Payment failures kill growth as 94% of apps face infrastructure crisis within 12 months

While most apps focus on building their product and acquiring users, payment friction is quietly sabotaging their success. New research from Primer reveals that nearly half of growing app businesses rely on a single payment processor, leaving them vulnerable to account suspensions, frozen funds, and service outages that can halt operations overnight.

Primer’s comprehensive study of 150 high-growth companies found that 29% have experienced account suspensions, 34% have faced payment downtime, and many are bleeding revenue through failed transactions and inflated processing fees.

To address these challenges, Primer has released “Built to Scale. Blocked by Payments”, a new guide that transforms payment infrastructure from a blindspot into a strategic advantage. The report provides actionable insights on diversifying payment providers, optimizing conversion rates, and building resilient payment stacks that scale with app business growth.

What you’ll learn:

• The five most common payment mistakes apps make and how to fix them
• How payment performance impacts funding rounds and valuations
• Strategies that top-performing apps use to maintain control over their payment operations
• The risks of relying on a single provider and what leading apps are doing instead
• How payment friction erodes margins, stalls conversions, and kills momentum

The guide draws from real data across three major markets — the UK, Australia, and the US—covering high-growth sectors including fintech, gaming, travel, and digital services.