Translating Strategy to Execution

Embedded Finance – The Great Equaliser in a Digital World

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In this episode, we unpack the real implications of embedded finance from a panel of global payment providers at iFS Expo 2024. From Asia-Pacific’s regulatory complexity to the risks and rewards of AI-powered experiences, we cover:

  • Why embedded finance is different and more commercially mature than blockchain or open banking
  • How APAC’s diverse infrastructure and “super apps” shape adoption and how to avoid playing in a 'walled garden'
  • What agentic AI means for trust, autonomy, and ethics
  • The rise of APIs and modular architecture as keys to sustainable scale
  • Why proactive risk management and local partnerships are non-negotiable

🔍 Plus: Real-world examples from Shopify, Grab, Amazon, and more — showing embedded finance in action today.

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Disclaimer: This episode was generated by AI.

The Translating Strategy to Execution Podcast is brought to you by Alumni Services, a digital transformation consultancy delivering end-to-end business improvement through a highly-skilled team of strategists, technologies, people change experts, and designers with an average of 20 years of experience.

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SPEAKER_01:

Okay, get this, half a trillion dollars. That's roughly what the embedded finance market could be worth in Asia Pacific next year alone.

SPEAKER_00:

Wow, half a trillion.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and that's part of this like$600 billion global wave. So if you're trying to stay ahead, trying to figure out what really matters quickly, well, that growth, it signals something huge is changing.

SPEAKER_00:

It really does. And your first thought might just be, oh, smoother online payments.

SPEAKER_01:

Right, the checkout experience.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. But embedded finance, as the experts at the IFS Expo panel in Bangkok pointed out, it's actually much deeper. It's about... weaving financial tools right into everyday platforms the ones that aren't primarily financial

SPEAKER_01:

yeah exactly so it's not just about buying something it's financial stuff becoming well part of the flow whether you're shopping online or maybe your driver getting paid or running a business so this deep dive today what we want to do is basically cut through the noise for you get past the jargon and just show you the core ideas you need to grasp about this trend

SPEAKER_00:

and to do that We've looked at some key sources. There are excerpts from a paper called Embedded Finance, The Great Equalizer in a Digital World, which really captured that IFS Expo panel discussion.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, good.

SPEAKER_00:

And we also have insights directly from that Bangkok panel itself. Lane Out from Nuvi was there, Kalash from Primer, Patrick Kirby from APA. So real expert views.

SPEAKER_01:

Great. So the big question we're tackling is pretty simple. Why are people calling embedded finance the great equalizer, especially in a place as complex as Asia Pacific? And what does that actually mean for all of us?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, let's get into that great equalizer thing first. It's quite a statement, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01:

It really is. You hear echoes of, you know, how open banking or blockchain, even AI, we're supposed to completely change the game for financial access.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. So the immediate question is, why might embedded finance actually be making a bigger splash or at least making it faster right

SPEAKER_01:

now? Yeah, what's different?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the panelists seem to land on two things. things, immediacy and commercial maturity. Basically, it's ready to go and businesses can actually use it now. They can kind of weave these financial bits into what they already do without the massive headache and cost of becoming, say, a fully regulated bank themselves.

SPEAKER_01:

That integration part seems key, like Shopify offering credit lines right there inside Shopify.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Or grab, you know, offering micro insurance when you book a ride.

SPEAKER_01:

Right in the app.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And Amazon does this stuff all the time. currency conversion, fraud checks, loyalty points. It's all just there in the checkout. You hardly notice it. Financial tools working behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_01:

And think about the impact on smaller businesses. This could genuinely, you know, level the playing field.

SPEAKER_00:

How so?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it breaks down those old barriers. Small shops, online sellers, they can suddenly access sophisticated financial tools that used to be only for the big guys with the deep pockets and tech teams.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Bypassing the traditional gatekeeper So it helps them compete without needing huge upfront cash or tech builds.

SPEAKER_01:

That seems pretty transformative. Now, if you compare that, open banking, it's still kind of finding its feet in many places, different rules everywhere.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, adoption is patchy.

SPEAKER_01:

And blockchain, still facing hurdles with actual mainstream use, trust issues.

