Sep 2, 2025

How to Pick an Embedded Fintech Vendor

Rapid fintech innovation brings exciting opportunities but also significant risks for banks, SaaS platforms, accounting firms, and their clients. Properly vetting embedded fintech vendors is paramount in today’s fast-evolving financial technology landscape. 

Why Careful Vendor Due Diligence Matters

Embedded fintech solutions like Rollfi and Priority’s Commerce Engine enable platforms add services like payments, payroll, banking and more via simple integrations. Yet, ignoring rigorous vendor vetting can lead to service outages, data breaches, compliance failures, and lost revenues. Due diligence must go beyond surface-level checks to assess regulatory compliance, operational stability, disaster recovery plans, and overall security posture.

Learning from Past Blowups: Synapse, Solid, and QuickBooks Payroll

The fintech ecosystem has witnessed multiple infrastructure collapses that offer hard lessons for fintech vendors and customers alike:

Synapse: A Dramatic BaaS Bankruptcy

Synapse Financial Technologies was a leading banking-as-a-service (BaaS) player that supported over 18 million end users and partnered with major fintechs. However, chronic mismanagement, operational failures, and regulatory noncompliance culminated in an April 2024 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, revealing an estimated $85-95 million shortfall in customer funds.

The collapse froze over 200,000 accounts, stranding roughly 10 million users, including clients like Yotta and Juno, and left fintech platforms scrambling to find alternatives. The fallout exposed the vulnerabilities of relying on single startup intermediaries with poor ledger transparency and contingency planning, serving as a cautionary tale about the hidden risks within fintech infrastructure.

Solid: Emerging Infrastructure and Regulatory Risks

Following similar patterns, Solid, another BaaS fintech, faced operational instability, slow outage responses, and regulatory pressures that raised alarms about the dependability of fast-growing startup rails. This shows  how rapid scaling, without institutional safeguards, can jeopardize fintech partner reliability. This echoes a broader industry truth: VC-fueled rails without end-to-end institutional safeguards can be a dangerous partner for critical financial services.

QuickBooks Payroll: Established Yet Vulnerable

Even mature, incumbent providers aren’t immune. QuickBooks Payroll’s outage on August 29, 2025, disrupted payroll processing and financial operations for thousands of small business customers . This meant employees all over the country went into Labor Day Weekend without a paycheck. 

What to Look for When Vetting Vendors

A robust check list makes sure you aren't gambling with exposure, downtime, and reputation risks. Here are few things to look out for while making a decision on who to partner with…

Independent Audits & Regulatory Compliance

  • SOC 1/SOC 2 Type II reports available and refreshed annually.

  • Regular third-party security and financial audits.

  • Active state and federal money transmitter licenses or banking charters.

  • Full transparency and responsiveness to compliance inquiries.

Payments Scale & Liquidity

  • Documented annual or quarterly payment volume

  • Visible cash reserves and credit access for transaction continuity.

  • Publicly available balance sheets and liquidity positions.

Risk & Contingency Planning

  • Current business continuity and disaster recovery protocols.

  • Service-level agreements (SLAs) and incident compensation practices.

  • Track record in managing real incidents with minimal disruption.

Platform Architecture & Security

  • Scalable, cloud-based platform with redundancy and failover.

  • Regular penetration tests and best-in-class data encryption.

  • Demonstrable up-time history and transparent incident reporting.

  • Multi Tenant infrastructure that ensures data is not mixed between different partners

Transparency & Communication

  • Clear contracts covering risk, responsibilities, and termination.

  • Ongoing performance and compliance monitoring.

  • Rapid, open communication during incidents or updates.

Product and Operations

  • Detailed API documentation and sandbox access for easy integration.

  • Direct and responsive support from tech and operations teams.

  • Back-office access and transparent operational flows.

Rollfi + Priority: Institutional Strength for Embedded Payroll

As a division of Priority (NASDAQ $PRTH), Rollfi distinguishes itself through reliable battle-tested institutional infrastructure:

  • Unmatched Scale: Priority is the 5th largest non-bank merchant acquirer in the U.S, with an annual revenue run rate approaching $1 billion ($200M+ of EDITDA), supported by a network of Money Center and Super Regional banks.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Priority holds nationwide money transmitter licenses and integrates built-in compliance tools, ensuring customers benefit from bank-grade safeguards.

