Cross River Helps UK Payments Provider Pay.com Expand Into US

Embedded finance provider Cross River Bank is helping Pay.com expand into the U.S.

The partnership between the two companies, announced Wednesday (March 22), will enhance the U.K.-based Pay.com’s automated payment platform into the states.

“The partnership enables Pay.com’s current and future merchants to accept multiple payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, as well as alternative payment methods such as digital wallets, ACH transfers and more,” the companies said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

In addition, Cross River’s application programming interface (API) lets Pay.com streamline and provide “customer-centric payments capabilities, facilitating closed loop embedded financial solutions for merchants and businesses.”

“Our partnership with Cross River is a testament to our commitment to providing merchants with a comprehensive payment solution,” said Assaf Cohen, CEO of Pay.com. “With their regulatory infrastructure and expertise in embedded finance, we can scale our business and offer merchants access to the latest payment technologies.”

The two companies have worked together since last July, and now say they’re hoping the latest iteration of their partnership will help offer simplified embedded finance systems to tap into a growing market.

As noted here last month, recent McKinsey/Bain research finds that the embedded finance transaction value of embedded finance will surge from $2.6 trillion to $7 trillion by 2026, accounting for more than 10% of total U.S. transaction value.

Research by PYMNTS shows that 92% of financial institutions are either innovating or planning to innovate their embedded finance offerings, with 60% of community banks saying the same.

PYMNTS took a closer look at the concept earlier this month in a conversation with Roy Ng, CEO of Bond Financial Technologies.

Embedded finance offerings encompass everything from bank accounts to lending products across a range of digital channels — and getting non-banking companies into the mix.

And as to the mechanics involved, “When you think about the concept of embedding finance, you embed it via software,” Ng told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster.

Many of the tasks people do every day are software-enabled, where developers can incorporate elements of financial products into workflows with which end users are familiar.

“This enables companies to meet the customer wherever they may be,” Ng added, “and that’s all due to the power of software.” He said that software could help banks and non-banks collaborate and provide a seamless continuum of financial services — for example, connecting physical cards to digital activities.