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‍“Banking Matters” is a series written for banks and the companies that want to work with them. The goal is to share knowledge and best practices about how to build a compliant, scalable digital financial services ecosystem.

What is embedded finance?

Over the last five years, terms like “embedded finance” and “bank partnerships” have become increasingly common. But what do they mean?

To answer that question, we decided to chat with Mary Dent. (listen to the podcast)

Mary has spent the last 20 years at the intersection of banking and technology. Among other roles, she served as the CEO of Green Dot Bank and General Counsel of Silicon Valley Bank. Today, as General Counsel and Senior Advisor at Klaros Group, she works with a variety of bank partners to bring financial services to consumers and businesses.

The conversation was both wide-ranging and a lot of fun. We discussed:

• Changing consumer expectations and the shift to digital financial services
• How banks are partnering with tech companies to expand financial access and reach new markets
• The importance of clearly defined roles and responsibilities for ensuring compliance and oversight

Ultimately, embedded finance can’t function without a strong foundation of trust—between end-customers, banks, program partners, and regulators. In the second half of the podcast, Mary and I discuss Stephen Covey’s The Speed of Trust as a framework for how banks and their program partners can continue to build and maintain that trust.

This is our first “Banking Matters” podcast, and we’d love to know what you think. What resonated? What would you add? Most importantly, what should we cover next?