Building Bank-Grade Infrastructure for the Next Generation of FinTechs, with Tom Bianco

Episode notes

In this episode of Commerce Conversations, Ysbrant Marcellus, partner at Commerce Ventures, interviews Tom Bianco, who leads Newline at Fifth Third Bank. The two discuss the evolution of embedded payments, the organizational challenges of building fintech infrastructure within traditional banks, and where the industry is heading next. Here are the key takeaways: Defining Embedded Payments: Tom clarifies the often-confusing terminology around "banking as a service," "embedded payments," and "embedded finance." He breaks it down into three segments: embedded payments (core payment capabilities placed at the point of need), embedded banking (adding deposits and fund storage), and embedded finance (adding credit or working capital). The industry's lack of consistent definitions has made it difficult for banks, fintechs, and regulators to have productive conversations about these different business models. The Embedded Banking Evolution: The embedded space has evolved significantly from simply providing access to card schemes like Visa and MasterCard to file-based software integrations to today's API-driven platforms.

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