The PFaaS & Vendor Deep Dive

A forensic examination of nine embedded payments vendors — pricing, economics, integration, settlement, and when to choose each.

30 min read

Understanding the vendor landscape

The PFaaS market has bifurcated along two structural lines: economic model and target customer. Understanding these axes helps explain why nine vendors can coexist with meaningfully different positioning — and why selecting the wrong one is an expensive mistake.

The macro environment is unambiguous. UBS Global Research projects ISV/software-led acquiring revenue increasing from approximately 24% of total US merchant acquiring revenue in 2022 to 33% by 2027 (“The Question 5.0,” late 2025). BCG and Adyen put the SaaS share of SME acquiring revenues at 36% in 2024, projected to expand to 45% by 2028. McKinsey reports vertical-specific software solutions had already captured more than 50% of SME spending in 2023. The vendors profiled here are the infrastructure capturing that share.

UBS framed the operating-model spectrum cleanly in its April 2026 recap of the Vertex Conference: “Software platforms have a range of options across various roles, responsibilities, and risks taken on… the industry is migrating toward something in between the two extremes.” The vendors below populate that middle ground.

Six archetypes, nine + one vendors

Developer-First Infrastructure

Stripe Connect and Finix both lead with developer experience and API quality, but diverge sharply on economics. Stripe monetizes via flat-rate pricing and retains full interchange visibility; Finix uses a subscription + per-event model that hands the full economic spread to the platform. Stripe suits early-stage teams prioritising speed; Finix suits technically mature teams prioritising long-term revenue ownership.

Purpose-Built Vertical SaaS Enablers

Rainforest, Tilled, and Payabli were built from the ground up for vertical SaaS platforms — not adapted from a merchant-facing product. All three emphasise white-label capability, migration support, and published pricing. Rainforest and Payabli operate on a spread-ownership model; Tilled uses a revenue-share structure with transparently published percentages.

Enterprise Global Processors

Adyen for Platforms is the sole occupant of this category in the US PFaaS context. Its interchange++ model, 40+ country acquiring footprint, 400+ payment methods, and 255,000+ deployed terminals make it the default recommendation for platforms with serious international ambitions or complex in-store requirements. The minimum invoice requirement and 2–4 month integration timeline make it inaccessible for sub-scale platforms.

Full PayFac Enablement

Infinicept, founded by the authors of the PayFac model itself, occupies a unique position. Its Launchpay product provides rapid time-to-market as a sub-PayFac; its full platform provides the operational infrastructure for companies registering as PayFacs in their own right. The $110K+ average annual cost makes it most compelling for platforms with $100M+ GMV.

Bank-Backed Programs

WePay (JPMorgan) and Priority Commerce (Priority Technology Holdings) both offer the credibility and compliance infrastructure of large regulated institutions. WePay’s ISV partner program has become substantially more selective following its 2024 integration into J.P. Morgan Payments. Priority Commerce targets B2B commercial verticals — AP automation, healthcare, financial services software — and is relationship-driven rather than self-serve.

Full PayFac Acquirers

Payrix/Worldpay for Platforms, now owned by Global Payments following the January 2026 close, is the largest PFaaS provider by total payment volume. Its enterprise scale, vertical depth (lawn care, field services, property management, healthcare), and post-acquisition global footprint make it the most credible enterprise alternative to Adyen for US-focused platforms.

Charge Forward Insight

The biggest vendor-selection error we see in advisory work is treating the “buy versus build” decision as a vendor question instead of an architecture question. The right framing: which vendor gives us the cleanest path to the next stage of our platform’s payments operating model? Stripe Connect Standard at $20M GMV is the right answer — and is also the wrong vendor at $80M because the migration cost when you outgrow it is meaningful. Charge Forward’s Vendor Database scores every vendor on this graduation question explicitly: not just where the platform sits today, but how much rework is required to move up the spectrum when the GMV inflection arrives.

Vendor profiles

1. Stripe Connect

Overview

Stripe Connect, launched in 2012, is the dominant marketplace and platform payments solution globally, powering over 10 million active connected accounts across platforms including Shopify, DoorDash, Instacart, Salesforce, Lyft, and Airbnb. It remains the default choice for developer-led teams prioritising speed-to-market, ecosystem breadth, and global reach. Stripe processed $1.9 trillion in total volume in 2025, up 34% year-over-year (Stripe 2025 annual letter; UBS Global Research, February 2026).

Pricing model and economics

Stripe Connect uses a flat-rate base model — 2.9% + $0.30 per successful US card transaction — with additional Connect-specific fees layered on top. Unlike interchange-plus providers, Stripe does not publish a buy rate or explicit revenue-share percentage. Platforms earn via an application fee model: a per-transaction fee that Stripe routes from the connected account’s payment to the platform’s balance. The ISV monetises the spread between what the merchant pays and what Stripe charges, but Stripe retains control over the baseline pricing.

