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How do you bring embedded finance products to millions of people who’ve fallen between the financial cracks? Find out how Ahon Sarkar is building infrastructure through empathy.

With almost 20% of the US population still underbanked, basic banking is as far as it goes. Even with the crazy advancements made in fintech, too many are still struggling to access the financial services they need.

Join Nicole as she gets into conversation with Ahon, who’s on a mission to bring humanity to finance with Helix, helping fintech brands build personal banking experiences.

You’ll hear Ahon’s views on why the industry lacks empathy, the economics behind financial inclusion and who’s truly incentivized by it, plus why the fintech industry should be held accountable for reaching underbanked people.

And if you love listening to Humans of Fintech, please leave me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast: https://ratethispodcast.com/humansoffintech

Thank you so much!

Follow Ahon

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ahonsarkar

You can keep up-to-date with everything Humans of Fintech at https://workweek.com/brand/wtfintech/

And if you’ve enjoyed Humans of Fintech why not try: Chicks of FinTwit, Tech Unlocked, Breaking Banks or Fintech Insider

Timestamps:

0:00 intro

03:04 Ahon’s Aha Moment

05:50 Fixing Finance Through Fintech

17:49 The Mentor

20:49 Creating Empathy in Financial Services

24:04 From Outsider to Expert

25:00 Making Fintech On The Fly

26:10 It All Starts With a Problem

28:26 Being With Experience And Work Backwards

33:37 Coming Up: Beyond Fintech

3 Reasons Why Your Business Needs an Embedded Finance Strategy to Thrive

Today’s businesses must implement an embedded finance strategy to straddle the line between innovation and responsible finance. This is especially true for companies that operate in niche markets and have a limited capital budget. Smaller businesses are often more agile but may struggle with cash flow due to their limited capital. So, how can you build an embedded finance strategy for your business that lets you thrive?

Here are three reasons why your business needs an embedded finance strategy to thrive:

Your Business Needs an Embedded Finance Strategy to Survive

Emerging businesses will often struggle with cash flow in the early stages. While this makes sense, it can lead to long-term issues if not addressed. To avoid serious issues down the line, it’s essential to have a strategy in place. Financial issues like prolonged payment terms, difficulty accessing capital, and limited access to credit can make it difficult to thrive in the long-term.

An embedded finance strategy can help you avoid these issues. Your strategy needs to address all aspects of the financial lifecycle, from acquiring customers and managing your cash flow to receiving payments and investing in the future of your business. This ensures you have a complete view of how your business uses capital, which will make it easier to ensure you have the resources you need.

You’ll Have a Clear Picture of Your Company’s Financial Health.

Your financial health is one of the most important components of your embedded finance strategy. This is the state of your business’s assets and liabilities over time, and it’s essential when creating a robust strategy.

Knowing how your business uses capital, which can be challenging, is key to understanding your financial health. Financial Health Metrics are a great way to understand how your company’s assets and liabilities affect one another. This will help you understand how your company uses capital, including how much you spend in various areas.

You’ll Know Where to Invest Your Company’s Resources.

An embedded finance strategy will help you understand how your company uses capital. This will allow you to make informed decisions about where to invest your company’s resources. This is particularly important for businesses with a limited capital budget. When you know where you are spending your company’s resources, you can make smarter investments that will help your business thrive.

For example, if customer acquisition is taking up a large percentage of your capital, you may want to focus your efforts there. Being able to understand your financial health and make informed decisions about where to invest your company’s resources will help you use capital more efficiently and improve your company’s bottom line.

Bottom Line

An embedded finance strategy is essential for any business, but it’s especially important for smaller companies. Smaller businesses may have a difficult time securing traditional financing. This can make it difficult to scale, grow, and meet customer demand if your capital is tied up in other areas.

Having a robust embedded finance strategy will help you access the capital you need to grow. It will also give your business a clear picture of how it uses capital and make it more likely that lenders will choose to partner with you. Building an embedded finance strategy is challenging, but it’s essential for business success. From understanding your financial health to knowing where to invest your company’s resources, an embedded finance strategy will help you thrive in the long-term