Product details — Payments & Billing APIs
Finix
This page is a decision brief, not a review. It explains when Finix tends to fit, where it usually struggles, and how costs behave as your needs change. This page covers Finix in isolation; side-by-side comparisons live on separate pages.
Quick signals
What this product actually is
Finix is payment infrastructure enabling software platforms to become payment facilitators (PayFacs) and own payment economics. Captures merchant payment revenue share vs paying Stripe Connect fees.
Pricing behavior (not a price list)
These points describe when users typically pay more, what actions trigger upgrades, and the mechanics of how costs escalate.
Actions that trigger upgrades
- Stripe Connect per-merchant fees exceed $50K/year - PayFac economics become favorable
- Platform reaches 500 merchants - Finix minimum requirements met
- Payment revenue opportunity exceeds $1M/year - ownership justifies complexity
- Need complete white-label control - Stripe branding limitations become blocker
- Merchant underwriting requirements specific - Finix custom risk rules available
When costs usually spike
- Monthly platform fee ($2,000-$5,000) fixed cost before merchant volume revenue
- PayFac registration costs $50K-$150K in legal, compliance, and setup fees
- Platform liable for merchant chargebacks - reserve requirements can lock up capital
- Merchant onboarding approval rate lower than Stripe - platform bears risk assessment
- Contract commitments typically 24-36 months vs Stripe Connect's pay-as-you-go
- International expansion requires separate PayFac registrations per region
Plans and variants (structural only)
Grouped by type to show structure, not to rank or recommend specific SKUs.
Plans
- Platform - $2,000-$5,000/month platform fee + per-transaction - Minimum 500 merchants or $100M GMV
Enterprise
- PayFac-as-a-Service - Custom revenue share (20-40 bps) - Full white-label, 6-12 month implementation
- Enterprise - Fully custom pricing and terms - Large platforms with 1,000+ merchants
Costs & limitations
Common limits
- Requires significant commitment - platform must be registered PayFac (regulatory burden)
- Minimum revenue requirements - typically need $100M+ GMV or 500+ merchants
- Platform assumes merchant risk and chargeback liability (Stripe Connect doesn't)
- Setup complexity high - 6-12 month implementation vs Stripe Connect's weeks
- Monthly platform fees ($2,000-$5,000) before merchant volume considered
- Smaller payment coverage than Stripe - fewer alternative payment methods
What breaks first
- Merchant growth slower than projected - fixed monthly fees erode margins
- Chargeback rates spike - platform absorbs losses Stripe Connect would shield
- Compliance burden (PCI, KYC, AML) exceeds internal operational capacity
- International expansion needs blocked by PayFac registration requirements
- Developer resources insufficient for ongoing payment infrastructure maintenance
Fit assessment
Good fit if…
- Established software platforms with 500+ merchants processing payments
- Vertical SaaS companies where payments are 20%+ of revenue opportunity
- Platforms processing $100M+ GMV annually where economics justify PayFac ownership
- Software companies wanting to capture 20-40 bps revenue share per merchant
- Businesses needing complete white-label control over merchant payment experience
- Platforms where Stripe Connect per-merchant fees erode margins at scale
Poor fit if…
- Early-stage platforms with <500 merchants - Finix minimums not met
- Software companies unwilling to assume merchant risk and chargeback liability
- Teams lacking compliance expertise (PCI, KYC, AML) - operational burden high
- Need fast launch (<6 months) - use Stripe Connect instead
- International payments priority - Finix coverage limited vs Stripe's global reach
- Platform GMV under $50M/year - economics don't justify PayFac complexity
Trade-offs
Every design choice has a cost. Here are the explicit trade-offs:
- Earn 20-40 bps revenue share → Assume merchant risk and chargeback liability
- Complete white-label control → 6-12 month implementation and $50K-$150K setup
- Better unit economics at scale → Fixed monthly fees ($2K-$5K) and minimums (500 merchants)
- Direct sponsor bank relationships → Smaller payment method coverage than Stripe
- Own payment facilitator status → Regulatory compliance and operational overhead
Sources & verification
Pricing and behavioral information comes from public documentation and structured research. When information is incomplete or volatile, we prefer to say so rather than guess.