There are too many players in your explanation. Normally there is just one player, the buyer. And I am not sure who the Provider is or what they do. Is the Provider the Contractor who does the installation?

This is he only company I have ever known where there is talk of an investor other than the buyer. The Buyer is buying the processor, they pay for it. If they want financing they go to a bank, which is part of their normal Corporate Finance process.

One other thing bout your post, the providers would not be "played off" against each other. There would be a formal Tendering process by which one of the Contractors would be awarded the work. playing off contractors against each other is not good business practise. A tendering process is supposed to be competitive but also designed to ensure that all participants make money.