Technology has changed how today’s consumers shop, interact with companies and brands, and manage their finances. With a smartphone in hand, opening a bank account no longer requires walking into a brick & mortar location and waiting in line — it’s just a few swipes and taps away. Pioneering organizations are evolving their business models to ingrain and optimize financial processes for a seamless customer experience and embedded financial solutions help make that happen.
A few examples spring to mind: One of Mexico's largest retailers, Coppel offers its customers the ability to send money across borders from an app, with cash pickup in its over 1,500 store locations. OmniMoney by Boost Mobile allows its customers to create accounts within the app and deposit cash in-person.
Alviere enables these and other organizations to launch embedded finance programs that map to their core business objectives. Our team wasn’t the first, and won’t be the last, provider to help non-financial brands leverage financial technology, but we’ve learned a thing or two about what sets our approach apart from the competition.
With the end goal in mind, as a technology buyer, you need to navigate across various stakeholders in your organization, rallying them to support the vision. So, the last thing you want is a surprise months after talking to an embedded finance provider. Time and again, we’ve heard there are three things other providers don’t tell their potential clients:
They promise one platform for various technology integrations…
And each integration requires a new contract with a new vendor.
Providers can bring together capabilities across cards, accounts, and payments in one embedded finance platform solution. That way your organization can tailor a financial experience without having to identify a point solution provider for cards, then a separate one for accounts, for example. Plus, embedded finance platforms can aggregate the best technology for specific functions like mobile check deposit, secure account linking, or identity verification in one place so you don’t have to source those vendors separately. While your platform provider might be integrated with a vendor that can provide that service, you’ll have to engage your procurement and legal teams to establish a separate contract with that third party before you can access their technology through the platform. As project champion, that adds further complexity (and time) to launching and managing your embedded finance program.
With Alviere, partner integrations are already part of the Master Services Agreement (MSA) we establish with our clients. The Alviere HIVE platform leverages technology from leading partners like Plaid, Array, or Coinbase without introducing a new vendor. And, if there’s a new function you want to add, Alviere can activate that seamlessly. There’s a single vendor to maintain clear accountability across all functionality.
They’re a technology provider…
Not a regulated financial institution.
Not all embedded finance platforms are created equal when it comes to security and compliance. Your CIO, CTO, and CFO are going to want to know that you are entrusting this new endeavor to an organization that is qualified to navigate all regulatory requirements and will keep your reputation intact. Some embedded finance providers will assist with compliance by helping ensure you build in identity verification by performing Know Your Customer (KYC) or Know Your Business (KYB) checks during customer onboarding. But ultimately, they are providing only the technology to enable access to financial accounts. These vendors can’t actually be involved in the flow of funds. They rely on sponsor banks — who you’ll also need to work with — to facilitate any money movement.
To be clear, Alviere leverages a sponsor bank for some activities, too. There are certain must-haves for our clients, like pass-through access to FDIC insurance, that can only be granted to a chartered bank, per U.S. Federal regulation.
Fortunately, Alviere is also a licensed money transmitter in all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. As a regulated entity–and not only a technology provider, Alviere can take on functions for our clients that an unlicensed technology provider cannot. For example, one of our clients with retail storefronts allows customers to deposit cash to their accounts in-store at its locations.
They have quickstart documentation…
Because your team will need to piece it together.
A cornerstone of embedded financial technology, documentation. APIs, SDKs, and white-label UIs, will help your development team get a quick read on the level of effort required to integrate with the embedded finance platform and deliver the product you want. It’s also a great way for your technical leadership to evaluate the caliber of your potential provider.
That said, not all organizations have unlimited developers at their disposal. And if you do, you may want to keep them focused on improving your core business. Alviere provides white-glove implementation support to develop the customer experience you either design or co-create with our team. You maintain complete control while applying best practices for launching and managing financial services through a dedicated implementation and go-to-market team.
There is no one-size-fits-all path to market.
Through our experience working with enterprise clients like Boost Mobile, AutoPayPlus, Dish, Sandboxx, and Coppel, we’ve learned what works, what doesn’t, and what questions companies need to ask to make the right choice — before you get too far down the path with one provider.
To dive deeper into the points highlighted here and demystify how you could work directly with a bank, BaaS provider, or embedded finance platform, read the Buyer’s Guide: Key considerations in selecting an embedded finance provider. It’s one more tool in your arsenal as you evaluate the best solution for your team and build your embedded finance program. It’s time to harness the power of financial technology to transform your business.
