an article written by Philipp Buschmann – Founder & CEO of AAZZUR
For decades, financial services have revolved around products. A new account, a new loan, a new policy, packaged, promoted, and pushed to market. The assumption was simple: if you build it, customers will come. But the reality is that no one wakes up thinking they want a new financial product. What they wake up to are life moments. Moving house, booking travel, replacing a car, starting a business. These are the points where finance suddenly matters, and all too often, these are the points where friction sets in.
Embedded finance is challenging that model. Instead of diverting people out of their journey to hunt down a product, financial services can be woven directly into those life moments. The travel insurance offered seamlessly at checkout, the mortgage options surfaced within a platform, the SME loan accessed within the tools businesses already use; these are not products in the traditional sense, they are contextual solutions to real needs.
This marks a shift towards what I call life-centred finance. It is not about pushing choice; it is about removing obstacles. Customers do not perceive it as “buying finance”; they experience it as solving a problem. For the traveller, that means peace of mind without extra forms. For the small business, it means unlocking cashflow without leaving their workflow. For the homeowner, it means easing the stress of multiple simultaneous transactions.
The change may appear subtle, but the implications for incumbents are profound. Persist with the product push mindset, and banks risk sliding into the background as invisible infrastructure while platforms and ecosystems capture the customer relationship. Increasingly, it is within those ecosystems that people live their digital and financial lives. Finance that does not integrate into those journeys will be left behind.
So how do we get this right? First, it requires a mindset shift: stop designing from the product catalogue and start from the customer journey. Identify moments of friction, then build around them. Second, trust is non-negotiable. Customers may accept financial services embedded in their everyday lives, but only when they feel their data, money, and decisions are handled responsibly and transparently. Third, simplicity is key. Platforms will not adopt what is complex to integrate, and customers will abandon anything that adds friction.
The future of finance will not be won by those launching the most products, but by those who understand and support the rhythms of their customers’ lives. Embedded finance is teaching us that the winners are not the loudest voices in the market, but the best listeners.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
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