Embedded payments transform software into a channel through which customers operate their businesses. By enabling customers to accept payments within the software, rather than directing them to an external payment processor, invoice software, or checkout page, the software becomes an integral part of the customer’s business processes.
Embedded payments offer various monetization opportunities for SaaS companies. However, processing payments involves a degree of operational responsibility. Beyond adding a payment button to the software, payment processing involves multiple operational areas, including onboarding, underwriting, user experience, fraud, disputes, VAMP monitoring, reconciliation, payouts, pricing, and payment risk.
Why SaaS Platforms Need Specialized Payment Processing Solutions
SaaS platforms require specialized payment-processing solutions because the nature of embedded payments changes the platform’s role. Where the SaaS company used to sell subscriptions to its users, it is also facilitating payments between those users and their customers.
The embedded payments market is massive. According to Stripe’s Embedded Payments Revenue, the value of the embedded payments market was almost $24 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach nearly $193 billion in 2032. This significant growth is driving vertical SaaS companies to investigate embedded payments for their software. However, it is also critical to investigate what specialized payment processing solutions will best suit these growing markets.
One specialized payment-processing solutions company that companies should investigate from the start of their SaaS platform design is VAMP. VAMP, Visa’s anti-fraud and dispute monitoring program, replaced two separate Visa programs for fraud and chargebacks. The VAMP ratio measures the total of fraudulent transactions and non-fraud disputes divided by the total of all Visa transactions settled. For SaaS companies that facilitate Visa transactions for their users, monitoring fraud and disputes is essential to provide a successful, stable subscription-based software platform for their customers.
Who Needs Embedded SaaS Payment Solutions
This guide is for:
- vertical SaaS platforms
- marketplaces and booking platforms
- field-service software companies
- healthcare, legal, fitness, home services and B2B SaaS platforms
- high-risk and regulated SaaS platforms
- SaaS companies adding payments for the first time
- software companies comparing SaaS merchant account options
- SaaS and marketplace companies choosing between referral, ISO, PayFac and embedded payment models
- product and finance teams looking to build payment monetization strategies for their SaaS products
- SaaS companies looking to increase customer retention through better payment experiences
Platforms that are deeply embedded in the customer’s revenue process will find these payment solutions of most interest. If the platform manages scheduling, invoices, customers, inventory, orders, memberships or service delivery, then embedded payments will greatly benefit your platform and customers.
SaaS Payment Processing Options Compared
Embedded payments can be structured in several ways. The best option depends on how much control the platform wants, how much risk it can manage, and how deeply payments need to be integrated into the product.
| Option | Best For | Main Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral or Reseller Model | SaaS platforms that want payment revenue without owning much risk | Faster to launch with less compliance burden | Less control over user experience and economics |
| ISO or Agent Model | Platforms with a sales motion around merchant services | More monetization potential than simple referrals | Still depends heavily on processing partners |
| PayFac-as-a-Service | Platforms that want embedded onboarding and payments without becoming a full PayFac | Strong balance of control, monetization and outsourced compliance | More involved than referral models |
| Full Payment Facilitator Model | Mature platforms with scale, risk teams and payment operations | Maximum control over onboarding, pricing and experience | Significant compliance, underwriting and operational responsibility |
| Merchant-of-Record Model | Platforms that want to sell or bill on behalf of users | Simplifies certain tax, payment and compliance workflows | Less direct merchant-control flexibility |
| SaaS Merchant Account + Gateway | SaaS companies processing their own subscription revenue | Strong fit for the platform’s own billing needs | Does not automatically enable payments for platform users |
For most SaaS platforms, the right path is gradual. A platform may start with referral or partner-led payments, then move toward embedded onboarding, payment monetization and more control once transaction volume and support capacity justify it.
