# Embedded Finance Index 2026

> 6,868 fintech stacks analyzed. Half the stack is auditable; the half regulators care most about isn't. Published by Apideck with Open Banking Tracker and Embedded Finance Review.

## Primary sources

- [Full report (HTML)](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/)
- [Full report (Markdown, agent-readable)](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/llms-full.txt)
- [Companies index (all 6,868 dossiers)](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/llms-companies.txt)

## Sections (deep-linkable)

- [Section 02 · Disclosure rates](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#disclosure-rates) — Which layers are auditable. Which go dark.
- [Section 03 · Dataset composition](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#dataset-composition) — What kind of fintech are these?
- [Section 04 · Sponsor banks](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#sponsor-banks) — Who backs the banking.
- [Section 05 · Category leaders](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#category-leaders) — Top 5 vendors per layer.
- [Section 06 · Regional differences](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#regional-differences) — How disclosure varies by HQ.
- [Section 07 · Self-operated infrastructure](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#self-operated) — Companies that own the stack.
- [Section 08 · Compliance disclosure](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#compliance-disclosure) — Where the compliance stack goes dark.
- [Section 09 · The landscape](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#landscape) — Provider catalog by category.
- [Section 10 · The agent layer](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#agent-layer) — APIs for humans → APIs for agents.
- [Section 11 · ERP & accounting connectivity](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#erp-accounting) — Open finance beyond the bank account.
- [Predictions](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#predictions) — Four things to watch in 2027.
- [Methodology](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/#methodology) — How the dataset was built.

## Regional views

- [US](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/us) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in US.
- [UK](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/uk) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in UK.
- [EU](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/eu) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in EU.
- [APAC](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/apac) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in APAC.
- [MENA](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/mena) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in MENA.
- [Canada](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/canada) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in Canada.
- [LATAM](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/latam) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in LATAM.
- [Africa](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/regions/africa) — same report, filtered to companies HQ'd in Africa.

