SaaS in Latin America: Nexforce Marketplace vs Cloud Marketplace

An ISV closes a US$100,000 contract with a company in Sao Paulo. The product works, the integration is ready, the client signs the terms. The payment never arrives. Not because the client will not pay. The invoice must be in reais, the client does not have approval to purchase in dollars on an international card, and the ISV has no entity in Brazil to issue a local invoice. The transaction stops at a bottleneck that is neither technical nor commercial. It is payment infrastructure and local compliance.

71% of corporate software in use in Brazil is imported, according to the ABES 2025 Brazilian Software Market study. The fastest growing segment, however, is global software trying to reach Latin American buyers through channels designed for other markets. The ISV (Independent Software Vendor, a software company that sells its product to other businesses) discovers, on the first attempt to close a contract in Latin America, that the bottleneck is not in the product.

The International ISV Dilemma in Latin America

The international ISV that wants to sell in Latin America faces a choice between two operating models, not between equivalent channels with different fees. The difference appears at every layer: under what contract the product is sold, in what currency payment arrives, whether the buyer can pay with local methods, and whether the ISV needs a fiscal entity in the region to operate.

Latin America represents a growing share of global cloud spending. Companies in the region accelerated their SaaS adoption, and demand for international enterprise software is real and documented. But the local payments market in the region is fragmented. This blocks deals. Credit card penetration in countries like Mexico and Colombia sits below 30%. PIX in Brazil, bank transfers in Argentina, and boletos process a volume of corporate transactions that the international card simply does not reach. The ISV that depends exclusively on USD invoicing through a cloud marketplace is selling to a fraction of the addressable market.

Nexforce offers the international ISV two paths to sell in Latin America. The first is to sell in the region using Nexforce's local infrastructure, with payment in local currency, a domestic invoice, and upfront settlement. The second is to sell through a cloud marketplace with Nexforce operating that path. This article compares the first model with the direct cloud marketplace route, which the ISV manages alone.

The Direct Route: The Cloud Marketplace and Its Bottlenecks

Publishing SaaS on a cloud marketplace (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) solves a real discovery problem: the corporate buyer who already consumes cloud infrastructure finds the product in the same environment where they approve budget. But the cloud marketplace does not solve the chain that follows the sale. For the international ISV selling into Latin America, that chain imposes five layers of friction that do not exist when the buyer is in the United States or Europe.

First, the listing and review cycles. Each marketplace has its own validation, security, and pricing process. A simple product might be approved in two weeks. A SaaS that handles financial or health data can take months. During that period, the ISV allocates engineering and compliance resources to meet each platform's requirements separately.

Second, the marketplace's contract and programs. The platform imposes its own contractual standard, its channel programs, and its pricing rules. The ISV that already has a mature standard contract and established programs discovers that it must operate under the marketplace's paper, not its own.

Third, the cloud commitment requirement. Several marketplaces condition participation on minimum infrastructure consumption from that same platform. For an ISV that only wants to distribute software, this requirement adds a cost unrelated to the product sold.

Fourth, the fiscal entity in the region. The marketplace settles sales to an account in the United States. To receive payment, the ISV needs a structure that accepts local currency and issues local invoices. The most common route is opening a subsidiary in each country or hiring a payments intermediary. Each alternative adds monthly fixed cost, local tax obligations, and accounting complexity that the ISV would not face in markets where it already operates directly.

Fifth, the limited payment methods. The cloud marketplace processes the sale in dollars on the buyer's international card. In Latin America, where PIX, boleto, and local transfers dominate corporate payments, this restriction excludes buyers who have budget in local currency and cannot or will not pay in dollars.

The Nexforce Route: Sell in Latin America without a Local Entity

Nexforce Marketplace is not a Latin American version of a cloud marketplace with lower fees. It is a distribution channel with a distinct proposition and architecture. The difference is in how each layer of friction from the direct route is eliminated.

