Expanding into the U.S. can look like a simple growth decision on paper. For an ISV, though, the reality is a lot messier. New customer expectations, different payment preferences, more demanding support requirements, and a much more complex payments ecosystem can quickly turn “launch in a new market” into a much bigger product and operations project.

In this episode of Cents Chat, Kitty and Chris are joined by Navneet Rastogi, Founder of Illumine, and AB, Director of Global Revenue and Partnership. Illumine has already built a global footprint serving early-years businesses, and their experience entering the U.S. offers a practical look at what changes when a successful international software company has to adapt its payments strategy for the American market.

The conversation covers how U.S. expansion pushed Illumine to think more deeply about the payments experience inside its platform, from reporting and reconciliation to support, disputes, and partner selection. They also dig into what ISVs should really be evaluating when choosing a U.S. payments partner, including technical maturity, scalability, service levels, documentation, economics, and whether that partner can grow alongside the product rather than becoming the thing that slows it down.

At the center of the discussion is a simple idea: expanding into the U.S. isn't just about finding a company that can process transactions. It's about deciding how much of the payments experience your platform wants to own, how much responsibility comes with that decision, and whether the infrastructure underneath your product is actually ready for where you're trying to go.