What happened: German embedded lending provider Banxware increased its lending scope to five million Euros per business thanks to its partnership with UniCredit (LinkedIn). The Italian bank invested in Banxware funding round in late 2023, and both companies announced in May 2024 that UniCredit’s German subsidiary HypoVereinsbank would integrate Banxware. Thanks to this bank-fintech partnership, HypoVereinsbank business customers can apply for a loan for up to EUR 250.000, receive a response in 10min and get a payout within 24 hours. With the new announcement, UniCredit now empowers Banxware to increase its lending scope and offer loans for up to five million Euros per company. This means that a non-financial brand like restaurant platform Lieferando, which has integrated Banxware, can now offer higher loans to their restaurant partners than before.
My comment: Banxware and UniCredit have checked all the boxes of potential collaboration: financial investment and leveraging each other infrastructures in both ways. European bank’s activity in embedded finance has increased significantly over the past 1-2 years. This partnership is an excellent example of how banks can enter embedded finance without being the as-a-service provider, which comes with a lot of compliance and technology burden. That being said, UniCredit is not shy about that since they recently acquired banking-as-a-service provider Vodeno. Does this make UniCredit one of the leading European banks in embedded finance?
Spoiler: In 2025, I will increase my focus on activities from (traditional) banks in embedded finance, so stay tuned for more specialised content and events.
