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‘Fintech Cappuccino’ podcast: how Rabobank works together with partners

Have you already heard of the ‘Fintech Cappuccino’ podcast, where Brian Wachem and Conny Dorrestijn take a close look at the latest developments in the dynamic world of fintech?

Embedded services, embedded banking, embedded payment – the podcast makes frequent mention of the term ‘embedded’. But what does it mean? Thomas Horn, innovation strategy lead open banking at Rabobank, explains that it’s just as ‘fancy’ as it is simple. Take the payment journey at Uber, for example. You simply get out of the car and automatically pay via the app and your credit card. The Bizcuit is a similar handy embedded service: a toolkit for entrepreneurs that combines a variety of business services. From documents, bank accounts and payment orders, to bookkeeping programs; the options are potentially endless. And thanks to a partnership with Rabobank, they’ve also added Invoice Financing: the option of taking out a loan based on unpaid invoices. It only takes a minute to arrange, and you see the funds in your account within 24 hours.

In the latest episode, Thomas Horn, innovation strategy lead open banking at Rabobank, and Bizcuit CEO Hessel Kuik talk about the collaboration between Rabobank and its partners. Or if you don’t have an opportunity to listen, you can read about their conversation below.

Words into action

Bizcuit’s embedded landing proposition is purely transactional, explains CEO Hessel Kuik. That means there’s no overlap with financial products or services that customers may already have. Thomas adds that Rabobank’s goal is to enhance the financeability of small- and medium-sized enterprises. With Invoice Financing, we have a product that allows us to leverage data. For example within the Bizcuit platform, where we can make unfinanceable SMEs financeable again, and give them access to capital. It’s just one way in which we put our words into action.

Great match

From first date to wedding date, it took Rabobank and Bizcuit around nine months to conceive and develop this embedded service. Both of the gentlemen are extremely positive about the process. Thomas was already inspired by Bizcuit’s business model, and once he could start work on the Invoice Financing concept, he immediately called Hessel. “It was a perfect fit with our strategy”, recalls Hessel. “And this loan service is of course extremely relevant.”

Experimentation is the first priority

But how do you guide a project like this through an organization the size of Rabobank? When you believe in your goal and dare to be innovative, you get the support you need. “And we’ve got a smart organization for innovation”, says Thomas. The team describes its ambition in a long-term plan. You then have the freedom to experiment within that plan. How much emphasis did the bank place on figures and business plans? According to Hessel, the bank was completely reasonable. There were discussions about targets, but we determined that other goals would be more important during the first phase. Experimentation, learning, and simply ensuring that it works.

Standing stronger together

Thomas mainly sees the strengths of the collaboration between a small company and a large bank. The bank has a tremendous brand and enjoys a lot of trust. A fintech company can build and innovate quickly. Together, we can achieve a lot more. We also help each other in terms of positioning”, says Hessel. “Embedded Lending is a Rabobank service on our platform, and it works in the Bizcuit app. They’re our customers, but when they use Embedded Lending they also become Rabobank customers too. If they weren’t already. That’s what’s so great about the proposition – we’re accessible for non-Rabobank customers. And that’s precisely the essence of open banking. That brings us back full-circle.”

If that’s made you curious about the ‘Fintech Cappuccino’ podcast, you can listen to it here.