness. Unlike massive legacy processors, Fortis maintains a flat organizational structure that allows them to pivot quickly to meet market demands or custom client requests. Their business model is uniquely centered on the "Commerce Alliance" concept—building deep, mutually beneficial partnerships with software developers and ERP providers. By focusing on the success of the software partner as much as the end merchant, Fortis creates a collaborative ecosystem that goes beyond the traditional vendor-client relationship. This commitment to transparency, ethical pricing, and long-term partnership stability sets them apart as a trusted advisor in the financial technology space.
Company Demographics
Product Offerings
- Fortis Platform: The core cloud-based command center for managing transactions, users, and reporting.
- Fortis Go: A mobile commerce solution for businesses that need to accept payments on the move.
- Embedded Payments (ISV): A specialized suite for software developers to integrate, monetize, and scale payment capabilities within their own software products.
- ERP Experience: A set of purpose-built integrations for major accounting and ERP platforms like Sage, Acumatica, and Microsoft Dynamics.
- Virtual Terminal: A browser-based interface for keying in mail-order or telephone-order (MOTO) transactions securely.
Product Differentiation
The Fortis product suite is engineered for deep integration and flexibility, centered around a proprietary platform that unifies disparate payment channels into a single, cohesive interface. A primary technical advantage is their "Lead with API" philosophy; their developer-friendly architecture allows software providers to embed sophisticated payment capabilities—including credit, debit, ACH, and gift cards—directly into their existing workflows with minimal friction. This reduces technical debt for partners and ensures a consistent user experience.
Key product differentiators include:
* **Omnichannel Versatility:** Unlike many competitors that struggle to bridge the gap between card-present and card-not-present environments, Fortis provides a truly unified ledger and reporting system for retail, mobile, and e-commerce transactions.
* **Advanced Security and Compliance:** Fortis integrates robust security features such as point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and tokenization, which offload PCI compliance burdens from the merchant and the software provider.
* **ERP and CRM Integration:** They offer pre-built connectors and deep integration capabilities for major business systems, allowing for automated reconciliation and reduced manual data entry.
* **Customizable Merchant Onboarding:** Their platform features streamlined, white-labelable onboarding tools that allow software partners to sign up new users quickly, enhancing the overall value proposition of the partner's software.
By focusing on the intersection of payments and business logic, Fortis products do more than move money; they provide the data and connectivity necessary for businesses to scale efficiently.
