Embedded finance is the integration of financial services—payments, banking, lending, insurance—directly into non-financial products and platforms. An embedded finance platform provides the APIs and infrastructure so companies can offer these services without building banking from scratch. Instead of redirecting users to a bank or payment provider, businesses use API-based infrastructure from specialized embedded finance companies to deliver branded financial experiences inside their own apps and websites.
For a one-paragraph answer, see What is embedded finance? (Q&A). Below we cover the definition in more detail, types of embedded finance, real-world examples, and how to compare providers.
Embedded Finance Definition
Embedded finance means integrating regulated or financial-adjacent services into a non-financial product or platform via APIs. The end user gets a seamless experience (e.g. a loan at checkout, a branded card, or pay-by-bank) without leaving the merchant or app. The non-financial company does not become a bank; it integrates with an embedded finance platform that handles bank partnerships, card networks, compliance, and processing.
The term is often used alongside Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), which is a subset of embedded finance focused on regulated banking products. Embedded finance also includes card issuing without a bank (e.g. Marqeta, Lithic), embedded lending, payments, AP/AR, payroll, and compliance tooling.
Types of Embedded Finance
Embedded finance companies and embedded finance platforms fall into several categories. Many providers offer more than one.
- Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) — Full-stack banking: accounts, deposits, payments via a licensed bank partner. Examples: Unit, Stripe Treasury, Solaris. Compare providers →
- Card issuing — Virtual and physical card programs with real-time controls and tokenization. Examples: Marqeta, Lithic, Highnote. Compare providers →
- Embedded lending — Working capital, B2B BNPL, invoice financing, revenue-based financing. Examples: Kanmon, Parafin, Defacto. Compare providers →
- Embedded payments — Payment facilitation, payouts, marketplace payments. Examples: Adyen, Mollie, Rainforest. Compare providers →
- AP/AR & invoicing — Bill pay, invoicing, collections for vertical SaaS. Examples: Monite, BILL. Compare providers →
- Embedded payroll — Payroll processing and compliance for platforms. Examples: Check, Gusto Embedded, Remote. Compare providers →
- Compliance & KYC — Identity verification, KYC/KYB, fraud prevention. Examples: Alloy, Persona, Sardine. Compare providers →
Embedded Finance Examples
Real-world embedded finance examples include:
- Checkout financing or BNPL inside an e-commerce site (embedded lending)
- Branded debit or credit cards inside a gig-economy or neobank app (BaaS + card issuing)
- Working-capital or B2B BNPL inside accounting or vertical SaaS (embedded lending APIs)
- Pay-by-bank or instant payouts inside a marketplace (embedded payments)
- Invoice presentment and bill pay inside a B2B software product (embedded AP/AR)
- Payroll and earned-wage access inside an HR or staffing platform (embedded payroll)
In each case, the financial service is delivered inside the non-financial product; the underlying infrastructure comes from an embedded finance platform. For a full list of providers, see our directory of embedded finance companies and the guide on best embedded finance APIs.
Related Resources
Embedded Finance FAQ
Embedded finance is the integration of financial services—payments, banking, lending, insurance—directly into non-financial products and platforms via APIs. Companies use embedded finance platforms to offer branded financial experiences (e.g. checkout financing, branded cards, working-capital loans) inside their own apps without building banking infrastructure from scratch.