Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS)
Banking-as-a-Service is infrastructure letting non-bank companies offer banking features (accounts, cards, payments) to their users via APIs.
BaaS providers (Solaris, Swan, Weavr, Modulr) themselves hold a bank or e-money licence and make their regulatory infrastructure available via APIs to non-banks. Those 'embed' banking services into their own product. Result: a fitness app offers payment accounts to members without being a bank; a marketplace gives sellers their own IBANs without a licence.
Example
A Dutch SaaS for online service providers integrates Swan's API: each user automatically gets an IBAN, debit card, and payout account. Swan handles compliance, SaaS builds UX — win-win.
Frequently asked questions
Is BaaS the same as embedded finance?
BaaS is the infrastructure layer. Embedded finance is the end product for the customer. BaaS makes embedded finance possible.
Related terms
Further reading
- → Our service: Fintech sector