Bankloch

  The rise of   embedded banking and digital ecosystems  has reshaped the financial services landscape. While the concept of collaborating with specialist partners is widely celebrated, in practice, these partnerships often serve a tactical role, bridging product or capability gaps and accelerating time-to-market, rather than reflecting a long-term strategic vision. Many incumbent banks have followed a predictable pattern: they start by partnering with fintech specialists to test new offerings, and once the value is proven, they acquire these companies to fully integrate their capabilities. Others choose to build these services internally. As a result, today’s incumbents are increasingly offering solutions that were once exclusive to fintechs, e.g. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, acquiring and issuing services, Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), even stablecoins. At the same time, a reverse trend is unfolding. Fintechs that launched with a narrow, specialized focus are stead...