Account-type fees: Standard accounts charge no platform-specific fees; the seller pays standard Stripe rates; Stripe handles dispute liability directly with the connected account. Express accounts charge $2 per active user per month plus 0.25% + $0.25 per payout sent to the connected account. Custom accounts use the same fee structure as Express, but with full UI/UX control, no Stripe branding, and platform-controlled onboarding flows. Instant Payouts (within 30 minutes) are available at 1.5% of payout volume. There are no publicly stated minimum GMV thresholds, though enterprise-volume platforms can negotiate custom rates.

Technology and integration

Stripe Connect is widely regarded as the gold standard for developer experience. Integration options include hosted onboarding (Stripe-managed for Express/Standard), API-driven onboarding (Custom accounts), and Embedded Components — drop-in UI components for payments, payouts, and dashboard. Embedded Components, launched in 2023, significantly reduce frontend build time for Custom account platforms.

Time to integrate: 1–3 weeks (Express); 4–12 weeks (Custom). White-label: full on Custom accounts; Stripe branding present on Standard and Express.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Default settlement in the US is T+2 for new accounts, accelerating to T+1 for established low-risk businesses, with a 7-day delay on first payouts. Instant Payouts settle within 30 minutes, including weekends and holidays. For Standard accounts, the connected account is the merchant of record and bears dispute liability. For Custom and Express accounts, the platform is liable for negative balances, including chargebacks. Stripe handles PCI DSS compliance via hosted fields and tokenisation. Automated KYC/AML, sanctions screening, MATCH list checks, and identity verification are included. Fraud prevention is managed via Radar for Platforms.

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, ACH debits and credits, wire transfers, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, BNPL (Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay/Clearpay), and dozens of international payment methods (iDEAL, SEPA, Boleto, etc.). Geographic coverage: US, Canada, UK, all EU/EEA countries, Australia, and several APAC markets, with payouts available to 40+ countries. Contract terms: month-to-month by default; no exclusivity; no volume commitments.

Ideal customer profile

Developer-first SaaS and marketplace companies that prioritise ecosystem breadth, API quality, and global reach over revenue economics. Best default for early-stage platforms (sub-$10M GMV) prioritising speed. Standard accounts suit loosely coupled marketplaces (gig economy, peer-to-peer); Express suits managed marketplace models (Airbnb-style); Custom suits vertically integrated SaaS platforms wanting a branded payment experience.

2. Adyen for Platforms

Overview

Adyen for Platforms is the enterprise-grade embedded payments solution from Amsterdam-based Adyen, a publicly traded global payment processor. Adyen processed approximately €1.6 trillion ex-Cash App in 2025 (+20% YoY); its Platforms segment is its fastest-growing unit. In H2 2025, Platforms volume grew 28% YoY to account for 15% of total Adyen volume, with net revenue up 45% YoY to €143.3M. By H1 2025, 31 platforms processed over €1 billion in annual volume each through Adyen. The platform indirectly served 145,000 SMBs via its platform partners as of end-2024. Adyen announced the acquisition of Talon.One in April 2026, signaling a move up-stack into loyalty and promotion infrastructure.

Pricing model and economics

Adyen uses an Interchange++ (IC++) model — the most transparent pricing structure available. Platforms pay the exact interchange cost passed through by the card network, plus network fees, plus Adyen’s fixed processing markup of approximately €0.11 per transaction (~$0.12 USD). There are no setup fees, no monthly platform fees, no integration fees, and no closure fees.

However, Adyen requires a minimum invoice — a floor on monthly charges that effectively functions as a soft volume minimum. The exact figure is negotiated and varies by business model, but it effectively prices out sub-scale platforms (typically <$1M GMV). The platform controls the markup it charges sub-merchants above Adyen’s buy rate, keeping 100% of the spread. Adyen does not publish a revenue-share percentage because the model is not a rev-share — the platform owns the full economics.

Technology and integration

Adyen for Platforms offers a sophisticated but engineering-intensive integration. Options include APIs, web/mobile SDKs, hosted drop-in UI components, and server-side orchestration. A dedicated payments engineering team should budget 2–4 months for a full integration, with Adyen requiring formal approval before going live. Adyen’s documentation is thorough and its developer tooling (sandbox, simulation, Postman collections) is enterprise-grade.

Time to integrate: 2–4 months. White-label: partial — payment UI components can be customised, but Adyen branding may appear in compliance/verification flows. Card-present is robustly supported: POS volumes within the Platforms segment grew 59% in H2 2025, with over 255,000 terminals deployed. A new KYC insights dashboard (March 2026) lets platforms track and optimise onboarding performance.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Adyen can settle on a same-day or T+1 basis for most markets (configurable per platform). The platform controls payout timing to sub-merchants and can delay, reserve, or split payouts. PCI compliance is transferred to Adyen when sub-merchants accept Adyen’s Terms of Service. Adyen handles KYC/KYB verification as part of onboarding, with automated checks and manual review for complex cases. Chargeback liability sits with the platform/PayFac under the standard model. Adyen has also been quietly building a lower-friction “freemium” onboarding path for platforms with smaller sub-merchants — a lighter-weight version of the full enterprise model.

