Embedded payments used to be a feature tucked somewhere between “nice” and “eventually.” In 2025, they sit at the center of platform strategy. Modern SaaS companies, marketplaces, telehealth providers, and service platforms increasingly rely on embedded payments not simply as infrastructure but as a core revenue engine and a competitive moat. The market has shifted: payments are no longer an operational detail; they are a product.
And that shift shows up in the data. According to McKinsey’s 2023 Global Payments Report, embedded finance has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the payments industry, with software platforms capturing an expanding share of acquiring revenue as payments move deeper inside non-financial applications. Research from EY aligns with this trajectory, noting that embedded payments now function as a strategic growth lever for digital platforms, influencing customer lifetime value and shaping monetization models.
If you operate in SaaS or vertical software, chances are that your users already expect payments to happen naturally inside your product, and they expect them to work flawlessly. The real question isn’t whether to embed payments; it’s which payment processor is capable of supporting your product experience, your regulatory landscape, and your revenue goals.
This is where the landscape becomes more nuanced. While the majority of embedded payments use cases are low-risk – and, in fact, most of Ecrypt’s embedded payments partners fall squarely into that category – platforms still need processors that can handle complexity when it arises. Edge cases, regulatory scrutiny, ownership changes, or new product lines can quickly expose the limits of one-size-fits-all processing models. Ecrypt is designed to support embedded payments across this full spectrum, enabling low-risk platforms to scale confidently while remaining prepared for the operational and compliance challenges that inevitably emerge as businesses grow.
What Embedded Payments Actually Mean in Practice
Despite the industry buzz, embedded payments are not abstract. In practice, it means the user never leaves your environment. Whether someone is paying for a telehealth appointment, settling a bill inside a property-management platform, or getting reimbursed through a marketplace, the entire experience happens within your interface.
The value is twofold. First, the experience is seamless, which reduces friction and increases conversion. Second, the platform, not just the payment processor, captures more of the economics. PaymentsDive characterizes this trend simply: embedded payments allow businesses to “let customers pay directly through the software they are using,” creating a more intuitive experience and opening new revenue opportunities.
For platforms, this simplicity is powerful. But behind the scenes, the processor determines everything from onboarding flows to payout timing, fraud exposure, support obligations, and audit readiness. When payments are embedded, you inherit the strengths – and the weaknesses – of whichever processor you choose.
This is why selecting a payment processor for embedded payments is less like choosing a commodity vendor and more like choosing a long-term product partner.
What Really Matters in an Embedded Payments Processor
The best payment processors for embedded payments all excel in a few essential dimensions, but the weight of each depends heavily on your vertical and risk tolerance.
The first, and arguably the most critical, is the integration model. Platforms need a processor whose APIs not only accept payments but also fully support multi-tenant architectures, sub-merchant onboarding, marketplace flows, split payouts, and real-time balance updates. Stripe and Adyen excel here: their documentation is extensive, their eventing systems are well-designed, and their ecosystem supports rapid developer onboarding. This makes them an excellent choice for platforms serving low-risk, standard merchants who want global coverage and clean, modern tooling.
But stronger APIs don’t automatically solve the second critical dimension: underwriting. When you embed payments, your platform becomes the intake mechanism for new merchants, and users will always blame you, not the processor, if onboarding is slow, confusing, or opaque. Automated underwriting is table stakes, but many platforms operate in verticals where underwriting requires more nuance. This could mean evaluating medical licenses, verifying non-traditional corporate structures, or reviewing compliance documentation in highly regulated sectors.
This is where Ecrypt separates itself from the large, horizontal processors. Ecrypt was built specifically for platforms whose merchants fall outside the “standard risk” profile. Telehealth clinics, digital pharmacies, subscription wellness companies, specialized SaaS tools, and a range of regulated digital services often struggle with the rigid underwriting and de-risking policies of mainstream processors. Ecrypt’s model is designed to say “yes” in a responsible way to merchants who fit within regulatory requirements but are too complex for traditional automated flows.
While compliance and approval durability are foundational, they are only part of the equation. Platforms also need payment partners that offer real customization, responsive support, and integrations that don’t require months of engineering effort to maintain. Embedded payments succeed when infrastructure adapts to the product—not the other way around.
This is where Ecrypt differentiates itself from large, horizontal processors. Ecrypt works with platforms whose merchant bases span a wide spectrum of risk profiles, the majority of which are low-risk, but many of which introduce operational or regulatory complexity that rigid, one-size-fits-all systems struggle to accommodate. Telehealth providers, digital pharmacies, subscription wellness companies, and specialized SaaS platforms often find that mainstream processors lack the flexibility to support nuanced workflows, evolving compliance needs, or non-standard business models.
