Episode Details

Payments used to be the big unlock for vertical SaaS. Now it is the baseline, and the real question is what you build on top of it. I sit down with Sunil Sachdev, SVP and Head of Embedded Finance and Digital Assets at Fiserv, to get specific about how software platforms can expand from embedded payments into embedded banking, lending, and cash flow tools without losing focus or taking on unnecessary operational risk.

We talk through how to define embedded finance in a way that makes sense to operators: start with the customer’s pain point, then match the right product to the right moment in the workflow. That includes lines of credit that increase purchasing power, options that bridge payment gaps in industries like healthcare, and ways to deliver more value from the money already flowing through your platform. Along the way, we dig into the “point of need” concept and why even great products fail when they are surfaced at the wrong time.

Complexity is real, so we also cover the unglamorous parts: sponsor banks, KYC and KYB, compliance, fraud, settlement, and reconciliation. Sanil breaks down the tradeoffs between a processing-only approach and a full-service embedded finance model, and how to decide what your SaaS should own versus what a partner like Fiserv can handle. If you are planning your embedded finance strategy for the next two to five years, this conversation is a clear blueprint.