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, ACH Direct Debit ($0.11 + $0.27 per transaction), Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm, Oney, Alma, and 400+ local/alternative payment methods globally including iDEAL, Bancontact, PIX, UPI, GrabPay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay. Geographic coverage: 200+ markets across 150+ currencies; for Platforms specifically: US, Canada, EU/EEA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Contracts: typically negotiated annually or multi-year for enterprise platforms; volume commitments implicit via minimum invoice.

Ideal customer profile

Mid-market to enterprise vertical SaaS companies processing $10M+ GMV annually, particularly those with international operations or in-store/card-present components. Sub-scale platforms will find the minimum invoice requirement and integration complexity prohibitive.

3. Rainforest

Overview

Rainforest (formerly Rainforest Pay) is an Atlanta-based embedded payments provider founded in 2021 and explicitly purpose-built for vertical SaaS platforms. CEO Joshua Silver positions the company as a deliberate differentiation from Stripe and Adyen, which were “initially built for merchants and then retrofitted for the SaaS market.” Rainforest raised a $29M Series B in September 2025 (oversubscribed, led by Matrix Partners and Infinity Ventures), bringing total funding to $57.5M. Since its Series A, Rainforest grew revenue by more than 10x and now processes billions in annual volume across nearly 100 platform clients. Rainforest hosts the Vertex conference, which UBS attended in April 2026 — the source of the take-rate-by-leadership and take-rate-by-vertical benchmarks cited throughout this guide.

Pricing model and economics

Rainforest’s pricing model is a published buy-rate interchange-plus model with no revenue split — the platform keeps 100% of the spread. Buy rates are volume-tiered: 0.30% + $0.30/item for $0–5M monthly volume; 0.25% + $0.25/item for $5–15M monthly; 0.20% + $0.20/item for $15–25M monthly.

Additional fees: Standard Payout $0.20/item; ACH Transaction $0.20/item; Account Updater $0.23/item; 3DS $0.31/attempt; ACH Account Validation $1.49/validation; Disputes & Returns $15/item; EMV Terminal Monthly Fee $11.25/terminal. No PCI DSS fees, no platform SaaS fee, no revenue split. Platforms set their own merchant-facing rates in any pricing model (flat rate, tiered, interchange-plus) and retain the full margin above the Rainforest buy rate.

Technology and integration

Rainforest is designed for low-code integration, with emphasis on a managed migration service to move payment volume from existing processors in weeks rather than months — a capability Infinity Ventures specifically highlighted as a key differentiator. Integration options include API-driven merchant onboarding, embedded merchant onboarding component (React), hosted payment UI components, and webhooks. Time to integrate: 2–6 weeks for a typical SaaS engineering team. White-label: full — no Rainforest branding in the merchant experience. In February 2026, Rainforest launched an embedded PayPal integration, enabling platforms to offer PayPal, Venmo, and PayPal Pay Later alongside cards and Apple Pay in a single checkout experience.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Settlement is T+1/T+2. Rainforest offers advanced ACH with real-time bank validation and balance check to reduce failed payments. Rainforest handles PCI compliance; no PCI DSS fees charged to platforms. Merchant approvals are often real-time; manual reviews typically complete within hours, not weeks. Chargeback management includes embeddable chargeback management flows that guide merchants through the response process.

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: cards (Visa, MC, Amex, Discover), ACH (with real-time validation), Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo, PayPal Pay Later, HSA/FSA (partial authorisations), and a BIN lookup for compliant surcharging. Geographic coverage: US primary; Canada expansion in progress as of early 2026. Contracts: flexible, no long-term contracts explicitly promoted; month-to-month or shorter initial terms.

Ideal customer profile

Purpose-built for vertical SaaS companies in “need-to-pay” verticals — healthcare, professional services, home services, sports/nonprofit, property management — with $1–$50M USD in annual processing volume. Particularly strong for platforms migrating away from flat-rate processors (Stripe, Square) who want to reclaim margin, and for teams without heavy payments engineering resources who want transparent economics and high-touch service.

4. Finix

Overview

Finix is a San Francisco-based payments infrastructure company founded in 2015 and now a registered Payment Facilitator. With $133M raised across multiple rounds — including American Express Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Lightspeed — Finix is one of the most well-capitalised pure-play PFaaS companies. Its core thesis: vertical SaaS platforms should own their payment economics and merchant relationships, not outsource them. Finix operates with a monthly subscription fee plus per-event pricing, providing ISVs with cost predictability and maximising net revenue at scale.

