Welcome to the first edition of Embedded Finance News Summary. Until today, I have only posted articles about a specific Embedded Finance topic, but I will be starting a few new format over the coming weeks. The first one is a roundup of the most important Embedded Finance News. I am not aiming to include any Embedded Finance in a newsletter but limit it to the most relevant ones (my subjective choice).

This is a MVP and it is likely that the next editions may look (slightly) different. I have already added a few planned changes at the end of this Newsletter. Nevertheless, I would highly appreciate any additional feedback that you have. For example, something that you didn't like or something that you really enjoy from a different newsletter. As usual: every piece of feedback is appreciated - the more painful the better :-)

News

Infrastructure provider

🇬🇧 UK infrastructure provider Griffin moves BaaS sandbox out of Beta and CCO Adam Moulson gives further background of Griffin's positioning.

🇸🇪 Scandinavian bank SEB enters the BaaS game

🇫🇷 Mastercard invests and partners with French BaaS provider Treezor

🇺🇸 Lithic founder Bo Jiang speaks about the current US BaaS market on Tearsheet Podcast

🇦🇷Pomelo joins forces with Galileo to issue “remit now pay later” cards

🇸🇬 Infra provider Weavr opens office in Singapore (Transparency disclaimer: I have worked at Weavr until November 2022)

🇮🇳 SBM Bank India and SME Fintech Open launch no/low code Fintech platform Zwitch

Brands

🇳🇱 Moneybird launches financial services powered by Adyen

🇺🇸 WooCommerce launches B2B Buy Now Pay Later supported by IwocaPay

🇮🇸 Iceland based telecommunication company Síminn launches cards powered by Enfuce

Others

🇩🇪 German Infrastructure provider Solaris launches report that highlights growing demand of mobility sector for Embedded Finance

🇬🇧 Simon Taylor dives into Embedded Finance in his Fintech Brain Food newsletter with specific focus on regulation

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Selected News of the Month

🇫🇮 Finnish card infrastructure provider Enfuce explains why downturns are ideal to start EF

It is probably not a surprise that a company that wants to sell you software for launching Embedded Finance products is telling you that now is the right time to launch Embedded Finance. And Enfuce is obviously not the only infrastructure provider who has shared such believes. You are probably also not surprised that I have a similar opinion.

However, I think what we agree on is that venture funded companies have to identify their individual best way to optimise (or stretch) their runway. This means cutting costs or increasing revenue. Or perhaps both.

Companies can increase revenues either by growing their customer base or by increasing the revenue per existing customer. Every company will be aiming to do both and Embedded Finance is a potential strategy to achieve the latter of both options. I have written how companies can make additional revenue with Embedded Finance.

However, the path to a successful Embedded Finance proposition can be complex and can take long. There is no guarantee that every company will be able to make additional revenue in the short term.

But startups need to continue to make bets. They cannot take any bet, so they need to choose based on probability and investment required. The outcome of a bet will somehow always be uncertain. But what has changed is that building Embedded Finance products only cost a fraction compared to a few years ago. This means that building financial products is not just for companies who have big budgets and very high conviction of succeeding. Many more companies can explore Embedded Finance. And perhaps right now is a good time to do so.

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Planned changes for next edition of Embedded Finance News:

• This edition is a bit heavier on the infrastructure provider side. I expected this as infrastructure providers have often a bigger interest in press coverage that Brands. I will be taking additional efforts to source more Brand news for the next editions.
• Publishing date of the Embedded Finance News will be in the morning of the first business day of the following month.
• In the next edition I will not just share the news but also add 1-2 sentences as a comment from myself. But I am not sure yet which is the better approach. If you have any opinions, please let me know.

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