Ecrypt is designed to meet those needs directly. With configurable underwriting, hands-on support, and integration paths tailored to platform architecture, Ecrypt enables platforms to onboard and scale merchants efficiently; saying “yes” where appropriate, managing complexity responsibly, and avoiding the friction that slows growth in more inflexible payment environments.
Another dimension that matters as platforms grow is the revenue model. Embedded payments can quickly become one of the largest line items on a company’s P&L. For platforms that rely on payment volume to drive unit economics, pricing flexibility is essential. This includes the ability to negotiate buy rates, set custom margins, or differentiate pricing across merchant categories. This is not an area where one-size-fits-all pricing works. Ecrypt approaches this with a partnership mindset, giving software companies greater participation in the economics of acquiring and enabling them to treat payments as a true revenue engine, not a referral program.
When Platforms Need More Than a Mainstream Processor
For one subset of software platforms, Stripe or Adyen will be the right choice. Their APIs are elegant, their global coverage is unmatched, and their operational infrastructure is extraordinarily reliable. Platforms that monetize primarily through subscription revenue or non-regulated commerce will find that these providers meet or exceed their needs.
But the reality is that many software companies operate in environments where merchants are harder to underwrite, chargeback profiles are more variable, card-brand rules are stricter, or audits are more frequent. Telehealth platforms must navigate pharmacy rules and identity verification. Digital wellness products must manage recurring billing patterns associated with higher dispute rates. Marketplaces facilitating complex service offerings must ensure that sub-merchants meet regulatory standards.
In these ecosystems, mainstream processors sometimes decline merchants outright or tighten risk controls without warning. Many platforms operating at scale have experienced the uncomfortable moment when an entire merchant segment is quietly reclassified as “prohibited” or “unsupported,” creating business risk that has nothing to do with the platform’s performance.
This is the gap Ecrypt intentionally fills. It combines modern developer tools with a deeper, hands-on approach to risk, compliance, and merchant management. For platforms with complex user bases, Ecrypt is less of a processor and more of a co-designer; someone who helps architect underwriting rules, dispute-management programs, onboarding workflows, and compliance structures tailored to the platform’s specific vertical. If your platform supports regulated or high-compliance user, refer to our High-Risk Essentials article.
It’s not the right fit for every company. But for platforms that live in regulated or higher-risk spaces, it’s often the only fit that scales sustainably.
A Practical Framework for Choosing Your Embedded Payments Partner
The decision between a horizontal processor and a specialist like Ecrypt becomes clearer when you evaluate your platform through a few essential questions:
1. Who are your merchants, really?
If your merchants are standard e-commerce sellers, subscription apps, or general-market businesses, a mainstream processor is likely the best option. If your merchants include telehealth providers, digital pharmacies, niche regulated services, or high-variance business models, HEY ROY WHAT ELSE CAN I PUT HERE you may need the tailored underwriting and compliance muscle that a specialized processor provides.
2. How much of your business model depends on payments revenue?
Platforms that use payments as a monetization engine, not just a feature, need a partner who is willing to structure revenue sharing, margin management, and pricing flexibility in ways that align with long-term product strategy. Ecrypt leans heavily into this approach; larger processors often do not.
3. What is your actual risk tolerance for outages, reclassification, or support issues?
In embedded payments, failures aren’t abstract; they are branded as your failures. If payouts are delayed, if onboarding breaks, or if a compliance issue surfaces, your customers do not distinguish between you and your processor. Some platforms prefer the scale and automation of large providers. Others require a partner who can pick up the phone when something unusual happens.
4. What does “future-proof” look like for your next three years?
Regulatory scrutiny in embedded finance is increasing. Sponsor banks are tightening requirements. Platforms offering complex financial experiences must demonstrate more control and more transparency. A processor that both understands your vertical and can evolve with this environment may be more important than one with the most elegant API.
Embedded payments, in other words, are no longer a point-in-time integration. They’re an evolving relationship.
The Takeaway
There is no single “best payment processor for embedded payments.” There is only the best processor for your platform, your merchants, and your risk environment.
Stripe, Adyen, and other global leaders are good choices when your merchant base is straightforward and your goal is speed, scale, and global reach. But when platforms step into regulated industries, higher-risk profiles, or more complex merchant onboarding flows, the criteria shift. The best processor becomes the one that can balance modern tooling with granular underwriting, hands-on compliance support, and the operational flexibility to adapt to the unique realities of your vertical.
For platforms in those categories, companies like Ecrypt exist for a reason: to give you a Stripe-like developer experience with a risk and compliance model designed for the real world, not the idealized one.
In 2026, the “best” embedded payments processor isn’t the trendiest name. It’s the partner who understands the complexity of your merchants, supports your compliance obligations, gives you room to grow, and turns payments from an operational burden into a strategic advantage.
If embedded payments are a core part of your product and your P&L – and they should be – then choosing the right processor becomes one of the most important strategic decisions your platform will make.
