Embedded collections: the missing layer of embedded finance
Embedded collections lets a software platform send its users' overdue invoices to a collector from inside the product, usually with a "Send to collection" button. It is the step after the last reminder, and the part of embedded finance most platforms have not added yet.
What is embedded collections?
Embedded collections, also called embedded debt collection or embedded debt recovery, is debt collection offered inside another company's software. The platform's user sends an overdue invoice to collection without leaving the product. A collector that is allowed to work the claim contacts the debtor. The platform shows the status and, in most programs, earns a share of the fee.
Three things happen in every embedded collections flow:
- The trigger. An invoice stays unpaid after the reminders your product already sends.
- The handover. Your product passes the invoice, the debtor's details and any documents to a collection provider through an API, an embedded collections API in the words developers search with.
- The collection. An agency or law firm that may collect where the debtor is based works the claim under local law. Your platform does not contact the debtor.
A note on terms: some payment companies use "embedded collections" for collecting payments, such as direct debits. This guide is about recovering overdue business invoices that were not paid on time.
Where collections fits in embedded finance
Embedded finance means a software company offers financial services inside its own product through APIs. Market maps list payments, card issuing, lending, payroll, insurance and more; collections usually appears as a small or "other" category.[6][7]
| Layer | What it does for your user | When in the invoice's life | Who carries the regulated part |
|---|---|---|---|
| Embedded payments | Accept and move money | When the invoice is issued and paid | A payment provider |
| Embedded lending and invoice finance | Cash against invoices or revenue | Before the due date | A lender or funder |
| Embedded insurance | Cover against a loss | Before anything goes wrong | An insurer |
| AR automation and dunning | Reminders, payment promises, disputes | From the due date to the last reminder | Nobody: these are your user's own reminders |
| Embedded collections | Hands the overdue invoice to a collector | After the last reminder | A collection agency or law firm allowed to collect in the debtor's country |
Why it is usually missing
Payments and lending can run on one provider's licence in one market. Collection cannot: the rules on who may contact a debtor, what may be charged and how a court claim works differ by country, and the work is done locally. A platform with users in many countries would need a collector in each of them.
Why it matters now
Apideck's 2026 report on B2B embedded finance cites a BCG and Adyen estimate of USD 185 billion in addressable embedded finance revenue for SaaS platforms, with less than 20% captured, and gives collections its own category, "Embedded Collections & Recovery".[6]
Embedded collections vs dunning and AR automation
Reminders and collection solve different parts of the same problem. Most platforms want both.
Dunning and AR automation
- Your user's own reminders, in your user's name
- Runs from the due date until the last reminder
- No third party is involved
- Part of your product's subscription
Embedded collections
- A third party works the claim and contacts the debtor
- Starts after the last reminder
- A formal demand, and court action if needed and agreed
- Usually a success fee, paid only on money recovered
The best-known pattern is reminders first, then a "Send to collection" button next to the invoice that is still unpaid. Chaser, an accounts receivable automation platform, puts it this way: "Reminders get most invoices paid. For the rest, our customers need a next step they can trust, in any country, without leaving Chaser."[5]
Three ways to embed debt collection
The models differ in how much you build and whose name your users and their debtors see. In all three, a collector does the collecting.
| Model | What you build | What your user sees | Who contacts the debtor | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partner link | Nothing in your product: you share a link to a co-branded sign-up page | The provider's site, with your brand on the sign-up | The collector | No integration |
| API embed (a "Send to collection" button) | A button next to the overdue invoice and an API call; optionally your own screens for onboarding, pricing and status | Your product, plus a short sign-up and signing flow | The collector | From one endpoint, one button and one webhook to a fuller build |
| White-label | The whole flow in your brand, with the provider in the background | Only your brand | Depends on the provider: check whose name the debtor hears | The largest build and the most legal checks |
What Debitura offers
Two integrations are live: a Starter integration (one API call per invoice from a "Send to collection" button, with Debitura handling sign-up, agreements, identity checks and invoice fixes) and a Full integration built into your own screens. A partner link without integration is listed as coming soon.[1][2] The onboarding can carry your logo and primary color; the collection agreement names Debitura as the platform provider.[1]
Who collects
In every model, the claim is worked by someone allowed to collect where the debtor is based. With Debitura, each case goes to a vetted local collection agency or law firm in the debtor's country, in 180 countries. Debitura is the technology platform: it matches the case, handles the agreement and runs case operations.[1]
Does your platform need a collection licence?
That depends on your country and on how you present the service, so check with your own legal adviser. In a referral model like Debitura's, your platform passes the invoice on, your user signs the collection agreement, and a local agency or law firm collects under local law. Your platform does not contact debtors. The roles and the rules in five markets are in Do you need a collection licence to offer debt collection in your platform?
