If you've ever paid for a ride without opening a wallet, booked an appointment and settled the bill in the same screen, or had your SaaS platform automatically collect a subscription without redirecting you to a separate checkout — you've already used embedded payments.
For software platforms, ISVs, and B2B SaaS companies, embedded payments aren't just a feature. They're fast becoming the difference between a product that handles commerce and one that owns it.
This guide covers what embedded payments actually are, how an embedded payments API works, the difference between embedded and integrated payments, what B2B embedded payments look like in practice, and how Pinch helps Australian software platforms embed, monetise, and scale.
What are embedded payments?
Embedded payments are payment functionality built directly into a software product or platform — so the payment experience happens inside the product itself, not in a separate system, third-party checkout, or redirected browser tab.
The term covers a wide range of implementations: a SaaS platform collecting subscription fees from its customers, a marketplace managing payouts to sellers, a field service app collecting card payments on-site, or an accounting platform automating invoice collection via direct debit.
What they all share: the end user never leaves the product to complete a payment. The software handles it.
For the platform offering embedded payments, the benefits go beyond convenience. Embedding payment solutions creates a new revenue stream (via transaction margins), increases product stickiness, and reduces customer churn by solving a problem users would otherwise solve elsewhere.
What is an embedded payments API?
An embedded payments API is the technical layer that makes embedded payments possible. It lets software developers connect their product to payment infrastructure — card networks, bank debit systems, merchant accounts — via code, without building those systems from scratch.
A well-designed embedded payments API will typically cover:
- Payment methods: card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex) and bank debit (BECS Direct Debit in Australia)
- Payer management: creating, storing, and managing customer payment details
- Payment scheduling: one-off, recurring, variable, and metered billing
- Merchant management: onboarding sub-merchants, managing accounts, allocating fees
- Webhooks: real-time event notifications for payment success, failure, and status changes
- Sandbox environment: a test mode with fake money and simulated payment flows
The Pinch Payments API covers all of the above. It's REST-based, includes a full Postman collection, and comes with a sandbox featuring a time-travel function for simulating future payment dates — so developers can test the full billing lifecycle before going live. Production launch is a key swap; nothing else changes.
Explore the Pinch Payments API →
Embedded vs integrated payments - what's the difference?
These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they describe meaningfully different things.
Integrated payments connect an existing payment tool to your software. Think of a POS system that plugs into an accounting platform, or a payment gateway bolted onto an e-commerce store via a plugin. The payment processing happens in the payment tool — your software just passes data back and forth. The user may still be redirected, the merchant account typically belongs to the payment provider, and the platform has limited control over the experience.
Embedded payments go further. The payment infrastructure lives inside your product. Your software controls the checkout experience, manages the merchant relationship, handles billing logic, and often owns or monetises the transaction itself. There's no redirect. No "powered by" watermark from a third-party gateway. The payment is part of your product.
In short: integrated payments connect your software to a payment tool. Embedded payments make your software the payment tool.
For platforms building toward monetisation or full payment facilitation, embedded is the right model. For smaller operators adding basic payment acceptance, integrated may be sufficient — but the ceiling is lower.
What are B2B embedded payments?
B2B embedded payments are embedded payment solutions built specifically for business-to-business transactions — where one business is paying another, often on invoice terms, with recurring billing cycles, or across complex multi-party relationships.
B2B payments come with different requirements to consumer payments:
- Longer payment cycles (net 30, net 60 invoicing)
- Higher transaction values
- Direct debit as the preferred collection method (lower cost, better for recurring)
- Accounting system integration (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks) for reconciliation
- Multi-entity billing: platforms serving multiple business clients, each with their own accounts receivable
Embedded B2B payments solve these at the platform level. Instead of asking each business client to manage their own payment setup, the platform handles it — embedding the entire payment workflow into the software product.
Pinch is purpose-built for B2B embedded payments in Australia. Two-way sync with Xero, QuickBooks, and MYOB means invoices, contacts, and payment status stay in sync automatically. BECS Direct Debit at a flat 85c handles recurring invoice collection at a fraction of card costs. And the open API lets platforms build custom billing logic — variable amounts, metered billing, retainer models — without being constrained by rigid payment schedules.
See how Pinch handles direct debit →
Embedded payments software - what to look for
Not all embedded payments software is built the same. If you're evaluating options for your platform, the shortlist should be judged on:
API quality. Is it REST? Is there a sandbox? Is documentation complete? Can you test the full payment lifecycle — including failures — before going live?
Payment method coverage. Does it support both card and direct debit from a single integration? In Australia, BECS Direct Debit is essential for B2B and SaaS billing.
Merchant management. Can you onboard sub-merchants within your platform? Do they get independent merchant accounts? Who holds the compliance obligation?
Fee control. Can you set your own fee structures and create margin on transactions? Or are you locked to the provider's pricing with no ability to monetise?
Accounting integration. Does it sync with Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks out of the box? Manual reconciliation at scale kills the efficiency case for embedding payments.
Compliance handling. Who manages PCI, AML, KYC, and scheme compliance — you or the provider?
Support. Is there a local team you can actually talk to, or just documentation and a ticketing queue?
