Adyen Alternatives for Mid-Market SaaS Platforms: The Complete 2025 Guide

You're processing €3M–€4M in annual payments. Stripe feels too basic for your needs, but Adyen's minimum invoice requirements and 5–6 month implementation timelines put them out of reach. You're stuck between payment processors built for startups and enterprise solutions you can't yet access.

This guide evaluates payment alternatives purpose-built for mid-market SaaS platforms (€2M–€20M ARR) that need enterprise features without enterprise barriers. We'll compare seven providers, Stripe, Checkout.com, PayPal Braintree, Recurly, Lemon Squeezy, Airwallex and Embed on implementation speed, pricing flexibility, subscription management and European market support.

TL;DR: Quick comparison of Adyen alternatives

Why mid-market SaaS platforms need Adyen alternatives

Mid-market SaaS companies face a unique challenge: you've outgrown basic payment processors but don't meet the volume thresholds or have the resources required for enterprise solutions.

While Adyen doesn't publicly disclose specific minimum volume requirements, the platform requires minimum monthly invoices that vary by industry and business model. Industry sources consistently report that Adyen targets businesses processing significant volumes, with implementation timelines averaging 5–6 months and requiring substantial technical resources.

The reality for mid-market SaaS:

• Complex integration processes require dedicated developer resources (120–160 hours)

• Minimum invoice requirements strain businesses with variable monthly volumes

• Implementation costs reach tens of thousands of euros before you process your first payment

• Enterprise-focused support structure doesn't prioritise smaller accounts

What mid-market SaaS actually needs

Revenue optimisation over cost minimisation
Traditional transaction fees treat payments as a cost centre. Mid-market SaaS platforms should view embedded payments as a revenue driver.

Fast time to revenue
You can't wait six months to monetise payments. Mid-market platforms need implementations measured in weeks, not quarters, with pre-built integrations that minimise custom development work.

Flexible payment flows without custom builds
Your business model demands subscription billing with intelligent dunning management, usage-based billing capabilities for consumption models, split payments for marketplace features and automated B2B invoicing—all without building everything from scratch.

Transparent, scalable pricing
No hidden monthly minimums. Pricing structures that work from €100k to €10M+ in volume. Clear paths to scale as your business grows, without sudden price jumps or forced migrations to enterprise tiers.

What is Stripe and who is it for?

Stripe has become the default choice for SaaS platforms because it balances sophistication with accessibility. The platform processed over $1 trillion in payment volume in 2024, handling everything from small startups to public companies. The standard pricing model—2.9% + €0.30 per successful card transaction—comes with no monthly minimums, making it viable at any scale.

Features of Stripe

Stripe Billing: Complete subscription management with flexible billing intervals, prorated upgrades and automated invoicing.

Revenue Recognition: Automated accounting for SaaS revenue recognition standards.

Stripe Sigma: SQL-based analytics for custom reporting on payment data.

Stripe Radar: Machine learning-based fraud detection that adapts in real time.

Developer-friendly APIs: Extensive documentation, pre-built components and test environments widely praised for clarity.

Global reach: Supports 135+ currencies and 40+ local payment methods.

Cons of Stripe

Limited personalised support: At mid-market scale, you're still getting largely self-service support. Personalized account management typically requires significantly higher volumes.

Horizontal solution: Not purpose-built for vertical SaaS complexities. You'll adapt your business to Stripe's model rather than the other way around.

Billing costs add up: As of 2024, Stripe Billing adds 0.7% of billing volume on top of transaction fees. International cards incur an additional 1.5%, and currency conversion adds 1%.

Implementation timeline

2–4 weeks for basic setup, 6–8 weeks for advanced subscription features and custom workflows.

Pricing notes

Standard: 2.9% + €0.30 per transaction. Stripe Billing: additional 0.7%. International cards: +1.5%. Currency conversion: +1%.

Use Stripe if

You have strong development teams who want maximum flexibility and control over payment flows, need the largest ecosystem of integrations or are building features that require extensive API customisation.

What is Checkout.com and who is it for?

Checkout.com positions itself between Stripe's simplicity and Adyen's enterprise focus, making it ideal for the €10M–€50M transaction volume range. The platform offers customised pricing based on business profile, with transparent interchange-plus pricing that typically provides better economics than flat-rate alternatives at scale.

Features of Checkout.com

Intelligent routing: Automatic payment routing to optimise authorisation rates, reportedly delivering 3.8% authorisation uplift.

Multi-currency settlement: Process in 150+ currencies with local payment method support.

