What does Lego have to do with embedded finance? Well, the pieces already exist, but the question is which ones you need and how you put them together.
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In this episode, I speak with Tom Sellin, Head of Growth DACH at Airwallex. Tom is the first person on the ground building the German business. Airwallex runs on two tracks: a direct product for businesses managing international payments and spend, and an infrastructure layer that lets platforms and fintech companies embed those same capabilities into their own product. This episode was recorded live at FIBE, the Fintech Berlin conference.
Key Takeaways:
- Why Airwallex describes itself as a financial operating system, and what that means in practice
- How the embedded finance API works and which companies are already using it, including Moss and Navan
- Why 80% of German SMEs are still with their house bank and what that means for a global fintech entering the market
- What minimum viable localization actually means when bringing a product to Germany
- The build versus buy decision: why time to market and licensing complexity almost always tip the balance