What a platform earns
Providers pay platforms in one of three ways: a share of the provider's fee, a markup on a fee the platform sets, or a referral payment. Few publish the numbers.[9]
With a Debitura integration, you earn 100% of Debitura's earnings on your cases until you have earned USD 5,000, then 50%.[1]
With the partner link (coming soon), you earn 30%, rising to 50% on new cases once you have 100 cases in the last 12 months.[1]
Your users pay the standard No Cure, No Pay success fee and nothing upfront. Legal action is quoted separately and only starts if they accept the quote.[1]
Debitura's success fees start from 6% for debtors in Europe and from 7.5% elsewhere, depending on the claim size.[4] Your users get the standard fees in the collection agreement; a platform cannot set its own fees, and earns from Debitura's share instead.[1]
What drives a platform's earnings: how many of your users invoice other businesses, how many invoices stay unpaid after the last reminder, the average amount, and how much is recovered. Try your own numbers in the partner revenue calculator.
How Chaser embedded debt collection
Chaser automates accounts receivable for finance teams. Since March 2026, its customers send unpaid invoices to collection without leaving Chaser.[5]
The facts
- Product
- Accounts receivable automation, London
- Integration
- Two-way API integration
- Timeline
- Kickoff in January 2026, live in March 2026
- Coverage
- UK and international collection
- Flow
- Ready to collect, quote, sign once, follow the case
Reported results
80% fewercollections enquiries to Chaser's customer success team
+30% collection volumes and +50% success rates
Figures reported by Chaser, 2026.[5]
By platform type
How embedded collections fits accounting and ERP software, AR automation platforms, invoicing and billing tools and lending and invoice finance platforms.
How to add a "Send to collection" button
The shortest path, using Debitura's Starter integration as the example. Developers: the debt collection API page and the partner docs have the details.
Pick the moment
Show the button next to an invoice that is still unpaid after your last reminder, for example in an overdue list or on the invoice itself.
Send the invoice from your server
One API call per invoice, with an idempotency key so a retry never creates a second case. The response says where the request stands.[3]
Open the link Debitura returns
If your user still has to sign up, approve the connection, sign the agreement, verify their identity or fix the invoice, the response carries one link to open. Your button opens it.[3]
Show what happens next
Subscribe to webhooks for request and case updates, verify their signatures and read the current state, then show the status next to the invoice.[3][8]
Handle what cannot be collected
Some invoices are rejected, for example when the debtor's country is not covered or the amount is below the minimum. Show the returned reason to your user.[3]
Questions to ask an embedded collections provider
We compared the providers that offer an API in Debt collection APIs compared (2026). These are the questions behind that comparison.[9]
About the collection
- Who contacts the debtor, in whose name, and under which licence?
- Which debtor countries are covered, and are business and consumer debts treated differently?
- What do your users pay, and is anything payable if nothing is recovered?
- When does legal action start, and who decides?
About the integration
- Can one partner account onboard many of your users?
- Is there a test environment, are webhooks signed, and are retries safe?
- Can you start small and add more control later?
- Is the revenue share or markup published, and what is it calculated on?
Embedded collections: questions
What is embedded collections?
Embedded collections is debt collection offered inside another company's software. A user sends an overdue invoice to collection from the product they already use, a collector that may work the claim contacts the debtor, and the platform shows the status and usually earns a share of the fee.
Is embedded collections the same as embedded payments?
No. Embedded payments help your users get paid on time. Embedded collections starts when an invoice is still unpaid after the last reminder and hands it to a collector. Some payment companies also use "collections" for collecting payments such as direct debits, which is a different thing.
What is a "Send to collection" button?
A button next to an overdue invoice in your product. When your user clicks it, your server sends the invoice to the collection provider through an API, and the user finishes any setup, such as signing the collection agreement, in a short flow.
Who contacts the debtor?
The collector, not your platform. With Debitura, a vetted local collection agency or law firm in the debtor's country works the case.
Does my platform need a collection licence to offer this?
That depends on your country and on how you present the service, so check with your own legal adviser. In a referral model like Debitura's, your platform passes the invoice on and a local agency or law firm collects under local law.
What can a platform earn from embedded collections?
It depends on the provider. With a Debitura integration, you earn 100% of Debitura's earnings on your cases until you have earned USD 5,000, then 50%. Your users pay the standard No Cure, No Pay success fee and nothing upfront.
How long does it take to embed debt collection?
With Debitura's Starter integration you build one API call, a button and one webhook. A Full integration typically takes two to four weeks, including testing. Chaser started in January 2026 and was live in March 2026.
Where these facts come from
Debitura's own figures come from its public pages and developer docs. Market figures are quoted from the sources named. All accessed 11 November 2026.
- Debitura, Referral partner program: embed debt collection in your platform. debitura.com/solutions/referral-partners
- Debitura, Developer docs: Referral partners, two ways to integrate. docs.debitura.com/referral-partners
- Debitura, Developer docs: Build the collection button. docs.debitura.com/referral-partners/integration-guides/starter-integration
- Debitura, Pricing. debitura.com/pricing
- Debitura, How Chaser added debt collection to its product. debitura.com/chaser-case-study
- Apideck, The State of B2B Embedded Finance in 2026 (June 2026). apideck.com/embedded-finance-report
- Apideck, Embedded Finance Companies Landscape 2026. apideck.com/blog/embedded-finance-companies-landscape
- Debitura, Developer docs: Webhooks. docs.debitura.com/referral-partners/integration-guides/webhooks
- Debitura, Debt collection APIs compared (2026). debitura.com/compare/debt-collection-apis
Add the missing layer to your product
Give your users the next step after the last reminder, and earn on every case that recovers money.