Advanced subscription billing: Flexible billing models with intelligent retry logic for failed payments.

Network tokenisation: Enhanced security and authorisation rates through card network tokens.

Customised pricing: Interchange-plus transparency with no monthly fees or setup costs.

Cons of Checkout.com

Complex fee structures: Some users report fee structures that can be difficult to parse, though the platform emphasises transparency in documentation.

Requires technical sophistication: You'll need development resources to maximise Checkout.com's capabilities.

Smaller ecosystem: The ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than Stripe's.

Implementation timeline

4–6 weeks on average, depending on complexity of payment flows.

Pricing notes

Checkout.com uses customised pricing without published rates. They emphasise interchange-plus transparency with no monthly fees or setup costs, but charge various fees along the payment lifecycle (authorisation, capture, reconciliation).

Use Checkout.com if

You're processing €5M+ annually with significant international customer base, need sophisticated cross-border payment optimisation or want better economics than flat-rate pricing at your volume.

What is PayPal Braintree and who is it for?

Braintree combines enterprise-grade infrastructure with mid-market accessibility, all while providing direct access to the PayPal ecosystem. The pricing, 2.59% + €0.49 for card transactions, is competitive, and the platform handles subscription complexity without requiring extensive custom development.

Features of PayPal Braintree

Recurring billing: Flexible subscription schedules with automated billing.

Dunning management: Automated retry logic for failed payments.

PayPal ecosystem: Direct access to 400M+ PayPal users, plus Venmo for US markets.

Vault: Secure payment tokenisation for stored payment methods.

Enterprise infrastructure: Built for scale without forcing enterprise minimums on mid-market businesses.

Cons of PayPal Braintree

Longer implementation: Implementation timelines run 4–6 weeks minimum, longer than some alternatives.

Setup requirements: The platform works best for businesses already processing reasonable volumes—very early-stage companies may find setup requirements challenging.

Implementation timeline

4–8 weeks depending on feature set and custom requirements.

Pricing notes

Card payments: 2.59% + €0.49. Venmo: 3.49% + €0.49 (US only). PayPal: 3.49% + €0.49. Chargebacks: €15 each.

Use PayPal Braintree if

Your customer base prefers or expects PayPal as an option, you're targeting B2C markets where PayPal drives conversion or you want enterprise infrastructure without building everything custom.

What is Recurly and who is it for?

Recurly is purpose-built for subscription businesses, which means its entire feature set focuses on solving subscription-specific challenges. The platform recovered $1.2 billion in subscription revenue through churn management solutions in 2023, demonstrating sophisticated recovery capabilities.

Features of Recurly

AI-powered recovery: Industry-leading dunning and retry logic with intelligent timing. Recurly achieves 55.4% recovery rate for failed transactions.

Advanced subscription lifecycle: Handle complex subscription changes, pausing and resumption.

Revenue recognition: Automated revenue recognition for subscription accounting.

Built-in benchmarks: Compare your metrics against similar businesses in your industry.

Flexible billing models: Support for fixed, ramp, usage-based, quantity-based and tiered pricing.

Cons of Recurly

Less flexible for non-subscription models: If you're building a marketplace with split payments or need extensive customisation beyond subscription workflows, you'll find the platform constraining.

Smaller integration ecosystem: The integration ecosystem is smaller than Stripe's.

Implementation timeline

2–3 weeks for standard subscription implementations.

Pricing notes

Recurly uses volume-based pricing starting at €99/month for smaller volumes, moving to percentage-based fees for larger accounts (typically negotiated based on total payment volume, with €1M TPV minimum for enterprise pricing).

Use Recurly if

Your business model is pure subscriptions (not marketplace/usage-based), involuntary churn is a significant problem or you want specialised subscription expertise over general payment tools.

What is Lemon Squeezy and who is it for?

Lemon Squeezy operates as a Merchant of Record (MoR), which means they handle all tax compliance, fraud protection and payment liability. This removes the entire compliance burden from your shoulders—particularly valuable for SaaS businesses selling globally without dedicated finance teams. Acquired by Stripe in July 2024, the platform continues operating independently while benefiting from Stripe's infrastructure.

Features of Lemon Squeezy

Merchant of Record: Complete tax compliance for 135+ countries with zero setup.

Built-in subscription management: Straightforward subscription plans without complex configuration.

Automated invoicing: Global invoicing with automatic tax calculation.

License key management: Automatic license key generation and management for software products.

Fastest implementation: Simplest setup in this comparison.