SPEAKER_00:

And AI. while powerful, lots of businesses are still figuring out how to turn it into real, tangible value, especially in finance.

SPEAKER_01:

So what's interesting here maybe is that embedded finance builds trust differently because it's inside apps and platforms you already use.

SPEAKER_00:

That's what the panel suggested, yeah. It's integrated into experiences you're familiar with, maybe you already trust. The financial service is just an option within that familiar space.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, let's shift focus specifically to Asia Pacific then. The experts really hammered home how unique Oh,

SPEAKER_00:

absolutely. The defining thing about APAC is just how complex and fragmented it is. What works in one country? Well, it often needs major tweaks to work next door. And it's interesting how trust has evolved there, too. A few years ago, people were asking, can this even work? Is it secure? Now the conversation is much more about how to implement it, how to expand.

SPEAKER_01:

That's a quick shift. And the fragmentation, yeah, you see it everywhere. Thailand's got prompt pay, right? QR codes, instant transfers, everyone uses it.

SPEAKER_00:

Then India has UPI. Incredibly successful.

SPEAKER_01:

But Japan, still a lot of cash floating around, surprisingly.

SPEAKER_00:

And China, of course, has those giant closed ecosystems, Alipay, WeChat Pay, they're woven into like everything, daily life, social stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

So if you're trying to offer embedded finance across borders and APAC, wow. The regulations must be a nightmare.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a huge challenge. Data residency rules, licensing requirements, they can completely different between, say, Singapore and Hong Kong, even though they're both major hubs.

SPEAKER_01:

So you can't just copy paste your solution.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely not. The experts called it robust localization. You absolutely need to understand each market, the commercial logic, the regulations, what users actually need and expect there.

SPEAKER_01:

Get that right. You build credibility. Get it wrong.

SPEAKER_00:

Big problems. Regulatory trouble, operational failures. Like in Thailand, if you don't don't integrate smoothly with PromptPay, you're probably missing a huge chunk of the market. It has to feel local.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, that brings up the super app thing. WeChat, Grab, they're dominant in many parts of APAC.

SPEAKER_00:

Huge platforms, yeah. Offering everything under one roof.

SPEAKER_01:

Which is convenient for users, definitely. But the panel warned about them becoming sort of walled gardens.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Where it's hard for other businesses to play nicely or integrate without getting locked in.

SPEAKER_01:

So how do businesses use the reach of these super apps without becoming totally dependent?

SPEAKER_00:

APIs. That was the key thing highlighted. API driven architecture.

SPEAKER_01:

Application programming interfaces. The digital handshakes between systems.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. They let businesses connect to these big platforms but still keep control over their own services, their own data. It's more flexible.

SPEAKER_01:

It's like building with Lego bricks, right?

SPEAKER_00:

That's a great analogy. APIs are the blocks. You can build your tech stack, add new things later, loyalty, lending, KYC checks without having to rip everything out and start over. Modularity.

SPEAKER_01:

Makes sense. Build what you need, connect it up. Okay. Looking ahead. AI, it's everywhere. How's it changing embedded finance specifically?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, it's moving it from just reacting like payment approved to predicting.

SPEAKER_01:

Predicting what?

SPEAKER_00:

Things like real-time credit scoring, much smarter fraud detection, even automating smart contracts. And think about language in APAC. So many languages.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, huge diversity.

SPEAKER_00:

AI offers huge potential there. Natural language processing, personalization.

SPEAKER_01:

You mean like AI chatbots that can handle local languages? Or voice assistants understanding different dialects?

SPEAKER_00:

That's precisely. Or interfaces that just translate automatically? For businesses, especially smaller ones, this means you could potentially serve customers across different language markets much more easily, even with a lean team. It scales things.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

And the panel even touched on something called agentic AI.

SPEAKER_01:

Agentic AI. What's that?

SPEAKER_00:

Basically, AI systems that can act more autonomously. They can perform tasks, make decisions, take actions within certain boundaries, you said.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, like what in finance?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, imagine an AI agent in your accounting software just reconciling invoices automatically based on rules, you said. That

SPEAKER_01:

frees up time.

