In 2023 we will see more well-known consumer brands entering the financial services market offering white-labelled banking solutions like accounts, cards, and payments – all under the umbrella of ‘embedded finance’. These large consumer businesses will drive forward partnerships with third-party providers like insurers, lenders, and investment managers to capture more of the customer journey.
Rewards as a means of promoting loyalty will become more common, in the form of discounts at other merchants, cashback, or promotional offers surrounding the customers’ favoured product range. Embedded finance via open banking payments will also continue to gain traction and these payments mark a major shift that is extremely useful for consumers, given that this process requires little card or data entry.
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But all innovations – especially in financial services – must take place within a regulatory framework. In 2023 I predict regulatory developments regarding SEPA instant payments – the mechanism which will allow anyone with a euro-denominated bank account to make an instant (within ten seconds) transfer. Meanwhile, the licensing process for crypto firms will become more onerous across the UK and Europe.
All this is leading to a world where businesses are more diversified, with a larger slice of each customer’s attention and spend. This will naturally lead to more boisterous competition, and those that aren’t adopting the embedded finance mindset could easily be left behind. In 2023, the global business that get ahead will be ‘not just’ retailers or online vendors – but integrated financial services firms offering customers better efficiency and value-for-money.