  • Industry Recognition: Three years running on CNBC’s top global fintech companies list speaks to Priority’s leadership and stability.

  • Technological Rigor: API-native, scalable infrastructure with automated reconciliation, integrated risk controls, and superior uptime makes Rollfi’s platform reliable and future-proof.

Thanks to our unique setup, our customers get the speed + obsession of a startup combined with the safety of a scaled public company who has seen it all.

The Bottom Line: You Choose Stability or Chaos

The past exposes a brutal truth: unchecked fintech startups with untested rails are a liability, not an asset. Rollfi's partnership with Priority Technology Holdings ($PRTH) is a fearless rejection of fintech mediocrity and an unwavering commitment to genuine institutional strength, dependable financial heft, and rock-solid compliance. This is where reliability is built for today’s critical payroll and benefits operations—and where your business belongs.

About Rollfi

Rollfi empowers banks, vertical SaaS platforms, accounting firms, and fintechs to add payroll and benefits to their offerings through white-label solutions and robust APIs. With Rollfi’s infrastructure, platforms can unlock new revenue, boost customer retention, and gain valuable payroll data insights. Fast deployment and full regulatory coverage make Rollfi the easiest way to turn your platform into a one-stop shop for essential business services.

Rapid fintech innovation brings exciting opportunities but also significant risks for banks, SaaS platforms, accounting firms, and their clients. Properly vetting embedded fintech vendors is paramount in today’s fast-evolving financial technology landscape. 

Why Careful Vendor Due Diligence Matters

Embedded fintech solutions like Rollfi and Priority’s Commerce Engine enable platforms add services like payments, payroll, banking and more via simple integrations. Yet, ignoring rigorous vendor vetting can lead to service outages, data breaches, compliance failures, and lost revenues. Due diligence must go beyond surface-level checks to assess regulatory compliance, operational stability, disaster recovery plans, and overall security posture.

Learning from Past Blowups: Synapse, Solid, and QuickBooks Payroll

The fintech ecosystem has witnessed multiple infrastructure collapses that offer hard lessons for fintech vendors and customers alike:

Synapse: A Dramatic BaaS Bankruptcy

Synapse Financial Technologies was a leading banking-as-a-service (BaaS) player that supported over 18 million end users and partnered with major fintechs. However, chronic mismanagement, operational failures, and regulatory noncompliance culminated in an April 2024 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, revealing an estimated $85-95 million shortfall in customer funds.

The collapse froze over 200,000 accounts, stranding roughly 10 million users, including clients like Yotta and Juno, and left fintech platforms scrambling to find alternatives. The fallout exposed the vulnerabilities of relying on single startup intermediaries with poor ledger transparency and contingency planning, serving as a cautionary tale about the hidden risks within fintech infrastructure.

Solid: Emerging Infrastructure and Regulatory Risks

Following similar patterns, Solid, another BaaS fintech, faced operational instability, slow outage responses, and regulatory pressures that raised alarms about the dependability of fast-growing startup rails. This shows  how rapid scaling, without institutional safeguards, can jeopardize fintech partner reliability. This echoes a broader industry truth: VC-fueled rails without end-to-end institutional safeguards can be a dangerous partner for critical financial services.

QuickBooks Payroll: Established Yet Vulnerable

Even mature, incumbent providers aren’t immune. QuickBooks Payroll’s outage on August 29, 2025, disrupted payroll processing and financial operations for thousands of small business customers . This meant employees all over the country went into Labor Day Weekend without a paycheck. 

What to Look for When Vetting Vendors

A robust check list makes sure you aren't gambling with exposure, downtime, and reputation risks. Here are few things to look out for while making a decision on who to partner with…

Independent Audits & Regulatory Compliance

  • SOC 1/SOC 2 Type II reports available and refreshed annually.

  • Regular third-party security and financial audits.

  • Active state and federal money transmitter licenses or banking charters.

  • Full transparency and responsiveness to compliance inquiries.