Pricing model and economics

Finix uses an interchange-plus model with zero hidden markups and a monthly subscription fee. For direct merchant accounts, published pricing is $79+/month, with 0% + $0.08 per in-person transaction and 0% + $0.15 per online transaction — both plus interchange pass-through. This is structurally different from competitors who charge a percentage of volume on top of interchange.

For platform/PayFac customers, pricing is negotiated and typically involves a platform licensing fee plus per-merchant or per-event fees. Platforms own the full economic spread between Finix’s cost and what they charge sub-merchants. Level 2/3 data support enables significant interchange optimisation for B2B/commercial card transactions. Most compelling for platforms generating at least $1M+ in annual payment revenue (i.e., processing roughly $20M+ GMV annually).

Technology and integration

Finix is API-first and offers one of the most flexible white-label integration options in the market. Options include REST APIs, JavaScript SDKs, hosted payment forms (Finix.js), embedded checkout, and virtual terminals. In-person payments are supported via PAX A800, A920 Pro, and D135. Time to integrate: 4–10 weeks for a well-resourced engineering team. White-label: full. Finix also operates as a path to full PayFac registration — platforms can start as Finix sub-PayFac and transition to registered PayFac when volume and operational maturity justify it.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Finix offers T+2 ACH payouts for sub-merchants. The platform controls payout timing and can hold reserves or delay payouts. Finix manages PCI DSS compliance at the platform level; sub-merchants complete a simplified compliance attestation. The platform handles managed underwriting, with Finix providing the screening infrastructure. The platform is responsible for chargeback management; Finix provides tooling and reporting infrastructure.

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, ACH, Interac (Canada), Apple Pay, Google Pay, payment links, subscriptions, virtual terminals. No native BNPL integration. Geographic coverage: US (primary), Canada (full online support, in-person in pilot as of 2025). Contracts: no long-term contracts required; month-to-month default.

Ideal customer profile

Technically sophisticated vertical SaaS companies and fintech platforms that want maximum revenue ownership, interchange transparency, and the option to progress toward full PayFac status. Ideal for platforms processing $5M+ GMV annually with a dedicated product/engineering team. Notable for B2B SaaS processing commercial cards (benefit from Level 2/3 interchange optimisation). Platforms currently relying on Stripe that are generating $1M+ per year in payment fees are often the ideal migration candidate.

5. Tilled

Overview

Tilled, founded in 2019 and based in Boulder, Colorado, pioneered the PayFac-as-a-Service model for ISVs. The company has raised nearly $40M total, including a $12.5M round in October 2024 led by Canvas Ventures, which also included a Handpoint partnership to expand card-present internationally. Tilled reported 550%+ year-over-year revenue growth as of the October 2024 fundraise. The company positions itself as the easiest route for ISVs to achieve full white-label embedded payments without the complexity of building PayFac infrastructure themselves.

Pricing model and economics

Tilled publishes its pricing openly — one of the few vendors to do so. Start-Up plan: $500/month + 70% of margin above interchange. Scaling plan: $2,500/month + 80% of margin above interchange. Enterprise plan: custom + ~90% of margin (industry sources).

Revenue share is calculated as a percentage of the margin above interchange — not gross processing revenue. The Scaling plan is designed for platforms processing more than $5M monthly; Start-Up for less than $5M monthly. At the $2,500/month Scaling tier, the all-in partner cost is approximately 2.27% + $0.15 per transaction (per Tilled’s own revenue calculator), allowing platforms to price merchants at 2.9% + $0.30 and keep the full spread. No minimum GMV thresholds; no PCI fees.

Technology and integration

Tilled offers a developer-friendly integration via REST APIs, client libraries/SDKs, hosted checkout, virtual terminal, and subscription billing. Generally considered lower-complexity than Finix or Adyen. Time to integrate: 2–4 weeks for a typical ISV team. White-label: extensive — partners can apply custom domain, logo, colours, and branding across the entire merchant experience. Card-present is supported through Handpoint (US/Canada terminal options) and Aevi (Android-based, brandable hardware). Tilled added credit card surcharging in February 2026.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Settlement is T+1 to T+2 depending on card type. Platforms control payout timing to sub-merchants. Tilled introduced a Payout Reconciliation Report in October 2025 for improved cash flow visibility. PCI DSS compliance is managed by Tilled via secure hosted components and P2PE terminal solutions. Tilled handles KYC/KYB underwriting. The platform owns chargeback liability for its sub-merchants.

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: cards (Visa, MC, Amex, Discover), card-present/EMV, ACH/eChecks, subscriptions/recurring billing, Apple Pay, Google Pay, surcharging. The KORT Payments partnership (July 2025) expands payment method support and omnichannel capabilities. Geographic coverage: US and Canada; French language support on Canadian terminals. Contracts: no long-term contracts; month-to-month billing with SaaS fee.

