Most founders think embedded payments is either incredibly easy or way too complex. Both are wrong. And both leave millions on the table.
This episode dives deep into what it actually takes to embed payments successfully. I sat down with Alex Schoonkind, Cofounder and CEO of Embed, an embedded payments provider specializing in vertical SaaS companies.
Alex has seen it all, from founders who rush in without understanding the operational complexity, to those who avoid payments thinking it's too far from their core business. He breaks down exactly when to make the move, what to expect, and the one question every founder needs to answer before starting.
In this episode:
- The two misconceptions that kill embedded payment projects before they start
- The critical question: "Do you see a future of yourself as a financial services company?"
- When timing is right: why you need 20 to 50M EUR in yearly transaction volume
- The support overhead reality (spoiler: it's only 1 to 2% of customers)
- Why flexible pricing models matter more than you think for vertical SaaS
- How KYC can kill your user experience and what to do about it
- Why industries like healthtech and proptech are leaving money on the table
- Alex's prediction: generic payment providers will disappear in the next decade
Have questions about embedded payments that we didn't cover in this episode? Reach out to me (e.g., LinkedIn), and I will make sure to answer them at a later time.