DEV Community: Olivia

Hang on, what are integrated payments, and how do they work?

Olivia — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:49:06 +0000

Integrated payments are often the first step for online platforms, SaaS, and businesses to start accepting payments. With integrated payments, instead of building payment infrastructure from scratch; platforms connect to an existing payment processor, add checkout to their product, and start accepting transactions almost immediately.

According to a report from Bain & Company, platforms and ISVs can tap into a potential $35 trillion in payments volume (that's roughly 15% of global transactions) by integrating payments directly into their platforms.

In this guide, I break down how integrated payments work, the pros and limitations of integrating payments, and how payment integration compares to embedded payments (especially as platforms scale).

Should platforms integrate or embed their payments?

Olivia — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:59:39 +0000

Payments can become more than infrastructure. For platforms, SaaS products, and online marketplaces, they can be a main revenue driver, allowing companies to gain control over (and profit from) financial activity within the product.

That's why we're seeing a big shift from integrated payments toward embedded payments, where transactions happen directly within the platform.

Embedded finance transaction volume is projected to exceed $7 trillion in the US alone by 2026, with a CAGR of 35.5%. That's because how users pay and how sellers get paid directly affects platform growth, retention, and revenue.

So when it comes to integrated vs. embedded payments, the choice really comes down to what your platform's goals are and how fast you need to start accepting payments.

Here's the full breakdown:

Integrated vs. embedded payments: Which is better for your platform?

Both integrated and embedded payments allow platforms to accept transactions and move money through their network, but only embedded payments offer opportunity for revenue growth and custom control.

whop.com

The top embedded finance players of 2026

Olivia — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 02:31:12 +0000

Embedded finance is the integration of financial services (like payments, financing, or banking) directly into non-financial platforms.

So, instead of sending users to a bank or third-party provider, the platform itself offers these services natively within its own product or checkout flow.

Paying with Apple Pay at checkout? That’s embedded finance. Uber drivers accessing earnings instantly in-app? Embedded finance. Even Amazon offering Buy Now, Pay Later – you guessed it.

With embedded finance, the financial service or product is built into the experience, not bolted on after.

This is what separates embedded finance from traditional banking partnerships.

In the past, platforms would redirect users to external financial institutions to complete transactions. Now, the experience can stay entirely on-platform, giving businesses more control over the user journey, data, and revenue.

Under the hood, it’s all powered by APIs that connect platforms to regulated financial infrastructure. Meanwhile, users just get a seamless experience within one platform.

In many cases, embedded finance infrastructure is provided by Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) providers, which handle compliance, licensing, and fund movement behind the scenes. This means platforms can offer financial products without becoming banks themselves.

But not every embedded finance provider is a BaaS solution.

Some providers (like Whop) sit at the product layer. Payments, monetization, and financial tools are packaged together into one platform, using underlying partners for the regulated infrastructure.

Read the breakdown and top providers for 2026 here!

Embedded payments: ultimate guide for platforms, marketplaces and SaaS

Olivia — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 01:09:50 +0000

The line between software, platforms, and payment rails is starting to blur.

With embedded payments, platforms can integrate payments directly into their product, managing the transaction flow themselves; from checkout and payment methods to settlement and payouts.

For marketplaces and SaaS, this turns payments into part of your product, not just a backend service. It affects revenue models, compliance scope, and how your platform handles transactions for users.

Switch on embedded payments, and you can monetize transactions, control the payment flow, and keep the entire experience inside your product.

This guide covers the fundamentals of embedded payments. You’ll learn how they work, why platforms embed payments into their product, and what to evaluate when choosing a payments partner.

What are embedded payments, who are they for, and how do they work?

Embedded payments allow marketplaces, SaaS, and platforms to accept and manage online payments directly inside their product.

Basically, embedded payments are primarily used by platforms that facilitate transactions between users. Buyers can pay, sellers can get paid, and both subscriptions and one-off transactions can be processed without leaving the platform.

Rather than each seller or creator running their own payment setup, transactions flow through the platform’s payments system.

That means users don’t need to integrate a separate gateway, open a standalone merchant account, or manage multiple payment providers. Everything happens within the same interface. Under the hood, though, the platform is connected to payment partners that actually move the money.

Most embedded payment systems follow a platform payments model, where the platform connects to payment infrastructure and allows other businesses (often called sub-merchants) to accept payments through it.

Platforms typically implement this model in one of three ways:

Payment facilitator (PayFac): The platform registers as a payment facilitator and directly manages merchant onboarding, underwriting, and compliance for the businesses using its payment system.
PayFac-as-a-Service: A third-party provider supplies the core payment structure, while the platform still offers native payments inside its product.
Direct acquiring: Some platforms connect directly to acquiring banks and payment processors to run their own payments. Regardless of which model is used, multiple parties are involved each time a payment occurs.

When a customer makes a payment, the transaction is authorized by the issuing bank, routed through the card network and acquirer, and processed by the payment provider. It’s then settled so the platform can distribute funds to the appropriate seller or business.

Embedded payments hide this complexity.

For users, accepting payments just becomes another feature of the platform they already rely on.

Split payments 101

Most platforms and marketplaces have to split payments between multiple parties. That's called split-routing, and it's how sellers get paid while you ensure revenue is automatically accrued.

Example:

A customer pays $100 on a marketplace.

→ $90 can be routed to the seller
→ $10 goes to the platform as a commission

Embedded payments systems automate this process.

The provider handles fund routing, fee collection, and payouts so the platform doesn’t need to manually move money between accounts. Slick.

How embedded payments work through Whop:

When a business embeds Whop checkout into their own site or product, the payment experience lives inside their own domain - customers complete purchases without being redirected to a separate page or third-party checkout flow.

Under the hood, Whop sits between the seller and the payment infrastructure. Payment processing runs through Whop's bank and payment service provider partners, while Whop manages chargebacks, tax compliance, and payouts.

For the seller, this means no gateway integrations, no merchant account, and no compliance obligations to manage directly. The embedded checkout is the visible surface - Whop's partner network is what powers it.