The Financial Services (FS) industry continues to undergo rapid change. Recently, there has been an influx of new financial products into the market. As consumers are faced with more choice than ever before, the rise of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) products provides a shining example of an ever more flexible financial landscape. With an estimated retail value of £9.6 billion, BNPL is the fastest-growing payment method in the UK. Crucially, it is representative of a wider race for embedded finance products and services, many of which are made possible by Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS).
Of course, the scope of BaaS by far exceeds what BNPL solutions can offer alone. Against an increasingly competitive backdrop, both FS and non-FS companies are looking at novel ways to incorporate financial products into their existing offerings, from traditional products like credit and debit cards, to innovative digital wallets and lending solutions. Such demand has been observed among industry experts, with a recent survey commissioned by Yobota uncovering that 64% have observed more unregulated businesses starting to offer financial products or services as a result of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embedded finance infrastructure.