Customer expectations are shifting. They now want to pay, save, and manage funds without bouncing between apps or providers. Whether you’re a financial institution looking to expand your current offering or a non-financial brand exploring new revenue streams, embedded finance enables you to meet those customer expectations and deepen user engagement within your ecosystem.  

But offering embedded financial products, especially those that involve holding customer funds, introduces complex responsibilities. And as balances grow, so do expectations around security and protection. Without bank-grade features, such as FSCS eligibility, it becomes difficult to earn trust and differentiate yourself in a competitive market. 

At the same time, you likely don’t want to carry the operational, financial, and regulatory burden of applying for a banking licence to offer products like accounts. You’re interested in exploring a better way – such as using an embedded banking provider – but aren’t sure how to choose the right one. 

We’ve written this guide to help you understand how embedded finance works, how to implement embedded accounts, and what to keep in mind when choosing the right provider for your use case. 

In this article, we’ll cover: 

• What is embedded finance? 
• When and why, it makes sense to implement embedded accounts 
• Embedded accounts in practice: common use cases 
• How to choose the right embedded finance partner 
• Why partner with ClearBank for embedded accounts services 
• How ClearBank helped Capital on Tap launch embedded SME savings accounts in under 6 months and achieve £500m in deposits 

ClearBank is a B2B bank that offers a range of embedded account types through our embedded banking model. To embed accounts into your product for higher customer retention, get in touch with our team.

The terms embedded finance, embedded accounts, and embedded banking are often used interchangeably, but they refer to different layers of one concept: 

• Embedded finance is an umbrella term for any financial service that's integrated into a non-financial company’s product or platform, which includes embedded payments, lending, insurance, accounts, or cards. 
• Embedded banking is how embedded finance is being delivered. At ClearBank, we view it as an evolved version of Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS): While BaaS means that banking services are implemented via APIs under the partner bank’s regulatory permissions, embedded banking goes beyond basic infrastructure and includes the delivery of these features within the non-financial business’s platform and customer experiences. 
• Embedded accounts are current accounts, savings accounts, or other account structures enabled by embedded banking. These accounts allow customers to hold funds on the platform. Depending on the model, they can offer interest rates and eligibility for deposit protection schemes like FSCS. 

Embedded accounts play a central role within embedded finance because they enable something the other components can’t: the ability to hold funds inside your ecosystem.

For example, ride-sharing app drivers can hold an account directly within the app, which simplifies their cash flow operations by allowing them to hold and move money quickly without ever leaving the interface.

Behind the scenes, the bank or EMI (Electronic Money Institution) provides the account infrastructure, holds customer funds either as deposits or as safeguarded funds, and performs regulatory oversight. 

Depending on your partner institution, you can embed different types of accounts. At ClearBank, for example, we offer: 

• Current accounts 
• Savings accounts 
• Cash ISAs 

To embed accounts inside your product, you can partner with a licenced bank or an EMI.  

Keep in mind: While EMIs can embed e-money accounts or wallets that provide IBANs and sort codes alongside payment scheme access (either as a direct participant or through a bank partner), they cannot offer the same level of bank-grade capabilities as a licenced bank. 

Namely, EMIs cannot offer deposit-based bank accounts that qualify for deposit scheme protection, such as FSCS-style protection, or earn interest on customer balances.

If you want to deliver additional financial value to the end customer within your own interface, embedded finance is the natural step. Many embedded financial services revolve around payments: enabling money to move from point A to point B.

But if you want to evolve beyond transactions and give users a way to hold money instead of simply moving them, it makes sense to implement embedded accounts inside your product.

But the main “why” we often hear is deeper customer engagement. With only embedded payments in place, customer funds flow in and straight back out to banks or other competitors. Embedded accounts allow you to introduce more customer touchpoints and become more of a financial hub rather than a simple transit station – all without the costly and complex process of becoming a bank by yourself.

This presents an opportunity for you to become part of the user’s daily routine: consider UK consumers’ average daily engagement with banking and finance apps, according to research by YouGov, on behalf of HSBC. Over eight in ten people (83%) check their banking or finance app weekly, with 38% checking their apps at least once daily.

By integrating embedded accounts, you can therefore increase customer retention and loyalty.