Cons of Lemon Squeezy

Limited for complex marketplaces: Less suitable for complex marketplace models or sophisticated split payment scenarios.

Simpler feature set: The feature set is intentionally simpler than enterprise alternatives.

Limited customisation: If you need extensive customisation or white-label capabilities, you'll find Lemon Squeezy limiting.

Implementation timeline

1–2 weeks—fastest in this comparison.

Pricing notes

Lemon Squeezy operates on a revenue share model. Following their October 2024 payout fee reduction (post-Stripe acquisition), fees have decreased significantly, though specific rates aren't publicly listed on their pricing page.

Use Lemon Squeezy if

You're a smaller SaaS business (€500k–€3M ARR) selling digital products globally, global tax compliance is preventing international expansion or you want the fastest implementation with least compliance burden.

What is Airwallex and who is it for?

Airwallex brings a fintech-first approach to payment processing, offering some of the lowest transaction fees in the market while providing embedded finance capabilities. The platform is particularly strong for SaaS businesses with complex multi-currency needs or those doing significant international payouts.

Features of Airwallex

Multi-currency accounts: Local bank details in 23+ currencies.

Competitive FX rates: Currency conversion at 0.5–1% vs typical 3–4% markups.

Global payouts: Send payments to 180+ countries.

API-first architecture: Flexible integration for custom workflows.

Virtual and physical cards: Built-in spend management for business expenses.

Lowest transaction fees: 0.4% + €0.20 for card payments among the lowest in this comparison.

Cons of Airwallex

Newer entrant: Founded in 2015, Airwallex has less market track record than established players.

Features you may not need: The platform includes features beyond payment processing.

Smaller community: Documentation and community resources are growing but less extensive than Stripe's.

Implementation timeline

3–4 weeks for standard implementations.

Pricing notes

Highly competitive at 0.4% + €0.20 for card payments. However, full pricing depends on your specific use case and volume.

Use Airwallex if

Multi-currency operations are core to your business model, you need both payment acceptance and international payout capabilities or getting the lowest possible transaction fees matters for margin.

What is Embed and who is it for?

Embed is purpose-built for European vertical SaaS platforms that need sophisticated payment infrastructure without enterprise complexity. Licensed by the Dutch Central Bank, Embed provides regulated payment infrastructure specifically designed for platforms with complex multi-party payment flows.

The company focuses on solving the specific challenges vertical SaaS faces: multi-party payments, phased onboarding, marketplace payouts and complex reconciliation scenarios that horizontal payment processors struggle to handle elegantly.

Features of Embed

Balance accounts: Full infrastructure for managing funds between multiple parties with detailed ledgering. Embed's "Hive" multi-ledger system lets you create multiple balance accounts per merchant and automate splits natively, eliminating manual reconciliation.

Virtual IBANs: Unlimited virtual IBANs (VANs) for automatic payment reconciliation across balance accounts. Each balance account receives its own dedicated IBAN, with incoming payments automatically attributed without requiring payment references.

Multi-party payment orchestration: Handle complex splits, holds and payouts without building custom infrastructure. You orchestrate how money moves between parties using pay-ins, transfers and payouts with real-time ledgers.

Phased merchant onboarding: Merchants can start processing payments immediately with minimal information and complete full KYC only when transaction volumes require it, accelerating activation while staying compliant.

Unified integration: Single API for e-commerce, point-of-sale and subscription payments.

Flexible pricing architecture: Control pricing per customer segment with blend or interchange-plus models. Set up tiering, choose between blended or cost+ for every service and drive merchant adoption.

Hands-on expert support: Payment specialists work alongside your team to whiteboard solutions and design payment flows from day one.

Regulatory coverage: Licensed payment institution authorised and regulated by the Dutch Central Bank with passporting rights across all EEA countries. Holds an EMI licence in the UK. Covers PSD2, SCA, AML and safeguarding requirements.

Cons of Embed

Geographic focus: Primarily European markets (EEA and UK). Global expansion may require additional partners.

Specialised for complexity: As a specialized provider for vertical SaaS, Embed isn't trying to be everything to everyone. If you're building a simple single-party subscription business, more horizontal solutions may be simpler.

Smaller brand: The company is smaller than enterprise giants, which means less brand recognition but often translates to more hands-on partnership.

Implementation timeline

Embed emphasises collaborative onboarding with payment experts helping whiteboard solutions upfront. You can get customers processing within 24 hours for straightforward implementations, though complex multi-party flows will take longer.