Ideal customer profile

SMB-to-mid-market ISVs that want a turnkey, white-label PayFac experience without deep payments engineering investment. Particularly well-suited for vertical SaaS companies that process $1M–$50M annually and want card-present + card-not-present in a single integration. The $500/month Start-Up tier allows early-stage ISVs to get live quickly at low cost.

6. Payrix / Worldpay for Platforms (Global Payments)

Overview

Payrix, founded in 2015 and headquartered in Frisco, Texas, was acquired by FIS in February 2022 to form the foundation of Worldpay for Platforms — launched in September 2022. In a major industry reorganisation, Global Payments acquired Worldpay from FIS and GTCR for $24.25 billion, with the transaction closing January 11, 2026. Payrix/Worldpay for Platforms is now part of Global Payments’ expanded merchant solutions portfolio, benefiting from Global Payments’ $3.7 trillion in annual processing volume and presence in 175+ countries. The combination is the subject of ongoing equity research analysis (UBS, “Global Payments Inc: Analysis of Combined Company Mix,” April 13 2026).

Pricing model and economics

Payrix operates on an interchange-plus model where the ISV controls the markup charged to sub-merchants and keeps the spread. Two publicly described commercial tiers: Pro (0.50–1.00% revenue opportunity per $10M GMV, $50K–$100K) and Premium (0.75–1.25% revenue opportunity per $10M GMV, $75K–$125K). These represent the ISV’s net revenue opportunity — the spread above the cost basis. Pricing is negotiated directly with the Worldpay for Platforms sales team. Volume commitments are common in enterprise contracts.

Technology and integration

Integration options include hosted payment pages, APIs, and SDKs. Card-present is supported via certified terminal integrations. The platform supports both the full PayFac model and sub-PayFac arrangements. Time to integrate: 6–16 weeks for a new platform integration; enterprise certification cycles longer than developer-first tools. White-label: available; sub-merchants onboard under the ISV’s brand.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Settlement is T+1 to T+2 for most card transactions. Sub-merchant funds are held within the Worldpay settlement infrastructure. Platforms can control payout timing and manage merchant reserves. PCI compliance is a shared responsibility between Worldpay for Platforms, its technology vendors, and partner platforms. The tripartite agreement structure (Worldpay + PayFac + sub-merchant) defines chargeback liability, with the platform (PayFac) holding primary responsibility for chargeback losses. Payrix terms explicitly state: “Payrix does not guarantee or assume any liability for transactions authorized and completed that are later reversed or charged back.”

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, ACH, digital wallets, international payment methods via Worldpay’s global network. Geographic coverage: US historically; post-Global Payments acquisition, geographic scope is expanding significantly. The platform historically also operated in Australia. Contracts: annual or multi-year contracts are common for larger platform relationships; volume commitments are standard at enterprise tier.

Ideal customer profile

Mid-market to enterprise vertical SaaS companies that need the credibility, scale, and support infrastructure of a major financial institution, with established vertical presence in lawn care, field services, property management, healthcare, and B2B SaaS. Particularly attractive for platforms with international ambitions post-Global Payments acquisition.

7. Payabli

Overview

Payabli, founded in 2020 and headquartered in Miami, is one of the fastest-growing embedded payments infrastructure companies in the market. In June 2025, it raised a $28M Series B led by Fika Ventures and QED Investors, bringing total funding to $60M. By mid-2025, Payabli had achieved 7x year-over-year revenue growth, surpassed 50,000 merchants on its platform, and multiple billions of dollars in live processing volume. In early 2026, Payabli was named to the Forbes Fintech 50. A partnership with Huntington National Bank to power embedded payments within Huntington’s online banking portal was announced in February 2026.

Payabli’s model is structured around three integrated modules: Pay In (payment acceptance), Pay Out (vendor/supplier/employee disbursements), and Pay Ops (underwriting, risk, compliance, reporting, and boarding operations). This “three pillars” architecture differentiates Payabli from vendors that focus only on inbound payment acceptance.

Pricing model and economics

Payabli supports all three major fee structures for platforms to apply to their sub-merchants: flat rate, tiered pricing, and interchange-plus. This gives ISVs maximum flexibility in how they monetise payments. The platform’s own pricing with ISV partners is not publicly listed — revenue share terms require contact with sales. Payabli has described its rev-share programmes as “lucrative.” No minimum GMV thresholds are publicly stated.

Technology and integration

Payabli is built API-first with a dual-track integration approach: full REST APIs for development teams that want deep customisation, and Creator — a no-code embedded component builder that allows non-technical stakeholders to configure payment UIs without writing code. This dual-track approach lowers the barrier to integration and is a distinctive capability vs. purely API-first competitors. Time to integrate: 2–3 weeks (API + no-code Creator path). White-label: full. Soft POS (tap-to-pay on mobile devices) and Remote Deposit Capture (mobile check) are already launched. Card-present hardware devices are in preparation.

