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Rainforest has launched an embedded integration with PayPal for vertical software platforms, adding PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Pay Later to the same checkout flow used for card and bank payments.
The integration targets software providers that serve specific industries and manage billing and payments on behalf of their customers. It aims to shift more transactions away from offline methods such as cash and cheques, which remain widely used in the US and are often associated with payment fraud.
With the new setup, platforms using Rainforest for embedded payments can offer PayPal-funded payments alongside cards, Apple Pay and pay by bank. Checkout stays inside the platform rather than sending users to separate portals for different payment methods.
The companies are positioning the move as a response to demand from platform customers and merchants for familiar digital wallet options. Rainforest said customers have asked for PayPal support as they work to move more volume away from cash and cheques.
"Vertical software is a strategic growth area for PayPal as more commerce moves directly into software," said Taira Hall, Senior Vice President and Head of SMB Commercial at PayPal. "Rainforest's deep focus on vertical software and strong execution make them the ideal partner to equip software platforms with trusted PayPal payment options in a way that's streamlined, scalable, and purpose-built for their needs. Together, we're helping modernise payments across vertical markets while meeting end-customer expectations for choice, convenience, and trust."
Single checkout
Many software companies have historically integrated payment types separately. That can mean multiple development projects, fragmented reporting, separate merchant onboarding steps, and more than one daily deposit into a merchant bank account.
Rainforest mentioned that the PayPal integration sits directly inside its product, allowing platforms to enable PayPal, Venmo and PayPal Pay Later without building additional integrations or running separate onboarding flows for each method.
Rainforest said the integration uses a single API to configure payment amounts and platform splits across payment types. It also provides unified reporting, with filtering and drill-down across payment methods from one view.
The company also highlighted transaction metadata that ties payments to business context such as customer, location, job or invoice. Real-time payment status and details are available via API, and reconciliation tools include a single daily or weekly deposit supported by itemised reporting.
"Rainforest's customers have been increasingly eager for a PayPal integration as they look to shift more of their transaction volume away from cash and checks and toward modern digital payments," said Joshua Silver, Rainforest's Founder and CEO. "We built Rainforest to be the best embedded payment provider for vertical software, and that means delivering a first-class payments experience - unified, seamless, and fully embedded - for both merchants and their customers. Partnering with PayPal allows us to do exactly that, giving platforms instant access to PayPal without extra onboarding steps, external portals, or fragmented reporting. Together, we're helping our platform clients deliver a modern, end-to-end payments experience."
Industry focus
The deal underscores the growing importance of vertical software platforms in payments. These platforms sit within day-to-day workflows in sectors such as services, healthcare, trades and local commerce. They increasingly bundle billing, invoicing and payments into core products rather than leaving payment collection to standalone processors.
For PayPal, embedding its wallet and pay-later products inside software platforms offers a way to reach merchants and consumers at the point of transaction, placing PayPal-funded methods alongside other digital options merchants already offer.
For Rainforest, the integration expands the payment methods it can offer platform clients through a single implementation. That aligns with a broader trend in embedded finance, where software vendors prefer consolidated providers for onboarding, reporting and settlement.
The announcement follows Rainforest's continued expansion in payments infrastructure for software platforms. The company recently announced a USD $29 million Series B funding round led by Matrix Partners and Infinity Ventures.
Rainforest said its service lets software platforms accept payments without registering as a payment facilitator with card networks, reducing operational and compliance burdens for platforms that want to embed payments.
Both companies said the integration supports a shared focus on checkout convenience for end customers and a unified experience for merchants. They expect more payment volume to move through software platforms as commerce shifts into vertically focused applications.