Pricing notes

Custom pricing based on your platform's specific needs. The flexibility to set different pricing models per customer segment is built into the platform, you can use blended rates for some merchants and interchange-plus for others based on volume or sophistication.

Use Embed if

You're building a European vertical SaaS platform with multi-party payment flows, your business involves collecting from customers and paying out to service providers/vendors, automatic payment reconciliation through virtual IBANs would solve operational headaches or you need regulated payment infrastructure without building it yourself.

Decision framework: Choosing your Adyen alternative

By transaction volume

€100k–€1M annually
Start with Lemon Squeezy or Stripe. At this scale, ease of setup and low barriers to entry matter most. Lemon Squeezy's Merchant of Record model eliminates compliance headaches, while Stripe offers maximum flexibility if you have developer resources.

€1M–€5M annually
Stripe or Recurly become the clear choices. You need robust subscription management but aren't ready for complex enterprise solutions. Recurly's specialised subscription focus shines here if your model is pure subscriptions.

€5M–€20M annually
Checkout.com, PayPal Braintree or Embed offer enterprise features without enterprise minimums. At this scale, optimising authorisation rates and accessing sophisticated retry logic directly impacts your bottom line. For European platforms with multi-party flows, Embed's balance account infrastructure provides capabilities you'd otherwise need to build custom.

€20M+ annually
You qualify for Adyen, Stripe or Embed enterprise pricing. At this volume, custom negotiations, dedicated support and interchange-plus pricing become available across most platforms.

By business model

Pure subscription SaaS: Recurly (best recovery rates) or Stripe Billing

Usage-based pricing: Stripe (most flexible metering) or Checkout.com

Marketplace/platform models: Embed (purpose-built for multi-party flows) or Stripe Connect

Multi-party payment flows (service providers + end customers): Embed (dedicated balance account infrastructure)

Global B2C SaaS: PayPal Braintree (PayPal network) or Airwallex (multi-currency)

Digital products/micro-SaaS: Lemon Squeezy (simplest compliance)

By technical resources

Limited dev team (1–2 developers): Lemon Squeezy or Recurly
These platforms minimise custom development requirements with opinionated, pre-built flows.

Strong dev team (3+ developers): Stripe or Checkout.com
Maximum flexibility to build custom payment experiences, though this requires ongoing engineering investment.

API-first approach: Stripe (best documentation), Embed (collaborative design) or Airwallex (modern API)

Hidden costs to consider

Understanding total cost of ownership goes beyond published transaction fees.

Ongoing costs

Monthly minimums: While many platforms advertise "no monthly minimums", some impose them at certain tiers or for specific features.

Chargeback fees: Typically €15–€25 per chargeback across all platforms.

Currency conversion markups: Range from 0.5% (Airwallex) to 4% (some traditional processors).

Failed payment retry costs: Some platforms charge per retry attempt.

Revenue opportunity costs

Time to first payment
Every week of implementation delay is lost revenue. A 12-week implementation vs 3-week implementation represents nine weeks of lost payment revenue.

Authorisation rate differences
A 2% authorisation rate difference on €5M in attempted charges is €100,000 in lost revenue annually.

Churn from payment failures
Payment-related churn can represent 5–15% of total churn. Platforms with better dunning management directly reduce this leakage.

Migration strategy: Moving from Adyen (or basic processors)

Phase 1: Evaluation (2–4 weeks)

Week 1–2: Audit and requirements

• Document current payment volume by method, geography and customer type

• Catalogue must-have features vs nice-to-haves

• Identify pain points with current solution

• Review compliance requirements for your markets

Week 3–4: Provider evaluation

• Request demos from top three alternatives based on your decision framework

• Calculate total cost of ownership, not just transaction fees

• Test developer documentation and API quality

• Verify integration availability for your existing tech stack

Phase 2: Pilot (4–8 weeks)

Implementation
Start with new customers only to minimise disruption risk. Build parallel payment infrastructure without touching existing subscription base.

Testing
Route 5–10% of new traffic to the new processor for 60–90 days. Monitor authorisation rates, customer experience signals, compliance handling and revenue impact metrics.

Validation
Confirm that all edge cases work correctly: refunds, partial payments, subscription upgrades/downgrades, dunning flows and tax calculation accuracy.

Phase 3: Full migration (8–12 weeks)

Batch migration approach
Migrate existing subscriptions in cohorts, not all at once. Start with smallest subscription values to limit risk.

Dual processing period
Maintain both old and new processors during transition. This allows easy rollback if issues emerge.

