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Growth opportunities and go-to-market strategies for software platforms.

Enable your clients to boost revenue and retention with the right embedded payments offering.

The 2026 Merchant Insider Report makes one thing clear: payments aren’t viewed as infrastructure anymore. They’re the primary factor merchants weigh when deciding whether to stick with a business software platform.

Embedded finance expectations have shifted dramatically over the years. In the past, platforms could stand out from the competition simply by offering embedded finance capabilities — like payment acceptance or access to working capital.

Software providers have less room than ever to assume merchants will stay put. For the second year in a row, more than 60% of merchants say they have an appetite for switching platforms. In 2025, that figure stood at 62%, up from 55% in 2023, according to the 2026 Merchant Insider Report , which surveyed over 1,500 businesses across Australia, the UK and the US.

The one thing that never changes is that everything changes — and merchant expectations are no different. What surprised us in the 2026 Merchant Insider Report, which surveyed key leaders and decision-makers across more than 1,500 businesses in the US, UK and Australia, wasn’t that expectations are evolving. It was the scale and speed of the shift.