Enfuce has announced a partnership with Swedish banking as a service (BaaS) provider SEB Embedded, which is part of SEB. This collaboration aims to offer a comprehensive virtual and physical card solution tech stack to SEB Embedded’s BaaS customers.
In anticipation of this announcement at Money20/20, Finextra interviewed Denise Johansson, co-founder and co-CEO of Enfuce, to discuss the implications of this partnership and the future of embedded finance.
Johansson remarked that the partnership signifies a significant step for Enfuce, emphasizing collaboration over competition with established banks. She stated, “It’s taken us some time to collaborate with incumbents as a newly founded fintech. This partnership demonstrates that we are not here to compete; we believe in finding the best solutions through collaboration. There remains a substantial role for established banks, especially in repackaging services, which is the essence of embedded finance.”
This partnership aligns with several other notable collaborations for Enfuce, including issuing Mastercard for the social neobank Science Card, securing a contract with the State Treasury of Finland and Kela, and providing embedded payments for Finnish e-commerce platform Starcart.
Johansson emphasized that growth goes beyond merely providing technology. “Our goal is to enable our partners’ future success,” she explained. “When they thrive, we thrive. We aim to work closely with them rather than simply offering our services and expecting them to use them as they see fit.”
Founded in 2016 in Finland, Enfuce is notable for being the first financial service provider to be PCI-DSS certified while operating its services in the public cloud.
Discussing the landscape of embedded finance in the Nordics, Johansson noted the region’s loyalty to incumbent banks, despite its progress in digital financial development. She expressed a desire for more innovative financial solutions. “This partnership will further our efforts in building services for end users,” she said.
Johansson called the partnership a transformative opportunity for banks and non-financial companies in Sweden. “Traditionally, offering card solutions required significant investments, stringent regulatory obligations, and reliance on slow legacy systems. With SEB Embedded and Enfuce, clients can provide financial services without the burden of becoming a bank. We handle the BINs, licenses, products, and compliance, allowing our clients to focus on their customers.”
Christoffer Malmer, CEO of SEB Embedded, also commented on the partnership, stating, “Developing compelling financial services like BaaS and reaching new customer segments is both exciting and challenging. We needed a provider to help us launch new products efficiently, including the expansion of Card as a Service within BaaS. Key requirements for potential partners included speed, responsiveness, cost efficiency, flexibility, proactivity, and scalability.”