Could a Chief Monetization Officer Transform Your Software Platform?

You don’t have to be a CFO to know businesses run on money. Steady cash flow better equips a business to sustain operations, serve its customers and attract new business through regional or global expansion.

Yet some business leaders and the software platforms they run continue to rely on a few traditional sources of revenue instead of diversifying revenue streams. Traditional revenue models, such as one-time license fees and recurring SaaS fees, won’t necessarily support business growth, particularly in highly competitive industries. Private equity investors and software executives are echoing this sentiment, demanding more strategic plans or growth. More monetization pathways are necessary.

Recognizing that monetization requires a strategic, creative solution that bridges finance and product, more software platforms are expanding their C-suites to include a new role: the chief monetization officer.

What Does a Chief Monetization Officer Do?

The chief monetization officer, or CMO, is the key connection between product and finance. With the right insights, product development and delivery can be optimized to better align with long-term financial goals without sacrificing service or quality. The CMO identifies those opportunities for sustained revenue, which can include finding and fostering strategic partnerships with third parties to grow and expand the business.

CMOs must deeply understand their own product and financial limitations, while also being able to identify emerging trends in the market that are worth pursuing to cultivate sustained growth. Striking the right balance is key, because you can’t sacrifice value in the name of revenue. (Some businesses have learned this the hard way.)

The work, then, becomes a matter of designing innovative revenue models that offer new ways for the business to meet profit targets. Pricing strategies and partnerships play a role in revenue diversification, too, and they must be implemented in a way that at minimum makes sense to customers and at best offers them greater value.

Embedded Payments: A Popular Option for Revenue Diversification

While some monetization strategies will be based on new trends and technology, proven strategies for new revenue streams already exist for software platforms. Key among these are embedded payments, a trend many CMOs are implementing in 2025.

Embedded payments are an ideal monetization option because they benefit your clients and have significant revenue potential. Embedded payments allow your clients to consolidate vendors and make your platform stickier — the more your clients use your software, the more dependent they become and the harder it would be for them to leave, reducing your overall churn.

CMOs are turning to embedded payments because the transaction fees and revenue-share agreements allow software vendors to earn revenue on each transaction that takes place on their platform. By choosing the right partner for embedded payments, CMOs can help their businesses create a solution that equally benefits clients and the business.

The Chief Monetization Officer: Looking Ahead

Data analytics will be key for CMOs as they support current monetization strategies and develop new plans. Embedded payments provide significant customer data that can be used to inform and structure future monetization efforts. Teams can refine offerings, services, and communication based on the insights provided.

When businesses are better able to meet customer needs and preferences, they’re better positioned to create actionable and scalable growth strategies. Embedded payments provide a credible foundation.

The need for new revenue streams is unlikely to go away, especially as more businesses eye global expansion. Chief monetization officers are positioned to recognize opportunities that will benefit the company in the short-term, while simultaneously orienting the business for scalable growth.

Interested in powering your software platform’s revenue diversification with innovative solutions? BlueSnap Embedded Payments can help. Talk to a Payments Expert today.