Embedded Banking Partnerships Are Going Bank-Direct – And So Is Treasury Prime

For years, we’ve been saying that the future of banking is embedded, with regulated institutions and technology firms working closely together to deliver critical financial services within new channels and apps. However, it’s become increasingly clear to me that the future of embedded banking is through bank-direct, fintech partnerships. The market is settling on this model, and it’s happening fast.

As a result, we are launching a new Bank-Direct product, which will empower banks to support the entire lifecycle of a direct relationship with a fintech customer, including the sales, onboarding, management, and support of that partnership. This is leading to some significant changes to ensure our company is best positioned to help our customers succeed.

The evolution of our industry is already underway. Consider that almost every leading fintech business – Affirm, Chime, Square, and Wealthfront, to name a few – now works directly with a bank or has bought one. In just the last few months, many banks are quietly ramping up their in-house fintech business development capabilities, and a growing number of our clients are telling us that they want to close their own fintech deals. 

At the same time, banking regulators are carefully scrutinizing fintech partner banks, shutting down fintech partnerships, and issuing consent decrees. Reading between the lines – or sometimes the lines themselves – regulators want banking institutions, not intermediaries, to have direct oversight of their fintech partners. 

If Treasury Prime is to be at the forefront of embedded banking, our business strategy must evolve with our clients’ needs. Going forward, our new Bank-Direct product will sharpen our focus on bank-direct, fintech relationships, while we continue to support all of the banks, fintechs, and service providers that rely on our network. What does that mean?

‍First, Treasury Prime’s industry-leading, Bank-Direct product will make real-time collaboration between bank and fintech partners simple and convenient. With new self-service tooling and features, banks can more easily access actionable insights, customize risk controls, and utilize our unified dashboard that fosters joint collaboration with their fintech partners. 

‍Second, Treasury Prime will be reorienting our sales strategy to support banks as they close their own fintech deals and make it easier for them to onboard these customers. We will arm banks with sales collateral and coach them through their negotiations instead of playing the matchmaking role we had in the past. For example, we are creating a new business development group that will provide specialized expertise to banks seeking out large fintech customers to assist in winning those deals. 

We also plan to roll-out new enablement tools, including targeted investments in compliance automation that make it easier to identify the fintechs they want to sign up. What’s more, we have already begun streamlining the contractual relationship so that it is clear to regulators that the bank has direct oversight of their fintech customer. And more improvements are on the way. 

‍Third, we will continue to support our existing fintech partners who use our platform today. There should be no impact on their business. Literally none. In fact, we are putting additional, dedicated resources in place so that we can respond to fintech clients more quickly. 

While I firmly believe these measures will position Treasury Prime to lead the way in modernizing banking, they have also forced us to make some difficult decisions. As we sharpen our focus to support banks as they target the largest and most innovative fintechs with the Bank-Direct product, we need to rethink the way we are organized. As a result, some very talented colleagues will be leaving our firm or redeployed to other parts of our company. 

Still, I remain confident and enthusiastic about the long-term opportunity ahead. The steps we are taking now will enable us to serve our customers more effectively, strengthen the oversight and compliance that regulators demand, and ultimately lay the foundation for a safer and more sustainable, embedded banking ecosystem.