The Intersection of Financial Institutions and Technology Leaders

The Unlimited Potential of Embedded Banking

May 18, 2022

By Chris Cox

With fewer resources and smaller customer bases, community banks often find themselves on the losing end of a tug-of-war game when getting involved in emerging technologies. But that’s where embedded banking is a game-changer.

Embedded banking offers every financial institution — regardless of size — a chance to grab market share of this relatively untapped, billion-dollar opportunity.

Embedding financial services into non-financial applications is a market that could be worth almost $230 billion in revenues by 2025, according to a report from Lightyear Capital. That means forward-thinking community banks could see a big upside if they make the strategic investment — as could their non-bank partners. And those companies that are orchestrating integrations behind the scenes could also reap rewards in the form of subscription or transactional services. And ultimately, end users will benefit from the seamless experience this technology provides. While it’s a winning proposition for all, a successful embedded finance operation involves preparation and strategy. Let’s take a closer look at the four players who stand to benefit with embedded banking.

Community Banks: Building Reach
As community banks retool their strategies to adapt to more digital users, they also face growing challenges from digital-only neobanks and fintechs to retain their existing customers. They will need innovative features on-par with their big-budgeted competitors to thrive in the space.

Embedded banking is a legitimate chance for these banks to stake out a competitive advantage. Embedded banking, a subset of banking as a service (BaaS), allows digital banks and other third parties to connect with banks’ systems directly via application programming interfaces, or APIs. Today, 70% of banks that sponsor BaaS opportunities have less than $10 billion in assets. The cost to compete is low, and the services that non-bank entities are seeking are already available on banking platforms.

To start, institutions work with a technology company that can build APIs that can extend their financial services, then identify partners looking to embed these services on their digital platform. A best-case scenario is finding a digital banking partner that can deliver the API piece and has connections with potential embedded banking partners. Once a bank has an embedded banking strategy in place, expansion opportunities are unlimited. There are numerous non-bank partners across many industry verticals, offering entirely new customers at a lower cost of a typical customer acquisition. And these partnerships will also bring new loans, deposits and payment transactions that the bank wouldn’t otherwise have.

Nonbanks: Retaining Customers, Bolstering Satisfaction
Companies outside of the finance industry are rapidly recognizing how this technology can benefit them. Customer purchases, loans or money transfers can all be facilitated using services from a bank partner via APIs. Companies can offer valuable, in-demand financial services with a seamless user experience for existing customers — and this innovation can fuel organic growth. Additionally, the embedded banking partnership generates vast amounts of customer data, which companies can use to enhance personalization and bolster customer loyalty.

Consumers: Gaining Convenience, Personalization
Making interactions stickier is key to getting consumers to spend more time on a website. Sites should be feature-rich and comprehensive, so users don’t need to leave to perform other functions. Embedding functionality for relevant financial tasks within the platform allows users to both save time and spend more time, while giving them valuable financial products from their trusted brand. They also benefit from data sharing that generates personalized content and offers.

Tech Companies: Growing Partnerships, New Opportunities
Technology providers act as the conduit between the financial institution’s services and the non-bank partner’s experience. These providers — usually API-focused fintech companies — facilitate the open banking technology and connections. By keeping the process running smoothly, they benefit from positive platform growth, the creation of extensible embedded banking tools that they can reuse and revenue generated from subscription or transaction fees.

Everyone’s a Winner
This wide-open embedded banking market has the potential to be a game changer for so many entities. The good news is there is still plenty of room for new participants.