Pinch covers all of the above. And for platforms that want to go further — owning the full merchant experience including onboarding, risk, fee management, and settlement — Glassbox provides a full PayFac-as-a-Service layer on top of the API.
Embedded payments for SaaS platforms
SaaS companies have a particular incentive to embed payments: it turns a billing problem into a revenue opportunity.
A SaaS platform that simply refers customers to a payment gateway captures none of the transaction economics. A SaaS platform with embedded payments can set its own fee structures, create margin on every transaction, reduce churn (customers who pay through your platform are harder to leave), and use payment data to improve the product.
For embedded payments SaaS, the typical build path looks like this:
- Integrate via API — embed card and direct debit payments directly into the product
- Onboard merchants — automate KYC and account activation within the platform
- Monetise — apply wholesale-based fee structures to generate transaction margin
- Graduate to PayFac — as volume grows, move to full payment facilitation and own the merchant relationship end-to-end
Pinch supports all four stages. The API handles steps one through three. Glassbox handles step four.
See how Pinch works for SaaS platforms →
Embedded payments platform - the Pinch stack
Pinch provides a complete embedded payments platform for Australian software businesses. Here's what that includes:
Pinch Payments API
REST API covering BECS Direct Debit, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and international cards. Full sandbox with fake money and time-travel. Postman collection. Webhook events. Two-way accounting sync with Xero, QuickBooks, and MYOB. Direct access to the developers who built it.
Managed Merchants
Onboard sub-merchants within your platform, each with their own independent merchant account. Automated KYC and compliance. 24-hour activation.
Custom fee engine
Set per-merchant pricing using wholesale rates. Surcharge to end customers. Automatic margin calculation after interchange, scheme, and MSF costs.
Glassbox — PayFac-as-a-Service
For platforms ready to own the full payment experience: integrated KYC automation (via Frankie One and Kount), online merchant onboarding, custom disbursement engine, scheme-compliant reporting, and real-time fraud detection. Australia's first PayFac-as-a-Service platform, approved by Australian acquirers.
Powered by Fiserv
Global acquiring and settlement infrastructure. PCI-compliant. Cards, BECS Direct Debit, and digital wallets on one platform.
Case study — PassM8: 100+ studios onboarded in under two weeks
PassM8 is an Australian-built SaaS management platform serving dance studios, yoga studios, martial arts gyms, and fitness centres. When building their platform, they needed embedded payments infrastructure that could handle recurring billing, direct debits, card payments, and dynamic platform fees — while giving each studio its own independent merchant account.
Mainstream providers couldn't support the granular control or marketplace model PassM8 needed. As founder Philip Johns put it: "At the time, it felt like the solution I needed didn't exist — until I discovered Pinch."
Using the Pinch Payments API and Managed Merchants flow, PassM8 automated studio onboarding, processed both recurring and one-off payments, managed dynamic platform fees, and used webhook events for real-time updates. The API was clean, fast to implement, and backed by support response times consistently under one hour.
Results: 100+ studios onboarded, integration completed in under two weeks, 100% digital automated payments from day one, and 18% monthly revenue growth.
"Pinch helped PassM8 deliver enterprise-grade billing capability from day one — something that would have been impossible without a true integration partner."
— Philip Johns, Founder, PassM8
Read the full PassM8 case study →
Case study - Digit Business: custom B2B billing via the Pinch API
Digit Business is a Perth-based bookkeeping, advisory, and accounting firm that works with SMBs across hospitality, professional services, retail, and eCommerce. As a Xero Platinum Partner, Digit needed a payments solution that integrated directly with Xero and gave them the flexibility to build custom solutions for clients.
Their previous setup required clients to use multiple platforms for direct debit, creating friction in onboarding and duplication in reconciliation. After a single 20-minute call with the Pinch team, Andrew at Digit had everything he needed to move forward.
Using the Pinch Payments API, Digit built a custom CRM solution tailored to their clients' payment needs. Direct Xero integration eliminated reconciliation duplication. Embedded direct debit removed the need to send clients to separate onboarding systems. Variable billing was automated.
Results: 100% Xero invoice syncing, 80% faster payment reconciliation, two platforms replaced, and one custom CRM built via API.
"What I love most about Pinch is the customer service and accessibility. That flexibility is rare in the app space — it's fantastic that the founders are so heavily involved in the product."
— Andrew, Digit Business
Read the full Digit Business case study →
How to get started with embedded payments via Pinch
Getting started with Pinch takes three steps:
- Book a technical discovery session — a call with the Pinch team to scope the right integration path for your platform
- Build in sandbox — access the full API environment with fake money, Postman collection, and time-travel for testing
- Go live — swap your sandbox key for a production key; nothing else changes
Pricing is transparent: cards from 1.68% + 30c, BECS Direct Debit at a flat 85c, and no payout fees.
For platforms exploring the PayFac path, Glassbox discovery sessions are also available.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, financial, or taxation advice. While we strive to provide accurate and up-to-date details based on current Australian regulations, business requirements can change. We recommend consulting with a qualified accountant, lawyer, or business advisor before making any significant decisions or taking action based on this content.
