Sometimes it starts small. A simple feature request: “Could we let users tip each other?” Or maybe: “What if sellers could get paid directly on the platform?” Harmless enough.
But then you dig a little deeper. You realise it’s not just about adding a new feature – it’s about changing how your platform creates value. Suddenly, you’re not just building a product. You’re inching toward becoming a financial services provider (whether you meant to or not).
Welcome to the moment when product evolution tips into business model transformation – and financial capabilities become core infrastructure.
Let’s break down what that shift looks like, why it’s happening more often, and how the smartest platforms are embracing it.
When features cross the line into finance
Adding new features is normal. It’s how products grow. But some features blur into territory that used to belong solely to banks or payment providers.
A few familiar examples:
- A marketplace wants to split payments automatically between buyers and multiple sellers.
- A fitness app wants to issue branded prepaid cards for its users’ wellness spend.
- A content platform wants to offer creators not just payouts, but accounts and financial tools.
- A SaaS platform wants to finance its customers’ invoices to drive retention.
These aren’t just nice-to-have features – they’re strategic levers. They increase engagement, improve user retention, reduce churn, and even open new revenue streams.
But here’s the catch: to deliver them, you need embedded financial infrastructure. That means not just handling money – but doing so securely, compliantly, and with room to scale.
Financial capability = business capability
It used to be that only banks could offer financial services. Now, platforms of all kinds- e-commerce, SaaS, creator tools, even sports clubs – are embedding payments, accounts, cards, and lending directly into their experiences.
Why? Because financial flows are no longer back-office plumbing. They’re central to customer experience, trust, and monetisation.
This isn’t just about convenience – it’s about control. The more of the financial layer you own, the more you can shape how users interact with your platform. You can:
- Design better UX (fewer redirects, more trust)
- Capture more value (take a share of transactions or offer premium financial tools)
- Build new products faster (without relying on third parties)
In short: the line between product and financial infrastructure is disappearing – and that’s a good thing.
A shift in mindset, not just tech
This kind of evolution isn’t just about APIs and developer hours. It’s a mindset shift.
You’re moving from being a product that helps users do something, to a platform that becomes indispensable in how users earn, spend, or grow money. That’s a much deeper kind of relationship – and it comes with new responsibilities.
You’ll need to think about:
- Compliance and regulation: You don’t need to become a bank, but you do need to partner with someone who can handle the licensing and compliance requirements behind the scenes.
- Risk management: When you touch money, fraud, chargebacks, and operational risks come into play.
- Trust and transparency: Financial features need to be airtight. There’s no room for ambiguity or downtime when money’s involved.
But if you get it right? You move from being a tool to being part of your users’ financial lives.
Embedded finance: the enabler behind the shift
This is where Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embedded finance solutions enter the picture. They let platforms plug in ready-made, compliant financial features – from payments and accounts to cards and cross-border transfers – without reinventing the wheel.
You stay focused on your product and user experience, while the backend is handled by providers who specialise in the complex, regulated world of money movement.
Think of it as building a Ferrari with a pre-built engine. You still control the design, the handling, the driver’s seat. But under the hood? That’s where the real horsepower comes from.
From monetisation to reinvention
Sometimes, the move to embedded finance is about new revenue. But often, it’s about something bigger: reinvention.
A platform that used to charge a monthly SaaS fee can now earn per transaction, offer premium financial tools, or create loyalty with branded cards.
A digital community can turn into an economic ecosystem – with its own flows, perks, and incentives.
A product can grow into a platform – not just connecting users, but becoming the infrastructure they rely on to operate.
That’s the real power of financial capabilities: they don’t just extend your product. They redefine your value proposition.
It’s not “just one more feature”
If your roadmap includes anything that involves moving, holding, or touching money – stop and zoom out. Because it might not be just a feature. It might be the start of a new business model.
And if it is, great. That’s where the future is heading. But go in with your eyes open, your architecture flexible, and your financial partners chosen wisely.
Because the platforms that win in the next wave aren’t the ones who bolt finance on – they’re the ones who build with it from the ground up.
