How the Usio Platform Helps SaaS Companies Serving Nonprofits Unlock Revenue—and Boost Valuation
This Usio partner began as a volunteer-run SaaS platform supporting school clubs and community volunteers with fundraising, ticket sales, communications, event management, and more. But without an internal payments team, they hit a familiar roadblock: enabling nonprofits to accept donations and sell merchandise—both online and in person—without technical complexity or slow onboarding.
The solution? The Usio platform.
Behind the scenes, the Usio embedded payments infrastructure powers every transaction. To donors, church members, parents, and volunteers, the platform looks like a sleek, modern fundraising tool—just click “Donate” or “Pay,” and the transaction is complete. Meanwhile, the Usio platform silently handles merchant provisioning, PCI compliance, and fund settlement.
Figure: An example of payment page (mobile). Payments powered by Usio. Donors pay in-app while the Usio system works in the background.
The result? Remarkable. In just one year with the Usio solution in place, this partner went from $0 to over $7.5 million in processed transactions—earning a significant revenue share along the way.
The Usio embedded payments capability also drove a 300% increase in payment volume, transforming the platform into one of the fastest-growing names in its niche. Even better, all that volume now appears on their books—not buried in third-party processor statements—strengthening recurring revenue and boosting valuation.
Analysts estimate that embedded finance can increase SaaS revenue by 40% and grow per-user revenue by 2–5×.
The Challenge: A Bootstrapped Startup with Big Ambitions
This partner began with no legacy systems and no payments revenue. Their end users—volunteers, members, coaches, and parents—weren’t payments pros, so the experience had to be simple and intuitive. They also needed to support both online and in-person transactions for concessions, merchandise, tickets, and more.
Building an in-house payment solution would have taken over a year and cost more than $1 million. Instead, they chose the Usio platform, which delivers full payments infrastructure that is fast, secure, and scalable—without distracting the team from product development.
The Usio Embedded Payments Platform: A Game-Changer
The Usio solution provided everything: merchant onboarding, compliance, PCI, and underwriting—all through a white-labeled platform. With just a few SDK integrations, the partner became a full-fledged PayFac in weeks, not months. There was no upfront cost—just new revenue.
True to its promise, the Usio platform gave the company all the capabilities of a payment facilitator without the need for upfront investment, ongoing maintenance, or complex compliance work.
Even better? Revenue share. Every transaction contributed to the bottom line. The first $7.5 million processed generated significant new income—money the company is now reinvesting in growth.
This approach is rare. Stripe’s revenue-sharing model is typically reserved for large-scale partners. The Usio platform, however, was built for mid-market SaaS, helping partners earn meaningful income from their own payment volume.
Behind the Scenes: Seamless for Users, Powerful for SaaS
To users, the experience is frictionless—click to pay with a card, ACH or Apple Pay, all within the app. Dozens of customers have praised the clean, modern interface. Behind the curtain, the Usio infrastructure handles tokenization, settlement, and ACH funding.
Meanwhile, the SaaS team gets real-time transaction data through the Usio dashboard—no need to build a payments ops team. The Usio platform also manages back-office tasks, including:
- Fund Disbursement Platform for rewards, payroll, or other payouts
- Print-and-Mail Services that can send 100,000+ invoices or donation receipts per day
Usio Success Story
The Impact: Explosive Growth and Valuation Gains
With the Usio platform, this partner scaled from zero to $7.5 million in annual payment volume. Transactions surged 300%, pushing the company into a leadership position within its niche.
Most importantly, all of that volume appears on their P&L—enhancing investor appeal and increasing company valuation. According to Usio, embedded payments can boost valuation by up to 300%, and industry data supports those numbers.
This is part of a larger trend: Embedded payments are growing 23% year-over-year through 2026, and 98% of SaaS platforms plan to expand into embedded finance this year.
A Blueprint for Mission-Driven SaaS
This model works for any SaaS platform serving nonprofits, youth sports, churches, or volunteer-led communities. With the Usio solution, your platform can:
- Accept donations or membership fees natively
- Track giving in real time
- Print and mail thank-you letters and receipts
…all while earning a share of every transaction.
The opportunity is wide open—40% of business platforms still haven’t embedded payments. That’s a massive growth runway for any SaaS company ready to scale.
Why Not Just Use Stripe?
Stripe is a well-known name, but it’s not built for the mid-market. Revenue sharing is limited, and services like disbursements or check mailing require multiple integrations.
The Usio platform offers a more complete, partner-focused solution:
- Embedded finance (payments, prepaid cards, disbursements, print/mail)
- White-label branding
- Revenue share built-in
- Real partnership—not just an API
Key Industry Takeaways
- Embedded finance is a $100B+ market, growing fast
- SaaS platforms see 40%+ average revenue lift with embedded finance
- Under-penetrated sectors like nonprofits, education, and sports are primed for innovation
- The Usio Embedded Payments model drives revenue without adding cost
In short: Embedded payments aren’t just a feature—they’re a growth engine. This Usio partner scaled faster, earned more, and delighted users. Any SaaS platform can follow this blueprint—embed payments, share in the revenue, and scale with confidence.
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