BMO, OMB and DNB: Three ways bank can enter embedded finance

This week, I have come across news from three different banks about their own embedded finance activities:

1. Canadian Bank BMO partners with embedded banking provider FISPAN (The Paypers). Through this partnership, BMO business customers can integrate their existing bank accounts in a support ERP system (e.g., Sage, QuickBooks, Xero) and directly access accounts payable, reconciliation, and other features in the ERP system. FISPAN already has other bank partnerships, including eleven bank partners in the US.
2. US community bank OMB has announced the launch of OMBX (Finextra), a dedicated division focused on embedded banking partnerships (Website). The bank already works with seven different fintech clients and seeks to work with more digital businesses to empower them with banking capabilities.
3. Norwegian DNB Bank invests in digital receipt ventures through its investment arm, DNB Ventures (Finextra). While the first two news stories were about “proper” embedded finance activities, investment in a digital receipt startup is not such a big move. However, I still found it relevant that DNB Bank is investing in this adjacent area of fintech.

The three news articles above show the various steps banks can take in embedded finance: partner, build, and invest. If you asked me which is the right choice for most banks, I would probably say “all of them” at different intensity levels depending on the bank’s current setup.