Hi from Berlin,
I could have opened with a message about my disappointment with the result of the Berlin election, but I decided to start with something happier: Happy birthday, Mom!
On the newsletter side of things, I have spent some time optimising my newsletter and podcast workflows. This should free up some time to work on some additional EFR activities that I can hopefully announce over the coming weeks. And a quick reminder to check your newsletter settings in case you want to increase/decrease the number of mailings you get from me :-)
In this Embedded Banking edition: Freelancers on Accountable and Indy can now take card payments in the app, as Swan moves into payment acceptance, plus Modura, Toolstation, Manifest, Google Wallet, and Visa with Airwallex. Also, I included Marqeta's growing deal sizes, a Wallester webinar on complex corporate card programmes, and Johannes Hill (ex-Visma, Mynt) on why ERPs should start with payments and cards before lending.
Now let's dive in! 👇
Building something in embedded finance? Whether you are a brand comparing providers, an enabler working through your go-to-market strategy, or a team trying to fill a crucial (fintech) role, my office hours are a free call to talk it through. I share my honest read and, where it helps, intros to my network.
Embedded Banking News
Swan adds payment acceptance to its banking stack: The French banking-as-a-service provider launched in 2019 with accounts, added cards soon after, and now covers the money-in side too. This puts Swan in the same room as the Stripe and Adyen of this world (who also launched issuing products). First partners are Accountable in Germany and Indy in France, two accounting apps whose freelancers can now take card payments in the app by holding the client's card against their phone, with the money settling the next business day. Building acceptance is a different business from running accounts and cards, and it only makes sense for a subsegment of the clients Swan already has. So what is behind the move, and why the business case may not rest on acceptance fees alone. (Read the full story)
Modura cuts account opening for people under legal guardianship in the Netherlands from 75 days to minutes: More than 350,000 people in the Netherlands live under legal guardianship, through addiction, cognitive impairment or financial vulnerability, and someone else manages their money for them. Modura is a new non-profit platform built for exactly that job, with two accounts per person: a Control Account the guardian operates, and an Allowance Account with a Visa debit card the person uses themselves. Orenda built the platform, ClearBank provides the accounts and SEPA connectivity, and Aegis, the Dutch organisation supporting guardians, started it all. 170 guardians have signed up so far. What I find interesting here is the embedder: a non-profit set up because no bank was going to build this. (ClearBank)
Toolstation launches a closed-loop gift card scheme with Edenred Payment Solutions: The UK tools and building-supplies chain sells and redeems the cards across 590 branches, its website and app, with load values from £1 to £500. Toolstation runs top-ups, balance checks, and redemptions through its own checkout instead of a third-party redirect, and Edenred, which holds the EMI licence, built it in eight weeks. So is a gift card embedded finance? On its own, I would say no. But Toolstation is already talking about connecting it to loyalty and B2B, and that is where I would start paying attention, because a builder's merchant knows exactly what its trade customers spend every month. (The Paypers)
Visa and Airwallex partner on embedded finance for freight platforms: Payments in shipping settle in 42 days on average, and administration eats roughly a fifth of total transportation costs. The two companies want to close that with payments, working capital and cross-border tools built into freight platforms rather than sitting next to them. No freight platform has been named yet, which is the part I would want before calling this embedded finance. Nevertheless, what makes it worth watching for me is who is talking: both quotes come from the European sides of the businesses. (Airwallex)
Manifest launches a business debit card for creators with Mastercard: Manifest is a US embedded banking platform aimed at the creator economy, live since April 2025, and the card adds instant payouts, cross-border transactions and card-linked offers on top of the account. Co-founder Michael Cavallaro calls creators "the next founders", and Goldman Sachs puts the creator economy at $480bn by 2027. This is the second card network to enter this segment this year, after Visa's creator card with TikTok in April. Two networks arriving within four months suggests they're targeting the same gap: creators running real businesses with tools built for consumers. (PR Newswire)
Google Wallet adds supervised balances for under-18s: Parents load a balance, set daily limits, watch transactions, and lock it all from Family Link; the child taps to pay on an Android phone or watch anywhere Google Pay works. No bank account involved at any point. US only for now, with no word on Europe. Google has been building toward this since it opened Wallet to kids on the Fitbit Ace LTE last year. Now, a family no longer needs a bank or a kids' banking app to give a child spending money. (9to5Google)