Are you wishing or trying that your development team design a unique payment system? If this is the case, you will most likely lose market share to competitors who already use integrated payment systems, delaying product launch and burning out your engineers.
The truth is that developing unique payment systems is a significant drain on engineering resources. It takes months, costs a fortune, and diverts your finest developers’ attention away from what is most important: your main product. Meanwhile, smart platforms are integrating payments into their applications via Payment-as-a-Service (PaaS) APIs.
The Custom Payment Development Trap
The first phase runs from weeks 1 to 4. During this time, your team sets payment criteria and defines security requirements. There are many meetings and a lot of documentation work. The second phase runs from weeks 5 to 12.
Developers design systems for transaction processing, authorization, settlement, and fraud detection, effectively rebuilding what established payment businesses have previously accomplished.
During weeks 13 to 18, the third phase involves integration with card networks, banks, and processors. This stage requires more documentation, security checks, and testing. The fourth phase runs from weeks 19 to 24. During this time, the focus is on security and compliance. It includes PCI DSS standards, encryption, tokenization, and fraud prevention.
Finally, the last phase, from weeks 25 to 28, involves full testing, validation, and deployment before going live. Your competitors using PaaS likely launched 24 weeks ago.
Embedded Finance
The embedded finance market is booming, projected to reach $370.9 billion by 2035. This explosive growth is driven by:
- 70% of SMBs want embedded payments in their platforms.
- 83% of businesses plan to launch embedded payment services in the next 5 years.
- More than half of SaaS providers now offer embedded payments.
This isn’t a fleeting trend; it’s the new standard.
Payment-as-a-Service
PaaS completely transforms the process. Instead of 28 weeks building infrastructure, you integrate a pre-built PaaS API.
How PaaS Works:
In the first week, developers will read API documentation (a few hours at most). After that, they will integrate the PaaS API, test in a sandbox, and check the transaction flow. In the second week, the PaaS provider manages PCI DSS compliance, encryption, and fraud detection. You simply implement their pre-built security measures.
Then, in the third week, end-to-end testing and launch to production. That’s an 87.5% reduction in development time and 80-85% in cost savings.
The Comparison That Proves Everything
| Metric | Custom Build | PaaS |
| Development Time | 28 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Developer Cost | $200-400K | $30-50K |
| PCI Compliance Work | Your team | Provider handles |
| Security & Encryption | You implement | Pre-built |
| Card Network Integration | 4-6 weeks each | Already done |
| Maintenance Overhead | Ongoing (years) | Provider maintains |
| Time to Revenue | 7 months | 3 weeks |
| Launch Advantage | Competitors win | You win first |
Business Impact: Revenue & Market Position
- E-commerce platforms: a reduction of 12–18% in checkout abandonment, a 30–50% rise in conversion rates, and a 23% gain in revenue due to flexible payment options.
- SaaS Platforms: 59% of US SMEs prefer SaaS with integrated payments, which increases user retention and creates new income streams.
- Marketplaces: Offer sellers real-time settlements, cut down on delays from three to five days, and increase seller retention by 25 to 40 percent.
How OmniPayments’ API-Driven Building Blocks Enable Embedded Finance
OmniPayments makes payment integration fast and simple. Setup takes only a few days instead of weeks. OmniPayments uses an API-first design with tools like OmniAuth, OmniDirector, OmniSwitch, and OmniCrypto. These systems are ready to use. They handle security, routing, and transactions.
This helps save up to 80% of development time. One simple API supports all payment types like cards, ACH, wire transfers, and digital wallets. With OmniDirector, you can add or change payment methods easily. No coding is needed. It makes the whole process fast and flexible.
