As vertical SaaS platforms take on greater responsibility for the daily operations of their customers, payments and financial services are no longer just a back-office task—they’re a core part of your value proposition. In fact, payments now sit at the intersection of experience, insight, and growth. When payment flows are embedded within the same platform that manages a business’s scheduling, inventory, services, and customer records, they stop being a point of friction and start reinforcing the value of your platform.
Why embedded payments are important to your platform users (and therefore, you)
For businesses and their customers, payments are high-stakes moments. Delays, errors, or inefficient workarounds can undermine even the best experience. Embedded payments and financial services help remove these pain points by keeping transactions inside the workflow—where your platform’s value is truly actualized. Seamless payments integration delivers tangible improvements across your users’ businesses, including:
- Improved customer experience: Transactions are seamless and intuitive
- Greater financial visibility: Real-time insights into cash flow and reconciliation
- Faster pattern recognition: Spot business trends and exceptions quickly
- Better business decision-making: Make choices grounded in real activity, not lagging reports
While each benefit is valuable on its own, together they transform your platform into a powerful, indispensable business tool that users would be hard-pressed to give up.
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Businesses that leverage verticalized software want built-in financial services
The demand for embedded payments and financial services is clear. Multiple studies show that businesses prefer unified platforms that combine software and financial services seamlessly, rather than juggling multiple providers and workstreams. Consider these compelling statistics:
- 87% of growth-oriented businesses are likely to use a working capital solution in the next year
- 76% of SMBs would pay extra for a platform offering multiple financial services in one place
- 90% of businesses consider access to financial products and services critical to their operations
- 53% of SMBs offered financial products by their software provider chose to adopt them
- Global revenues from embedded finance could exceed $7 trillion by 2030
These figures highlight a clear shift in user expectations: businesses now expect payments and financial services to be built into their management platform, not bolted on as an afterthought.
The impact of embedded payments and financial services is most visible when tightly aligned with industry workflows. After embedding payments into their platform experience, Inktavo—a platform built specifically for the printing and brand merchandise industry—added a working capital solution to address a critical customer need. In doing so, they also strengthened user loyalty and platform differentiation in the market. There is always the concern of timing and resourcing when adding a new solution to a platform. Fortunately for Inktavo, because they opted to integrate working capital with their current payment provider, Worldpay for Platforms, they successfully issued their first capital loan in just 13 days. To date, they have funded $14.2 million and counting.
How does embedded finance drive growth and differentiation for vertical SaaS platforms?
The benefits of embedded finance extend well beyond working capital loans and platform users. At scale, embedded finance is reshaping the overall economics and growth potential of SaaS platforms too:
- Platforms embedding payments and financial services can increase revenue per user by 2–5x
- 84% of businesses would explore financial products offered by their software provider, and one in five would switch platforms to access the payment capabilities they need
Leading vertical-specific platforms illustrate the embedded finance imperative even further.
- Mindbody, a fitness management platform, now generates over 50% of its revenue from payments
- eCommerce platform, Shopify’s merchant solutions accounted for 74% of total revenue in 2023
- Clio, a legal tech platform, doubled ARR from $100 million to $200 million between 2022 and 2024, supported by embedded financial services
For even more stories about how vertical SaaS platforms are shaping the future for businesses with embedded finance, check out our blog.
Ready to power the possible for your vertical SaaS platform?
The numbers are clear: embedded payments and financial services are no longer optional—they’re essential for driving growth, standing out from the competition, and building lasting customer loyalty in the evolving world of vertical SaaS. By embracing embedded finance, your industry-specific platform can unlock new revenue streams, deliver seamless user experiences, and position itself as an indispensable partner to your customers. Don’t just keep up with industry expectations—set the pace.
To learn how your platform can lead the way, download our latest e-book today.