Customer communications
Transparent communication prevents support tickets. Explain payment method updates clearly, provide clear timelines for migration and offer direct support channels for concerns.

Close monitoring
Watch failed payment rates closely during migration. Any spike indicates problems needing immediate attention. Monitor churn signals and support ticket volume.

Which payments infrastructure should you choose?

When deciding between Adyen alternatives, think about your platform's complexity, geographic scope and growth ambitions.

Use Stripe if you need to launch fast, have strong developer resources and want maximum flexibility. Stripe's global reach and developer-friendly APIs make it ideal for platforms that require extensive customisation. Its flat-rate pricing and built-in billing tools simplify setup and forecasting.

Use Checkout.com if international authorisation rates directly impact revenue, you're processing €5M+ annually with room to negotiate and you need sophisticated cross-border payment optimisation.

Use PayPal Braintree if your customer base prefers or expects PayPal as an option, you're targeting B2C markets where PayPal drives conversion or you want enterprise infrastructure without building everything custom.

Use Recurly if your business model is pure subscriptions (not marketplace/usage-based), involuntary churn is a significant problem or you want specialised subscription expertise over general payment tools.

Use Lemon Squeezy if you're a smaller SaaS business (€500k–€3M ARR) selling digital products globally, global tax compliance is preventing international expansion or you want the fastest implementation with least compliance burden.

Use Airwallex if multi-currency operations are core to your business model, you need both payment acceptance and international payout capabilities or getting the lowest possible transaction fees matters for margin.

Use Embed if you're building a European vertical SaaS platform with multi-party payment flows, your business involves collecting from customers and paying out to service providers/vendors, automatic payment reconciliation through virtual IBANs would solve operational headaches or you need regulated payment infrastructure without building it yourself.

Why specialised payments infrastructure matters for vertical SaaS

Choosing the right payments provider is pivotal for your platform's growth. Payment infrastructure isn't just about moving money—it's about enabling your users to go live quickly, navigating industry-specific regulations and keeping more of the revenue you generate.

Mid-market SaaS platforms don't need Adyen's enterprise complexity. You need payment infrastructure that matches your current scale while supporting growth to your next milestone. For most platforms, the decision comes down to finding the solution that removes friction from your current operations while providing clear upgrade paths as you scale.

If you're building a vertical SaaS platform in Europe and need custom fund flows, flexible pricing and local compliance baked into your payment stack, talk to one of our embedded payments experts to explore how specialised infrastructure can turn payments into a competitive advantage.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best payment processor for SaaS companies processing €2–10M annually?

For SaaS companies in the €2–10M annual payment volume range, Stripe and Recurly are typically the strongest options. Stripe provides maximum flexibility with extensive integrations and is best suited for companies with 2+ developers who want control over payment experiences. Recurly specialises specifically in subscription businesses and offers superior involuntary churn reduction (industry-leading 55.4% recovery rate for failed transactions) but is less flexible for non-subscription models. Companies with significant international traffic should also evaluate Checkout.com, which provides 3.8% authorisation uplift through intelligent routing. For European platforms with multi-party payment flows, Embed's balance account infrastructure provides capabilities you'd otherwise need to build custom.

Does Adyen require minimum payment volumes?

Yes, Adyen requires minimum monthly invoice amounts that vary by industry and business model, though they don't publish specific thresholds publicly. Industry sources and user reports consistently indicate Adyen targets businesses processing significant volumes, with minimum invoices being a common barrier for smaller merchants. Additionally, Adyen implementations typically require 5–6 months and substantial technical resources (120–160 developer hours), making them better suited for companies processing €20M+ annually rather than mid-market SaaS platforms in the €2–10M range. If you're a European vertical SaaS platform struggling to meet Adyen's minimums but need sophisticated payment infrastructure, Embed is purpose-built for mid-market platforms without imposing enterprise-level volume thresholds.

What is a Merchant of Record and why does it matter for SaaS?

A Merchant of Record (MoR) is the legal entity that takes responsibility for all aspects of a transaction, including payment processing, tax collection and remittance, fraud liability, chargebacks and compliance with local regulations. For SaaS companies selling internationally, using an MoR like Lemon Squeezy eliminates the burden of handling sales tax, VAT and GST across 135+ countries. The MoR becomes the seller of record for tax purposes, meaning they handle registrations, calculations, collections and remittances while taking on legal liability. This is particularly valuable for smaller SaaS companies (€500k–€3M ARR) without dedicated finance teams, potentially saving 30+ hours monthly on tax compliance and enabling faster international expansion.

