Zūm Rails, a Canadian fintech, is expanding its reach in the US by joining forces with Fiserv to offer embedded finance solutions.
- This partnership allows Zūm Rails to leverage Fiserv’s robust transaction processing capabilities for its payment gateway.
- Businesses, including large corporations and SMBs, stand to benefit from simplified financial operations without traditional banking reliance.
- The embedded finance market, valued at US$84 billion, presents new opportunities despite its high entry barriers.
- Zūm Rails aims to further its services across North America, introducing new solutions like Banking-as-a-Service to meet evolving needs.
Zūm Rails, a prominent Canadian fintech known for its open banking and instant payment services, has strategically aligned with Fiserv, a major player in the payments industry. This collaboration is set to revolutionise how US businesses engage with embedded finance by integrating these capabilities directly into their service offerings. The partnership aims to provide a seamless approach to managing financial operations without the need for conventional banking or multiple service providers.
By capitalising on Fiserv’s established transaction processing technology, Zūm Rails empowers businesses to handle diverse financial tasks. These include accounts payable and receivable management, merchant onboarding, as well as reporting, reconciliation, and fraud management. Early adopters of this integrated system include industry participants such as Homebase and Passive, who are exploring the potential of this advanced solution to streamline their financial processes and support day-to-day operations efficiently.
The embedded finance market is burgeoning with a current valuation of approximately US$84 billion; however, the considerable barriers to entry have been a deterring factor for many enterprises. Historically, embedding new financial functionalities necessitated the coordination with numerous providers, which proved cumbersome. Sunil Sachdev, Head of Embedded Finance at Fiserv, underscores the market’s momentum by stating, “As companies look for new ways to own and strengthen their relationships with customers, there’s growing energy around embedding financial services directly within a software platform.”
The alliance between Zūm Rails and Fiserv means US enterprises can now adopt a singular solution for both accepting and distributing transactions. The Zūm Rails platform integrates crucial capabilities such as open banking and instant payments, facilitating seamless transactions via major US networks including Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. The integration further extends to the Automated Clearing House (ACH) and FedNow, bringing robust functionality to their clients’ fingertips.
With an eye on scaling further, Zūm Rails is also preparing to launch its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering, allowing businesses to issue bespoke debit cards, thus enhancing their embedded finance repertoire. As expressed by Miles Schwartz, Co-Founder of Zūm Rails, “We launched Zūm Rails with the goal of providing open banking and instant payments services at a time when it was difficult for businesses to do both.” The company’s agenda includes leveraging its successes in the US to bolster its service offerings within Canada, expanding their innovative solutions across North America.
Sunil concluded the insights by mentioning how Fiserv is transforming service models and enhancing client-merchants relationships through a curated API set, thus significantly amplifying revenue possibilities for its partners.
Zūm Rails and Fiserv’s partnership signifies a pivotal advancement in providing accessible embedded finance solutions across North America.