## Category leaderboards

- [Banking-as-a-Service](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/baas) — Providers that issue accounts, balances, and clearing services to non-bank fintechs. Self-operated banks (Square Financial Services, LendingClub Bank, Amazon Payments) are excluded — they're not a vendor relationship.
- [Sponsor Banks](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/sponsor-banks) — The chartered institutions that hold the regulatory charter behind a non-bank fintech's accounts and card programs. Distinct from a BaaS provider (the API/platform layer in front of the charter), so this ranking differs from the BaaS leaderboard even where the same names appear — Cross River, Celtic, Thread, Bancorp, Evolve, Sutton. The most-disclosed layer in the dataset, because naming the sponsor bank is a regulatory requirement.
- [Card Issuing](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/card-issuing) — Card-issuing platforms that handle the BIN, processor, tokenization, and network connectivity for debit and credit card programs.
- [Card Networks](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/card-network) — The card schemes named in companies' disclosed card programs — Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and regional networks like UnionPay, JCB, and RuPay. Unlike every other leaderboard here, a network isn't a vendor a fintech chooses among competing options — it's the fixed rail a card-issuing program rides on, which is why it's counted separately from the vendor-tally universe (see lib/tally.ts) even though the ranking is built the same way.
- [Payments / PSPs](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/payments) — Payment service providers handling card acquiring, alternative payment methods, and merchant settlement. Many category leaders (Stripe, Square, Adyen) self-process and don't appear as customers of any third-party PSP.
- [Embedded Payments](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/embedded-payments) — Platform-payments specialists: providers sold to vertical SaaS, marketplaces, and platforms so they can offer payments to their own customers. Distinct from traditional PSPs which sell to merchants directly. Curated allowlist — Finix, Moov, JustiFi, Tilled, Rainforest, VoPay, Worldpay for Platforms, Banking Circle, Modulr, Mangopay, Swan, etc. Same buyer-disclosure may be counted on both the PSP and Embedded Payments cards when applicable.
- [Financial Data Connectivity](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/financial-data) — Open-banking aggregators (Plaid, TrueLayer, Tink, Yapily) and unified-API providers that abstract over downstream accounting, payroll-HRIS, and FX systems behind a single integration (Apideck, Codat, Rutter, Merge, Finch, Pinwheel, Argyle). Mirrors the Financial Data Connectivity quadrant on the landscape view. Structurally under-disclosed because these providers sit in front of customer data, not on subprocessor lists.
- [Payroll & EWA](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/payroll) — Embedded payroll engines plus earned-wage-access providers shipped inside vertical SaaS, neobank, and HR platforms.
- [Lending & Liquidity](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/lending) — Capital, origination, and liquidity platforms enabling embedded credit, working capital, revenue-based financing, merchant cash advance, receivables financing, and consumer BNPL inside fintech products.
- [Embedded Insurance](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/insurance) — Embedded insurance distributors and underwriting tech powering shipping protection, device insurance, gig-worker coverage, and BNPL-attached policies.
- [FX & Cross-Border Payouts](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/fx-payouts) — Multi-currency wallet, FX, and cross-border payout infrastructure powering international payments inside fintech products.
- [KYC / KYB & Identity](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/kyc-compliance) — Identity verification (KYC, consumer) + business verification (KYB) + sanctions screening + onboarding decisioning. Tracked in a single bucket because most vendors (Alloy, Persona, Sumsub, Stripe Identity) sell both; KYB specialists like Middesk and Baselayer sit alongside them. Fraud-orchestration and transaction-monitoring vendors (Sardine, Sift, Forter, ComplyAdvantage) belong to this compliance layer but are counted in a separate bucket, so they don't appear in the ranking below. Compliance vendors are the most under-disclosed layer — see Section 05.
- [Accounting Connectors](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/accounting) — Accounting platforms and unified-API connectors used to land embedded-finance transactions in customer ledgers (QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage).
- [Transaction Enrichment](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/transaction-enrichment) — Vendors that turn raw bank-transaction descriptions into clean merchant names and categories. Niche but high-signal — disclosed mainly in neobank case studies.
- [Embedded Crypto & Stablecoins](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/crypto-stablecoin) — Issuance, custody, and on/off-ramps for stablecoins and crypto inside fintech products. Crossed from native-crypto into mainstream embedded finance over the last 18 months.
- [Treasury Management](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/treasury) — Treasury-operations APIs, sweep / cash-management products, yield partners, and multi-bank cash visibility tools used by fintechs to manage idle cash. Distinct from BaaS (operating-account infrastructure) — this is 'where idle cash sits + how treasury is run'. Often disclosed via Modern Treasury (ops), Stripe Treasury / Mercury Treasury / Brex Treasury (sweep+yield), Treasure / Arc / Vesto (yield).
- [Ledger Infrastructure](https://www.embeddedfinanceindex.com/categories/ledger-infrastructure) — Programmable core-ledger infrastructure: the system of record that tracks every debit, credit, balance, and reconciliation for a fintech's financial flows. Distinct from BaaS (which provides the bank rails) and Treasury Management (which manages corporate cash) — this is 'how the books are kept'. Providers: Formance, TigerBeetle, Fragment, Twisp, Modern Treasury Ledgers.

## What's covered

- Layer disclosure rates across 12 stack layers (payments, BaaS, card issuing, sponsor bank, lending, payroll, FX, KYC, fraud, insurance, crypto, open finance)
- Category leaders (top 5) for each layer with disclosed-buyer counts
- Sponsor-bank ranking and concentration analysis
- BaaS failure cycle (Synapse, Blue Ridge, Evolve, Solaris, Railsr, Intergiro)
- Public-company benchmarks (Toast, Shopify, ServiceTitan)
- Per-company dossiers — see /llms-companies.txt for the full index
- Methodology and limitations

## License

Free to quote with attribution to *Embedded Finance Index, Apideck × Open Banking Tracker × Embedded Finance Review* and a link back to the source URL.