The cost-of-living crisis continues to grip the nation.
Electricity prices in the UK rose by 65.4% in 2022. Food prices are at an all-time high. Think Tanks have predicted that a decent standard of living will be unachievable for 30 million Brits by 2024.
Despite the bleak outlook, and with so many lives set to plunge into poverty, there is opportunity for businesses to help customers overcome the challenges of the prevailing economic conditions.
Embedded finance can help alleviate stress in several different ways. You can find some examples of just how below:
1. Through Buy Now Pay Later Payment Options
Businesses can offer buy now pay later payment options to help cope with the rising costs of living. This offers customers the chance to pay for goods and services by spreading their payments out across a fixed time period. With purse strings tightening, buy now pay later enables loyal customers the chance to enjoy the goods and services businesses provide whilst they adjust their spending in alignment with diminishing disposable incomes.
2. By Providing Respite for Those Working in the Gig Economy
The gig economy has grown exponentially since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic three years ago. With more and more people engaged in temporary employment contracts, the financial security of an unprecedented number of workers hangs in the balance. Embedded finance can help gig economy workers achieve financial stability and independence by allowing them the chance to access their payments immediately, through utilisation of wealth management tools, embedded retirement saving platforms and more.
3. By Helping Individuals Build Credit
Embedded lending refers to the process by which a nonfinancial platform offers monetary lending services. By offering embedded lending, companies can help individuals build credit in a quick and easy way, granting them the opportunity to bolster their financial wellness and increase the likelihood of their requests for loans being accepted and more. Embedded lending also benefits brands by giving them a competitive advantage over their contemporaries who can’t offer their customers the same, thus increasing brand loyalty in tandem with helping individuals cope with the difficulties of the cost-of-living crisis.
By utilising embedded finance to better serve the customer, businesses can foster a mutually beneficial relationship between themselves and their patrons. The potential of embedded finance to help reduce the burden of the cost-of-living crisis is just the tip of the iceberg in the context of its capacity to make a positive impact on society.
If you’re curious to learn more about embedded finance and how fintech innovators are weaponizing it against the cost-of-living crisis, join yours peers from HSBC, Curve, Revolut, Standard Chartered Bank and more at Embedded Finance & Super-Apps Europe (May 16th ,London).
You can find out more about the event, speakers and topics to be discussed here.
