Six payment processors that let you own your merchant relationships

Business

Software platforms used to hand off payments to third parties and collect a referral fee. The merchant data, the processing relationship, and most of the revenue belonged to someone else. That model worked when payments were an afterthought, a checkbox feature buried in onboarding flows. But boards and investors now expect platforms to monetize payments directly and deliver checkout and payout systems that feel native to the product. The result is that software companies have become the primary distributors of payment processing in their verticals, retaining more of the economics while improving user retention.

This shift toward ownership comes with complications. Becoming a registered payment facilitator requires upfront costs that can exceed $1 million, a setup timeline stretching beyond 12 months, and ongoing compliance obligations that demand dedicated staff. PayFac-as-a-Service providers emerged to solve this problem, offering the benefits of payment facilitation without the regulatory burden. Platforms can white-label merchant onboarding, control the checkout flow, and capture a meaningful share of processing revenue while the provider handles underwriting, compliance, and risk management.

The embedded payments market is growing at a 23% compound annual growth rate between 2021 and 2026, according to EY research. Bain & Company projects that financial services embedded into e-commerce and other software platforms will exceed $7 trillion by 2026, up from $2.6 trillion in 2021. The opportunity is large enough that choosing the right payments partner has become a strategic decision rather than a procurement task.

Below are 6 payment processors that enable platforms to own their merchant relationships, each with a different approach to pricing, technology, and the path toward full payment facilitation.

Processor comparison

1) Finix: Infrastructure built for the long game

Finix provides PayFac-as-a-Service and full payments infrastructure designed specifically for software platforms. The company functions as an outsourced PayFac, handling end-to-end payments technology, compliance, risk management, and 24/7 emergency support. Platforms can start with the PayFac-as-a-Service model and transition to becoming a registered PayFac when transaction volume justifies the move.

The API layer handles billions of calls per year with 99.999% uptime, according to Finix. Platforms receive access to more than 10 out-of-the-box report types covering transaction-level data, interchange, reconciliation, settlements, disputes, and fees. This level of visibility allows SaaS companies to operate their payments business with the same rigor they apply to their core product.

Finix offers managed merchant underwriting that lets platforms run white-labeled KYC, AML, and MATCH checks through an API-driven underwriting engine. For companies processing north of $1 billion annually, Finix provides a documented path to becoming a registered payment facilitator, which grants the highest level of control over underwriting, back-end operations, and customer support. Registered payment facilitators typically earn 20 to 40 basis points more per transaction compared to riding the rails of another wholesale PayFac.

The transparency in pricing and reporting sets Finix apart for platforms that want to understand exactly how their payments economics work before committing to the full PayFac model.

2) Worldpay for Platforms: Enterprise-grade global processing

Worldpay for Platforms, formerly known as Payrix, serves enterprises with complex organizational hierarchies and international operations. The platform combines omnichannel acquiring, fraud prevention, and compliance infrastructure under a single umbrella. By connecting to Worldpay’s global acquiring network, platforms can process billions in transactions while maintaining control over their user interface and merchant relationships.

The company has operated as a payment pioneer since 2010 and processes for 75% of Mastercard PayFacs. This track record matters for platforms that need a partner with established relationships across card networks and regulatory bodies in multiple countries.

Becoming a PayFac developer through Worldpay means the software platform controls how payments are embedded. The technology fits into existing platform architecture rather than requiring platforms to adapt their product around payment limitations. White-label payments come with managed service and support.

Three benefits drive adoption: additional revenue through payment processing fees, better user retention from seamless integrated payments within the software, and data insights from transaction patterns and customer behavior. For enterprises that operate across borders and need to support multiple payment methods, currencies, and compliance regimes, Worldpay for Platforms provides the infrastructure to manage that complexity.

3) Adyen for Platforms: Owning the full payment stack

Over 10,000 businesses currently use Adyen’s marketplace payments system. Unlike many competitors, Adyen has taken full ownership of the payments value chain in numerous countries, eliminating reliance on BIN sponsors. The company operates as a Dutch global payments processor and merchant acquirer for large enterprises, offering a single integration that handles the entire payment lifecycle.

Latest results show Adyen’s payment volume from platforms grew 80% to €27 billion in H1 2025 from 255,000 terminals. 31 of its partners now process over €1 billion each annually.

Adyen’s framework centers on preserving customer relationships. Loyalty rewards, transaction histories, and customer journey data remain owned by the merchant rather than handed off to external platforms. This approach keeps customer information in the hands of the platform for ongoing engagement and marketing purposes.

The unified platform consolidates all payment channels, providing robust fraud prevention and real-time data insights to optimize authorization rates and reduce payment costs. Adyen uses a transparent Interchange++ pricing model where merchants pay a variable settlement fee and a fixed processing charge in addition to interchange and scheme fees. This pricing structure gives platforms visibility into exactly where their money goes with each transaction.

For marketplaces and platforms that process high volumes and want to avoid the fragmentation of working with multiple regional processors, Adyen offers a consolidated approach.

4) Stax Payments: Building independence from legacy processors

Stax has transitioned into a full-fledged processor, a move that gives the company more control over pricing while reducing reliance on large legacy transaction processors. CEO Paulette Rowe described the strategy as a declaration of independence: “We determined we wanted to control our own destiny. So we moved beyond being a software and sales and marketing to a processor.”

The technology behind Stax Processing was developed and managed entirely in-house, ensuring full ownership and control of the payments stack. By removing longstanding industry barriers, Stax has reduced reliance on third parties and gained the ability to adapt rapidly to technological and market changes. This flexibility benefits ISVs and merchants who want faster solutions without waiting for legacy processor approval cycles.

