What happened: The French expense management provider Spendesk announced that it had received the payment institution licence and launched Spendesk Financial Services (Spendesk). At the same time, Spendesk became a principal member of the Visa network and will, thus, take many of the financial services-related tasks in-house.
My comment: Spendesk can hardly be categorised as a non-financial brand, as payment is written all over them. But they are not a pure fintech company either. That said, I wonder if their move to become regulated is something that other, perhaps ‘real’ non-financial brands will follow. Almost all non-financial brands start with partnering and do not apply for a licence on day one (similar to Spendesk). However, similar to neo banks, with scale and growth, there is a benefit to taking some of these activities in-house. Also, a payment institution or even an e-money licence is not far out of reach; thus, it is more of a strategic question than one of feasibility.
I would assume that most non-financial brands will avoid their licences as long as possible. However, if their fintech businesses became the biggest revenue driver, combined with potential friction on the provider side, then why not? Or what do you think?
