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If you’re running a platform that serves SMEs, whether that’s in e-commerce, accounting, payments, banking or hospitality, you’ve probably picked up on the buzz around embedded finance.
And with good reason. It’s a genuine growth tool that’s delivering measurable results for those bold enough to use it.
From boosting revenue and retention to driving significant growth in Customer Lifetime Value (LTV), embedded finance is transforming how platforms compete, grow, and deliver value. And with capital demand surging and traditional finance routes narrowing, now is the time to lean in.
We’ve broken down what real ROI looks like in the embedded financing space with actual customer data.
50% GMV Growth: Increase Sales & Revenue Post-Funding
Take Shopify Capital as an example. Shopify found that merchants who used their funding saw 36% higher sales over six months compared to peers who did not take out funding.
These funds helped entrepreneurs successfully undertake growth-related activities such as hiring staff, buying inventory, or paying for marketing campaigns — all of which can lead to long-term business success. Ultimately, the merchants used the capital to sell more through Shopify’s platform, which lifts GMV for the merchant, but also total revenue for the platform.
This is what’s known as the “flywheel effect”: funding fuels merchant growth, which drives higher sales, deeper engagement, and ultimately improves platform performance. As merchants grow, so does the platform, gaining stronger unit economics and richer data to enable even smarter financial offerings. Across YouLend partners, we see an average 25–50% increase in GMV as a result of more investment. It’s a true win-win for merchants and platforms alike.
75% More Loyalty: Embedded Finance Cuts Churn Rate with Sticky Product
Whether you're running a payments platform, an e-commerce ecosystem, or a back-office SaaS platform, you're already sitting at the heart of the transaction. You own the data, the distribution, and the user trust — three competitive advantages traditional lenders can't replicate.
That proximity puts you in the perfect position to offer financial products like lending directly within your platform. Businesses benefit from fast, accessible funding where they’re already working. And you unlock an entirely new revenue stream with minimal effort.
In a fragmented ecosystem, merchants increasingly prefer consolidated solutions. According to McKinsey, 60% of SMEs would switch providers for access to better integrated financial services. And when lending, payments, and access to capital are all native to a single platform, it removes the need for merchants to look elsewhere to meet their financial requirements—driving stickiness.
The takeaway? Embedded finance isn’t just a feature — it’s a massive retention engine.
And our data across partners like Dojo and Amazon confirms it: embedded finance leads to up to 75% reduction in churn-rate among merchants compared to merchants who don't have access to any additional value-added products.
This impact is echoed in the words of Jorge Caamaño, a YouLend-funded merchant from Spain:
“The funding I accessed through YouLend came at just the right time. It helped me invest back into the business without jumping through hoops. Having that kind of support built into the platform makes a big difference. It’s something I’ve come to rely on and will go back to again.”
Partner Case Study: 3–5x ROI
To put this all into perspective, let’s take a look at a real-world example. One YouLend partner deployed a dedicated outbound sales team of two full-time agents targeting a pool of pre-qualified merchants:
- Annual outbound cost: £100k for 2 FTE
- Annual return: 10,000 merchants,+3% additional penetration rate
- Plus 80% renewal rate
That’s an annual return of ~£500k and ROI of 3–5x, proving that even small sales investments can yield outsized results when embedded finance is involved. Platforms that act boldly and quickly outperform those waiting for perfection.
But Why Now?
If you wait until your product is perfect, you risk falling behind. As Goldman Sachs noted in its Commerce Enablement Journal:
“If your business can meaningfully embed financial services, then perhaps it must... The alternative is watching your competitors use financial services to subsidise their core offering and outspend you on customer acquisition.”
Platforms that dominate distribution—those closest to the customer—have the edge. They can deliver capital at the point of need and deepen their value proposition at the same time. Failure to move fast puts companies at risk of being outpaced by more agile players on the field.
How To Get Started
The notion that embedded finance calls for huge, prohibitive development resources is a myth.
Leading providers like YouLend now offer turn-key embedded lending solutions, with built-in integrations, compliance, and risk management.
Launching doesn’t need to be complex. A well-executed marketing campaign can drive serious adoption:
- Monthly email sends
- In-app notifications
- Dashboard banners
- Targeted outbound sales
- Digital ads
Based on what we’ve seen from YouLend partners, strong results can be achieved through relatively simple campaigns.
What to Look for in an Embedded Finance Partner
- Ease of Integration: Get up and running quickly with a turnkey embedded lending solution. Modular, API-driven architecture allows you to launch fast and scale flexibly — adapting to your platform’s needs as they evolve.
- Proven Track Record: Scale and credibility matter. YouLend, for instance, partners with over 300 platforms and has funded more than 350,000 businesses globally. In partnership with Dojo alone, we recently surpassed £1 billion in funding (yes, that's a single integrated partner!)
- Scalability: Scalability is essential for any embedded finance strategy. Look for providers with the infrastructure to support high-volume, multi-market expansion, and who can manage everything from credit assessment to servicing. This allows your team to stay focused on core growth priorities while the finance layer runs smoothly in the background.
- Multi-Product Offering: The most effective embedded finance solutions go beyond a single offering. From revenue-based financing to fixed capital lines, a multi-product approach enables platforms to meet a wider range of customer needs — all through one integration and a unified experience.
- Merchant Experience: A great experience drives adoption. Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a key metric — YouLend maintains an average NPS of 95 across its partner ecosystem in 10+ markets.
We’re moving into a new era of platform-led finance. Businesses don’t just want access to capital; they want it on their terms, delivered through the platforms they already know and trust.
For platforms serving SMEs, embedded finance is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’. It has evolved into a strategic necessity for growth in today’s competitive landscape. One that delivers tangible results at pace. That means you don’t need to overhaul your product; you just need to get started.
Partnering with YouLend means you can do that with minimal dev resource, measurable ROI, and the backing of a team that has delivered world-class solutions for giants like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Stripe, and Mollie.
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