Stax connects directly to Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and holds American Express OptBlue certification. Direct connections improve performance, enhance dispute resolution, and reduce processing delays. Enhanced fraud prevention capabilities are embedded within every layer of the transaction life cycle and can be orchestrated to fine-tune risk prevention based on merchant category and transaction patterns.

Stax research found that while 91% of ISVs expect embedded payments to play a larger role in their growth strategy, 34% report they are only somewhat confident in their ability to define and measure ROI from embedded payments. Challenges include revenue attribution and inconsistent reporting. Stax addresses this by offering ISVs and their merchants the ability to meet customers online, in person, or in-app while maintaining compliance and maximizing margin retention.

5) Tilled: Revenue share as the starting point

Tilled enables companies to embed, monitor, and monetize merchant payments through PayFac-as-a-Service. The model combines payment technology, full-service offerings, and transparent pricing to deliver a straightforward path to payment facilitation without the upfront cost, overhead, and liabilities of becoming a fully registered PayFac.

Platforms can grow their bottom line with competitive revenue shares that start at 75%. Lower interchange rates become available through Level 2 and Level 3 payment processing, which can reduce costs by as much as 1% for qualifying transactions.

The company was designed with developers in mind. APIs and SDKs provide everything software companies need to launch a white-label payments operation without managing compliance burdens directly. With most legacy processors and ISO referral relationships, the processor or ISO owns the merchant accounts and the data. Tilled inverts this arrangement, giving platforms ownership over their merchant relationships while handling the regulatory and operational complexity in the background.

Merchant onboarding uses customizable flows, instant underwriting, and managed application approval to get merchants processing payments quickly. The streamlined enrollment process matches what merchants expect from modern software products. For SaaS companies, marketplaces, and integrated software vendors that want to focus on their core product rather than payments infrastructure, Tilled handles the financial backend while the platform retains the customer relationship.

6) Usio: Multi-rail processing with human support

Usio serves SaaS companies that want revenue share, fast onboarding, and access to actual human support when issues arise. The company provides multi-rail payment processing and disbursement covering cards, ACH, real-time rails, prepaid and virtual cards, and digital wallets.

The platform offers embedded, white-labeled checkout and payout flows designed for seamless integration. Built-in compliance includes PCI Level 1 certification, tokenization, fraud protection, and KYC/AML processing. Platforms do not need to build these capabilities themselves or manage ongoing compliance audits.

An API-first architecture makes Usio flexible and scalable for vertical SaaS, marketplaces, and platforms that want fast time-to-market. The company handles compliance, risk, and merchant onboarding so platforms can focus on their core product development.

For platforms that process payments across multiple rails and need to disburse funds to merchants through various methods, Usio provides the infrastructure to manage that complexity. The combination of card processing, ACH, real-time payments, and prepaid card issuance under a single integration reduces the operational burden of working with multiple providers for different payment types.

How ownership changes your economics

Owning merchant relationships produces measurable financial benefits. Since platforms control more of the process, they typically receive a higher revenue share from their payments partner. Registered payment facilitators earn 20 to 40 basis points more per transaction than they would using another wholesale PayFac.

PayFacs create a sub-merchant ID for each business on the platform. This unique ID provides more control and visibility into transactions while making it easier to customize the payment flow to match platform branding. Speed of merchant boarding becomes a competitive advantage. Payment facilitators can set up sub-merchants quickly, removing a bottleneck in new client acquisition. Sub-merchants operate under contract with the platform, the master merchant, rather than with a third-party processor.

Fraud control comes bundled when using a PayFac model. The platform can orchestrate risk prevention across the transaction lifecycle rather than relying on a separate fraud vendor with limited context about merchant behavior patterns.

Market context for platform payments

The scale of the embedded payments opportunity continues to grow. Mastercard notes that the market for embedded payments for small businesses could reach $124 billion in 2025. The B2B embedded payment market is projected to hit $2.6 trillion by 2026, generating $6.7 billion in revenue.

Global acquiring revenues reached approximately $48 billion in 2024, with steady growth driven by small and medium business digitization. Digital wallets now hold roughly 50% global share of payment volume, and U.S. point-of-sale terminals are growing at 8.92% CAGR through 2030, according to industry research. Capgemini predicts an 11.4% CAGR for B2B non-cash transactions in North America through 2028.

Globally, PayFac transaction volume is expected to exceed $4 trillion by 2025. As of 2025, Fiserv remains the largest payment processing company in the world by volume of merchant payments handled, owning First Data and the Clover POS system.

These figures explain why software companies are building payments into their growth strategies rather than treating processing as a commodity service to outsource.

Selecting the right partner

The choice between processors depends on where your platform sits in its payments maturity. Companies processing smaller volumes may prioritize revenue share percentages and fast onboarding. Platforms with enterprise clients and international operations need global acquiring capabilities and compliance infrastructure across multiple jurisdictions.

Consider whether you want a path to full PayFac registration or prefer to remain on a PayFac-as-a-Service model indefinitely. The economics differ substantially at high transaction volumes. Platforms processing north of $1 billion annually often find that the investment in becoming a registered PayFac pays back within 18 to 24 months through improved basis point economics.

Evaluate reporting and data access carefully. Owning merchant relationships means little if you cannot see transaction-level data, interchange costs, and dispute patterns in real time. The platforms listed above all offer API access to payment data, but the depth and structure of reporting varies.

Finally, consider support models. Payments issues escalate quickly when merchants cannot accept payments or receive disbursements. Understanding who answers the phone at 2 AM and what authority they have to resolve problems should factor into your decision alongside pricing and technical capabilities.