How do I reduce involuntary churn from failed payments?

Reducing involuntary churn from failed payments requires multiple strategies: implement intelligent dunning management with AI-powered retry logic that attempts payments at optimal times (Recurly recovers 55.4% of failed transactions), use account updater services that automatically update expired card information, enable multiple payment methods so customers can switch if one fails, send proactive email notifications before payment attempts and use card network tokens which provide better authorisation rates than raw card numbers. Best-in-class SaaS platforms keep involuntary churn below 2% of total churn, while poorly optimised systems see 5–15% churn from payment failures alone.

What payment processor has the lowest transaction fees?

Airwallex offers the lowest published transaction fees at 0.4% + €0.20 for card payments, significantly lower than standard rates of 2.5–2.9% + €0.25–0.30. However, total cost of ownership includes more than transaction fees. Consider monthly minimums (some processors require these), chargeback fees (€15–25 per chargeback), currency conversion markups (0.5%–4%), failed payment retry costs and authorisation rate differences (a processor with 2% better authorisation rates on €5M volume generates €100k more revenue annually). For most mid-market SaaS, optimising authorisation rates and reducing involuntary churn delivers better economics than minimising transaction fees alone. Embed offers flexible pricing models (tiered, blended and interchange-plus) that you can customise per customer segment, enabling vertical SaaS platforms to optimise pricing based on transaction value and merchant risk profiles rather than applying blanket rates.

Can I use multiple payment processors simultaneously?

Yes, many mid-market SaaS platforms use multiple processors through orchestration layers or custom routing logic. Common patterns include using Stripe for European customers and Braintree for PayPal-heavy markets, routing high-value transactions through processors with better enterprise features whilst using lower-cost options for smaller transactions, maintaining backup processors for redundancy or using specialised processors for specific payment methods (Airwallex for multi-currency, Recurly for subscription management). However, this adds technical complexity, requires careful reconciliation across systems and can complicate reporting. Most companies start with single processors and add complexity only when specific problems warrant it. If you're considering multi-processor setups because a single provider can't handle your vertical's complexity, Embed's unified commerce approach (online, in-app and in-person through one integration) and multi-ledger architecture often eliminates the need for multiple processors.

How long does it take to migrate from one payment processor to another?

Payment processor migrations typically take 14–24 weeks total across three phases. Phase 1 (Evaluation: 2–4 weeks) involves auditing current payment volumes, identifying requirements and requesting demos. Phase 2 (Pilot: 4–8 weeks) means implementing parallel infrastructure, routing 5–10% of new traffic to the new processor and validating all edge cases. Phase 3 (Full Migration: 8–12 weeks) covers batch migration of existing customers, dual processing during transition, customer communications and close monitoring of metrics. Simpler migrations (new customers only, no historical data) can complete in 4–6 weeks, whilst complex migrations with millions in existing subscriptions may take six months.

What's the difference between payment gateway, payment processor and payment service provider?

A payment gateway is the technology that securely transmits payment information from customer to processor (the "checkout page" layer). A payment processor handles the actual movement of money between customer and merchant banks, routing transactions through card networks and managing settlements. A Payment Service Provider (PSP) combines both gateway and processor functions in one platform—examples include Stripe, Adyen and Checkout.com. Modern PSPs also add fraud detection, subscription management, reporting and compliance tools. For SaaS companies, using integrated PSPs like Stripe simplifies operations versus managing separate gateway and processor relationships, though some large enterprises use best-of-breed approaches with specialised providers for each function. Embed operates as a licensed PSP with additional embedded finance capabilities—the multi-ledger balance account system sits between payment acceptance and settlement, enabling vertical SaaS platforms to orchestrate complex fund flows that traditional PSPs can't handle natively.

Should I choose flat-rate or interchange-plus pricing?

Flat-rate pricing (like Stripe's 2.9% + €0.30) provides predictable costs and simple accounting, making it ideal for businesses processing under €5M annually or those wanting pricing simplicity. Interchange-plus pricing (like Adyen's model) separates interchange fees (paid to card-issuing banks) from processor markups, typically delivering lower costs at scale but requiring more sophisticated accounting. However, these savings require negotiating power, larger volumes and tolerance for variable month-to-month costs based on payment mix. Embed supports both models through adaptive pricing—you can offer flat-rate pricing to smaller merchants for simplicity whilst using interchange-plus for larger merchants where the savings justify the complexity, all managed within a single integration.