Unlocking the benefits of Banking-as-a-Service: what should I look for in a provider?

10o October 2022

Today, the Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) opportunity is clear. So clear in fact, that a recent Gartner report predicts that 30% of banks with greater than $1 billion in assets will launch BaaS in search of new revenue by the end of 2024. With BaaS sitting at the peak of the hype cycle, the technology is gaining traction from both banks and nonbanks aspiring to spin out new tech-first products to their customers and enter new markets, all while generating and diversify their revenue streams.

For many organisations, making banking products available as a service to be embedded seems like a no brainer. Although the benefits of BaaS are plain to see, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t nuances and difficulties to navigate along the way.

With this in mind, we’ve pulled together a list of some of the priorities that businesses should consider when weighing up which provider is best suited to them.


1. Keep your customer journey in mind

Banking-as-a-Service is more than just technology outsourcing and understanding this is key to unlocking its value. Businesses embedding financial services into their primary offering know that this is also another way for brands to hold on to their customers in an increasingly oversaturated market and generate new value. That’s why teaming up with a BaaS partner that understands your customer base is crucial. The best BaaS partners understand how to deliver value added services that keep your customers coming back for more, without jeopardising the trust you’ve already built.

At Chetwood, we carry out extensive primary customer research as a key part of our BaaS model. This means that we test every aspect of your new financial services brand, from product features to user journeys and everything in between to guarantee that you’re delivering products that genuinely make the lives of your customers easier.


2. Not all BaaS providers are created equal

Something else to bear in mind is that not all BaaS providers are created equally – while some offerings will be highly customisable and modular by design, others will be static and arrive straight out of the box. Likewise, not all organisations are able to grant clients access to both the banking licence and the balance sheet required to ease the route to market, so this is something to consider.

We know that getting a banking licence can be difficult, and that it can be costly and time-consuming to meet the requirements set by the regulator. We acquired our banking licence back in 2018, which means that we can take care of all the hard work for you, ensuring that your products can be brought to market in record time. What’s more, access to our API toolkit and balance sheet means you’ll never be short of choice, or the capital required to fund your new financial services ventures, whatever they are.


3. So, you’ve built your product – what next?

Once your product is ready to launch to market, the work doesn’t stop there. Whether it’s responding to customer queries and complaints or ensuring that your product is listed on aggregator websites, making the most out of your BaaS endeavours can be difficult when going it alone.

Those who opt to work with BaaS partners like Chetwood can benefit from full ongoing servicing and market distribution. We handle everything from complaints management and support functionality, white labelled as your brand, to listing your product on over 200 distribution partner websites including ClearScore and MoneySupermarket, resulting in a quicker and more diverse route to market.