Embedded Finance Review

From E-Commerce to Morocco's First Licensed BaaS with Ismael Belkhayat from Chari

Three years ago, a Moroccan e-commerce startup approached every bank in the country to request Banking-as-a-Service. None of them understood what APIs were. So the founders went to the central bank, obtained a payment institution license, and built the entire tech stack themselves. In this episode, I speak with Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and co-founder of Chari, a Y Combinator-backed fintech that has become Morocco's first VC-backed company with a full payment institution license. What started as a B2B marketplace for small retailers has evolved into both a merchant super app and a Banking-as-a-Service platform serving third-party clients across Morocco. We talk about why Moroccan banks couldn't deliver what they needed in 2022, what it actually takes to build a licensed fintech stack from scratch (core banking, card management, payment gateway, everything), how they're positioning as both an operator and infrastructure provider, why they chose to build in-house rather than use providers like Temenos, and why European fintechs should think about Morocco as their next market. Guest: Ismael Belkhayat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/belkhayat/ About Embedded Finance Review: I'm Lars Markull, founder of Embedded Finance Review, a newsletter, podcast, and event series covering the European embedded finance ecosystem. If you're exploring embedded payments, banking, or lending for your platform, I offer free intro calls where I share what I know, give honest feedback, and connect you with providers I trust. Book a call at embeddedfinancereview.com. Our next in-person event is on April 15th in Berlin as an official FIBE side event. Details on our website. This episode was produced by https://orama.tv/(00:00) Intro(01:48) Host Intro and Welcome(02:53) Chari Story And Pivot(05:57) Merchant Super App Stack(10:34) Airtime Top Ups To Wallets(15:17) Regulator Backing Inclusion(17:21) Why Build In-House(21:17) Renault, not Ferrari Stack(21:44) Balancing Three Models(24:47) Bolt Case Study Rails(30:13) Expansion Advice Wrap Up

Embedding Debt Collection into the Fintech Stack with Matteo Benedetti from Debtist

Most platforms building embedded finance start with payments. Lending often comes next. What happens when invoices don't get paid is almost always the last thing on the roadmap — and for many SMEs, one of the most painful experiences. In this episode, I speak with Matteo Benedetti, co-founder and CEO of Debtist, a digital debt collection provider based in Berlin. Debtist embeds collection directly into vertical software platforms and marketplaces, so SMEs can recover unpaid invoices without ever leaving the tool they already use. In just over two years, Debtist has built close to a dozen embedded partnerships, reached €12M ARR, and is already profitable. In this episode, we cover: * How embedded debt collection actually works and what the user journey looks like inside a vertical SaaS * Why the same platforms that rejected Debtist in 2024 are now coming to them * How Debtist built their entire tech stack in-house and why that turned out to be the right call * The pricing model behind embedded collection and how platforms can monetise it * What it takes to build a profitable fintech from day one as a penny pincher Connect with Matteo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matteo-benedetti/ About Embedded Finance Review: Embedded Finance Review is a newsletter, podcast, and event series covering the European embedded finance ecosystem. We offer Office Hours, free intro calls for companies navigating embedded finance, and our next in-person event takes place on April 15th in Berlin as an official FIBE side event. Find all details at embeddedfinancereview.com. This episode was produced by https://orama.tv/(00:08) Intro(01:44) Meet Matteo Benedetti(02:11) Debt Collection in Embedded Finance(03:26) How Embedded Collections Work(04:56) User Flow Inside Vertical SaaS(07:46) The 10 Step Collection Process(10:26) Pre Court vs Court Escalation(12:11) Why Debtist Went Embedded(14:55) Platform Demand Is Shifting(18:01) Building Tech and Pricing Model(23:03) Profitability Advice and Wrap Up

