Who should enter the ‘Best Embedded Finance & Banking-as-a-Service Solution’ category?

The ‘Best Embedded Finance & Banking-as-a-Service Solution’ award recognizes exceptional technologies that enable financial services to be built directly into digital products, platforms and customer experiences.

Consumers and businesses increasingly encounter financial services at the point where they are needed. A software platform providing business users with access to working capital, an online marketplace issuing accounts or cards to its sellers, or a retailer building financing directly into the purchasing journey. Embedded finance makes these experiences possible by placing financial capabilities within the products people already use.

Behind many of these services sits a growing layer of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) infrastructure. BaaS providers give FinTech companies and non-financial businesses access to banking capabilities without requiring them to develop the underlying infrastructure independently. These capabilities include accounts, cards, money movement, lending and other financial services.

This category welcomes entries from both sides of this ecosystem. Eligible entrants might provide the infrastructure used by other organizations to create financial products, or deliver embedded financial experiences directly within software, marketplaces, commerce platforms and other digital environments.

Mature couple checking financial documents with laptop at home, discussing bills

Examples

Embedded finance and BaaS technologies can support a wide variety of financial products and commercial models. Examples include:

AI systems that help financial organizations evaluate risk and make faster, more informed decisions about lending, credit, insurance or other financial products.

Solutions may analyze conventional and alternative data, recognize patterns associated with risk, automate elements of underwriting, monitor changing circumstances or support more responsive credit and pricing decisions.

Leading applications should demonstrate how AI adds depth, speed or precision to the assessment process while maintaining suitable controls around consequential financial decisions.

financial services buildings in the city

BaaS platforms and infrastructure that allow other organizations to create and operate banking or financial products.

Solutions may provide APIs for account creation and management, money movement, balance information, transaction histories or other core financial capabilities. Providers might connect FinTech businesses and digital platforms with regulated banking infrastructure while abstracting much of the technical complexity involved.

Strong platforms should give partners the flexibility to assemble financial services suited to their own proposition rather than requiring a single predetermined customer experience.

FinTech digital wallet

Solutions that allow accounts, stored-value capabilities or wallets to become part of a wider platform or digital service.

Examples could include accounts for marketplace sellers, financial tools for gig-economy workers, wallets within commerce platforms, or business accounts incorporated into vertical SaaS products.

These technologies can allow users to receive, hold, manage and move funds without leaving the environment in which they earn, sell, purchase or conduct business.

Infrastructure enabling organizations to create physical or virtual card programs as part of their own products and services.

Solutions may support card issuance, spending controls, authorization rules, transaction management, virtual cards or branded card programs for consumers, employees, contractors and businesses.

Entries could demonstrate how configurable card capabilities solve a specific customer need, improve control over spending or create a more integrated relationship between financial activity and the platform through which it takes place.

fintech digital asset tracking

Technology that incorporates financial products into non-financial platforms, marketplaces and software applications in ways that complement the user's primary activity.

Applications could span embedded insurance, treasury services, savings, investment capabilities, financial management tools or combinations of several financial services within a single platform. Embedded finance can extend well beyond payments and banking, with financial functionality appearing wherever it can meaningfully improve an existing customer journey.

The most effective applications should demonstrate why embedding the service creates a better experience than directing users to a separate financial provider.

Areas to Highlight in Your Submission

Judges score nominations across these five key areas:

  • Innovation: The features or technology that makes your embedded finance or BaaS solution unique - or transformed your market.

  • Impact: Evidence of the positive effect your embedded finance or BaaS solution has brought to your customers.

  • Scalability: How your solution grows or adapts to changing business needs, without significant upgrades or overhauls.

  • User Experience: How intuitive your embedded finance or BaaS solution is to use for users of varying roles or skill levels.

  • Relevance: What makes your solution a worthy winner in this particular category.

Although not formally scored, focus on these areas specific to this category, can help your nomination stand out:

Integration

How easily and effectively the solution can be incorporated into partner products, systems and customer journeys.

Configuration

Flexibility offered to tailor financial products, features, workflows and experiences to specific business models and customer requirements.

Reliability

The availability, dependability and resilience of the underlying financial capabilities.

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Next Steps to Enter The FinTech Awards

To enter this FinTech Awards category, or any other category in The FinTech Awards, please follow these three simple steps:

  • Download the entry form. Open up the ‘FinTech Awards Simple Form’ document.

  • Complete your form. You only need to complete the form once, even if entering multiple FinTech Awards categories.

  • Submit your entry. Head to the ‘Submit Now’ section on our website, select ‘The FinTech Awards’ and the category/categories you are entering from the list, upload your form and any other materials you would like the judges to review, and process your fees.

The FinTech Awards is a program from The Cloud Awards. Since 2011, we’ve been helping organizations across the globe gain the recognition they deserve for market-leading innovation in the cloud computing and software sectors.

For a detailed breakdown of all the benefits you receive as an awards entrant as either a shortlistee, finalist or ultimate winner, please see our Why Enter page. If you have any questions on this category, please Contact Us.