How Embedded Finance Helps SaaS Platforms Generate Revenue in Australia
Taking more control of payments can complete the customer experience
SaaS platforms serve small businesses in nearly every operational way – from invoicing to inventory tracking – but often exit stage left as soon as a customer clicks “pay now.”
That’s a lost opportunity. SaaS companies and independent software vendors that hand off payments to a third party can miss out on new income and stronger customer relationships.
Embedded finance can restore that opportunity by enabling SaaS platforms to make the payments lifecycle a fully integrated part of the experience, said Paul Allen, founder of Australian payments technology company Pinch Payments, which Fiserv acquired in 2025. Pinch automates payment collection, reconciliation and settlement.
“Engaging the right payment facilitator – or even becoming one – can complete the customer experience for SaaS platforms and open a new revenue stream,” Allen said. “But the benefits can go beyond control of money movement by giving the platform more control over the customer experience.”
The transaction is just the start of the payments experience
One of the most common mistakes SaaS platforms make is treating payments as just another technical integration with a third-party provider. But outsourcing payments can also mean outsourcing the customer experience.
“Too often, platforms focus only on the ability to process a payment,” Allen said. “But payments affect cash flow, reconciliation, reporting and trust. If someone is going to trust your platform to accept payments on behalf of their business, they need to trust that you know what you’re doing.”
That requires product and development teams to think about what happens after the “pay now” button. What does the merchant see after the transaction clears? When will funds arrive? How are fees explained? How does the payment reconcile? How easy is it to issue a refund?
If those questions aren’t answered, embedded payments can create more work for small businesses. A confusing first experience could lead merchants to turn off the feature and return to manual methods, such as paying by check or through a third party, which limits the SaaS platform’s ability to generate revenue from payments.
Meaningful embedded payments go beyond moving money by helping merchants get paid in a way that feels reliable, transparent and connected to the workflows they already use.
Embedded finance can limit the risk of disrupted service
Before Pinch became a payment facilitator, the company connected payments providers to SaaS platforms, Allen said.
During that time, Pinch connected a third-party payments provider to a SaaS platform serving merchants in New Zealand. The onboarding experience worked and merchants began transacting.
Then the payments provider turned off the service because it determined the merchants no longer fit its risk profile.
“I was the one providing the service to the merchants, and I had to go and tell them, ‘Sorry, you’re going to have to find a new payment provider. And sorry, you’re going to have to do that within 30 days,’” Allen said. “It’s a terrible experience.”
That kind of disruption can be damaging for SaaS platforms, because the merchant isn’t likely to make the distinction between the platform and the payments provider. All they know is a feature they rely on no longer works, leaving cash flow at risk.
Taking responsibility for payments can be daunting
Payment card industry compliance and the risks associated with moving money might lead software and product teams to hand the process to a third party. They sacrifice potential revenue and control over the payment experience to avoid the compliance workflow.
It’s an unnecessary trade-off, Allen said. Pinch proved it when the company integrated its solution with Annature, an Australian e-signature and identity verification platform. Businesses using Annature were already sending agreements for signature from inside the platform, but they collected payment details separately. By embedding Pinch, Annature gave its merchants the ability to add payment fields to their contracts. Now, when merchants send out a contract, their customers sign and authorize payment in one step.
"We take that weight off the platform,” he said. “They send us the merchant's details through our API, and we handle the onboarding, compliance and underwriting. The platform keeps its customer relationship and adds payments without becoming a payments company itself.”
The model should fit the platform
The right embedded payments model depends on the SaaS platform’s size and strategy.
An emerging company might want to focus on growing the business and let a payment facilitator manage onboarding and compliance. A larger platform could decide it wants more control over pricing, merchant relationships and the payment experience.
In the latter case, the large platform assumes the role of payment facilitator and uses only the partner’s technology to move money. The platform then would handle compliance, screen and onboard merchants, and carry the financial risk when a payment goes bad.
In either instance, payment facilitation helps the platform cut out the middleman and record far more of each transaction as its own revenue. That can lift the value of the whole business.
The strongest embedded payments partners have the flexibility to allow platforms to evolve from one model to the other without rebuilding the customer experience. Those partners also can guide platforms to the right model.
“The technology you use, all the endpoints you use to hook up for payments and onboarding, are exactly the same,” Allen said. “The only thing that changes between those two models is contractual and operational. Your tech stays the same.”
Turning payments into platform profits
Embedded payments can be a trusted, easy-to-implement, revenue-generating step in the customer experience.
SaaS platforms that offer invoicing and billing but use a third-party payments model can assess how much money they generate from that relationship, Allen said. In many cases, the answer might be none.
“If you’re running a SaaS business right now,” he said, “think about how payments can become a new revenue line item.” Application programming interfaces (APIs) help to enable payment integration for ISVs. APIs provide a set of programmatic instructions that allow different software systems to communicate (like Google Translate, if you will), and ISVs are leveraging them to seamlessly incorporate payments functionality into their platforms.
“Software developers tasked with creating integrated payments experiences need a simple and flexible API to add payments functionality and customize the payment and user experience to the flow that meets their needs,” said Bryan Greene, Head of ISV Solutioning and Partner Activation at Fiserv.
By leveraging APIs, ISVs can build a consistent, branded payment experience that aligns with their core software, whether it’s for booking appointments, payroll or transactions.
What is Pinch?
Pinch is an Australian payment orchestration platform, acquired by Fiserv in 2025, that helps businesses accept payments, automate billing and reconciliation and simplify payment operations.
How does Pinch help SaaS platforms embed payments?
Pinch provides APIs and embedded payment infrastructure that allow SaaS platforms to integrate payments directly into their software. Pinch handles merchant onboarding, payment processing, reconciliation, reporting and compliance, so platforms can create a seamless payment experience.
How long does it typically take for Pinch to add embedded payments to a SaaS platform?
The timeline depends on your integration and payment model. With a modern payments API, many SaaS platforms can begin integrating core payment functionality within weeks. An experienced embedded payments provider can also significantly reduce implementation time by handling merchant onboarding, compliance and operational requirements.
Can embedded payments generate recurring revenue for SaaS platforms?
Yes. SaaS businesses can earn a share of payment processing revenue every time their customers accept payments through the platform. This creates a recurring revenue stream that, in addition to subscription fees, grows with payment volume.
What types of SaaS platforms benefit most from embedded payments?
Any platform that helps businesses invoice customers, schedule jobs, manage bookings or process transactions can benefit. Common examples include accounting software, job management platforms, CRM systems, healthcare software, field service management, hospitality solutions and industry-specific business applications.
Explore additional insights
