ClearBank has, from its inception, been focused on providing the infrastructure that enables firms to innovate, differentiate and grow. A core element of that vision is the Embedded Banking proposition that offers firms the ability to launch high-quality services leveraging our banking licence and infrastructure.

We collaborate with innovative financial institutions to bring their vision to life, saving them the time and cost of becoming a bank.

But how do you calculate those savings and understand the real-world benefits it delivers?

We wanted to examine the value that Embedded Banking can deliver with meaningful, real-world data. That led us to working with leading consultancy firm Forrester and its Total Economic Impact (TEI) model that delivers an independent, proven and recognised model.

The TEI methodology has been used for over 20 years by technology consumers and technology organisations. Every TEI study is based on due diligence, independent customer interviews and primary research, and a financial model framework including benefits, costs, flexibility and risks.

It is a proven industry-standard framework that models all aspects of a piece of technology or solution and the associated impacts on the business and illustrates the ROI of products and services.

Below I’ll summarise its findings.

The Forrester report’s detailed analysis of ClearBank Embedded Banking provides a clear picture of the substantial financial returns. With a 90% ROI, ClearBank demonstrates its ability to enhance profitability and drive significant value for its clients. The report also underscores the impact of ClearBank’s innovation and evidence that investing in Embedded Banking can deliver significant benefits.

Forrester's analysis considered various factors that contribute to this high ROI. By leveraging ClearBank Embedded Banking organisations can streamline their operations, reduce costs, and introduce new revenue-generating products.

The research emphasises the long-term benefits of ClearBank Embedded Banking. The headline ROI figure highlights how the financial advantages extend well beyond immediate gains, providing fintech organisations with a robust financial foundation for sustained growth. It also serves as a testament to ClearBank’s effectiveness in delivering value over the long term.

The Forrester report also highlights the rapid 10-month payback period. That means organisations can swiftly recoup their initial investments and begin reaping the financial benefits. This rapid return on investment further reinforces ClearBank’s position as a leader in the embedded banking sector, offering solutions that not only deliver long-term value but also provide immediate financial gains.

Based on client interviews and market analysis, the Forrester report attributed increased incremental profits of £9.7 million from product expansion and cross-selling to ClearBank Embedded Banking. This was due to the organisation offering instant-access savings accounts to its existing investment customers, attracting and onboarding net-new customers via savings accounts, and cross-selling other services.

Forrester’s report revealed these firms saw a reduction in customer churn due to faster inbound and outbound payments, FSCS eligibility, and improved user experience. Customers can invest and deposit money more confidently since their deposits are, subject to eligibility, protected up to £85,000. They can withdraw money instantly and use Confirmation of Payee (CoP) before completing a payment transaction, providing additional certainty that funds have been sent to the correct account.

These benefits were further compounded by significant operational efficiency gains. For example, Forrester calculated that the organisation saved nearly £63,000 through the reduction of service desk tickets. This is a direct result of the customer services team experiencing a 10% reduction in monthly service desk tickets opened by customers.

The Forrester report also looked beyond the financial benefits to reveal why organisations were investing in long-term partnerships with ClearBank.

A significant reason cited by clients was the improved support, highlighting ClearBank’s pragmatic approach and focus on understanding the organisation’s business model, what was important for them, and what they were looking to deliver to their customers. Another factor was ClearBank’s commitment to understand the organisation’s roadmap and how it could support new features or products they intended to develop.

Process improvements delivered by Embedded Banking were also referenced by clients according to the Forrester research. They highlighted, for example, the improvement and transparency of ClearBank’s Know Your Customer (KYC) process. ClearBank owns the KYC and customer due diligence process and sets the minimum standards it expects of clients, as the bank maintains regulatory accountability as the banking license holders.

ClearBank allows the customer-facing aspects to be managed by clients, enabling them to oversee and interact with their customer base in an approach consistent with their existing user experience. However, each client must adhere to ClearBank’s minimum standards and cooperate with the bank’s oversight requirements on an ongoing basis.

Finally, organisations highlighted a high level of trust in ClearBank as their strategic partner due, in part, to it having no direct competition for customer deposits. One interviewee summarised how this differed from other providers:

To learn more about how clients have benefitted from working, download Forrester’s The Total Economic Impact™ Of ClearBank Embedded Banking here.