Embedded Payment Providers for SaaS Platforms Compared
The best provider depends on whether the platform needs embedded onboarding, PayFac-as-a-Service, high-risk support, SaaS billing, gateway flexibility, or global payment infrastructure.
| Provider | Best Fit | Key Strength | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment Nerds | SaaS platforms that need payment strategy, merchant account services, high-risk support, ACH, cards and embedded payment guidance | Strong fit for platform payment planning, SaaS merchant account support, VAMP-aware monitoring, Verifi, Ethoca, 3DS, chargeback prevention and processor-fit strategy | More consultative than a self-serve developer platform |
| Stripe Connect | SaaS platforms and marketplaces that want developer-friendly embedded payments and money movement | Strong APIs, onboarding, connected accounts, global payouts and payment monetization options | Not a fit for every high-risk or restricted vertical |
| Worldpay for Platforms | SaaS providers that want embedded payments, PayFac-as-a-Service, or full PayFac support | Strong platform infrastructure, payment facilitation options and software-company focus | More complex than a simple merchant account |
| Adyen for Platforms | Larger platforms that want global payments, payouts and embedded financial products | Strong enterprise platform payments, data and financial product infrastructure | Best suited to platforms with scale and technical resources |
| NMI | ISVs, SaaS platforms and partners that want gateway flexibility and processor connectivity | Strong embedded payments enablement, broad processor connections and omnichannel tools | Requires the right acquiring and risk structure |
| Chargebee | SaaS companies focused on subscription billing and revenue operations | Strong billing, invoicing, pricing, subscription lifecycle and revenue tools | Billing platform, not a full high-risk acquiring solution by itself |
These are fit-based comparisons, not universal rankings. A vertical SaaS platform serving home services does not need the same payment model as a healthcare platform, a marketplace, a B2B invoicing tool, or a high-risk digital services platform.
Understanding VAMP for SaaS Platforms
VAMP is important for SaaS platforms due to the risks associated with embedding payments in the software. VAMP is Visa’s program that monitors for fraud and disputes. The VAMP ratio is the number of instances of fraud and disputes divided by the total number of settled transactions with Visa. Visa uses this ratio to identify fraudulent transactions and chargebacks for the merchants.
SaaS platforms must be able to monitor for groups of customers that create an excessive number of these issues. Visa uses the VAMP ratio (fraud and chargebacks divided by total transactions) to determine whether a company is placing excessive effort into fraudulent activity. Any ratio above .5% of fraud and chargebacks is considered above standard, and any ratio above 1% is considered excessive.
This same program also includes monitoring for enumeration attacks. Enumeration attacks involve bots attempting to use stolen credit card numbers at checkout on a web application. The enumeration attack ratio is the number of instances of enumeration attacks divided by the total number of transactions on the website. Visa calculates the VAAI to monitor for these attacks. Any SaaS platform that hosts payment pages for its users should have built-in controls to prevent enumeration attacks.
How to Build an Embedded SaaS Payment Strategy in 2026
Assess the role payments will play in your product. Are they a convenience or a monetization strategy? This will determine your payment processing and account strategy.
Map out the payment lifecycle for your SaaS company:
- who is the merchant of record
- who owns user onboarding
- who handles underwriting
- who carries the liability for disputes
- how will revenue and pricing work
- how will refunds work
- who is responsible for payouts
- who provides customer support
- how will data from payments sync between platforms
- how will VAMP and disputes be monitored
The strongest SaaS companies will have one primary use case for payments and then expand out. Companies that attempt to implement payment strategies for monetization before fully understanding the operational elements of payment processing will find themselves facing avoidable problems.
How to Choose the Right SaaS Merchant Account in 2026
The platform’s business model and user base will affect the merchant account requirements. If you are a SaaS company that bills its users for their subscriptions, you will have a very different need for a merchant account than if you are a platform that allows thousands of users to receive payments from their customers. Furthermore, if the users your SaaS platform serves are subject to certain regulations, your merchant account will have different requirements than those of a SaaS company serving low-risk professional services.
There are numerous factors to consider when choosing a merchant account provider for your SaaS company, such as control during onboarding, the types of verticals and payment methods that you will support, ACH and payment processing, recurring billing and payouts to your SaaS platforms, reporting, chargeback processes, VAMP and fraud monitoring, and PCI compliance. Consider these factors carefully when choosing a provider. If your SaaS platform caters to high-risk users, your merchant account provider should have experience underwriting such customers.
