Hi Embedded Finance Friend
March closed out Q1 2026 with European embedded finance continuing to move at pace across product development and hiring.
On the event front: our 9th Embedded Finance Review Event is confirmed for April 15th in Berlin, and the agenda is set. Eliot Marcus (Visa's Head of New Product Development for Europe) will walk through how Visa is evolving its network infrastructure, including the story of Flexible Credential and what it means for BNPL across Europe. And I'll be sitting down with Leonard Strigel (YouLend) and Felix Kristl (eBay) to dig into what it actually takes to embed lending into a marketplace. Sign up for the waitlist, and I'll approve you when a spot opens up.
On the jobs side, three opportunities worth flagging from the month: Buena (Berlin-based property management software) is building a banking product; GetYourGuide is hiring a Senior Payments Lead; and an undisclosed major European platform is looking for someone to own its PSP strategy and commercial negotiations. Reach out if any of these fit.
And now let's dive in 👇
News
In March, I covered 12 Embedded Finance stories. Click through to read the full versions on my website (sorted by views):
- OakNorth acquires Monite to build invoice management and expense tools into its business banking product. A different kind of embedded finance exit. (EFR)
- Wolt is launching an employee benefits platform in Finland with its own Visa card, issued under its regulated payment institution licence. Here's what it means for embedded finance. (EFR)
- Solaris cuts 80 jobs and pivots to AI-native banking. But the more interesting question is who the Berlin BaaS pioneer now wants to serve. (EFR)
- HiBob partners with Modulr to automate payroll payments for scaling businesses, removing manual exports and separate bank portals from the pay day workflow. (EFR)
- Flowpay partners with Teya for embedded SME lending in Central Europe and acquires Tapline to expand into Germany and the UK. What it signals for the market. (EFR)
- SumUp adds investing via Upvest. With payments, banking, lending, and now investing, do its merchants still need a traditional bank? (EFR)
- Clio launches embedded working capital for US law firms inside its practice management platform. Will European legal software follow? (EFR)
- UK restaurant platform Ubsidi adds spend cards and cash accounts via Stripe, with 40% adoption and lending likely next. (EFR)
- UK mid-market accounting platform iplicit launches open banking payments via Crezco. Could embedded payments be next? (EFR)
- ClassDojo brings embedded payments to US school districts via Pay Theory. Why a niche provider beat Stripe for the education vertical. (EFR)
- Dojo embeds working capital into merchant onboarding via Liberis. Two UK partnerships in two weeks signal Liberis is back. (EFR)
- How City Hive built embedded payments into the US alcohol industry's compliance layer, and why regulated verticals in Europe face the same opportunity. (EFR)
Podcast
In March, I published two podcast episodes. Click through for details and links to all platforms (sorted by plays):
- From E-Commerce to Morocco's First Licensed BaaS: Ismael Belkhayat from Chari on building Morocco's first VC-backed payment institution from scratch and opening the infrastructure to third parties. (EFR)
- Embedding Debt Collection into the Fintech Stack: Matteo Benedetti from Debtist on embedding debt collection into vertical SaaS platforms and how they reached €12M ARR while staying profitable. (EFR)
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this edition.
My newsletter, podcast, and events are free, but I need your support to continue. Please share Embedded Finance Review with your friends and coworkers, and let me know your feedback.
And if you need help understanding, building, or launching an embedded finance product, visit my website and get in touch.
Best wishes from Berlin,
Lars Markull (LinkedIn)
