What You May Be Losing By Ignoring Embedded Payments

Forbes

15-07-2025

John F. Rubinetti III, President of B2B Payments, Deluxe.
The shift to embedded finance isn't just about innovation; it's survival.
The operational strain of managing disjointed payment systems and their psychological toll are often understated. This fragmentation slows down operations, clouds visibility and holds back the agility that today's businesses and, more importantly, their customers need.
Having the right infrastructure isn't just a nice-to-have. It's how you keep pace, stay in control and lead with confidence. While today's business-to-business (B2B) transactions evolve, those who cling to legacy tools aren't saving money—they're collecting risk.
Embedded payment platforms are more than convenience-driven tools. They're potential assets that can empower treasurers to enhance liquidity management, accelerate reconciliation and gain real-time visibility into financial operations. By ignoring them, organizations may be exposing themselves to inefficiencies, employee burnout, limited growth and cyberattacks.
As financial leaders confront the challenges of a dynamic economy, it's time they ask themselves, 'How much longer can we afford to not move forward?'
The operational drain you don't see.
More than inefficient, manual finance operations introduce unnecessary risk.
Maintaining disconnected, cobbled-together systems requires constant troubleshooting and consumes two valuable resources: time and money. This fragmentation slows operations and restricts an organization's ability to scale, adapt and compete.
Embedded payments should be the backbone that links treasury workflows to the broader business experience. By integrating payments directly into financial operations, companies can eliminate friction, enhance compliance and create a foundation for long-term strategic growth. Embracing embedded finance should position companies for a future that allows agility, efficiency and security to drive success.
Friction fatigue is real.
Just as online shoppers often abandon carts after a clunky checkout, internal stakeholders often disengage from systems that create friction and fatigue. In today's financial ecosystems, cognitive load, effort avoidance and choice paralysis drive user behavior. Solutions that minimize complexity and reduce the fatigue of making decisions are naturally the most requested.
These psychological dynamics also affect finance professionals, as fragmented workflows create inefficiencies and increase workflow management. Key challenges include:
• Slow approvals are stalling key transactions and operational agility.
• Murky audit trails make compliance and oversight challenging.
• Delayed forecasting is impeding strategic planning and cash flow visibility.
• Fraud and risk exposure are increasing transaction vulnerabilities.
Embedded finance can help address these barriers and unlock streamlined, secure and future-ready payment experiences that enable faster reconciliation and stronger audit-readiness.
Unified portals cure payment complexity.
Bringing credit, ACH, wallets and other payment platforms into a single, unified portal simplifies disbursements by reducing friction and lowering overhead, while enhancing control. Beyond streamlining the user experience, it also unlocks the power of consolidated data.
A single source of truth elevates decision-making across departments and enhances transparency. Unified platforms don't just make payments easier—they make operations smarter, more agile and more resilient. This foundation helps build trust and drive long-term customer loyalty.
Prioritize proactive payments upgrades.
Too often, payments infrastructure is relegated to the back office. But forward-looking organizations recognize it as a growth enabler. Treating it as anything less limits your potential.
The complexity of building and managing payment platforms internally is a burden that businesses can no longer afford to ignore. The better path is to adopt scalable, secure solutions that eliminate fragmentation and fuel long-term success.
As we enter the second half of 2025, now is the time to stop allocating internal resources to outdated systems. Redirect your teams to focus on what moves business forward. Don't wait for a pain point to invest in infrastructure. Build it now. The result will be a lower total cost of ownership, minimal operational friction and a resilient foundation that grows alongside the organization.
As the world where embedded payment adoption is becoming the norm, choosing not to integrate is a decision to fall behind.
The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. You should consult with a licensed professional for advice concerning your specific situation.
Forbes Finance Council is an invitation-only organization for executives in successful accounting, financial planning and wealth management firms. Do I qualify?