AvidXchange Acquisition Risks: Why Customers Stand to Lose the Most
When payments drive the roadmap, AP gets left behind
The recent announcement of AvidXchange’s $2.2 billion acquisition by Corpay and private equity firm TPG represents more than just another fintech deal – it signals a fundamental shift in priorities that could directly impact your finance team’s daily operations.
While the business headlines focus on the financial terms, a deeper concern emerges for current AvidXchange customers: what happens when a payments processor takes control of your AP automation platform?
The payments-first problem
Corpay isn’t just any acquirer. As a payments-focused company, their core business model centers around monetizing transaction volume through interchange fees, FX spread, and other payment-related charges. Their executives have openly declared that scaling corporate payments is the company’s “heart” and path to billions in additional revenue.
What does this mean for AvidXchange users?
Your AP platform may now answer to payment priorities. With Corpay taking a significant ownership stake (33% initially, with an option to acquire the remaining shares by 2028), product decisions could increasingly be influenced by payment monetization rather than AP workflow optimization.
The numbers tell the story: for Corpay, the interchange and processing fees earned when a payment flows through their rails generate far more revenue than subscription fees for better AP functionality. This may create an incentive to prioritize payment features over the workflow innovations finance teams rely on.
Innovation stagnation may be on the horizon
AvidXchange only introduced its first generative AI capabilities in April 2025 – years behind competitors who had already embedded AI throughout their platforms. This technology gap is likely to widen during the acquisition transition.
According to Harvard Business Review research, R&D output typically declines for 12-24 months following an acquisition as engineering teams are redirected to integration work rather than customer-facing innovations. For AvidXchange users already waiting for modern AI tools, this “innovation pause” extends an already significant feature gap.
During this integration period, resources that should be advancing AP capabilities will instead be focused on:
- Building data pipelines between AvidXchange and Corpay systems
- Engineering payment interoperability between platforms
- Mapping customer data for cross-selling opportunities
- Addressing technical debt before private equity scrutiny
These priorities may lean toward serving acquirers’ interests more than the daily operational needs of finance teams.
The product overlap dilemma
A potentially significant concern is the product overlap between Corpay and AvidXchange. Corpay already offers virtual card solutions, ACH payment processing, cross-border payment capabilities, and its own AP automation modules – all directly competing with AvidXchange’s core offerings.
When acquirers maintain overlapping product portfolios, there’s a possibility of product rationalization based on historical patterns. McKinsey research indicates that more than half of technology acquisitions eventually result in the acquired company’s products being retired or customers being migrated to the acquirer’s platform.
For AvidXchange users, this may lead to disruptions such as: forced migration to Corpay’s AP modules, integration rewrites as APIs and connections change, staff retraining on new systems with different workflows, and pressure to adopt Corpay’s payment rails and fee structures. These disruptions could impact your finance team’s productivity and increase your total cost of ownership.
Potential support challenges during a critical period
Post-acquisition integrations invariably impact customer support quality. Support teams must learn new systems, adapt to changing policies, and often operate with reduced resources as cost-cutting measures take effect.
AvidXchange’s recent financial performance – showing only single-digit revenue growth – suggests limited capacity to expand support resources during this transition. Meanwhile, BBB complaints and G2 reviews already highlight customer service as a persistent pain point.
With TPG’s majority stake comes the reality of private equity timelines. These investments typically target a 3-5 year exit horizon, focusing on near-term cost reduction and cash flow generation rather than long-term customer experience investments.
Talent changes could affect product quality
Company acquisitions create uncertainty that frequently leads to talent departures. AvidXchange’s own SEC filings list “our ability to attract and retain key personnel” as a significant risk factor.
Industry research shows post-acquisition employee attrition rates can exceed 30% within the first year. When experienced engineers, product managers, and customer success specialists leave, they take invaluable institutional knowledge with them – knowledge that directly affects your daily experience with the platform.
Some employee discussions in online forums suggest a degree of uncertainty following the acquisition news, including mentions of resume updates and potential job searches.
Protecting your finance team’s future
Finance leaders using AvidXchange face a critical decision point. The acquisition by Corpay and TPG brings undeniable risks: shifting priorities from AP optimization to payment monetization, slowed innovation during critical technology evolution periods, potential product sunset or forced migration, declining support quality during a period of change, and rising costs as payment fees become central to the business model.
While the full impact won’t be known until after the deal closes in Q4 2025, the direction appears to favor a stronger emphasis on payment processing revenue, which could come at the expense of comprehensive AP focus.
For finance teams who depend on efficient AP operations, it may be a prudent time to evaluate AvidXchange alternatives that keep your needs – not payment processing fees – at the center of the relationship.
Next steps for concerned finance leaders
- Review your current AvidXchange contract terms and renewal dates
- Document your essential AP workflows and integration requirements
- Identify potential risks specific to your finance operations
- Explore Stampli’s AP-first platform focused on workflow efficiency, not payment monetization
- Plan a migration timeline that minimizes disruption to your operations
Finance teams that take proactive steps now will be better positioned to maintain operational continuity regardless of how the AvidXchange acquisition unfolds. Stampli offers a complete procure-to-pay solution that puts your AP needs first, with AI-native capabilities, deep ERP integration, and a proven implementation process that gets you up and running in weeks, not months.
Schedule a Stampli demo today to see how an AP-first platform can protect your finance operations from the uncertainty of the AvidXchange acquisition.
