Embedded payments: a world full of possibilities
Sponsored by MarqetaMarcin Glogowski explains the strategic significance of embedded finance and how it can be optimised for growth and profitability
In recent years, one of the most profound shifts in financial services has been the rise of embedded payments. At their core, embedded payments involve weaving financial services – payments themselves, as well as loans and insurance disbursements – directly into existing products and customer experiences. Instead of diverting customers to banks or payment providers, businesses can now integrate these capabilities seamlessly within their own consumer-facing ecosystems.
The scale of the opportunity is vast. Research shows that two-thirds of consumers feel positive about non-finance brands offering financial services. The market size reflects this sentiment: embedded payments are set to grow from $2.5 trillion in 2021 to an estimated $6.5 trillion in 2025.
Much of this growth is being driven by card programmes. Whether physical, virtual or tokenised, cards have become the backbone of embedded payments, enabling businesses to issue funds instantly, support new services and improve customer satisfaction.
But while the possibilities are exciting, executing them can be complex. To reap the benefits, organisations must consider how best to integrate embedded payment solutions into their current processes. And there are considerable regulation, compliance and fraud prevention hurdles to overcome when doing this.
The business opportunity
The business case for embedded payments is compelling. For many organisations, payments are no longer simply a cost centre; they are a lever for new revenue, customer loyalty and operating efficiency.
Embedded payments open doors to new revenue streams. For instance, they can enable businesses to offer insurance policies, loans where they can earn interest and foreign exchange (FX) programmes that enable them to charge a margin on FX. These opportunities turn what used to be a cost centre into a growth lever.
Beyond revenue is the critical area of improved customer convenience. In-app purchasing creates streamlined, connected experiences that keep retail customers engaged. Travel companies can transform the customer experience by issuing instant claim payouts rather than relying on slow manual processing. Customers can benefit from the instant creation of digital cards and the ability to add them to a digital wallet such as Apple Pay® or Google Pay™.
Efficiency gains are another vital dimension. Corporate cards streamline expenses and help organisations control spend. Insurance providers can restrict where payout funds are used, protecting against fraud and ensuring value is delivered to the customer. These same controls, combined with real-time insights, generate a wealth of data on spending patterns that can inform better product development and sharper business decisions.
With these benefits, embedded payments themselves have become a source of competitive differentiation. Yet the opportunity comes with complexity. Engaging with the details of financial services introduces a need for banking licences, compliance with know your customer (KYC) and anti money laundering (AML) regulations, and robust risk management. Organisations with legacy technology stacks or limited financial expertise can quickly find themselves overwhelmed.
Simplifying embedded payments
Delivering an efficient card programme is difficult without specialist support. This is where embedded finance providers such as Marqeta step in. By offering end-to-end solutions, Marqeta enables organisations – from retailers and entertainment companies to insurers and digital banks – to launch new products faster, manage risk more effectively, scale globally and unlock new sources of growth. It does this by helping those businesses that need to move money to succeed in several key areas:
Speed to market. Building a card programme from scratch is expensive and slow. Cloud-based, API-first platforms accelerate deployment from years to mere months, allowing businesses to seize opportunities without having to develop bespoke apps or infrastructure.
Risk management and experimentation. Being able to test new card programmes in a dedicated private sandbox allows organisations to innovate safely and efficiently. This controlled experimentation helps refine propositions in a low-risk environment before launching and scaling.
Compliance and complexity management. The regulatory environment for embedded payments can be a minefield. Providers such as Marqeta lift a heavy operational burden, helping to ensure compliance with requirements such as KYC and AML, especially with the support of working relationships with other suppliers in the value chain – card issuers, for example.
Fraud prevention and security. Fraud remains a significant cost driver where payments are concerned, and effective risk controls are essential. Advanced platforms provide fraud management tools such as 3-D Secure authentication, real-time decisioning and dynamic spend controls that can enable the blocking of transactions by merchant category. These tools strike a balance between strong security and a frictionless user experience.
The Marqeta difference
Marqeta is a trusted partner in the embedded payments space. With more than 10 years of experience, the company facilitated over $290 billion in transactions in 2024 alone. Today, its infrastructure supports operations in more than 40 countries, allowing customers to expand internationally without rebuilding their card programmes from the ground up.
Its API-first platform allows businesses to create card programmes tailored to their needs, from spending controls to tokenised solutions. And Marqeta’s services go beyond technology: it works directly with networks such as Visa and Mastercard, provides sandbox environments for new services and delivers 99.99 per cent uptime reliability through its cloud-based systems.
For businesses, this means using professionals to assist with the heavy lifting of compliance, licensing and infrastructure development, while still being able to deliver innovative payment experiences at scale. In short, Marqeta helps to reduce the barriers that typically force organisations to choose between speed, security and flexibility.
Choose and, not or
Over the past decade, payments have become increasingly invisible, embedded into retail brands, social media platforms and challenger banks. The most successful solutions are those that help make money movement seamless, to the point where it disappears into the background of everyday experiences.
Marqeta powers many of these invisible infrastructures, helping brands meet evolving customer needs while driving loyalty and deeper engagement. Importantly, it challenges the traditional compromises of the industry where businesses had to choose between stability or innovation, fast or configurable, safe or bold. With Marqeta, it becomes possible to choose and, rather than or.
Embedded payments are no longer an optional add-on but a powerful driver of growth, customer experience and efficiency. Partnering with the right platform changes complexity into opportunity, enabling businesses to scale confidently into the next era of finance.
Marqeta provides the infrastructure that allows businesses to issue and manage their own branded credit, debit, prepaid and payment cards, whether in the physical or digital world. Helping organisations implement digital disbursements simply, quickly, and cost-effectively is just one example among many of how Marqeta can help turn financial services into a powerful engine for growth.
Business Reporter Team
You may also like
Most Viewed
Winston House, 3rd Floor, Units 306-309, 2-4 Dollis Park, London, N3 1HF
23-29 Hendon Lane, London, N3 1RT
020 8349 4363
© 2025, Lyonsdown Limited. Business Reporter® is a registered trademark of Lyonsdown Ltd. VAT registration number: 830519543