Payments Scale & Liquidity

  • Documented annual or quarterly payment volume

  • Visible cash reserves and credit access for transaction continuity.

  • Publicly available balance sheets and liquidity positions.

Risk & Contingency Planning

  • Current business continuity and disaster recovery protocols.

  • Service-level agreements (SLAs) and incident compensation practices.

  • Track record in managing real incidents with minimal disruption.

Platform Architecture & Security

  • Scalable, cloud-based platform with redundancy and failover.

  • Regular penetration tests and best-in-class data encryption.

  • Demonstrable up-time history and transparent incident reporting.

  • Multi Tenant infrastructure that ensures data is not mixed between different partners

Transparency & Communication

  • Clear contracts covering risk, responsibilities, and termination.

  • Ongoing performance and compliance monitoring.

  • Rapid, open communication during incidents or updates.

Product and Operations

  • Detailed API documentation and sandbox access for easy integration.

  • Direct and responsive support from tech and operations teams.

  • Back-office access and transparent operational flows.

Rollfi + Priority: Institutional Strength for Embedded Payroll

As a division of Priority (NASDAQ $PRTH), Rollfi distinguishes itself through reliable battle-tested institutional infrastructure:

  • Unmatched Scale: Priority is the 5th largest non-bank merchant acquirer in the U.S, with an annual revenue run rate approaching $1 billion ($200M+ of EDITDA), supported by a network of Money Center and Super Regional banks.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Priority holds nationwide money transmitter licenses and integrates built-in compliance tools, ensuring customers benefit from bank-grade safeguards.

  • Industry Recognition: Three years running on CNBC’s top global fintech companies list speaks to Priority’s leadership and stability.

  • Technological Rigor: API-native, scalable infrastructure with automated reconciliation, integrated risk controls, and superior uptime makes Rollfi’s platform reliable and future-proof.

Thanks to our unique setup, our customers get the speed + obsession of a startup combined with the safety of a scaled public company who has seen it all.

The Bottom Line: You Choose Stability or Chaos

The past exposes a brutal truth: unchecked fintech startups with untested rails are a liability, not an asset. Rollfi's partnership with Priority Technology Holdings ($PRTH) is a fearless rejection of fintech mediocrity and an unwavering commitment to genuine institutional strength, dependable financial heft, and rock-solid compliance. This is where reliability is built for today’s critical payroll and benefits operations—and where your business belongs.

About Rollfi

Rollfi empowers banks, vertical SaaS platforms, accounting firms, and fintechs to add payroll and benefits to their offerings through white-label solutions and robust APIs. With Rollfi’s infrastructure, platforms can unlock new revenue, boost customer retention, and gain valuable payroll data insights. Fast deployment and full regulatory coverage make Rollfi the easiest way to turn your platform into a one-stop shop for essential business services.

Rapid fintech innovation brings exciting opportunities but also significant risks for banks, SaaS platforms, accounting firms, and their clients. Properly vetting embedded fintech vendors is paramount in today’s fast-evolving financial technology landscape. 

Why Careful Vendor Due Diligence Matters

Embedded fintech solutions like Rollfi and Priority’s Commerce Engine enable platforms add services like payments, payroll, banking and more via simple integrations. Yet, ignoring rigorous vendor vetting can lead to service outages, data breaches, compliance failures, and lost revenues. Due diligence must go beyond surface-level checks to assess regulatory compliance, operational stability, disaster recovery plans, and overall security posture.

Learning from Past Blowups: Synapse, Solid, and QuickBooks Payroll

The fintech ecosystem has witnessed multiple infrastructure collapses that offer hard lessons for fintech vendors and customers alike:

Synapse: A Dramatic BaaS Bankruptcy

Synapse Financial Technologies was a leading banking-as-a-service (BaaS) player that supported over 18 million end users and partnered with major fintechs. However, chronic mismanagement, operational failures, and regulatory noncompliance culminated in an April 2024 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, revealing an estimated $85-95 million shortfall in customer funds.

The collapse froze over 200,000 accounts, stranding roughly 10 million users, including clients like Yotta and Juno, and left fintech platforms scrambling to find alternatives. The fallout exposed the vulnerabilities of relying on single startup intermediaries with poor ledger transparency and contingency planning, serving as a cautionary tale about the hidden risks within fintech infrastructure.

