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

Embedded fintech is a massive opportunity for vertical software companies, but most SaaS operators aren’t thinking about the full potential.

WorkWave SVP & GM of Fintech and Strategic Partnerships Jacob Olins joined host Becky Kopplin to discuss the unique opportunity for vertical SaaS companies to disrupt traditional banking, the most common challenges, and how to unlock fintech growth.

They discussed:

• How Square paved the way for embedded finance
• One leadership decision that separates the embedded fintech winners from everyone else
• Where in the payments journey most software companies get stuck – and how to unlock next level growth
• How to evaluate your embedded fintech opportunities and decide where to start (hint: it’s not always payment acceptance)
• Two archetypes for a payments leader, and how to choose the right payments leader for your organization

Listen to the Acquired podcast episode on Visa that Jacob recommended during the conversation.

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

As Head of Consulting and Market Intelligence at TSG, Peter Michaud is often engaged by Private Equity firms to help value software companies with integrated or embedded payments. In this episode, he joins host Brooke Smith to share his exact framework for evaluating a software company’s payments business, how each variable impacts valuation, and how software companies can close the gap between their current payments business and their future potential. 

They covered:

• Why investors care about payments (hint: it’s not just about revenue)
• The right to win: why it matters, how to evaluate it, and what it says about your addressable market
• Three critical payments contract terms to know and how they impact valuation
• Why software companies should own the merchant relationship including sales, support, and pricing
• Key insights from merchant-level volume and profitability – and why you need this data to make business decisions

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

Mindbody is admired as an embedded payments role model by SaaS operators and investors alike.

How can other vertical SaaS platforms replicate their success?

On this episode, Brad Greene (Co-Founder and COO at H3 Partners and former payments leader at Mindbody and HubSpot) joined host Joshua Silver to discuss the rise of embedded payments and how vertical SaaS companies can launch a successful embedded payments offering.

They covered:

• The most frequently overlooked contributors to a successful embedded payments launch (don’t ignore these)
• How Shopify democratized e-commerce and what vSaaS platforms can learn from their success
• 3 factors that drove Mindbody's payments revenue growth and how companies are replicating their success
• The most important consideration when choosing your payments provider (hint: it’s not price)
• How vertical software can still win in the AI era

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

When software companies want to increase payments revenue, payment provider fees are often the first place they look.

But cost cutting yields only a very limited margin increase.

The real growth opportunity is driving greater adoption and payments volume. 

Ashley Willson, co-founder of advisory firm Revolv, joined host Becky Kopplin to share how vertical software companies can grow payments revenue by optimizing their GTM strategy for adoption.

They covered:

• Why vertical SaaS companies need a payments partner, not a vendor, and how to choose the right one for your business
• How to shift the focus from cost savings to volume growth, and why this perspective shift is key for revenue and retention
• One prerequisite that vertical SaaS companies must achieve before adding embedded payments
• 3 things the most successful vertical software companies do right to drive payments adoption, volume, and revenue
• The next big embedded fintech opportunity for vertical software companies

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

Evan DaSilva grew Buildium’s embedded payments volume from $2B/yr to $10B/yr, contributing to a 446% increase in valuation over just 42 months and a $580M acquisition.

Now, Evan is SVP of Payments at donor management and fundraising platform Bloomerang. He joined host Joshua Silver to share his experience as a repeat Head of Payments.

They discussed:

• Why early-stage vertical SaaS founders can’t afford to ignore payments
• Traps to avoid when choosing your first (or next) payment provider
• When to hire a payments leader and what to look for in the ideal candidate
• 3 ways to sell payments into your backbook
• How embedded payments drives higher valuations for vertical software companies

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

The most frequently asked questions about surcharging tend to focus on surcharging compliance.

Compliance is important. But the first question should be “is surcharging even the right solution?” 

In this episode, Rainforest VP of Payments Becky Kopplin joins host Joshua Silver to share their insights on both questions. They discussed when to consider surcharging, which problems surcharging does (and does not) solve, and – if you do decide to surcharge – how to be compliant.

This conversation covers:

• Surcharging, convenience fees, technology fees, and discounts – exactly which fee models are subject to surcharging rules and why
• How card networks enforce surcharging rules and the consequences of non-compliance
• 3 must-haves for compliant surcharging and how to approach each
• Hidden costs of surcharging and how to decide if it should be a priority for your platform
• One specific use case where surcharging can significantly accelerate card adoption

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

When vertical software companies transition from referral-based payment providers to an embedded solution, one of the critical challenges is bringing payments support in-house.

Vertical SaaS veterans Emi Keshler and Kyle Scott joined us this week to share their experiences supporting day-to-day operations for embedded payments at vertical software companies, and how to transform payments support from cost center to revenue driver.

We discussed:

• How support and payment operations directly contribute to payments adoption and revenue
• Product gaps that create the vast majority of payments-related support tickets – and how to find and fix them
• Why an internal payments advocate is essential for a profitable payments product 
• How to move from reactive support to proactive support, and become your merchants’ trusted partner
• The hidden decision that can drive 2x revenue when vertical SaaS companies get it right

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

The chargeback exists to protect consumers. And it assumes that all consumers are good actors. But what happens when they’re not?

First party fraud is increasing by 30% every year.

It’s hard to detect, accounts for more than 75% of chargebacks, and costs US businesses more than $100B per year.

Shanthi Shanmugam, CEO of dispute automation platform Casap, joined guest-host Brooke Smith to discuss how payment providers, ISVs, and merchants can fight first-party fraud.

They covered:

• Why first-party fraud isn’t detected by traditional fraud tooling
• The tradeoff between friction and fraud, and how ISVs can strategically insert friction to reduce first-party fraud 
• How modern technology like first-party fraud scores can identify high-risk consumers
• Why some customers file chargebacks when they’re confused – and a simple strategy to identify (and fix) the most likely causes
• Specific strategies to reduce chargebacks on subscription 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