Payment Nerds can help your SaaS company consider all the factors that must influence your platform’s merchant account provider before you commit to creating your SaaS platform with a specific payment model in mind. You want to ensure that your monetization strategy allows for sufficient time for risk controls to keep up with your revenue growth.
Embedded Payment and SaaS Merchant Account Costs Explained
The cost of embedded payments can differ depending on the chosen model. Using a referral model will mean lower costs but less control over the revenue generated by the merchants. Using a PayFac-as-a-Service model will require payment of fees for payment processing, risk management, and revenue sharing. Using a full PayFac model will give the platform the most control over payments but will require greater investment in compliance, staffing, and technical aspects of the model.
SaaS merchant account costs include fees related to the transactions processed by the account. These fees can include costs related to the merchant gateway, ACH transactions, monthly transaction fees, chargebacks, fraud software, PCI compliance, and reserves. The cost of managing the account will also include expenses related to developing the software, providing support, performing reconciliations, and onboarding merchants.
Tools related to VAMP can impact the costs of the embedded payments platform. Tools like Verifi, Ethoca, 3DS, bot controls, fraud filters, and monitoring tools will add to the cost of the embedded payments platform. However, they will also provide tools and software that will help prevent chargebacks, fraud reports, and account reviews. The platform’s cost could also include implementing tools to control fraud and errors made by merchants using the platform.
Common Embedded Payment Mistakes to Avoid
The biggest mistake is treating embedded payments as if they were some feature to toggle on. There are many obligations related to payments: onboarding, risk, support, refunds, and more. The platform must understand what is the payment provider’s responsibility, the platform’s, and the user’s.
Another mistake is focusing on monetization before establishing liability. If the platform earns revenue from the payments but does not have visibility into the user’s risks, they could quickly become a burden on the platform.
Ignoring the risk to the users that the platform serves is another mistake. For example, if the SaaS company offers services to healthcare, legal, contractors, property management, travel, digital goods, CBD, supplements, and more, the company may have different requirements for a merchant account than a general SaaS company that only serves low-risk users.
Key Features of SaaS Embedded Payment Solutions
Merchant Onboarding and Underwriting
Onboarding begins the journey of embedded payments. There must be a platform for merchants to enter their information, get onboarded, and begin accepting payments from their customers. However, the embedded payments company must consider the types of users they will have on their platform. For instance, higher-risk SaaS verticals may require more information during the onboarding stage to assess risk and accept or decline merchant applications.
Payment Monetization Controls
There are a variety of ways to monetize embedded payments. Each SaaS and platform company will have different options, but common revenue controls may include percentage markups of transaction values, revenue share models, monthly payment features, financial tools, and the cost of instant payouts. The monetization strategy depends upon the type of customers that use the embedded payments software and what value they derive from the payment system.
Payout and Funds Flow Management
A platform will want to have some understanding of how to move money between platforms and merchants. Key concerns will include under what circumstances the platform receives the funds from the merchants, how refunds are to be funded, and under what circumstances a merchant of record will accumulate deductions for payment disputes. These aspects are covered by companies like Stripe Connect, Worldpay for Platforms and Adyen for Platforms. Each offers a platform payment infrastructure with a focus on funds movement between platforms and merchants.
Fraud, Dispute and VAMP Monitoring
Because the SaaS company will be seeing the transactions of their users, they will need some means of monitoring fraud, payment disputes, and the number of refunded payments by their users. Furthermore, fraud monitoring will reveal the number of instances of TC40, which is Visa’s record of fraud reports. Additionally, chargebacks will accumulate the number of TC15 instances, which is Visa’s record of chargebacks. Both of these metrics can indicate potential problems for specific users in the platform’s software, allowing the SaaS company to take action prior to the payment processor.