SPEAKER_00:

A lot of time. Or within embedded finance, maybe an AI agent could proactively renegotiate a payment plan if it sees you're struggling. Or flag really unusual spending patterns instantly. Or even optimize your whole journey as a customer without a human stepping in directly. Whoa. That sounds incredibly powerful. Yeah. And potentially interesting. Risky. Exactly. Huge potential benefits, but the experts were really clear. You need strong guardrails, serious oversight.

SPEAKER_01:

Makes sense. Because as AI makes it easier for more companies to jump into embedded finance, the whole risk management side gets even more critical, right?

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely. The panel raised some tough questions organizations need to ask themselves, like, are you sure your algorithms aren't biased? What's your absolute worst case scenario if the AI messes up and how do you fix it? And crucially, Can you explain to a customer why an AI denied their application or flagged their account?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, the transparency piece.

SPEAKER_00:

These aren't just tech issues. They're fundamental trust issues. Because as finance gets woven deeper into everything, people expect it to be easy, sure, but they also expect it to be safe and fair.

SPEAKER_01:

So with all these new players, new tech, how do you actually build and keep that trust?

SPEAKER_00:

The consensus was around a proactive, layered risk management approach. It's not just about having fancy fraud tech.

SPEAKER_01:

So technology isn't enough.

SPEAKER_00:

No. It's critical, but not sufficient. You need a culture, really, where people feel empowered to speak up. That phrase, if something doesn't feel right, call it out, came up.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's everyone's job, not just the compliance team.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Empowering people across the organization. Because even the best tech, without good governance, without clear procedures, without people paying attention... It can fail. You need constant monitoring, tweaking, optimizing to keep that kind of social contract with your customers.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Like having automatic alerts for weird transactions, but also having a clear plan for how humans investigate those alerts quickly.

SPEAKER_00:

Precisely. Proactive and layered.

SPEAKER_01:

Got it. So stepping back a bit, the panel also talked about how embedded finance is fundamentally changing other industries, not just finance itself.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that convergence of finance and tech, all aimed at making the customer experience simpler, smoother.

SPEAKER_01:

Examples. Things

SPEAKER_00:

like embedding card issuing directly into a SaaS platform or offering core banking services through an e-commerce site, connecting non-banks to payment rails, offering all sorts of alternative payment methods, handling global acquiring, all integrated.

SPEAKER_01:

Buy now, pay later came up too, right? BMPO.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, huge trend. That and the continued rise of those mega apps grab Alipay pulling more and more services under their umbrella.

SPEAKER_01:

And from the view of someone building the infrastructure, like Primer, their focus seems to be purely on that end customer and APAC.

SPEAKER_00:

Right. Making sure businesses have the right payment tools at the checkout. Is it cards? E-wallets? Is it something local like PromptPay in Thailand? Getting that right is crucial.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's not just about making things easier for people already banked. There's this potential to bring more people in.

SPEAKER_00:

A really important point, especially in places like Indonesia with large underbanked populations. Embedded finance maybe through digital wallets that you can top up with cash, can be a gateway. It gives people access to the digital economy.

SPEAKER_01:

So benefits for the underbanked, Benefits for small businesses competing with bigger players.

SPEAKER_00:

And for the big companies, too. New ways to generate revenue by actually using the customer data they have more effectively.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Sounds mostly positive, but what are the big roadblocks still, especially in APAC?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that fragmentation we talked about is a major one. How do you build something that works across all these different markets without it becoming insanely complex technically?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah,

SPEAKER_00:

the integration challenge. Then there's potential structural resistance. Traditional banks might not Understandable. And if you're a

SPEAKER_01:

merchant trying to sell into, say, Vietnam or the Philippines... you have to know what payment methods people actually use there and offer them.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely critical. Plus, those worries about super apps becoming walled gardens persist. You don't want to get locked into one platform entirely.

SPEAKER_01:

And the regulatory stuff around data, again, where it's stored, who can access it, how people can get it removed, that varies so much across APAC.

SPEAKER_00:

Constant vigilance needed there.

SPEAKER_01:

So technology is obviously key to navigating this. APIs, we mentioned those. What else? Cloud, self-service software.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, being API-driven seems fundamental for speed and flexibility in APAC. And the cloud. Regulators seem increasingly okay with it, though maybe some big traditional banks are still a bit cautious.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. And we touched on B2B and SaaS. That seems like a really interesting growth area.