Settlement, compliance, and risk

Settlement follows standard acquiring timelines (T+1 to T+2 for card; same-day ACH available). The Pay Out module includes Ghost Cards (multi-use virtual cards for vendor payables), ACH, physical checks, vendor payout links, and AI agents that can autonomously pay vendors through portals and phone calls. Pay Ops includes AI-enabled risk and compliance tools, automated merchant boarding, underwriting management, KYC/KYB, chargeback management, and reporting. The platform is responsible for chargeback liability. PCI compliance is handled by Payabli; platforms are not required to be PCI certified independently.

Coverage and contract terms

Supported payment methods: cards (Visa, MC, Amex, Discover), ACH/eChecks, Apple Pay, Google Pay, virtual cards, ACH payouts, check payouts, and remote deposit capture (mobile check). BNPL partnerships not yet confirmed publicly. Geographic coverage: US-focused as of April 2026. Contracts: flexible; specific terms require sales engagement.

Ideal customer profile

Purpose-built for vertical SaaS companies in “need-to-pay” industries — healthcare, home services, legal/professional services, property management, B2B service businesses — where both inbound (Pay In) and outbound (Pay Out) payment flows are important. The Forbes Fintech 50 recognition and Huntington Bank partnership suggest Payabli is particularly strong for mid-market to enterprise ISVs that need a full payments lifecycle platform, not just a payment acceptance solution. The no-code Creator tool makes it accessible to non-technical SaaS product teams.

8. WePay / JPMorgan

Overview

WePay was acquired by JPMorgan Chase in 2017 for more than $220M. Since then, it has been progressively integrated into J.P. Morgan Payments’ embedded finance solutions. WePay’s APIs originally powered FreshBooks, Constant Contact, and GoFundMe. In early 2024, J.P. Morgan completed the WePay integration and “evaluated all ISV relationships and ended certain agreements” as it focused on integrating capabilities into its own SMB and enterprise offerings. The standalone WePay ISV partner programme has contracted rather than expanded — the open PFaaS partner model that made WePay distinctive is now substantially more selective.

Pricing, integration, settlement, and risk

Pricing is blended/negotiated and not publicly disclosed. As a bank-backed product, commercial terms reflect J.P. Morgan’s institutional relationships. Integration: Chase infrastructure and bank-grade payment rails. Time to integrate: requires a direct JPMorgan Payments relationship and formal onboarding. Settlement: T+1/T+2 for most card transactions. Chase integration enables direct-to-Chase-deposit settlement for merchants banking with Chase. Compliance: bank-grade compliance infrastructure from JPMorgan; chargeback liability is shared between J.P. Morgan and the platform under specific agreement terms.

Coverage, contract terms, and ICP

US-focused. Enterprise threshold required — not a self-serve PFaaS option. Requires a direct JPMorgan Payments relationship. Not accessible to early-stage platforms. Best for ISVs seeking a bank-grade payment infrastructure partner with access to JPMorgan’s commercial and SMB network, particularly enterprise software platforms serving businesses that bank with Chase.

9. Priority Commerce (Priority Technology Holdings)

Overview

Priority Technology Holdings is the 6th largest non-bank merchant acquirer in the US as of 2024. Its Priority Commerce Engine serves SMB acquiring, B2B payables, and enterprise payments under a unified API. Priority processed over $15.3 billion in merchant bankcard volume in Q1 2025 alone, generating $151.7M in SMB Payments segment revenue. In early 2026, Priority was on course to top its 2025 EPS figures.

Priority offers an ISV integrated payments programme that allows software companies to embed payment processing, access all payment rails (cards, ACH, virtual cards), and connect to commercial banking and treasury tools — without taking on compliance, regulatory, or risk responsibilities.

Pricing, integration, settlement, and risk

Revenue sharing is programmatic/contractual via ISO/ISV arrangements; not publicly disclosed. Standard range for ISV programmes of this type is 30–50% of processing revenue, with higher shares negotiated for larger volumes. The model is relationship-driven rather than self-serve. Integration complexity: moderate. API access to all payment rails (cards, ACH, virtual cards). Card-present supported. White-label available. Time to integrate: relationship-driven sales process; timeline negotiated per engagement. Compliance: platform operates under Priority’s regulated acquirer infrastructure, significantly reducing the ISV’s compliance and risk management burden. Shared PCI responsibility model.

Coverage, contract terms, and ICP

US-focused. Commercial terms are negotiated. Enterprise and mid-market focus. Not accessible to early-stage platforms. Best for ISV software platforms in commercial verticals (AP automation, healthcare payments, field services, financial services) that want payment infrastructure backed by a large, regulated acquirer with strong B2B payment capabilities — and that prioritise institutional credibility and commercial payment rails (virtual cards, ACH for B2B) over developer-first API experience.

