Shuttle vs Adyen for Platforms

Two Models for Platform Payments

Adyen for Platforms and Shuttle both let platforms embed payments. But they represent fundamentally different architectures:

Adyen for Platforms is an embedded payment solution from Adyen, one of the world's largest PSPs. It lets platforms onboard sub-merchants and process their transactions through Adyen's global acquiring network.

Shuttle is a PSP-neutral payment layer. It lets platforms embed multi-PSP payments through a single integration, supporting 40+ gateways, multiple payment channels, and white-label merchant tooling.

The core difference: Adyen for Platforms makes Adyen your sole processor. Shuttle lets merchants choose their processor, including Adyen.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Where Adyen for Platforms Wins

Be honest about this: credibility matters.

Global acquiring at scale

Adyen has one of the broadest acquiring networks globally. If your platform processes high volume in markets where Adyen has direct acquiring relationships, their rates can be very competitive. For platforms with hundreds of millions in annual processing, Adyen's scale is a genuine advantage.

Unified commerce (online + POS)

If your platform needs to support both online and in-store payments through a single provider, Adyen's unified commerce stack is strong. Shuttle does not handle POS/card-present transactions.

Enterprise payment operations

Adyen's reporting, reconciliation, and financial operations tools are built for enterprise scale. If you need a single-PSP operational dashboard with deep analytics, Adyen delivers.

Brand credibility

Adyen is publicly listed, processes for the world's largest companies, and carries significant brand weight. For some enterprise deals, "we use Adyen" is a selling point in itself.

Where Shuttle Wins

PSP flexibility: the structural difference

This is not a feature comparison. It's an architectural divide.

Adyen for Platforms routes every transaction through Adyen's network. If a merchant needs Worldpay, Stripe, a regional acquirer, or any other PSP, Adyen cannot support it. This is the same single-PSP limitation that applies to Stripe Connect.

Shuttle connects to 40+ PSPs. Merchants choose their gateway, or your platform sets which provider handles each payment type.

Why this matters: Enterprise merchants frequently mandate their PSP. They have existing contracts, negotiated rates, and banking relationships. "Switch everything to Adyen" is not always an option, especially in regulated industries where PSP relationships are tied to compliance requirements.

The further upmarket your platform moves, the more this matters.

Multi-channel coverage

Adyen covers online, in-app, POS and pay by link. Shuttle covers:

• Embedded checkout

• PCI-compliant voice payments (IVR, agent-assisted, AI voice agents)

• White-label payment links (SMS, email, chat)

• Chat agent payments

• AI voice agent payments

If your platform serves contact centres or runs AI voice agents, the difference is card capture inside the call, for a person or an AI agent, on each merchant's own compatible gateway.

White-label everything

Adyen's platform components can be styled to match your brand, but every merchant still processes on Adyen. Shuttle's merchant experience is white-label too, with onboarding, portal and payment pages branded as your platform, and it works whichever of the 40+ gateways each merchant uses.

For platforms positioning themselves as the payments provider to their merchants, white-label is essential.

Pre-built components

Shuttle is a single API integration with pre-built checkout, onboarding and portal components.

One integration for every merchant's PSP

With Shuttle, one integration serves every merchant, whatever their PSP. Your highest-volume enterprise merchants, who are the most likely to mandate their own PSP, are served on the same integration.

The Real-World Scenario

Platform: A B2B SaaS platform selling into enterprise accounts across Europe, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

With Adyen for Platforms:

• Onboard merchants onto Adyen's network

• Strong coverage in EU and US markets

• Enterprise customer in a market where Adyen has no local acquiring needs a local acquirer

• Enterprise customer has an existing contract with another PSP: switch to Adyen or lose the deal

• Contact centre customer needs card capture inside the call, not an agent keying the card into a virtual terminal

• Result: some enterprise deals delayed, some lost, voice channel not addressed

With Shuttle:

• Onboard merchants onto the platform's white-label experience

• Put EU merchants on Adyen, and merchants with their own PSP on that PSP, if it is one of the 40+ Shuttle supports

• Voice payments enabled for contact centre customers through the same integration

• AI voice agent payments added later, on the same infrastructure

• Result: each merchant on its own supported gateway, voice covered, one integration

When to Choose Adyen for Platforms

• Your platform processes very high volume and can negotiate competitive Adyen rates

• All your merchants are in markets where Adyen has strong local acquiring

• You need unified online + POS (point-of-sale) payments

• No merchants require PSPs other than Adyen

• You don't need card capture inside voice calls

When to Choose Shuttle

• Your merchants need or demand PSP choice

• You sell into enterprise where PSP mandates are common

• You operate across geographies where no single PSP has optimal coverage

• You need card capture inside voice calls, alongside payment links and checkout

• White-label merchant experience matters to your brand

When to Use Both

Adyen can be one of the 40+ PSPs available through Shuttle. Platforms that like Adyen's acquiring in specific markets can put the merchants or entities that trade in those markets on Adyen, while other merchants use other PSPs. This gives you Adyen's acquiring strength where it's best, plus flexibility everywhere else.

FAQ

Is Shuttle trying to replace Adyen?

No. Shuttle is not a PSP: it doesn't process transactions itself. Shuttle connects platforms to PSPs, including Adyen. If Adyen is the right PSP for a merchant, their payments go through Adyen. The difference is that Shuttle doesn't require ALL merchants to use Adyen.

Can I migrate from Adyen for Platforms to Shuttle?

Merchants with their own Adyen account can connect it to Shuttle, and new merchants can choose their PSP. Saved cards stay with the gateway that stored them.

How does pricing compare?

Adyen for Platforms charges Adyen's processing fees. Shuttle's own fees sit on top, whichever supported PSP each merchant uses. The net cost depends on volume, merchant mix and PSP rates.

Related Reading

• When Your SaaS Outgrows Stripe Connect: the same single-PSP problem applies to Stripe Connect

• Shuttle vs Stripe Connect: the Stripe comparison

• How to Get Payments Off Your Product Roadmap: the hidden cost of maintaining payment infrastructure

• Agentic Payments in 2026: The Infrastructure Guide: taking payments through AI agents

• How PSPs Get Distribution Into Enterprise Software: why PSPs (including Adyen) need distribution layers

• Shuttle vs Checkout.com for Platforms: the same comparison for Checkout.com

• Adyen for Platforms Alternatives: the full landscape of alternatives to Adyen

• PSP-Neutral vs Single-PSP: the architectural decision framework

Need PSP flexibility that Adyen can't offer?

See how platforms use Shuttle to connect Adyen and the other supported gateways (40+ in all), with voice payments, AI agent channels and white-label merchant experiences.

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