Strategy
The Future Is Embedded: How Gen Z Is Rewriting Rules Of Finance

Embedded finance, the author says, is reshaping how people interact with money.
The way that people handle financial affairs is changing.
Arguably, even traditional banking models are on the way out or
at least must adapt to stay relevant. To discuss how a rising
generation of consumers is putting pressure for change, is Arthur
Azizov (pictured), the founder and investor of B2 Ventures, a private
fintech alliance. Azizov is based in Dubai.
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The profile of today’s financial services consumer is changing
fast and getting younger. With that shift comes a new set of
expectations that banks and financial institutions can no longer
afford to ignore. Millennials and Gen Z aren’t just digitally
savvy; they’re native users of digital ecosystems. As their
financial power grows, one thing becomes clear: the investment
decisions of the future won’t be made in advisors’ offices or
even in banking apps, they’ll happen inside the platforms these
generations already live in.
According to recent research, 54 per cent of Millennials and Gen
Z are likely to switch providers in favour of embedded lending
products. And that’s not just a matter of convenience; it’s a
sign of a deeper change as these generations want their financial
tools built into the digital platforms they already use every
day.
Embedded finance is reshaping how people interact with money
– not through standalone apps or bank branches, but
seamlessly integrated into the apps where they shop, work, play,
and invest. For the financial services industry, it’s a wake-up
call.
How the shift started and why it’s not slowing
down
If we rewind to the pre-digital era, interacting with financial
services was anything but seamless. In-person visits, waiting
rooms, paperwork – it was inefficient by design. The true
game-changer came in the 2000s, with the iPhone and the internet
reshaping user expectations across everything. Suddenly,
people could manage most of their lives from their phones, and
finance had to catch up fast.
The rise of Open API architecture was another turning point, not
just for banking, but also for wealth management. Enabling
seamless integration between financial institutions and
third-party platforms literally laid the foundation for what we
now call embedded wealth. Today, users can buy stocks, ETFs, or
crypto directly through everyday payment apps like Revolut or
Cash App. Due to this, investing is now brought into the flow of
daily life.
For the user, the result was frictionless. Investing became as
easy as sending a text or making a payment. But for institutions
not built for this level of agility, it became a slow but
inevitable erosion of relevance.
What new consumers really want?
This younger generation doesn’t just expect digital – they
assume it. The entire experience, from onboarding to account
management to transaction execution, needs to be mobile-first and
instant. But there’s more: what they really want is
consolidation.
Superapps – where you can insure your car, send money, open
a trading account and split a dinner bill – aren’t a luxury,
they’re an expectation. And the real magic happens when embedded
savings and investments operate in tandem within these
ecosystems. For example, on some platforms, users can make
routine purchases, round up their expenses, and automatically
invest a spare change into diversified portfolios. A growing
number of platforms now offer embedded wealth features that turn
daily financial activity into a long-term accumulation tool.
Transparency is another non-negotiable. New financial
institutions offer clean interfaces, real-time updates and
automated categorisation. You always know what’s going on with
your money. Go back to traditional platforms, and it feels like
stepping into a time machine, the one that’s running late.
Yes, delivering this kind of experience sounds simple – but
for most institutions, it’s difficult to achieve.
Why asset managers can’t afford to ignore fintech
anymore
It’s difficult for traditional asset managers to match the speed
and innovation of fintech. Only the largest institutions can
afford significant digital transformations. For the rest, being
competitive means one thing: partnerships.
Consumers tend to use fintech products because they offer faster
and more user-friendly experiences. Knowing this, firms like
Morgan Stanley are investing in the infrastructure behind those
experiences – for instance, a $20 million investment in a
mid-sized provider of embedded financial services. Other leading
firms, such as Santander, JP Morgan, and UBS, either partner with
wealthtech platforms or acquire them to provide integrated
financial services.
Rather than rebuilding from the ground-up, asset managers need to
partner with fintech to offer cutting-edge wealth management
solutions. This may guarantee that the future of wealth
management is embedded, and those who don’t adapt are left behind
as consumers demand seamless, ecosystem-based financial
services.
Embedded finance isn’t optional
Embedded finance is a fundamental redesign of how financial
services are delivered. According to Bain & Company, embedded
finance is projected to reach $7 trillion in transaction value by
2026, representing 10 per cent of all financial activity in
the US alone.
For financial institutions, the takeaway is clear: relevance now
depends on visibility inside other ecosystems. You don’t have to
be the app, but you do have to be in the app.
Embedded finance is where financial services are heading
– seamlessly integrated, always available, and invisible by
design. For a generation that values efficiency, control, and
simplicity, this isn’t a preference. It’s the default.
Footnotes
1,
https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/PYMNTS-10-Impact-Statements-Embedded-Lending-December-2024.pdf
2,
https://www.adlittle.com/en/insights/viewpoints/embedded-investment-embedded-wealt
3,
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/45057/morgan-stanley-invests-20m-in-novopayment
4,
https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/2022/embedded-finance-transaction-value-to-more-than-double-to-$7-trillion-in-us-by-2026-but-financial-institutions-must-move-quickly-to-keep-upbain--company-and-bain-capital-report/
About the author
Arthur Azizov is the founder and investor of B2 Ventures, a
private fintech alliance encompassing a portfolio of financial
and technology companies, including B2BROKER and B2BINPAY. A
serial entrepreneur with over a decade of experience, he has been
at the forefront of financial technology innovation, transforming
liquidity, trading, and payment services.