You can also: 

• Gain a deeper insight into customers’ financial data like balances and spending patterns over time, which can help you identify customer needs earlier, design more relevant products, and deliver more tailored advice and support. 
• Introduce new revenue streams. Depending on your embedded accounts provider, you can benefit from a shared interest model for additional revenue. The deeper user engagement also opens the door to more cross-selling opportunities, for example, into embedded lending, card issuing, or insurance products. 
• Differentiate your brand by offering current or savings accounts, interest on balances, and clear customer protections like FSCS eligibility where applicable. With simple payments and wallets becoming more common, this helps you stand out among competitors. 

Some brands may feel that building a customer base through an account product is too far removed from their core offering. And, in some cases, they could be right. This isn't about embedding accounts for its own sake; it’s about delivering a value-added proposition your customers will want and use. 

• Wealth, savings, or investment platforms embed savings or current accounts in their app to provide customers with an account to hold funds before investing. This means users can hold money securely in-platform, earn interest, deposit and withdraw funds, and move money seamlessly between different products. The wealth app Chip, for example, was able to offer Cash ISAs through embedded banking with ClearBank. 
• Marketplaces and gig platforms often start with payout-only models where earnings are sent to users’ external bank accounts. Once they evolve into embedded accounts, freelancers, contractors or sellers can hold their earnings directly in-platform, access them instantly, and improve their cash flow. 
• SME and business platforms (such as accounting software or payroll providers) embed business accounts so that customers can receive payments, pay suppliers, streamline cash flow, and reconcile transactions from one interface. This helps reduce reliance on external banks and makes the platform a more central hub for the business’s financial operations. 
• Brands with regular customer interactions (like retail or subscription-based platforms) can use embedded accounts to support closed-loop spending and thereby increase customer engagement. This means customers can hold funds, receive incentives, or earn interest on the platform rather than pay third-party services.

Some criteria to consider include: 

• The speed of payment processing: Your customers will expect real-time payments. You need to consider payment connectivity, the technical aspects of how a provider accesses the payment schemes, and their uptime. For example, while a scheme may run 24/7 365, a provider may not offer the same availability. You should also examine how your partner performs and communicates any updates, and monitors payment performance. 
• The level of deposit protection: Many ‘bank-like’ services provided by EMIs can offer accounts and digital wallets to store funds. However, you should examine where they hold customer funds, as they use an underlying partner bank. Which protections are in place? And who, if anyone, offers deposit protection such as FSCS? 
• Reliable stability and security: Your service provider should continually test, debug, and maintain its services to give you peace of mind that you can offer your customers a great payment experience. Providers should also embed information security in everyday business workflows to ensure data is handled securely. 
• The quality of client support: Your embedded services should operate efficiently. However, things can go wrong. If they do, your provider needs reactive and proactive support to help solve any issues. When assessing any potential provider, you should review its client relationship and support team. 
• Expertise and track record: There are several ways to gauge whether your provider can deliver the embedded accounts experience you need, including reference clients and case studies. What’s more, can you be sure your provider has sufficient funding to operate and support your business for years to come? For example, do they have long-term financial stability to invest in their products, services, and client support? 

ClearBank is a UK and EU-authorised bank, purpose-built to support financial services firms and large-scale corporates through accounts and payments services. We offer two main banking solutions to our clients: agency banking, which is ideal for fast connectivity to the main UK and EU payment schemes, and, in the UK, embedded banking.  

Our embedded banking proposition takes the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) model beyond basic banking infrastructure: you can weave banking services directly into your brand’s experiences, including embedded accounts, both current and savings accounts, and embedded payments – all without incurring the substantial cost of applying for a bank licence yourself. 

Here are a few reasons companies like Tide, Chip, and Wealthify work with us: 

If you’re ready to offer your end users deeper banking capabilities, you’re faced with two options: partner with an embedded banking provider or apply for your own banking license.

For the latter, you would need to undergo a lengthy application process, increase staff count to be able to manage compliance operations and long attestations, and invest resources into high-security bank-grade infrastructure.

Using a licenced embedded banking provider is a cost-effective shortcut to the same destination. With ClearBank, for instance, you can gain indirect access to Faster Payments (FPS) and CHAPS payment schemes, and becoming our embedded banking partner takes months rather than years.

Through our banking licence, you can offer interest-bearing, FSCS-protected accounts where eligible deposits are protected up to £120,000 under the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. This helps differentiate your financial product and allows your customers to hold larger balances with an enhanced sense of security. All client funds are held securely at the Bank of England and are available 24/7, year-round.  

You can also take part in our shared interest arrangements, where the customer earns an interest rate, we take a portion for providing the necessary infrastructure, and you benefit from a balance-based, recurring revenue line. 