Solid: Emerging Infrastructure and Regulatory Risks

Following similar patterns, Solid, another BaaS fintech, faced operational instability, slow outage responses, and regulatory pressures that raised alarms about the dependability of fast-growing startup rails. This shows  how rapid scaling, without institutional safeguards, can jeopardize fintech partner reliability. This echoes a broader industry truth: VC-fueled rails without end-to-end institutional safeguards can be a dangerous partner for critical financial services.

QuickBooks Payroll: Established Yet Vulnerable

Even mature, incumbent providers aren’t immune. QuickBooks Payroll’s outage on August 29, 2025, disrupted payroll processing and financial operations for thousands of small business customers . This meant employees all over the country went into Labor Day Weekend without a paycheck. 

What to Look for When Vetting Vendors

A robust check list makes sure you aren't gambling with exposure, downtime, and reputation risks. Here are few things to look out for while making a decision on who to partner with…

Independent Audits & Regulatory Compliance

  • SOC 1/SOC 2 Type II reports available and refreshed annually.

  • Regular third-party security and financial audits.

  • Active state and federal money transmitter licenses or banking charters.

  • Full transparency and responsiveness to compliance inquiries.

Payments Scale & Liquidity

  • Documented annual or quarterly payment volume

  • Visible cash reserves and credit access for transaction continuity.

  • Publicly available balance sheets and liquidity positions.

Risk & Contingency Planning

  • Current business continuity and disaster recovery protocols.

  • Service-level agreements (SLAs) and incident compensation practices.

  • Track record in managing real incidents with minimal disruption.

Platform Architecture & Security

  • Scalable, cloud-based platform with redundancy and failover.

  • Regular penetration tests and best-in-class data encryption.

  • Demonstrable up-time history and transparent incident reporting.

  • Multi Tenant infrastructure that ensures data is not mixed between different partners

Transparency & Communication

  • Clear contracts covering risk, responsibilities, and termination.

  • Ongoing performance and compliance monitoring.

  • Rapid, open communication during incidents or updates.

Product and Operations

  • Detailed API documentation and sandbox access for easy integration.

  • Direct and responsive support from tech and operations teams.

  • Back-office access and transparent operational flows.

Rollfi + Priority: Institutional Strength for Embedded Payroll

As a division of Priority (NASDAQ $PRTH), Rollfi distinguishes itself through reliable battle-tested institutional infrastructure:

  • Unmatched Scale: Priority is the 5th largest non-bank merchant acquirer in the U.S, with an annual revenue run rate approaching $1 billion ($200M+ of EDITDA), supported by a network of Money Center and Super Regional banks.

  • Regulatory Compliance: Priority holds nationwide money transmitter licenses and integrates built-in compliance tools, ensuring customers benefit from bank-grade safeguards.

  • Industry Recognition: Three years running on CNBC’s top global fintech companies list speaks to Priority’s leadership and stability.

  • Technological Rigor: API-native, scalable infrastructure with automated reconciliation, integrated risk controls, and superior uptime makes Rollfi’s platform reliable and future-proof.

Thanks to our unique setup, our customers get the speed + obsession of a startup combined with the safety of a scaled public company who has seen it all.

The Bottom Line: You Choose Stability or Chaos

The past exposes a brutal truth: unchecked fintech startups with untested rails are a liability, not an asset. Rollfi's partnership with Priority Technology Holdings ($PRTH) is a fearless rejection of fintech mediocrity and an unwavering commitment to genuine institutional strength, dependable financial heft, and rock-solid compliance. This is where reliability is built for today’s critical payroll and benefits operations—and where your business belongs.

About Rollfi

Rollfi empowers banks, vertical SaaS platforms, accounting firms, and fintechs to add payroll and benefits to their offerings through white-label solutions and robust APIs. With Rollfi’s infrastructure, platforms can unlock new revenue, boost customer retention, and gain valuable payroll data insights. Fast deployment and full regulatory coverage make Rollfi the easiest way to turn your platform into a one-stop shop for essential business services.