Overcoming payment challenges to build trust, boost retention, and scale digital health platforms.
Health and wellness is booming. From online fitness programmes to nutrition subscriptions and self-care apps, the sector continues to grow rapidly. In the UK alone, the market reached £97.96 billion in 2024 and is projected to rise to £141.69 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 3.76% between 2025–2033.
But with growth comes new pressure. Customers expect both high-quality services and seamless, secure payments. Whether they’re signing up for a virtual yoga class, renewing a subscription, or purchasing wellness products, recurring transactions have become the lifeblood of wellness businesses. If payments are unreliable or insecure, customers lose confidence, and businesses lose revenue.
Why secure recurring payments matter
Recurring billing sits at the heart of many health and wellness business models. It powers memberships, online programmes, digital subscriptions, and premium app access. When payments work effortlessly in the background, businesses benefit from:
- Predictable revenue streams – giving financial stability to invest in new offerings.
- Lower customer drop-off – reducing churn by ensuring renewals happen without disruption.
- Stronger loyalty – customers stay longer when transactions are seamless and trustworthy.
Beyond convenience, security is paramount. Recurring payments involve storing and handling sensitive data, so security and compliance are non-negotiable. A failed transaction or data break can undermine customer trust – and in wellness, trust is difficult to rebuild.
The risks of weak recurring payment systems
Without secure, reliable infrastructure, recurring billing can quickly become a liability:
- Payment failures can interrupt memberships and push customers to cancel.
- Limited flexibility in retry logic or billing options frustrates users who want choice and convenience.
- Compliance gaps create exposure to regulatory risk and damage credibility in a sector where personal wellbeing is at stake.
For digital-first health services and platforms, the impact of these challenges compounds. Growth stalls, cash flow becomes unpredictable, and the customer experience feels clunky instead of smooth.
Beyond billing: supporting multiple streams securely
While subscriptions are the foundation, most wellness businesses also rely on additional revenue streams, from selling supplements and merchandise to running classes or workshops. Bringing these into one secure payments infrastructure helps avoid fragmentation, improves cash flow visibility, and ensures every stream is protected by the same regulatory strength.
When businesses can trust their recurring revenue and confidently manage supplementary streams, they gain a clearer picture of performance and reduce the admin burden on finance teams.
Integration into the customer journey
Today’s customers expect payments to be embedded seamlessly into their digital experience. Whether unlocking premium meditation content in an app, booking a live class online, or purchasing a nutrition plan, recurring payments should feel like a natural extension of the service.
Secure integration doesn’t just create convenience. It keeps customers engaged, reduces drop-off at checkout, and reinforces the sense that their data and purchases are safe. This combination of ease and reassurance is what builds loyalty in such a competitive sector.
Trust as the foundation of growth
In wellness, trust is everything. A secure recurring payment system protects customer data, supports compliance with European regulations, and underpins brand credibility. Without it, growth is fragile; with it, businesses can expand into new markets confidently.
How The Payments Factory supports wellness businesses
At The Payments Factory, we’ve built our solutions to address the key payment challenges facing health and wellness businesses. We make it simple to:
- Keep revenue predictable with reliable recurring billing.
- Improve cash flow with efficient settlement cycles.
- Operate on a platform backed by regulatory strength under our EMI licence.
With scalable infrastructure and secure integrations, TPF helps wellness businesses accept payments reliably and efficiently — giving them the confidence to focus on growth and customer experience. Secure recurring payments are more than a back-office process; they’re the foundation of customer trust, loyalty, and long-term success.
Deliver smooth, reliable payments your customers can trust. Get in touch with The Payments Factory today.