Special category: Infinicept / Launchpay — Full PayFac enablement

Overview

Infinicept, founded in Denver, Colorado in 2016 by payments industry veterans Todd Ablowitz and Deana Rich, is arguably the most specialised pure-play PayFac enablement company in the market. Its founding team literally wrote the book on the PayFac model and co-founded PaymentFacilitator.com. Infinicept raised $23M in growth equity in 2022 led by SVB Financial Group and Piper Sandler Merchant Banking. By September 2023, its clients’ annualised gross payment volume crossed $15 billion.

In September 2023, Infinicept launched Launchpay — a purpose-built PFaaS offering for software companies not yet ready to register as full PayFacs but who want to control their payments experience immediately. Launchpay complements Infinicept’s core “PayFac in a Box” platform, which supports companies ready to register as full PayFacs with their sponsor bank.

Pricing, integration, settlement, and risk

Average annual cost: ~$110,000 (per Vendr data). Maximum annual cost: ~$230,000. Launchpay: promoted as having no upfront cost and getting to market in weeks. Infinicept’s “PayFac in a Box” full platform is estimated to cost $500K for a platform with no pre-existing payments infrastructure or expertise to fully build and launch a registered PayFac.

Launchpay is designed for rapid time-to-market — weeks, not months — without requiring the ISV to register as a PayFac immediately. Infinicept acts as the master merchant account facilitator while the ISV controls branding, pricing, and merchant experience. The platform operates through Infinicept’s network of gateway partners. White-label: full. A unique feature: when an ISV is ready to become a full PayFac, Infinicept facilitates the migration of all existing merchants to the new PayFac account without requiring recontracting. Manual underwriting is performed by payments industry experts, not automated systems.

The PayFac model means the platform bears chargeback liability. Infinicept provides policies, procedures, and training. PCI compliance is a shared responsibility between Infinicept, the ISV, and the gateway provider. As a founding member of the Embedded Payments Bill of Rights, Infinicept has publicly committed to ensuring platforms own and control their payment programmes.

Coverage, contract terms, and ICP

Primarily US-focused. SaaS-style pricing; the $110K average annual cost suggests multi-month commitment structures. Best for ISVs with deep payments operational ambition — companies that view becoming a full PayFac as a strategic priority and want a staged approach: start with Launchpay (fast time-to-market), learn the economics, then graduate to full PayFac status. Also well-suited for companies that already operate as PayFacs and need an operational management platform. The $110K+ annual cost makes more sense for platforms with $100M+ GMV.

Master comparison table

The table below compares all nine vendors plus Infinicept across key evaluation dimensions. Use this as a starting point for your RFP process — not a final answer, as several cells reflect negotiated or estimated figures. See Chapter 11 for current market pricing ranges and updated vendor data; the live source is Charge Forward’s Vendor Database.

Compiled from public vendor documentation, partner program terms, and Charge Forward Vendor Database (April 2026). All figures subject to change; verify directly with vendor before contracting.

How to evaluate vendors: the RFP framework

A payment infrastructure decision is a 3–5 year strategic commitment. The cost of migrating — both financial (token vault re-collection, re-integration engineering) and operational (merchant re-onboarding, settlement downtime) — is high enough that getting the initial evaluation right saves significant pain downstream. The four tiers below structure that evaluation.

Tier 1 — Economics (non-negotiable)

• What is your exact buy rate? Is it published or negotiated?

• What percentage of the processing margin do we retain? Is there a revenue split, or do we own the full spread?

• Are there any fees charged as a percentage of GMV that we don’t control?

• What are the complete fees: PCI, onboarding, settlement, disputes, ACH, card-present terminals?

• Show me the all-in cost model at $5M, $25M, and $100M monthly GMV.

Tier 2 — Integration and ownership

• What is the realistic integration timeline for our engineering team size and architecture?

• Who owns the merchant relationship — us or you?

• Can we take our merchant token vault with us if we switch providers?

• Is there a path to becoming a full PayFac under our own registration? What does that graduation look like?

• What does the white-label experience look like at every merchant touchpoint?

Tier 3 — Compliance and risk

• Who bears chargeback liability — and what is the reserve methodology?

• What are the merchant approval rates in our vertical? What is the median time to approval?

• What fraud tooling is included, and what does adding Stripe Radar-equivalent capabilities cost?

• How are disputes managed? Is there a merchant-facing dispute management portal?

• What is the PCI compliance pathway for our integration model?

Tier 4 — Commercial terms

• What is the minimum contract term and what are the termination clauses?

• Are there volume commitments? What are the penalties for under-performance?

• Is there an exclusivity clause? Can we run multiple processors in parallel?

• What SLA commitments come with the contract? What are the remedies for downtime?

Charge Forward’s recommended approach: issue the RFP simultaneously to your top 3 vendors, hold a structured demo session with the same scenarios across each, and run a parallel pilot processing a small volume slice before committing. The pilot catches integration complexity issues that no amount of documentation reading will reveal. Charge Forward’s Vendor Database is the live tool we use with advisory clients to score vendors against platform-specific requirements; it is updated quarterly and reflects every vendor profile in this chapter.