Billing, Subscriptions and Usage-Based Pricing
A SaaS company may have to manage billing for its own products as well as for its users’ products. Subscription models, seat-based models, and usage-based pricing models may apply to either the company’s products or the products of its users. However, managing billing for the company’s own customers is not the same as enabling its users to accept payments from their own customers. A strong SaaS payment solution should make it clear which of these two billing types will be managed by the software.
Compliance, PCI and Data Security
Embedded payments must comply with PCI standards, which apply to any company that stores, processes, or transmits card data. A SaaS company can limit the amount of data that they hold by using hosted onboarding and payment features, APIs, and only collecting card information from payment readers that are authorized to read that data. Additionally, the company will have to manage the number of instances of disputes, the number of users that are managed as submerchants, the number of users have risk review needs, and how the data of the transactions of users’ customers will flow through their SaaS platform.
FAQs About Embedded Payments for SaaS Platforms
Q: What are embedded payments for SaaS platforms?
A: Embedded payments allow SaaS users to receive and manage payments within the platform.
Q: What is SaaS payment processing?
A: There are two meanings for this. One refers to the subscription billing for the SaaS company. The other refers to the payment tools that the SaaS company offers to its customers. Both will eventually be needed by SaaS companies.
Q: What is a SaaS merchant account?
A: A SaaS company will need a merchant account to accept payments, receive the funds, and perform billing functions within its software.
Q: How do SaaS platforms monetize embedded payments?
A: SaaS companies can monetize their embedded payments by implementing features like transaction markups, revenue share, monthly payment features, instant payout fees, premium financial tools, and value-added services.
Q: What is VAMP, and how does it relate to SaaS companies?
A: VAMP is a program run by Visa to monitor and reduce fraudulent transactions and payments. The VAMP ratio measures the number of fraudulent payments relative to the total number of Visa transactions that were settled.
Q: What is an enumeration attack?
A: An enumeration attack occurs when bots attempt to input different credit card numbers onto the payment page of a website. These bots attempt to use stolen or guessed credit card numbers to gain access to the payments and funds of website visitors. SaaS companies that offer hosted and embedded payment pages need to prevent such attacks.
Q: Should SaaS companies become a payment facilitator?
A: While they have the potential, SaaS companies are not required to become a payment facilitator. They can gain more control over payments processed through their platform, but they will also have to take on the responsibilities of a PayFac. Many SaaS companies will begin with a referral, ISO, or PayFac-as-a-Service model first.
Conclusion
Embedded payments can help SaaS companies increase their revenue and provide more value to their users. However, implementing embedded payments must take into account several crucial factors in the software development and payment industry.
At Payment Nerds, we can assist SaaS companies in comparing payment software solutions or in finding the best merchant account strategy for implementing embedded payments. Our goal is to help SaaS companies grow their revenue from embedded payments without exposing them to avoidable risks.
Sources
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- Payment Nerds. “SaaS Payment Processing Solutions.” Accessed May 2026.
- Payment Nerds. “Guide to Embedded Finance for SaaS & Marketplaces.” Accessed May 2026.
- Stripe. “Stripe Connect.” Accessed May 2026.
- Stripe. “Revenue Models for Embedded Payments: A Guide.” Accessed May 2026.
- Stripe. “Embedded Payments Implementation in SaaS Platforms.” Accessed May 2026.
- Stripe. “Connect Account Types.” Accessed May 2026.
- Worldpay. “Worldpay for Platforms.” Accessed May 2026.
- Worldpay. “Embedded Payments for Software Platforms.” Accessed May 2026.
- Adyen. “Payment Solution for SaaS Platforms.” Accessed May 2026.
- Adyen. “What Are Embedded Payments and How Do They Benefit Platform Businesses?” Accessed May 2026.
- NMI. “Secure Payment Gateway & Processing Solutions.” Accessed May 2026.
- NMI. “NMI Launches the Next Generation of Embedded Payments Solutions.” Accessed May 2026.
- Chargebee. “Flexible SaaS Billing for Growing Businesses.” Accessed May 2026.
- Visa. “Visa Acquirer Monitoring Program Fact Sheet.” Accessed May 2026.
- PCI Security Standards Council. “Merchant Resources.” Accessed May 2026.