Why Otto Built a 250-Person Payments Company for Its Marketplace

"At a certain scale, payments isn't a cost factor anymore. It becomes a strategic capability." In this episode, I speak with Christin Burmeister, Head of Product at Otto Payments. Otto is Germany's second-largest e-commerce marketplace with €7 billion GMV, 12 million active customers, and 6,000+ merchants. They started 70 years ago as a catalogue company and successfully transformed into a digital marketplace, building their own 250-person regulated payments entity to run it. Before joining Otto, Christin spent 11 years at Zalando Payments, where she helped build their payments unit from the ground up. When we talk about large retailers building in-house fintech units, she has done it twice. Key topics: * Why Otto decided to build payments in-house rather than use third-party providers * How invoice and instalment payments shape customer behaviour * Managing merchant fraud risk on a marketplace * Otto's move into embedded lending with Banxware * What it really takes to maintain a BaFin license --- I'm Lars Markull, host of the Embedded Finance Review Podcast. I also write a weekly and monthly newsletter and host online and offline industry events. If you're building in embedded finance, I offer free office hours calls: https://www.embeddedfinancereview.com --- This episode was produced by https://orama.tv/(00:00) Start(01:44) Introduction and Greetings(02:19) Introduction to Otto Payments(02:51) Otto's Transition to E-commerce(04:46) Otto Payments Overview(05:33) Building Otto Payments In-House(08:38) Operational Structure of Otto Payments(19:14) Risk Management and Fraud Prevention(24:50) Collaboration with Banks(32:08) Market Trends and Future Prospects(36:34) Conclusion and Contact Information

The Intergiro Story: How a Profitable BaaS Provider Lost Its License Overnight - Told by Nick Root

Intergiro was a bootstrapped Swedish BaaS provider with €20M in revenue, nearly 100 employees, and 40,000 clients. They had just hit profitability. Then, overnight, the Swedish regulator revoked their license. A month later, the company filed for bankruptcy. In this episode, former CEO Nick Root tells his side of the story: the AML investigation that started in 2022, the TV reports that accused the company of being run by criminals, the regulator appearing on television, and how a years-old inquiry suddenly came back to life. Nick also shares lessons for founders building in regulated industries, including how to evaluate a regulator before choosing your jurisdiction and why relying on a single license was a mistake. Please note: I did not independently verify the details. This is Nick sharing his perspective on what happened. We cover: * How Intergiro built a full-stack BaaS platform without VC funding * The 2022 AML investigation and the remediation plan they implemented * How a journalist's TV report changed the regulator's approach- Finding out about the license revocation by refreshing the regulator's website * Winding down €600M in monthly payment volume and protecting client funds * Nick's advice for fintech founders on jurisdiction and regulatory relationships Connect with Nick Root on X: https://x.com/roots_cause More about the Intergiro story: https://intergiro.com --- I'm Lars Markull, host of the Embedded Finance Review Podcast. I also write a weekly and monthly newsletter and host online and offline industry events. And if you're building in embedded finance, I offer free office hours calls: https://www.embeddedfinancereview.com/office-hours/ This episode was produced by https://orama.tv/ (00:00) Start(01:21) Welcome and Introduction(02:02) The Shocking License Loss(03:33) Nick Root's Background and Journey(04:17) Building Intergiro: Vision and Early Days(05:47) Intergiro's Product Evolution(09:47) Facing Regulatory Challenges(19:36) Client Fraud Incident(20:12) Media Sensationalism(21:14) False Allegations(22:57) Regulatory Fallout(25:39) Company's Response(32:08) Lessons Learned(35:21) Personal Reflections and Future Plans

Embedded Banking Done Differently: NoCFO’s Teemu Karuluoto on Choosing a Neobank Over BaaS

Most startups building embedded banking follow a familiar path: pick a Banking-as-a-Service provider, integrate their APIs, and build a custom front end. But NoCFO, an AI-powered accounting platform, took a different approach. Instead of building banking from the ground up, they partnered with Holvi, a neobank targeting the same customers, and white-labeled the entire banking product. In this episode of the Embedded Finance Review Podcast, I’m joined by Teemu Karuluoto, founder and CEO of NoCFO. We dive into: * Why partnering with a neobank made more sense than going the BaaS route * How ICP alignment shaped their partnership decision * What it’s like to integrate banking when you don’t have the resources to build everything yourself * The trade-offs between open banking and direct integration * NoCFO’s plans to expand this model to Germany If you’re interested in the strategic decisions behind embedded banking or how to create a seamless experience for your customers, this episode is for you. This episode was produced by Orama.tv [https://orama.tv]. (00:00) Start(01:43) Introduction and Greetings(02:26) Introduction to Digital Accounting and Embedded Banking(02:49) Overview of NoCFO(03:58) How NoCFO Works(05:48) AI Integration in NoCFO(06:54) Founding Story of NoCFO(10:05) Partnership with Holvi and Embedded Banking(25:15) Future Plans and Expansion(28:55) Final Thoughts and Advice