By Anton Chashchin
Embedded finance is a structural transformation reshaping the rules of the digital economy, not just another passing trend. Financial services are no longer only confined to banking apps or legacy interfaces, they are becoming embedded in the digital ecosystems where users already live, work, shop, and invest — something we can call superapps.
Many of us in fintech already know: embedded finance isn’t just growing, it’s becoming inevitable, and numbers prove that. In 2024, embedded payments made up over 45% of the payments market, and by 2034, the embedded finance industry is expected to exceed $400 billion, according to Global Market Insights. Meanwhile, EY reports that 72% of consumers believe the majority of financial products will eventually be offered through non-financial platforms.
From Apps to Ecosystems: Rethinking Financial Infrastructure
The integration of financial services into digital ecosystems is changing business models at their core. Platforms are evolving into banks. Marketplaces become lenders. Super apps act as financial hubs — companies, originally focused on trading, for example, are now transforming into a full-fledged financial platform offering banking and payment functions. Importantly, this shift isn’t just about adding features, it’s about reimagining what a financial service provider looks like in the 21st century.
Finance is becoming what some call “invisible infrastructure.” Users don’t want to switch apps or open new tabs, and, of course, they don’t want to stay in lines, wait days or months to get the service, they want financial products built into their daily routines, whether they’re shopping, commuting, or running a small business. This creates new value chains in which the transaction is owned by a platform (the entity with direct access to user behavior, data, and trust), not the bank.
Beyond large-scale dealmaking, the real transformation is in accessibility, as could’ve been understood already. Embedded finance enables greater inclusion by giving individuals and SMEs access to simple tools. These platforms are democratizing finance by offering credit, investment options, and real-time money management to those who were previously excluded. Through intuitive digital products, people can build confidence and literacy in finance organically, rather than through intimidating traditional systems.
In my view, the next generation of financial inclusion won’t come from brick-and-mortar banks, it will come from intelligent, contextual platforms that anticipate user needs and provide relevant tailored financial solutions.
Seamless Financial Experiences as a Competitive Differentiator
Seamless financial interactions are quickly becoming the new UX standard, from buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options to one-click insurance and API-driven payments. The companies that build intuitive, embedded experiences are the ones winning the battle for user attention and loyalty.
Embedding financial functions directly at the point of digital interaction increases user loyalty and conversion, reduces friction, and ultimately boosts customer lifetime value. Today’s consumers no longer treat finance as a separate process. In a marketplace, they expect BNPL. On a freelancing platform, instant payouts and built-in invoicing. In e-commerce, one-click credit or insurance. It’s all about platformisation.
Increasingly, it’s not the company with the financial license that wins, it’s the one that owns the interface, the flow, and the user journey. Embedded finance turns financial products into part of the user experience, not a detour from it. The traditional “banks vs. fintechs” narrative no longer holds. What we’re seeing instead is a mix of competition and cooperation. Fintechs are agile, capable of solving niche problems quickly. Banks bring scale, capital, and institutional trust. The smartest players on both sides now recognize that partnerships are the way forward.
Established financial institutions are shifting their innovation strategies accordingly. Some are building solutions in-house. Others are investing in, or acquiring, fintech disruptors. Such strategic partnerships allow banks to leverage the strengths of fintechs and remain relevant in a digital-first economy. And at the same time, fintechs gain access to scale and regulatory frameworks they’d struggle to build from scratch.
The Most Value for Financial Services Providers
According to market data and industry consensus, embedded finance delivers significant value in three key areas:
- Increased profitability and cross-sell potential (opening up new monetization paths).
- Higher customer acquisition (meeting users where they already are).
- Broader product awareness (exposure to new financial tools for users).
Apple’s success is a good case in point. By embedding financial services into the iPhone experience the company has grown its financial footprint without ever becoming a bank. It also avoided key lending risks, offloading them to partners like Goldman Sachs, who took the hit with Apple Card losses. Today, Apple Pay is the most-used digital wallet globally, far surpassing Google Pay.
Beyond revenue, embedded finance offers a suite of behavioral and strategic benefits:
- Subtle design choices help users make better financial decisions, like adding insurance with one click.
- Product expansion and, hence, meeting more needs by offering financing, money transfers, and risk coverage all in one place.
- Embedded finance reduces the steps needed to complete a transaction or any other request.
- Integrated services lead to stronger loyalty and better retention.
- Financial tools become cheaper and more inclusive.
A Strategic Imperative for Every Business
To remain competitive, businesses must treat embedded finance as a core strategic pillar. This isn’t just relevant to fintechs. Any company, in any sector, can become a distributor of financial services. We’re already seeing this play out as platforms add embedded financial features into their growth models, increasing retention, unlocking revenue, and expanding customer lifetime value. Consumers and businesses alike now expect finance to be woven into the digital experiences they already rely on. So, the winners will be those who recognize that embedded finance is the new foundation of customer value.
About the Author
Anton Chashchin is the founder and investor at N7 Capital, a private fintech group that develops and scales innovative financial technology solutions. He holds over 15 years of expertise leading projects across Europe and globally?. Known for pioneering ventures in fintech, IT, and blockchain, Mr. Chashchin advises business leaders, boards on growth strategies, operational scaling, funding guidance, and advancing financial technologies.
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