Visa & Equals: CFO Research Reveals Embedded Finance Gaps

Service gaps from embedded finance providers are limiting growth and resulting in avoidable revenue loss, according to new research from Equals and Visa Consulting & Analytics. 

The study, which interviewed more than 150 senior leaders and decision-makers across banks, fintechs, trading portals and digital asset exchanges in the UK and Western Europe, reveals a gap between how businesses choose payments partners and what drives long-term value, trust and scalability.

Embedded finance is estimated by McKinsey to be worth over €100bn (US$115.9bn) in Europe by the end of the decade.

Yet report findings show that operational gaps are slowing progress. 

Overall, 45% of respondents say service and support issues have restricted their ability to realise business benefits, while 82% agree that providers play a critical role in helping them scale successfully.

Financial and operational strain

The business angle is particularly stark for financial leaders, with 60% of CFOs stating they have lost revenue due to poor embedded provider support.

Furthermore, more than two in five respondents have seen global expansion delayed by poor service.

The findings reveal a persistent gap between business expectations and the service, support and operational expertise received when challenges arise. 

Managing these setups internally is proving difficult, as 71% of all respondents – and 81% of CFOs – agree that internal teams alone cannot manage the operational and regulatory complexity of embedded finance.

According to qualitative data, service issues frequently surface as early as the onboarding phase.

While providers often impress during the initial pitch, clients frequently encounter subsequent integration setbacks, delayed technical support and overlooked compliance requirements.

These challenges prove to be persistent for 54% of organisations, evolving into a continuous operational strain rather than isolated events.

Ed Chandler, Senior Executive Leader of Equals, says: “These findings suggest that many businesses are underserved because their payment environments are too complex for off-the-rack solutions.

“At Equals we recognise there is no one-size-fits-all model for successful embedded finance and payments adoption.  

“Exceptional businesses need a unified, flexible platform that can be adapted to meet their needs, combined with a genuine partner that understands the complexity of their payment environment.

“This includes support through compliance challenges and the fragmentation that can occur during cross-border expansion.”  

The provider paradox

Service alignment is a recurring issue for leadership teams.

More than 60% of CFOs say providers are ‘too big to care’ or ‘too small to deliver’ on their needs. 

Specifically, 63% of CFO respondents feel that providers are too large to care about their requirements, a figure that rises to 76% among neobank respondents. 

At the same time, 60% of CFOs say other providers are too small to deliver their operational and compliance needs reliably at scale.

When it comes to human resource, respondents are clear.

According to the report, 60% of companies expressed concern that a shift toward AI-driven or automated servicing by providers could jeopardise the specialised human expertise and relationship-based support essential to their operations.

Instead, firms want direct access to relationship managers and specialists rather than ticket systems that make accountability difficult to pin down.