ClearBank’s embedded finance services are proven to deliver significant return on investment (ROI) to our partners. Based on an in-depth analysis by the leading consultancy firm Forrester and its Total Economic Impact (TEI) model, we’ve helped our clients: 

• Deliver ROI of up to 90% with payback in 10 months 
• Gain a profit of £9.7m through product expansion, new customer onboarding, and cross-selling new services to their existing customer base 
• See a 3% improvement in customer retention 
• Achieve an estimated 10% reduction in customer queries thanks to ClearBank’s stability and resiliency, which equates to a cost saving of almost £63,000 

Read the full report here: The Total Economic Impact™ Of ClearBank Embedded Banking 

Users expect fast and seamless payment experiences. However, many traditional banks offering embedded finance services still rely on legacy infrastructure with batch processing. This means payments are processed together as a batch every couple of hours, making it difficult for you to offer, for example, instant notifications when they make a payment.

As a result, users encounter additional friction and feel a greater sense of uncertainty in their day-to-day lives. 

As an API-first bank that connects directly to the major UK schemes, we eliminate this issue through our straight-through processing capabilities: instead of waiting for the next data batch, you can receive near-instant updates sent directly from the scheme through us to you.

To get better acquainted with our API, you can get started in a sandbox environment to test new propositions before going live and minimise errors or launch delays: Explore our flexible API. 

ClearBank offers a range of embedded account types, including: 

• Current accounts 
• Savings accounts 
• Cash ISAs 

In a competitive market where even a small delay in an onboarding flow can lead to drop-off, it makes sense that you want to stay in control of the way end users interact with your platform, from branding and UX to customer support and messaging.

This is exactly why we leave the user experience up to you through our white-label capabilities. In the meantime, we take care of the banking infrastructure behind the scenes, including payment scheme access, licensing, deposit handling, and ongoing regulatory reporting.

As part of our embedded banking model, ClearBank is disclosed as the underlying banking partner where required for regulatory transparency.

We built ClearBank to handle high transaction volumes and fast scaling operations. When working with us, you can rely on a solid infrastructure, with all funds being securely held at the Bank of England and available for withdrawal at any point.

Our Information Security Management System (ISMS) is certified to ISO 27001 standards, and our dedicated security team managed by our Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) continually test, debug, and maintain our services so that your operations keep running smoothly and securely.

You can also make use of Confirmation of Payee, a security feature that gives customers peace of mind that their funds are going to the right place. 

Please note: Every ClearBank partner must adhere to our minimum standards and cooperate with the bank’s oversight requirements on an ongoing basis. That ensures the robust governance and ownership expected of a bank

Capital on Tap is on a mission to help small business owners manage their spending and access credit. When they asked their customers how Capital on Tap could help them improve financial operations, the answer was clear: savings accounts tailored to business needs.

Having decided to partner with an embedded banking provider rather than go through the complex process of obtaining a banking license, Capital on Tap wanted a partner “with a proven track record and reputation and whose technology was flexible and easy to integrate,” as the Chief Operating Officer, Alex Miles, said.

By partnering with ClearBank, Capital on Tap was able to:

• Launch the Capital on Tap Instant Savings account in under six months 
• Allow tens of thousands of customers to open a savings account, achieving £1bn in deposits by January 2026. 
• Run operations built on secure, scalable, and highly resilient infrastructure 
• Deliver instant deposits through the Faster Payment System (FPS) 
• Offer FSCS protection on eligible deposits up to £120,000 

“Small businesses have traditionally had to choose between easy access to their money and earning competitive returns. Through our partnership with ClearBank, we've created a secure, instant-access savings solution that eliminates this compromise. This successful collaboration demonstrates our commitment to working with best-in-class partners to combine spending, saving, and rewards in one seamless platform,” Miles said.

Read the full case study here: How Capital on Tap and ClearBank launched embedded SME savings accounts in under 6 months 

While embedded payments are a good fit for use cases designed to move money from point A to point B, embedded accounts add an extra value proposition: by holding your customers’ funds via a licenced bank, you can introduce interest, deposit protection, and more customer touchpoints within your platform, all of which result in deeper user engagement and therefore, revenue growth.

The key is choosing the right embedded finance partner – one that can match your specific use case, evolve alongside you, support near real-time payments, and offer the right regulatory model and protections. With ClearBank, for example, you can design the right account structure and launch on the main UK and EU rails through an API-first infrastructure with near-instant payment processing updates.

To learn more about how we can help you embed a variety of accounts, reach out to ClearBank.