Building an embedded payments strategy that actually works requires more than just enabling checkout. It demands a clear view of what you're building, who owns the compliance and risk, and when the math actually makes sense to take on more of it.

In this episode, Dogpack’s Chief Revenue Officer, Zaiaad Khan joined host Aaron Steinberg, VP of Revenue at Rainforest, to discuss his extensive experience in payments, how he thinks about embedding payments into software platforms, and the hard-won lessons behind choosing the right PayFac model for your business.

They discussed:

• Payments infrastructure is the central nervous system of your business, not an afterthought
• Why vertical SaaS platforms are falling into significant payments volume without truly understanding their own cost center
• How to approach the PayFac decision – it isn't triggered by a single milestone, but by a confluence of pressures
• Key differences between different PayFac models and how to evaluate which makes sense for your business
• Why transparency about pricing and interchange is still a competitive differentiator in payments

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

For vertical SaaS platforms, offering a trusted and familiar payment experience can be the difference between checkout conversion and cart abandonment.

Rainforest and PayPal recently joined forces to launch an exciting new embedded payments integration that helps vertical software platforms capture more payments volume and leave offline methods like checks and cash behind.

PayPal Senior Vice President and Head of SMB Commercial Taira Hall joined host Joshua Silver to discuss the exciting collaboration, how platforms can leverage PayPal's ecosystem and why payments must be treated as a core workflow, not an afterthought.

They discussed:

• Rainforest and PayPal's latest integration for platforms looking to win more volume
• Why treating payments as an afterthought leads to cart abandonment and lost revenue
• How Venmo helps service-based businesses acquire new customers through social proof
• Common mistakes platforms make in their checkout experience and how it impacts processing volume
• Why platforms need to prepare for AI agents driving customer purchases

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

Payment aggregation models come with complex legal and contractual implications that many vertical SaaS platforms overlook.

For those platforms who are evaluating a payments provider, it's critical to avoid costly compliance missteps and ensure long-term flexibility as your business scales.

Payments attorneys Edward Marshall and Theresa Kananen joined host Joshua Silver, Founder and CEO of Rainforest to clarify payment models, explain compliance obligations, and share strategies for navigating provider contracts.

They discussed:

• What payment aggregations really means (PayFac, merchant of record, marketplace)
• Why merchant of record status doesn't eliminate compliance responsibilities
• How the flow of funds differentiates payment models and why it matters legally
• Exactly what to look out for when switching providers and navigating exclusivity causes
• Why evaluating a payments provider’s reputation and contractual flexibility matters

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

Diving into a brand new market without any deep knowledge or industry research is how many kick off their entrepreneurial journeys.

After five startups, Adam Flemming took a different approach when he founded self-storage platform Cubby – he looked before he jumped. The result? A company built on deep market research that treats payments as a core necessity and goes beyond addressing just the symptoms of customer issues.

In this episode, Cubby’s Founder, Adam Flemming joined host Becky Kopplin to share hard-won lessons on building a successful vertical SaaS company the right way.

They discussed:

• Why researching the market before launching a company is critical – don't jump into the pool without knowing the depth
• The critical reason vertical SaaS leaders must treat payments as a core product feature, not an afterthought
• How AI’s biggest value is to eliminate generic tasks so operators can focus on what differentiates their business
• "Simple" businesses like self-storage are more complex than they appear and require sophisticated software
• Why digging deep to the root cause of customer problems is better than just providing surface-level support

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

Bolting on payments can be a “quick win” for vertical software companies, but it doesn’t unlock the full opportunity.

Experienced payments leaders know the biggest gains are the result of continuous optimization of product, pricing, messaging, cost, and more.

On this episode, Freshbooks VP & General Manager of Payments Shirley Hsu joins host Becky Kopplin to share her experience growing the payments business at Freshbooks and the three critical levers to drive meaningful margin expansion.

They discussed:

• The marketing message that’s resonating with service-based business owners to drive payments adoption right now
• How to position automation and efficiency as growth levers for SMBs
• Why switching to IC+ pricing doesn’t guarantee more margin
• Pricing, product, and cost optimization strategies to maximize payments margin
• When to hire a payments leader and how to align the organization for payments success

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

Payments revenue is advantageous to software platforms because they can earn basis points on every transaction that flows through the platform. But the risk exposure is asymmetric. It’s not limited to the revenue the platform earned. A legal misstep or regulatory violation can risk the entire amount processed plus fines – a total that can be orders of magnitude larger than the platform’s payments revenue.

To help us navigate the legal and regulatory landscape, payments attorneys Ed Marshall and Theresa Kananen joined host Joshua Silver to explain why payments is so heavily legislated and regulated, common pitfalls, and the best way to navigate challenging situations.

They discussed:

• How software platforms might be held responsible for a merchant’s actions even if they don’t touch the money directly
• One dangerous assumption software companies should never make about payments
• Who actually owns your merchant and transaction data if the contract doesn’t specify
• Why states are setting the rules on pricing, subscriptions, and cancellations
• An obscure 1989 law that can turn an accurate statement on a merchant application into a legal and financial nightmare

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

Your merchants want to surcharge… are you prepared for the compliance risk that comes with it?

Surcharging for one business that operates in one state is relatively straightforward. But with ecommerce and SaaS-powered payments on the rise, software companies are supporting merchants in multiple states or jurisdictions and those merchants can be serving a wide variety of customers across multiple regions.

And the rules vary. Surcharging is governed by a patchwork of state regulations, card brand rules, industry norms, and customer expectations.

On this episode, Yeeld Co-founder and CEO Emily Tsitrian joins Becky Kopplin for a deep dive in surcharging compliance for vertical SaaS platforms. They covered:

• How governing bodies monitor and enforce surcharging rules, and the devastating costs of non-compliance
• Who bears ultimate responsibility for surcharging compliance, and what platforms need to know before they enable it for their merchants
• How digital wallets make surcharging compliance even more difficult
• The danger of treating “convenience fees” as a loophole, and why we’re likely to see increased scrutiny of convenience fees in the near future
• Specific verticals and card-mix profiles where surcharging makes sense (and where it doesn’t)

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay

Vertical SaaS operators understand the importance of data, but it’s easy to discount merchant onboarding data and payment data because historically those have belonged to the payment provider.

On this episode, Preczn cofounders Malik Velani and Jason Key share how vertical SaaS platforms can take control of their merchant, customer, and payment data to accelerate payment migrations, increase attach rates, and grow fintech revenue.

They covered:

• The hidden costs of letting a payment provider own your merchant onboarding and payment data
• Why merchant onboarding is the biggest barrier to payment adoption and efficient migrations
• How software companies can increase payments and fintech attach rates with pre-filled onboarding applications
• Two factors vSaaS leaders must consider when evaluating embedded fintech opportunities
• How platforms can go beyond data ownership and leverage it to build a sustainable competitive advantage

The Payments Strategy Show is brought to you by Vertex and Rainforest.

Vertex: The Vertical Software Conference

This invite-only event and community offers networking, learning, and unique insights on go-to-market, monetization, product expansion, fundraising, and M&A.

Learn more: https://www.vertexconference.com/

Get updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vertex-vertical-software-conference

Rainforest is the embedded payments purpose-built for vertical SaaS.

Grow revenue with the only payfac-as-a-service provider optimized to help you drive more payments volume at higher margins, without risk or compliance headaches.

Learn more: https://rainforestpay.com

Connect with us on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/rainforestpay