The international ISV reaches buyers in Latin America using Nexforce's local infrastructure, without opening its own fiscal entity in the region. The ISV keeps its standard contract and its programs. Nexforce accepts the ISV's paper, not the other way around. There is no commitment to any specific cloud to transact. The list of benefits for the ISV has seven points, and each one responds to a specific layer of friction from the direct route.

1. The ISV's contract and programs are preserved. Nexforce works with the contractual standard and programs the ISV already has. The ISV's sales process does not change. It is not the ISV that adapts to the channel. It is the channel that adapts to the ISV.

2. Cloud independence. Transacting with Nexforce does not require infrastructure consumption from any specific cloud provider. The ISV sells its software without tying its distribution to an infrastructure platform.

3. Cheaper for the ISV and cheaper for the end buyer. These are two claims, not one. The ISV pays a per-transaction fee with no monthly fee, no listing fee, and no minimum deal size. The buyer pays in local currency with a domestic invoice, eliminating the layer of import taxes, FX spread, and local charges that increase the effective cost of software by approximately 53% on the direct route (~47.8% in taxes on the remittance plus ~5% FX spread). Through Nexforce Marketplace, this overhead drops to 38% (taxes and channel margin included). For buyers under the Lucro Real não cumulativo (non-cumulative actual-profit) regime, the PIS/COFINS credit reduces the effective cost to roughly 25%. Both sides win.

4. Local currency across all of Latin America, not just Brazil. The buyer pays in Argentine pesos, Mexican pesos, Colombian pesos, Peruvian soles, or reais. The ISV receives in its preferred currency without handling FX or opening an account in each country.

5. Reseller network. Nexforce has a network of channels and resellers in Latin America that the ISV can access without building its own regional sales force.

6. Software alliance. Nexforce generates savings on the prospect's or client's other software spend to make the ISV's deal viable. The lever is the buyer's total software account, not the discount the ISV can offer alone. This closes deals that the ISV's own discount could not reach.

7. Upfront payment for the ISV, installments for the buyer. Nexforce pays the ISV upfront and installments the buyer's payment up to 12 times. The ISV carries no receivable. The buyer receives terms that an international USD payment cannot offer.

Beyond these seven points, the ISV pays nothing to start. There is no entry cost, no minimum deal size, and no exclusivity requirement. Payment methods include PIX, boleto, card with installments, and local methods in each country in the region.

Tax compliance is domestic for the buyer. Nexforce issues the invoice in local currency. For the ISV, the operation is a simplified international sale, with receipt in its currency and no tax obligations in Latin America. ConectCar, an Itau unit, reduced its software costs by 10% after migrating to the Nexforce model. Softplan recorded 17% savings. Both are buyer-side examples, but they illustrate the effect of the same local cost structure on deal viability.

Side-by-Side Comparison

The international ISV's decision is not between two marketplace providers with different fees. It is between two operating models with radically distinct cost structures and reach. The first requires the ISV to adapt to the channel's contract, currency, and terms. The second adapts to the ISV's contract, currency, and terms.

The cost of the direct route is not in any single agent's fee. It is in the stacking of fees and in what the ISV fails to sell because the buyer cannot pay in the required format. In the Nexforce model, the layers of friction disappear because payment is local, the invoice is domestic, and the ISV does not need to replicate its structure for each country.

Note on tax reform: the scenario above reflects the regime in effect in 2026, including PIS/COFINS and ISS. Under LC 214/2025 (IBS/CBS), PIS/COFINS will be phased out in 2027 and ISS will be replaced between 2029 and 2033, which will change the composition of taxes on software and SaaS. The percentages stated here reflect the current framework.

When Each Model Makes Sense

The choice between the two models depends on three variables for the international ISV: the presence of Latin American buyers in the pipeline, the ISV's willingness to operate under a marketplace's contract, and the need for local payment methods to close deals.

1. ISV with a growing pipeline of buyers in Latin America but no entity in the region. This is the most common profile. The ISV already has demand from Brazilian, Mexican, or Colombian companies, but each sale requires different financial engineering. The Nexforce route eliminates the need to open an entity in each country and standardizes local-currency settlement. For this profile, the Nexforce channel converts pipeline into revenue without fixed infrastructure cost.

