The Convergence of Banking and Technology
The financial system of the future won't be built in banks—it'll be embedded in the apps, platforms, and services people already use. This fundamental shift is redefining how financial services are accessed and delivered, with Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) and embedded finance at the forefront of this transformation.
As we move through 2025, the relationship between traditional financial institutions and fintech innovators is evolving from competition to "coopetition"—a strategic blend of selective competition and essential collaboration. This evolution is creating unprecedented opportunities for revenue growth, customer acquisition, and service innovation that neither banks nor fintechs could achieve independently.
The Embedded Finance Revolution: Market Size and Growth
The numbers tell a compelling story. According to recent research from Dealroom and ABN AMRO Ventures:
- The global embedded finance market is expected to reach $7.2 trillion by 2030
- In the MENA region alone, the market is projected to grow from $11.2 billion in 2024 to $37.7 billion by 2029
This explosive growth is driven by a fundamental shift in how consumers and businesses interact with financial services. Rather than visiting separate financial websites or apps, embedded finance brings banking capabilities directly to wherever customers shop, travel, get rides, and conduct business. It integrates banking into the platforms they already use regularly, ensuring that managing money doesn't disrupt their workflow but operates seamlessly in the background.
The Transformation of Bank-Fintech Relationships
The outdated narrative of banks versus fintechs is giving way to a more nuanced understanding of how these entities can complement each other's strengths. Banks offer scale, trust, regulatory expertise, and capital, while fintechs bring agility, technological innovation, and customer-centred design.
Real-World Collaboration Case Studies
Deutsche Bank and Yonyou: Global Treasury Management
In January 2025, Deutsche Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Beijing-based enterprise management software provider Yonyou Network Technology to establish a partnership aimed at driving innovation in digital financial services and supporting the globalisation strategies of Chinese enterprises.
The partnership connects Deutsche Bank China's financial system with Yonyou's treasury management system, creating "a new global financial services model with Global Treasury Management (GTM) at its core." This model features both domestic and cross-border payment solutions, enhancing the payment order process for Yonyou's enterprise clients by facilitating easier data access and instruction transmission.
This collaboration exemplifies how traditional banks can leverage fintech partnerships to expand their geographic reach while providing enhanced services to corporate clients.
Shakepay and Marqeta: Cryptocurrency Rewards
Cryptocurrency platform Shakepay partnered with Marqeta to launch a prepaid Visa debit card that rewards cardholders with Bitcoin instead of traditional cashback. Customers can fund their cards using personal bank accounts or by selling cryptocurrency, receiving up to 2% in Bitcoin rewards when shopping online or in-store.
The Shakepay card attracted over 70,000 customers at launch, with that number nearly doubling shortly after. This partnership demonstrates how embedded finance can create entirely new value propositions that would be difficult for either party to develop independently.
SAMA and Google: Expanding Digital Payments
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) entered into an agreement with Google to bring Google Pay to Saudi Arabia through the national payments network mada. The initiative, set to launch during 2025, is part of SAMA's efforts to expand its offerings of digital payment solutions in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
This partnership reflects how central banks and regulatory bodies are increasingly embracing fintech collaborations to establish robust digital payments infrastructure and support national transformation into less cash-dependent societies.
The Role of GTM Partner in Building Bank-Fintech Bridges
The GTM partern role serves as an essential bridge between traditional financial institutions and innovative fintech companies. In fact, it is at the center of these successful collaborations bringing unique value to the partnership ecosystem in several key ways:
Strategic Alignment and Governance
GTM partner helps banks and fintechs portfolio compaines develop frameworks that ensure partnerships align with and support each organisation's broader enterprise strategy.
Market Opportunity Assessment
By assessing market needs and trends, GTM partner can help identify specific opportunities where bank-fintech collaborations can create the most value.
Partner Readiness and Selection
GTM partner can conduct partnership-readiness assessments and employ structured partner identification methodologies i.e. parter scan tools, to identify the best matches.
Technology Integration
GTM partner can help FIs invest in technology platforms that allow for flexible collaboration, including the development of critical APIs.
New Revenue Streams Through Embedded Finance
The transformation of bank-fintech relationships through embedded finance is creating multiple new revenue streams:
Distribution Synergies
When financial platforms partner, they instantly gain access to each other's customer bases without the traditional friction of new user acquisition. This creates a multiplier effect where both companies benefit from each other's established user networks and trust, significantly reducing customer acquisition costs.
Value-Added Services
Banks can monetise their regulatory expertise, compliance frameworks, and banking licences by offering them as services to fintech partners. Meanwhile, fintechs can generate revenue by providing specialised technological capabilities or customer experience enhancements to banks.
Transaction-Based Revenue
Embedded finance partnerships often create new transaction flows that generate revenue through interchange fees, processing charges, or revenue-sharing arrangements. For example, when a non-financial app integrates payment capabilities, both the bank and fintech partner can earn from each transaction processed.
Data Monetisation
With proper consent and compliance, the data generated through embedded finance partnerships can create additional value through enhanced risk assessment, personalised offerings, and improved operational efficiency.
The Path Forward: Building Successful Bank-Fintech Partnerships
1. Start with Clear Strategic Objectives
Successful partnerships begin with a clear understanding of what each party hopes to achieve. Banks should identify specific areas where fintech collaboration can enhance their offerings, while fintechs should articulate how banking partnerships can scale their solutions.
2. Focus on Complementary Strengths
The most successful partnerships leverage the unique strengths of each organisation. Banks bring regulatory expertise, capital access, and customer trust, while fintechs offer technological innovation, agility, and customer-centred design.
3. Invest in Integration Capabilities
Technical integration is often the biggest hurdle to successful partnerships. Investing in robust API infrastructure, data sharing capabilities, and flexible technology architecture is essential for seamless collaboration.
4. Establish Clear Governance and Communication
Clear governance structures, decision-making processes, and communication channels help prevent misalignments and ensure that partnerships stay on track even when challenges arise.
5. Measure and Optimise Continuously
Establish key performance indicators and benchmarks to assess the performance of partnerships is critical to realising value. Regular reviews and optimisation efforts ensure that partnerships continue to deliver value as market conditions evolve.
Final Words: The Collaborative Future of Financial Services
As embedded finance continues its rapid ascent, the question is no longer whether traditional financial institutions should adapt, but how quickly they can. By embracing strategic partnerships with fintech innovators, financial institutions can remain relevant and thrive in an increasingly digital and diversified economic landscape.
The future of Banking-as-a-Service lies not in competition between banks and fintechs, but in their collaboration. Those who master the art of partnership—facilitated by skilled GTM partners who understand both worlds—will be positioned to capture the enormous value being created at the intersection of traditional finance and technological innovation.
In this collaborative future, everyone wins: for example banks extend their reach and modernize their offerings, fintechs gain scale and regulatory compliance, and customers receive more seamless, integrated, and valuable financial services than ever before.