What is a financial platform?
You use at least one financial platform without even knowing it. Financial platforms are synonymous with access to banking services like moving money, securing a credit card or creating a virtual wallet.
Embedded financial technologies take the concept of a financial platform and democratize it by allowing non-financial companies to build their own platforms. These newly minted financial platforms allow almost any company to grow their own vision of customized financial products and offer them to their customers more easily and quickly than in the past. Embedded finance companies supply a bevy of options that provide additional flexibility, so companies can specifically add features like remote check capture or personalized rewards into their existing app or website.
Think of how ingrained it is today to check your bank account on the go or Venmo cash immediately to a friend. We live on a financial platform and most are oblivious to the fact that digital financial platforms keep us in check by providing data or other necessary information around our financial health.
New financial platforms are springing up around certain audiences — sometimes niche ones like barbers, auto mechanics, or gig workers. The companies that are leveraging embedded finance technologies seek to create tailored financial products for their customers in ways that legacy financial services, like banks or lenders, can’t or won’t. These new financial solutions are bringing new and better services to communities that often are overlooked or underserved today.
When companies look to start offering these financial services, they’re additionally exploring financial automation. While automation is not an end-all-be-all solution, its speed and ability to make financial processes smoother and more efficient for the end user is extremely helpful. Combining embedded and automation technologies is key to creating a holistic and effective financial platform. The goal should be to develop a user-friendly platform through which consumers and businesses can easily conduct business no matter the tools or systems used.
Digital platforms examples
A digital platform is an online space where information, goods, and money can be exchanged, and these platforms can include social media sites such as Facebook, e-commerce platforms like Wish, and media platforms such as YouTube. A solid digital platform should prioritize ease of use and security. Users typically don’t want to spend a lot of time learning all the ins and outs of various platforms, so the sooner they are able to get up and running, the better.
Digital financial platforms are another major type of digital platform. Your digital financial platform of choice should be a tailored fit to your unique needs and desired outcomes. A digital banking platform comes in handy for customers that want to manage their finances online opposed to the traditional route of stepping into a bank branch. These digital services are accessed and delivered to users that take advantage of online banking to deposit money into a savings account or receive forms of credit, which is often easier and cheaper than going through a brick-and-mortar bank. Understanding how your customers will be using these financial platforms you provide is key to creating the best possible experience for your users while also benefiting your company in return.
More and more non-financial companies are offering digital financial services, including embedded finance. Non-fintech companies offer financial services such as credit or lending while others help bridge the gap between financial platforms and non-financial businesses; most of these types of services operate within a digital financial platform. In addition, some companies choose to work with businesses that embed financial infrastructure into its product.
Digital financial services
In an increasingly digital world, financial institutions and embedded finance platforms alike are looking for ways to incorporate digital financial services. There is no question that as consumers do more shopping online, increasingly engage with social media content, and conduct more of their day-to-day tasks via digital platform services, the need to learn and adapt to this ever-changing landscape is paramount.
Financial services encompass traditional banking from deposits to credit builder cards as well as various types of insurance (health, home, car, pet) — all that can be accessed through a digital financial service platform right from your phone. Such services have provided tremendous benefit in an era where more and more people are choosing to stay in and manage their finances remotely.
Platform financial services are staples in today’s modern era with embedded finance leading the charge. Bond helps companies build compliant financial services, equipping them with the tools to create highly personalized financial solutions built around their customers’ needs and preferences. Users build better products that are able to impress customers and help to grow their top line. These services drive customer lifetime value and higher revenues while increasing engagement, retention, loyalty, and customer satisfaction.
Financial software development
The first step in creating any kind of digital financial service or platform is financial software development. With the right financial service software in place, you can build relationships with your customers and increase productivity with digital financial tools and automated workflows. Financial services software development is the key to connecting the customer with your company so the important thing is that you find a program or platform that best aligns with your unique business objectives and long-term vision for the future of your company.
Bond was built with developers in mind and offers valuable financial software to businesses, allowing them to easily embed financial services into their existing digital products. By bundling multiple capabilities into a simple, intuitive experience, Bond eliminates the need for third-party integrations or additional vendor contracts. This helps users avoid spending months evaluating sponsor banks and bespoke banking infrastructure vendors, negotiating contracts, and struggling with incomplete documentation or poorly-designed APIs.
With Bond’s full-featured sandbox, users can build their entire product, simulate transactions for every use case, and flip to production without changing environments. Here you can develop your integration in a clean, isolated sandbox environment designed just for you. You can also build on Bond’s real APIs and switch from sandbox to production by changing just four API keys.
API in financial services
Having an API, an application programming interface that provides a set of protocols for developing financial software, in financial services is a timesaver. A banking API platform, for instance, can offer instructions on how to create an optimized, user-friendly digital banking platform that’s easily accessible to users. Any sort of financial API is useful with the development process — an API banking platform is one example that helps get started.
Bond offers a simplified collection of APIs that enable users to build and manage innovative financial products. They can create and manage customer resources, manage cards, perform customer authentication checks, perform transfers, and more. Bond APIs interface securely with multiple trusted third-party vendors for ACH transfers, KYC authorization, and RDC services. These tools can help you get your products and services running smoothly and efficiently for whoever and whatever it is you serve.
Financial technology companies
If you have just begun to navigate the financial space, whether you’re a fintech company or a non-financial business that’s looking to incorporate embedded finance solutions into your offerings, there are financial technology companies available to help you learn how it works. Using technology within the financial space is forward-thinking and different, especially those coming from a more traditional way of doing things, but financial platform companies are there to assist you along the way — keeping you compliant through the challenges and on track with program management.
New digital platforms are frequently emerging, and understandably, more and more businesses are beginning to see their benefits. Many of these platforms are built on innovative technologies that will only grow in usability going forward, so it’s important for businesses to stay on top of the latest financial technologies in order to provide the best experience possible for their customers.
Bond’s end-to-end software infrastructure platform gives brands and banks the ability to connect safely and at scale to serve their customers and drive revenue. Building financial services from KYC to account opening, money movement to card issuance, all in a single, unified platform on Bond. You can compile program data all in a comprehensive dashboard that produces a series of graphs documenting revenue, active cards, usage, and much more. This kind of financial technology can be incredibly useful to businesses as they work to develop better financial services for those they serve.
Become your own financial platform
When you add financial capabilities to your existing product, you’re providing a service that could change lives by making it easier and safer for folks to access their financial information. By listening to customers, you’re able to create amazing experiences that enhance retention and increase usability. By adding new and exciting features into your product, you’re able to keep upping the ante and excite your customers — and investors. Disrupt your industry by adding a financial platform and reap the wide range of benefits that comes your way.
If you’re interested in adding a financial platform into your existing digital product, contact Bond! We’d love to help transform your company into a fintech. If you want to test it out, jump into our sandbox and test it out!