2. ISV that already operates on a cloud marketplace and wants to expand reach in Latin America. The ISV can maintain its cloud marketplace presence for discovery and sell through Nexforce for buyers who require local payment. The channels do not compete. They serve different buyer profiles. The marketplace reaches those who already buy in that environment. Nexforce reaches those who need a local invoice and domestic-currency payment.

3. ISV with a mature standard contract and established channel programs. The invisible cost of the cloud marketplace for this ISV is not the fee. It is giving up its own contractual model and operating under the platform's regime. Nexforce accepts the ISV's contract and programs, eliminating this adaptation cost.

4. ISV that wants to sell to governments or large enterprises in Latin America without opening a subsidiary. These buyers require a local invoice and, in several countries, payment in national currency. The Nexforce route meets this requirement without the ISV needing fiscal presence in the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to open a company in Latin America to sell through Nexforce Marketplace?

No. The international ISV sells using Nexforce's local infrastructure, without needing a subsidiary, branch, or any fiscal entity in the region. Nexforce issues the domestic invoice for the buyer and settles payment to the ISV in its preferred currency.

What is the difference between selling through Nexforce Marketplace and selling through a cloud marketplace?

They are two operating models. The cloud marketplace settles in USD, requires an entity abroad in many cases, imposes the platform's contract and programs, and limits payment methods to the international card. Nexforce Marketplace settles in local currency, requires no entity in the region, preserves the ISV's contract, and accepts PIX, boleto, card with installments, and local transfers. The ISV can use both channels simultaneously.

How much does it cost for the ISV to sell through Nexforce Marketplace?

There is no entry cost, listing fee, monthly fee, or minimum deal size. The ISV pays a fee on each completed transaction. There is no exclusivity. The ISV can list as many products as it wants and sell through other channels simultaneously.

How does the ISV receive payment?

Nexforce pays the ISV upfront in the vendor's preferred currency (USD, EUR, or BRL). The buyer pays in local currency, installment up to 12 times. The ISV carries no receivable and does not need to handle FX.

What is the total tax cost on direct SaaS imports? And how does it compare with the Nexforce Marketplace?

On direct SaaS imports via international remittance, the total tax burden on the software value is approximately 47.8%, made up of CIDE (10%), PIS/PASEP-Import (2.1%), COFINS-Import (9.65%), IOF (3.5% on FX transactions), ISS (2% to 5% depending on the municipality of the service taker), and IRRF (15% to 25% on remittances abroad when applicable, with potential offset). Adding the FX spread (~5%), the effective cost reaches roughly 53% over the original software value.

Through Nexforce Marketplace, with a domestic invoice in local currency, this burden drops to 38% (taxes and channel margin included). For buyers under the Lucro Real não cumulativo (non-cumulative actual-profit) income tax regime, the PIS/COFINS credit on the inbound invoice reduces the effective cost to approximately 25%.

Important: the tax reform enacted by LC 214/2025 (IBS/CBS) will phase out PIS/COFINS in 2027 and replace ISS between 2029 and 2033, changing the composition of taxes on software and SaaS. The percentages above reflect the current regime in effect in 2026.

References and Further Reading

• Nexforce Marketplace. Distribution channel for international ISVs to sell SaaS in Latin America without a local entity.
• Software Import Taxes: Complete Guide. Tax burden on software import remittances.
• Cloud Marketplace Procurement: Guide for LatAm Companies. The cloud marketplace environment from the corporate buyer's perspective.
• Contact Sales. Schedule a conversation to analyze your ISV's current distribution cost in Latin America.
• ABES. Brazilian Software Market 2025. 71% of corporate software in Brazil is imported.
• SC Cosit 191/2017. Fiscal classification of SaaS as a technical service by the Brazilian Federal Revenue.
• Law 10.168/2000. Establishes CIDE on remittances abroad, with exemption under section 1-A for pure software licenses without technology transfer.