5 Reasons a BaaS Provider with a Large Banking Network Can Boost Your Bottom Line

The bigger the bank network, the better pricing and flexibility for you
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June 28, 2022
wide bank network

When you’re launching a fintech or embedded finance app, the number of banks that your banking as a service (BaaS) provider has in its network has real long-term implications for your company as you scale. 

Strictly speaking, a BaaS platform that is integrated with multiple banks opens access to more bank partners and increases the diversity of your product offerings and revenue streams. With more ways to save on costs, this helps you get the best pricing and optimize your balance sheet.

As you grow, a BaaS provider that integrates with multiple banks can help you pivot quickly if you want to add or adjust your product offering, without having to make major changes to your infrastructure. 

It also protects you against risk in the case of unforeseen changes, for example, if a bank decides to end the relationship with your business, you can quickly switch to another bank with minimal disruption to your operations. 

Put simply, a wide bank network gives you more options.

Yet few BaaS providers work with an extensive network of bank partners. Other BaaS platforms integrate with just one or two banks, limiting you to whatever those banks offer. Even fewer facilitate quality relationships for you with all of those banks. Treasury Prime is a rare exception.

To read our ultimate guide to offering embedded banking products, download our white paper.

Treasury Prime has the largest bank network in the BaaS industry. 

We integrate with 16 bank partners (and growing), and we facilitate direct relationships between banks and fintechs or embedded banking apps. Our partner banks include Grasshopper Bank, Piermont Bank, and Emprise Bank, to name a few, and we serve a wide range of fintechs, including emerging use cases like crypto companies. We also empower fintechs on our platforms to build direct relationships with their partner banks, so they can quickly resolve issues in real-time.

Benefits of working with a BaaS provider with a deep bench of banks: 

1. Large banking network — Get the best pricing over time 

As your company grows and changes, so will your needs. Being able to access a broader network of bank partners through your BaaS provider allows you to take advantage of the best pricing and features across multiple banks. You can keep one bank partner for one feature while adding another partner to support something new. Maybe you launch with a bank partner that offers amazing interest rates on deposits. You want to keep that partner, but they don’t support a new crypto-related feature you want to add on. The right BaaS provider will enable you to add on a second bank that supports crypto, without forcing you to sacrifice your earlier partner that still meets another critical need.

2. BaaS companies — More choices mean finding a better match

Your bank should be open to your specific use case and be able to support the products that you want to offer — especially if your app deals with emerging fields like crypto or cannabis. You also want a good culture match. Founders often cite wanting a bank that’s responsive and communicative, and that understands the needs of entrepreneurs. When you work with a BaaS company that is integrated with a large banking network, you have more opportunities to find a bank partner that meets your unique needs and has experience working with use cases similar to yours. You also have the power to switch banks on your terms if needed, when it is most advantageous to you.

3. Grow your business across multiple banks with the same API

Getting too big for your bank partner is a great problem for a fintech to have, but it nonetheless creates a challenge. One solution is to add on an additional bank partner to grow your capacity for deposits. If your BaaS provider has other options in its banking network, you can integrate with an additional bank partner without having to change your API environment. This minimizes the changes you have to make while still letting your company grow to accommodate new users and deposits. 

4. Access to the best interchange rates — a key source of revenue

Working with community banks — specifically, those that hold less than $10 billion in assets — offers big benefits for fintechs and embedded finance companies. One of these benefits is higher interchange fees, an important source of revenue. The 2010 Durbin amendment, passed in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank law, lowered the debit card interchange fees larger banks could charge retailers. Financial institutions with less than $10 billion in assets are exempted. When you work with Treasury Prime, you get access to a complete network of Durbin-exempt banks allowing you to grow your business across bank partners without sacrificing this benefit. Your other option could be to trade up to a larger bank as your partner, but you could then miss out on potential interchange revenue. 

5. Future proof your company against unforeseen changes

Sometimes your first bank partner isn’t the best fit. Maybe your company cultures don’t align, or the bank can’t support some critical component of your product in the way that you need. Changing bank partners is challenging, especially if you’ve already started opening user accounts with them. Now imagine that bank is your BaaS provider’s only bank partner. Changing banks just got twice as complicated, because you also have to find a different API banking platform. When you work with a BaaS provider that integrates with a large number of bank partners, you can avoid running into that problem. Keep the same BaaS provider and the API you know and trust, while more seamlessly connecting with a new bank. 

As Treasury Prime continues to grow our list of bank partners, we’re creating a network effect that translates to a constantly expanding set of options for our fintech partners. Aside from banks, we also partner with top card services providers like Marqeta and Arroweye, and leading compliance tools like Alloy and Unit21, to ensure fintechs that work with us have the options they need to build the critical programs and features that are foundational to great fintech products. 

Treasury Prime has the largest bank network in the industry, giving you the most flexibility and affordability at scale. If you want to be the next unicorn, you need a direct bank relationship and the best Baas company. To discuss how we can help your company scale, contact us here. Want to learn more about our process? View our API reference or play around with our Developer Sandbox

Related embedded banking content:

Benefits of a Direct Bank Relationship Through Treasury Prime

One Key to Unlock Universal Access to a Vast Bank Network

Best Practices for Adding a Second or Third Bank

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