Embedded fintech is eating business software

The rise of embedded fintech

Embedded fintech has quietly moved from a buzzword to a foundational layer of modern business software. Instead of small businesses juggling disconnected tools for banking, cards, invoicing, accounting, and reporting, financial capabilities are now being built directly into the platforms they already use.

This shift is structural, not cosmetic.

Embedded banking, embedded cards, and embedded payments are redefining how companies operate — especially small and mid-sized businesses that don’t have finance teams or time to manage fragmented systems.

At Neno, we believe embedded fintech only reaches its full potential when it’s paired with a native system of record — not just APIs, plugins, or workflow wrappers. That belief is driving why we’re building:

• Embedded banking & cards (via Swan)

• Embedded invoicing & payables

• And our own AI-native accounting stack

Together, these form a single financial operating system designed for the next generation of businesses.

What is embedded fintech, really?

Embedded fintech means financial services are no longer standalone destinations. Instead of logging into a bank, then a card platform, then an invoicing tool, finance becomes contextual and invisible.

Examples include:

• Opening a business account inside a SaaS product

• Issuing virtual cards inside an expense workflow

• Generating invoices directly from operational data

• Reconciling transactions automatically, in real time

The most successful platforms don’t integrate finance, they absorb it.

Key insight: Embedded fintech shifts value from financial products to financial infrastructure.

Why embedded fintech is accelerating now

Several macro trends are converging:

1. APIs Are Mature, Differentiation Is Not

Banking-as-a-Service providers like Swan, Stripe and Modulr have commoditized access. The moat is no longer the API, it’s what you build on top of it.

2. SMBs Are Drowning in Tools

The average small business uses:

• A bank & card provider (ING, ABN AMRO, Revolut Business, Finom

• An invoicing tool (Zen invoices, WeFact)

• An accounting tool (Exact Online, MoneyBird, Twinfield, Xero)

• A payroll tool (NMBRS, AFAS, Deel)

• A reporting tool (Gemini, Claude)

• A analysis tool (Excel)

Each tool adds cost, admin, and cognitive load.

3. AI Changes the Cost of Complexity

With agentic AI, systems can reason, reconcile, classify, and act — if the data is structured and owned.

This is where most embedded fintech platforms break down.