Embedded Finance Monetizes Workflow Payments
Roy Ng, EVP, Chief Business Officer at FIS, on the future of BaaS
The key idea is that the best embedded finance products do not create a new destination, they monetize payment activity already happening inside a software workflow. In a vertical SaaS product, the software is already where work gets done, where a radiology center schedules patients, sends bills, collects payments, or pays vendors. Adding cards, accounts, or payment tools lets the software company take a small share of those money flows, while making the workflow faster and stickier.
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This is different from a pure fintech model built around interchange as the main product. In embedded finance, the financial feature is usually a kicker on top of an existing software business, not the whole business. That usually means clearer ROI for the software vendor and less dependence on one revenue stream.
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The money movement can be very concrete. A platform can issue a payment card, route a payout, open an account, or reconcile receivables inside the same screen where staff already manage operations. That is why larger enterprises often prefer broader platforms, because cards alone do not cover KYC, compliance, ledgering, and reporting.
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The competitive implication is that vertical SaaS is becoming the natural customer for enterprise BaaS. Fintech customers can generate faster volume growth, but embedded finance customers like software platforms tend to use financial tools to improve workflows, spread revenue across more customers, and create lower concentration risk for the infrastructure provider.
From here, the winners are likely to be software companies that control a dense operational workflow and can layer financial tools into it without asking customers to change behavior. That pushes BaaS upmarket, toward enterprise grade compliance, broader product bundles, and vertical integrations where payments, accounts, and lending sit directly inside industry specific software.