Banking as a Service gains unstoppable momentum, Finastra research shows

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85% of senior executives surveyed are already implementing BaaS solutions or are planning to in the next 12-18 months

DUBAI, UAE, LONDON and NEW YORK, March 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Finastra today published a market assessment report: 'Banking as a Service: Outlook 2022 | Paving the way for Embedded Finance'. The research canvassed the opinions of 1,600 senior industry executives, exploring the opportunities presented by Banking as a Service (BaaS) – to provide retail or wholesale banking products and services to customers in context, as a service, using an existing licensed institution's secure, regulated infrastructure with modern API-driven platforms.

The Finastra research reveals the true extent of the appetite for BaaS, with almost 85% of respondents already implementing or planning to implement BaaS over the next 12-18 months. Key findings include:

• More than 80% of regulated financial services providers expect the overall BaaS market to grow. Of these, 30% expect it to grow by more than 50% per year over the next five years
• BaaS represents a $7 trillion opportunity - distributors, including retailers, e-commerce firms and other consumer brands, are migrating towards BaaS solutions and expect overall growth to exceed 70% per year over the next three years; 60-70% of distributors want to increase their spending on financial partnerships (including BaaS)
• SME lending, corporate lending and corporate treasury/FX services are poised to gain the highest traction. Simplifying SME lending through BaaS is expected to drive growth of 30% by 2024
• The majority of enablers, including bigtechs and fintechs, expect the overall BaaS market to grow by more than 50% over the next five years. Some 40-50% of enablers want to increase their partnerships with distributors and financial services providers by more than 50% in the next five years

Angus Ross, Chief Revenue Officer, Banking as a Service at Finastra said, "There's no doubt that BaaS is an incredibly exciting opportunity for the entire financial services ecosystem. Financial institutions can reach a greater number of customers at significantly lower cost, while distributor brands can open up new lines of revenue and build deeper relationships with their customers. It's clear from our research that consumers (retail or corporate) are changing where they source financial services and shifting to non-bank channels. This trend will only accelerate as integrating regulated products into the customer journey becomes as simple as creating a social media account."

Brian McKenney, Chief Innovation Officer, HSBC said, "The application of BaaS represents an attractive opportunity to create new value for businesses around the world. Embedding financial solutions will bring contextualized, integrated banking services into the products and platforms that businesses use every day. How providers partner and support this unique international need of businesses will, over time, be the real differentiator."

David Palmer, Head of Digital Asset Broker Product, Vodafone said, "Embedded Finance and BaaS present a significant opportunity in the fast growing 'Economy of Things'. It is estimated there will be as many as 60 billion IoT devices in operation by 2025; we expect these devices to be interacting, transacting and many will need to be financed. Incorporating embedded finance and BaaS solutions with IoT and the Economy of Things presents exciting new business and monetization opportunities."

Finastra's research also assessed the monetization strategies of distributors, enablers and providers in BaaS, and explored the importance of partnerships. All respondents were in favor of a transition to a platform and marketplace model, where a greater range of niche solutions at competitive prices can be sourced by end customers.

Theodora Lau, Founder, Unconventional Ventures commented, "I am encouraged by the growing embedded finance ecosystem, especially as it relates to extending services to communities and businesses that have been traditionally underserved with limited offerings. Small businesses and entrepreneurs form the backbone of our economies. With thoughtful innovation, we have the opportunity to create a more level playing field and a more equitable future for all. Technology innovation ultimately needs to be about people."

Jim Marous, Co-publisher of The Financial Brand said, "Opportunities associated with BaaS are exploding in the banking ecosystem as organizations not only search for new ways to improve customer engagement and enhance experiences, but also find new sources of revenues from inside and outside the financial services marketplace."

Finastra's research shows that financial services providers need four key capabilities to work with distributors and enablers and to monetize BaaS. From a technology perspective, these include:

• an open API platform;
• an integrated data and analytics platform; and
• specialized digital solutions to seamlessly integrate customer journeys

From a product perspective, providers need dynamic and compelling offerings to entice customers.

Learn more about the BaaS opportunities available for distributors, enablers and providers – and the growth potential of different market segments – in the full market assessment report here.  

Media notes:

To compile the market assessment report, Finastra interviewed nearly 50 senior executives and surveyed a further 1,600 to assess the market maturity of Banking as a Service (BaaS). The research reveals the high potential for disruption and transformation across a number of sectors, spanning banking and fintech, healthcare, retail, and technology. The research garners opinion from distributors, enablers and providers of BaaS, with responses split fairly equally across large enterprises (1bn - > $108bn) and small and medium enterprises (<$250m - $1bn).

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About Finastra

Finastra is building an open platform that accelerates collaboration and innovation in financial services, creating better experiences for people, businesses and communities. Supported by the broadest and deepest portfolio of financial services software, Finastra delivers this vitally important technology to financial institutions of all sizes across the globe, including 90 of the world's top 100 banks. Our open architecture approach brings together a number of partners and innovators. Together we are leading the way in which applications are written, deployed and consumed in financial services to evolve with the changing needs of customers. Learn more at finastra.com

About FusionFabric.cloud

FusionFabric.cloud is a scalable, open and collaborative platform built by Finastra. It brings together an ecosystem of financial institutions, core providers, developers and fintechs, as well as embedders and distributors of financial services. Financial institutions use FusionFabric.cloud to enhance efficiency, create new experiences for customers and offer services through new distributor channels as part of Banking as a Service (BaaS). Embedders and distributors can tap in to the platform to source, and integrate with, financial institutions which can quickly produce new financial products in context. 

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SOURCE Finastra