Embedded Finance

CHAPTER SEVEN2030: HOW EMBEDDED FINANCE TAKES OVER THE WORLD

In the early 2020s, as this book was being written, the boundaries between all of our financial lives and non-financial lives were growing weaker. By 2030, they will have disappeared entirely.

The trends we see occurring now will accelerate as the decade wears on. Banking transactions will continue to migrate to the digital world, and in-person touchpoints will decrease. Customers will still require bank accounts for many financial scenarios, but it will be just a formality, a box to check in order to fulfill a goal. The point is not to have a checking account, it is to be able to pay for experiences. The front-end communication will be handled by a trusted brand that is selling the experience the customer wants. The rest is just tools to make that happen, and is handled autonomously.

The futurist Brett King once said a bank isn't someplace to go, it's something you do. By 2030, as our financial lives become completely embedded in our everyday lives, financial activity won't even be something we do—it will simply happen—with our consent, of course.

Let's now have a closer look at what a future powered by embedded finance looks like from a consumer point of view.

A DAY IN THE LIFE, 2030 EDITION

Mia

Let's start with what a day might be like in the life of a middle-class consumer in 2030. Mia wakes up at 7 AM to the soft sound of classical music playing from the speakers in her bedroom. The shower is on, the coffee ...