SPEAKER_00:

Definitely. Embedding payments or lending right into a CRM system or accounting software like Zoho or Xero.

SPEAKER_01:

Makes it stickier for the customer.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. More sticky new revenue streams for the SaaS company. Plus, they capture more of the customer's journey, generate more data which feeds back into making the product better, maybe using AML insights. It drives that product-led growth.

SPEAKER_01:

Given all this complexity, different markets, tech, regulations, partnerships must be absolutely crucial.

SPEAKER_00:

Non-negotiable, really. The panel was clear. There's no one-size-fits-all in APAC. You need partners for customization, for global reach.

SPEAKER_01:

Being a global expansion partner, what does that actually involve?

SPEAKER_00:

It's not just tech. It's Understanding the merchant's business deeply, what are they selling, where, how, and then tailoring the payment setup, maybe domestic processing here, cross-border there to get the best performance, lowest costs.

SPEAKER_01:

How do companies find and build these partnerships? Any interesting approaches mentioned?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, things like, so APIs and data orchestration become vital to pull all that information together. That's where an infrastructure provider like Primer positions itself, is that single integration point connecting you to payments partners, KYC tools, communication platforms, CRMs, everything, unifying those panes of glass.

SPEAKER_01:

But it's not just selling the tech pipes, is

SPEAKER_00:

it? No. The consultative side is huge. Advising businesses on the best setup, the tricky bits of going cross-border like setting up legal entities, handling taxes, getting money back home, and making introductions to other relevant partners. It's advisory plus tech.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Now, with all this seamlessness, you still need to manage risk. Chargebacks, fraud... How do you keep that in check without just blocking legitimate transactions?

SPEAKER_00:

It's a balancing act. The experts talked about tools, proactive monitoring, chargeback mitigation suites, working with card networks like MasterCard.

SPEAKER_01:

But again, not just tech.

SPEAKER_00:

No, that three lines of defense idea came up again. Tech is the first line, but you need standard operating procedures, the second line, and that culture of awareness, people flagging things that seem off, the third line.

SPEAKER_01:

That if it's not quite right, flag it out mentality.

SPEAKER_00:

Exactly. Because the panel hinted if the industry doesn't get good at managing its own risks, regulators will likely step in with more rules.

SPEAKER_01:

Makes sense. Okay, wrapping up. What are the really big future trends the experts see shaving embedded finance next?

SPEAKER_00:

AI, again, is central, specifically machine learning. Digging into all that payment data to find efficiencies, optimize approvals, manage risk better. And

SPEAKER_01:

maybe changing how businesses even think about payments.

SPEAKER_00:

Potentially, yeah. Shifting from seeing payments just as a cost you have to bear to seeing it as a strategic tool for growth. Something needing real focus and collaboration internally.

SPEAKER_01:

What else?

SPEAKER_00:

Natural language processing for translation in APAC. That came up again as a huge opportunity for smaller players to expand.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Breaking down language barriers.

SPEAKER_00:

And identity management. That's going to be massive. Yeah. With individuals getting more rights over their data, regulations evolving. Tech needs to solve how you manage identity securely, how you compartmentalize data while still meeting all the compliance rules. The

SPEAKER_01:

complex challenge.

SPEAKER_00:

For sure. And underlying it all is that constant drive for things to be even more efficient, more seamless, more frictionless, using real-time data for personalization, creating these really adaptive shopping experiences.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so recapping this deep dive. Embedded finance definitely has this potential to be a great equalizer, shaking things up, especially in diverse APAC. APIs and AI are the engines, but trust and smart risk management are the absolute foundation. It's complex, navigating regulations, partnerships, the tech itself. But the trend is clearly towards finance just Disappearing into the background, becoming more personalized, more seamless.

SPEAKER_00:

So the final thought perhaps for you listening is, as these lines blur between finance and everything else, what other completely unexpected services might just become embedded in our daily lives?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and what does that really mean for how we manage our money or data or privacy in the future, especially with AI agents potentially acting on our behalf?

SPEAKER_00:

Lots to think about there.

SPEAKER_01:

Definitely. Well, thanks for taking this deep dive with us today.