Fiserv applied for a merchant acquirer limited purpose bank (MALPB) charter in Georgia, USA. If approved, the charter would allow Fiserv to process card transactions directly without relying on a partner bank. Approval was expected in the first half of 2024, representing a significant shift in the payments value chain.
GXS Bank, Singapore's digital bank backed by Grab Holdings, raised $109M in January 2024. The digital bank was established as part of Singapore's digital banking license initiative, enabling Grab to embed financial services into its super-app ecosystem. The raise supports GXS Bank's growth in embedded finance for Southeast Asian consumers.
Zeal, an Egyptian fintech, raised $4M in January 2024 to expand its embedded payment solutions for retailers. The company enables merchants to accept digital payments, addressing the underbanked MENA market. The round supports Zeal's efforts to embed financial services into retail commerce.
Visa enhanced its Fintech Fast Track program for North American fintechs, adding Visa Direct for real-time money movement and expanded consulting support. The update makes it easier for fintechs to embed Visa payment capabilities into their platforms. This strengthens Visa's position as an embedded payments enabler for the fintech ecosystem.
Fortis reported transformational growth in embedded payments for 2023, citing partnerships with Sage and Acumatica for ERP-integrated card transactions and data enrichment. The company's strategy focuses on embedding payments directly into business software platforms. These partnerships expand embedded payment capabilities within enterprise resource planning ecosystems.
First Bank implemented Backbase's Engagement Banking Platform, going live on December 14, 2023. The platform unifies core banking, fraud, payments, and fintech integrations. It enables seamless digital experiences across retail, business, and wealth management services.
Necto launched publicly with a seed funding round, offering a multi-bank premium API aggregator for corporate banking and treasury. The platform standardizes diverse bank APIs into a unified format, enabling fintech platforms to connect to multiple banks through a single integration.
Spade, a fintech infrastructure company providing real-time transaction enrichment and credit card fraud prevention, raised a $10M Series A led by Flourish Ventures. The platform uses real-time merchant data to combat card fraud and improve transaction visibility for financial institutions.
First Carolina Bank launched a new fintech partnership line of business in December 2023, expanding its deposit portfolio and customer base. The community bank leveraged fintech relationships to grow deposits. This signals growing interest from smaller banks in BaaS-style partnerships.
FintechOS released its version 24 platform update designed to help banks and insurers manage financial products, enable ecosystem partnerships, and pursue embedded finance models. The update features open APIs and integrations that facilitate BaaS and embedded offerings. It positions FintechOS as an enablement layer for traditional financial institutions seeking fintech partnerships.
Canapi Ventures announced a $750M Fund II dedicated to investing in financial services infrastructure, including API platforms and fintech-bank partnerships. The fund is one of the largest focused specifically on financial services technology infrastructure.
Quontic Bank selected and launched Alkami's digital banking platform to enhance account opening, analytics, and partner ecosystem integration. The move strengthens Quontic's digital-first banking capabilities. Alkami provides the technology infrastructure for Quontic's customer-facing digital experience.
Citi Ventures invested in Defacto, a European embedded lending fintech, as the continent's embedded finance market approaches $24.2B. The investment signals major bank interest in embedded B2B lending infrastructure. Defacto provides embedded financing solutions for businesses through platform integrations.
Mastercard and Neem announced a multi-year embedded finance partnership, the first of its kind in Pakistan. The collaboration integrates Mastercard's technology for card issuance, remittances, and loyalty programs into Neem's platform. It targets underserved communities by enabling non-financial businesses to embed payments, lending, and insurance via APIs.
Unipaas broadened its embedded payment solution by adding Direct Debit integration. The expansion simplifies payment collection for businesses across multiple industries. This extends Unipaas's capabilities beyond card-based embedded payments.
SDK.finance partnered with Marqeta to integrate card issuing capabilities into its core banking platform. The partnership allows SDK.finance clients to leverage Marqeta's modern card issuing infrastructure, streamlining the process of launching card programs for fintechs and financial institutions.
Synctera launched its embedded banking platform in Canada, enabling fintechs to offer banking products through Canadian bank partners. This expansion brings Synctera's BaaS model north of the US border, opening a new market for embedded finance in Canada.
Fiat Republic, a Banking-as-a-Service platform bridging crypto and traditional banking, raised €6.4M in a seed extension. The funds will be used to expand payments capabilities, partnerships, and geographic reach. The platform enables crypto companies to access fiat banking rails.
Alpha Modus Financial Services entered into an agreement with Synctera to provide banking-as-a-service infrastructure for its Alpha Cash platform. The deal supports sponsor banking relationships and compliance frameworks. The partnership was disclosed in Alpha Modus Holdings' 10-K annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Entities: Alpha Modus Financial Services · Alpha Modus Holdings · Synctera
FinWise Bank partnered with fintech Stride Funding to launch an Employer Sponsored Loan (ESL) program for students. The program enables employers to sponsor loan products originated by FinWise Bank through Stride's platform. This expands FinWise's BaaS lending partnerships into the education finance space.
Trigger Software partnered with cloud-native banking platform Mambu to launch Neobank Engine, a pre-configured middleware solution. The product includes 300+ screens and 150+ processes covering KYC, onboarding, and payments. It enables neobank launches in as little as three months at fixed cost.
Griffin, the UK-based API-first bank and full-stack BaaS platform, announced key senior hires to advance its embedded finance capabilities. The appointments signal Griffin's push to scale its Banking-as-a-Service offering in the UK market. This strengthens Griffin's position as a purpose-built BaaS bank competing for fintech partnerships.
Taulia partnered with Mastercard to launch a virtual card B2B payments solution integrated with SAP ERP and other platforms. The solution leverages bank partners including Degussa and HSBC to issue virtual cards for streamlined working capital management. This deepens embedded payments within enterprise procurement and supply chain workflows.
Entities: Taulia · Mastercard · Degussa Bank · HSBC · SAP
Mastercard partnered with Areeba to enable modern payment platforms for fintechs in the Middle East through a Card-as-a-Service offering. The collaboration allows fintechs to issue cards and build payment solutions on Areeba's platform with Mastercard's network. This expands embedded finance infrastructure in the MENA region.