Why Price Takes a Back Seat in Embedded Finance Deals

Embedded finance is increasingly central to how B2B companies buy and sell, but it only works as well as the bank or FinTech behind it. New PYMNTS Intelligence research finds that trust and security are the deciding factors in who a B2B firm chooses to work with, and by open water over pricing and how fast a solution can get up and running. B2B firms see embedded finance as part of their operational DNA, not as a quick way to juice profits. And they understand that the wrong provider can create shockwaves.

By integrating lending products directly into the platform where a transaction already happens, embedded finance makes applying for and using credit a unified part of the purchase experience; no more sending customers to a bank portal or a separate lender application. But while the technology is most visible in the consumer space — you probably encountered it the last time you booked a flight or bought groceries online — it’s having an even more fundamental impact in the business-to-business segment. The technology unlocks on-demand credit linked to individual purchases, making it a powerful part of a B2B company’s operational infrastructure.

Take a typical procurement flow. Embedded finance allows a purchasing manager to check out in a supplier portal and select from a choice of financing options at the point of purchase. The manager chooses a financing plan, gets an instant decision and completes the order without ever leaving the supplier’s platform. Likewise, the supplier can offer flexible terms without tying up its own balance sheet, as the embedded finance partner handles underwriting and collections behind the scenes. That lets the seller improve its ability to convert browsing customers to paying ones while reducing receivables risk and smoothing cash flow.

This all makes it increasingly essential for B2B-focused firms to offer embedded finance options to their customers. But they can’t do it alone. They need to select the right banking or FinTech partner.

Trust and Security

New research from the latest edition of PYMNTS Intelligence’s “Embedded Finance Strategy Series,” a collaboration with Green Dot, reveals which factors B2B companies prioritize when choosing an embedded finance partner.

Trust in the provider stands out as the most important issue by far, with about 7 in 10 (69%) B2B companies saying this shapes their decision. Notably, this is much higher than we saw among business-to-consumer (B2C) firms, at 58%, or hybrid companies focusing on both B2B and B2C segments, at 54%.

The centrality of trust for B2B firms makes sense from multiple angles.

First, embedded finance has a big impact on a customer’s transaction experience. If the integration of the technology is clunky or the credit offerings come up short, it can discourage even a loyal customer from coming back.

Second, embedded finance puts the provider in the middle of sensitive data and high-stakes decisions. In a B2B workflow, financing can touch purchase histories, pricing, invoicing, bank details and credit terms. That means firms need confidence that the partner’s security posture, controls and compliance won’t create new risks or expose customer information.

Third, reliability is central to the equation. Any disruption in how embedded finance tools work can strain supplier relationships and even create working-capital shocks, making the choice of partner as much about continuity and predictability as it is about rates or features.

Data security and privacy ranks as the second most-cited factor for B2B firms in their choice of embedded finance provider. In practice, these partnerships require sharing sensitive business and customer information across platforms, which raises the stakes for how data is stored, accessed and governed. A single weak link — whether a breach, a compliance failure or even unclear data-handling policies — can quickly erode trust and create reputational and financial damage that erases any gains from offering embedded finance in the first place.

Another key determinant is whether the embedded finance solution can be easily integrated with existing systems. Over 4 in 10 (43%) B2B firms cited technological compatibility as a major factor in their selection process, reflecting how tightly financing needs to plug into workflows like procurement, invoicing and payments.

If integration requires heavy custom work or introduces reliability issues, embedded finance can be expensive to launch and maintain, becoming a drag on operations rather than an accelerant. This makes “works with what we already have” just as important as the embedded finance products themselves.

It’s Not About Cost or Speed

Equally revealing are the factors that B2B firms do not prioritize in their choice of embedded finance partner. Businesses rarely view cost as a secondary factor, but that is exactly the case here, with only 21% of B2B companies identifying “cost-effective and clear pricing structure” as influential.

Even fewer B2B firms agree that speed to market impacts their decision. Fewer than 1 in 6 (16%) point to this factor as important in selecting an embedded finance partner.

Taken together, these two findings make it clear that B2B firms see embedded finance as infrastructure, not a promotional lever. A low price tag means little if the provider can’t deliver a reliable, airtight experience across months and years of customer relationships.

Likewise, “speed to market” is less compelling when embedded finance touches core systems and high-stakes workflows. Rushing an integration can create operational risk, security exposure and customer friction that are difficult to unwind later.

In short, B2B firms are optimizing for long-term stability and scalable growth by choosing partners they can trust for the long haul, rather than chasing quick wins that juice this quarter’s revenue but make the business more fragile.

Read the report: The Trust Imperative in Embedded Finance

At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.

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