The value of the embedded finance market will jump 215 per cent to exceed $138 billion by 2026 from $43bn this year, according to a new study by market research company Juniper Research.
Embedded finance occurs when financial services are embedded within non-traditional financial services areas, such as banking services within a ride-sharing app, lending services within a buy-now-pay-later platform, or insurance services within an e-commerce checkout process.
The sector's growth will be driven by the increasing availability of application programming interfaces (APIs) from financial services vendors, Juniper Research said in its whitepaper, titled Why the Future of FinTech is Embedded Finance.
“The easy integration of these APIs will lower the barriers to entry for financial services and create a significant new revenue opportunity for providers of embedded finance,” it said.
Juniper Research identified five distinct segments as the main-use cases for embedded finance. These include embedded payments, embedded lending, embedded investments, embedded insurance and embedded banking.
Revenue from buy-now-pay-later services, which embed lending in the e-commerce checkout process, will account for more than 50 per cent of the embedded finance market in 2026, according to the whitepaper.
The BNPL business model, which allows consumers to make online purchases instantly and pay for them later, is booming, with services such as Sweden's Klarna, the US-based Affirm and Australia's Afterpay offering flexible financing to consumers, according to the 2020 Global Payments Report by payment processing company Worldpay Group.
In the UAE, the concept has also taken hold, with the likes of Postpay, Spotii, Cashew and Tabby all jostling for a slice of the region's burgeoning BNPL market. In May, Australia's Zip, a global BNPL platform, bought out Dubai-based Spotii in a $16.25 million deal.
“Embedded lending at point of sale is a massive opportunity for leaders such as Klarna or Afterpay, but it is also an opportunity for banks,” research author Nick Maynard said.
“As open APIs proliferate, we expect banks to take a significant interest in the market, leveraging their existing user relationships and trusted brands to create compelling propositions.”
In Australia, banks are beginning to recognise the importance of collaborating with BNPL platforms, with Afterpay this week rolling out a staff pilot for its new money-management app Money by Afterpay with Westpac, the country's fourth-biggest lender.
The app, which will provide general financial product advice and distribute basic deposit products and debit cards, will be available to customers in Australia from October this year, Afterpay said in a statement on Tuesday.
The home carousel of the Money app will display customers' BNPL balances, upcoming orders and instalments alongside their daily spending account and savings accounts, and will offer an interest rate of 1 per cent per annum.
Meanwhile, the global market for embedded insurance premiums is estimated to more than double to $10bn in 2026, from $3.8bn this year, the research company said in the report.
“Embedded insurance holds promise as a compelling way to boost the uptake of insurance for high-value products with e-commerce users. By bringing insurance directly into the checkout process and pairing it with the individual high-value item, product insurance becomes a compelling proposition,” Juniper Research said in the report.
Interest from big technology companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon is a major driver for embedded finance development, it added.
By combining their expertise in user experience with third-party capabilities, big tech can add value and significantly broaden their appeal in a constantly evolving market. They can also diversify revenue streams by offering embedded payments.
“[However], if established financial industry players fail to adapt to embedded finance, or fail to improve their own user experiences to combat the threat of embedded finance, then they will begin to lose substantial market share,” Juniper Research said.
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Tips for avoiding trouble online
- Do not post incorrect information and beware of fake news
- Do not publish or repost racist or hate speech, yours or anyone else’s
- Do not incite violence and be careful how to phrase what you want to say
- Do not defame anyone. Have a difference of opinion with someone? Don’t attack them on social media
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CONCRETE COWBOY
Directed by: Ricky Staub
Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome
3.5/5 stars
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MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
If you go
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700.
The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers.
The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 5 (Lenglet 2', Vidal 29', Messi 34', 75', Suarez 77')
Valladolid 1 (Kiko 15')
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
Final results:
Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)
Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)
Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)
Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)
Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Honeymoonish
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What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