Charge Forward Insight

Three vendor-selection mistakes recur across our advisory engagements. First: selecting on brand name alone. Stripe is the default choice for early-stage teams, and often the right one — but we see platforms at $30M+ GMV still on Stripe Connect Custom, paying 50–100 basis points more than they need to. The brand familiarity becomes organizational inertia that costs real money. Second: underestimating integration complexity. Platforms ask for Adyen or Finix (both excellent products) without a realistic assessment of their engineering capacity to execute. A 4-month Adyen integration that takes 8 months because the engineering team is also building product features is not a competitive advantage. Third: choosing on headline revenue share without reading the full fee schedule. A vendor offering 80% revenue share on a 2.5% flat rate may net the platform less than a vendor offering 100% spread on an IC+ model at 0.25%, once you run the numbers at realistic transaction sizes and card mix.

Stage-based recommendations

Based on the research and decision framework in this chapter, paired with the Maturity Framework in Chapter 7:

Early-stage (<$1M GMV): Stripe Connect Express or Tilled Start-Up. Prioritise speed over economics.

Mid-market ($1M–$50M GMV): Rainforest, Finix, or Tilled Scaling. Economics become material; switching costs are still manageable.

Enterprise (>$50M GMV): Adyen, Worldpay for Platforms (Global Payments), or Finix (with full PayFac path).

International expansion: Adyen for Platforms is the clear leader. Stripe Connect is the second-best option for EU/UK/APAC.

B2B / commercial card heavy: Finix (Level 2/3 support) and Priority Commerce (B2B payment rails) are strongest.

Pay In + Pay Out needed: Payabli (most sophisticated), then Stripe Connect (payouts to connected accounts) or Adyen (Split Payments).

Pursuing Full PayFac registration: Infinicept Launchpay → “PayFac in a Box” provides the cleanest documented graduation path.

Charge Forward Insight

Vendor-fit and vertical-fit compound. Rainforest’s 2026 Strategic Benchmarking Survey reports a 90+ bps average take rate for consumer/community platforms, ~80 bps for services/healthcare, and ~70 bps for B2B/institutional. Pairing the right vertical with the right vendor architecture (not just the right model) is what produces top-quartile economics. The platforms we see consistently outperform are not the ones with the cheapest vendor; they are the ones whose vendor selection matches their vertical, their team capacity, and their three-year trajectory simultaneously.

What’s Next

Chapter 4 — “Stripe: The Complete Picture” — takes a complete look at Stripe’s product universe, with an honest analysis of Stripe’s economics across different account types and volumes, a framework for when Stripe is the right choice versus when to consider alternatives, and a practical guide to the migration challenge. The chapter incorporates UBS’s February 2026 analysis of Stripe’s 2025 annual letter ($1.9T volume, +34% YoY, 57% of new cohort outside the US) and Stripe-specific vendor analysis from Charge Forward’s Vendor Database.

SOURCES & REFERENCES

UBS Global Research, Tim Chiodo: “The Question 5.0” (late 2025); “Vertical SaaS & Embedded Finance: Takeaways from Vertex hosted by Rainforest” (April 15, 2026); “Global Payments Inc: Analysis of Combined Company Mix” (April 13, 2026); “Stripe Annual Letter Fast Take” (February 24, 2026); “Adyen 1Q 2026 Preview” (April 20, 2026).

Rainforest, “2026 Vertical SaaS Embedded Payments Strategic Benchmarking Survey” (presented at Vertex, April 2026).

BCG / Adyen, “Moving Embedded Finance from Promise to Practice” (September 2025); McKinsey, “Global Payments in 2024: Simpler interfaces, complex reality” (October 2024); McKinsey, “Decoding ISV Maturity” (January 2026).

Public partner-program documentation and pricing pages: Stripe Connect, Adyen for Platforms, Rainforest, Finix, Tilled, Worldpay for Platforms (Payrix), Payabli, WePay/J.P. Morgan Payments, Priority Commerce, Infinicept Launchpay.

Vendor funding announcements: Rainforest $29M Series B (Matrix Partners, Infinity Ventures, September 2025); Payabli $28M Series B (Fika Ventures, QED Investors, June 2025); Tilled $12.5M (Canvas Ventures, October 2024); Finix cumulative $133M (American Express Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed); Infinicept $23M growth equity (SVB, Piper Sandler, 2022).

Industry research and consolidation: Mastercard / Cardstream, “PayFac-as-a-Service White Paper” (February 2025); Global Payments / Worldpay merger close (January 11, 2026, $24.25B).

Public Charge Forward tools referenced in this chapter: Vendor Database (live, updated quarterly), Embedded Payments Maturity Framework, Payment Model Fit Navigator, Embedded Payments Fit Assessment, Payments Revenue Calculator. All available at chargeforward.io/tools.

By Jane Podbelskaya · Updated June 20, 2026