Swan vs Embed: Choosing the right embedded finance infrastructure for your SaaS platform

For European SaaS platforms, embedded finance isn't just about adding a feature—it's about becoming the financial hub your users can't work without. Whether you're building accounting software, an HR platform, or a vertical SaaS product with complex payment flows, choosing between embedded banking and payment operations infrastructure will shape your product roadmap for years to come.

Swan and Embed both enable SaaS platforms to monetise financial services, but they were built for fundamentally different use cases. Swan provides embedded banking—accounts, cards, and SEPA payments for business management software. Embed offers payment operations infrastructure—programmable fund flows, multi-party splits, and reconciliation for platforms where money movement defines the user experience.

In this article, we'll break down their features, strengths, and limitations so you can choose infrastructure that amplifies your product rather than constraining it.

TL;DR: Swan vs Embed at a glance

What is Swan and who is it for?

Swan is an embedded banking platform built for SaaS companies that want to turn business management software into a financial hub. Founded in Paris in 2019, Swan handles the regulatory heavy lifting so platforms can offer white-labeled business accounts, payment cards, and SEPA transactions without becoming a licensed financial institution themselves.

Features of Swan

Own e-money license and core banking system: Swan is a licensed e-money institution regulated by France's ACPR (Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution). Unlike providers that white-label third-party banking rails, Swan built its own core banking infrastructure, giving it full control over product roadmap and customer experience.

Local IBANs across Europe: Swan offers country-specific IBANs for France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Italy, with more markets in development. Local IBANs increase trust and reduce friction for users operating within their home countries.

Business account embedding: Platforms can offer fully functional business accounts to their users—complete with SEPA payments, direct debits, and transaction management—all white-labeled under the platform's brand.

Card issuance programs: Swan enables platforms to issue both physical Mastercard-branded cards and virtual cards with customizable spending controls. Cards integrate with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Regulatory coverage for partners: Swan assumes all payment and fraud risk, handling KYC, AML, and compliance obligations. Platforms avoid the months-long regulatory approval processes typically required for financial services.

Developer-friendly APIs: Swan positions itself as the "Stripe of embedded banking"—API-first, with integration timelines measured in weeks rather than months.

White-labeled UI: Swan provides ready-made banking interfaces that platforms can brand with their own logos and colours, or build custom experiences using Swan's APIs.

Cons of Swan

Limited payment flow customisation: Swan's strength is straightforward business accounts and cards. Platforms needing programmable payment splits, escrow-like fund holds, or complex multi-party reconciliation will find Swan's architecture constraining.

SEPA-centric payment rails: Swan focuses on SEPA payments and direct debits. Platforms requiring diverse payment methods (local payment methods beyond SEPA, international wires) need additional infrastructure.

Optimisation for horizontal SaaS: Swan's product is designed for accounting platforms, HR software, and business management tools serving SMEs. Vertical SaaS platforms with industry-specific regulatory requirements or complex fund flows may find the offering too generic.

Newer market presence: While well-funded (€100M+ raised), Swan is a relatively young company compared to established payment processors.

What is Embed and who is it for?

Embed is a payment operations infrastructure purpose-built for vertical SaaS platforms where multi-party fund flows and reconciliation complexity define the user experience. Rather than offering generic embedded banking, Embed co-designs payment stacks for platforms across diverse verticals—from EV charging networks and hotel management software to construction platforms, freelancer marketplaces, and beyond—wherever multi-party payment flows and industry-specific compliance requirements create opportunities for differentiation.

Features of Embed

Purpose-built for vertical SaaS: Embed handles messy financial workflows that generic processors aren't designed to manage, multi-party payouts to suppliers, automated revenue shares, industry-specific compliance requirements, and reconciliation across complex stakeholder hierarchies.

Balance accounts infrastructure: Embed's proprietary infrastructure lets platforms create multiple balance accounts per merchant and automate payment splits natively at transaction time, eliminating manual reconciliation and reducing operational overhead.

Programmable fund flows: Unlike account-centric embedded banking, Embed's infrastructure is built around payment operations. Platforms can define custom split logic, hold funds in escrow-like structures, and trigger conditional payouts based on business rules.

Virtual IBANs for reconciliation: Embed provides virtual IBANs issued through tier-one banking partners, enabling automatic payment reconciliation and offering the trust and regulatory credibility particularly valuable for enterprise customers and regulated industries.

Phased merchant onboarding: Merchants can accept payments immediately with minimal KYB, then complete full verification only when transaction volumes require it—accelerating time-to-revenue for platforms.

Flexible and adaptive pricing models: Embed supports tiered, blended, and Interchange++ pricing, letting platforms optimise monetisation by customer segment or use case rather than forcing one-size-fits-all pricing.

Unified commerce across channels: A single integration powers online, in-app, and in-person payments, enabling omnichannel experiences critical for retail-adjacent verticals.

Hands-on expert support: Embed's team includes payment specialists who work with platforms from design through optimisation, functioning more like embedded fintech consultants than generic support.

Dutch Central Bank authorisation: Embed is a licensed Payment Institution authorised by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), with passporting across the European Economic Area. This licensing covers PSD2, SCA, and AML obligations, with support for local payment rails across Europe.

Cons of Embed

Limited to European and UK markets: Embed focuses on the EEA and UK. Platforms with near-term expansion plans will need additional payment partners for other regions.

Not optimised for simple use cases: If your platform just needs business accounts and payment cards without complex fund flows, Embed's infrastructure may be overbuilt for your needs.

Smaller brand recognition: As a specialised provider, Embed lacks the household name status of payment giants, which may require more education in sales cycles.

Swan vs Embed: Which embedded finance infrastructure should you choose?

The choice between Swan and Embed comes down to your product architecture and where payments sit in your value proposition.

Choose Swan if:

• Your core product is business management software serving accountants, HR teams, or freelancers where embedded accounts and cards enhance workflow but aren't the primary value driver

• You need white-labeled business banking with minimal configuration—accounts, SEPA payments, and Mastercards that "just work"

• Your users are primarily SMEs operating within single European markets with straightforward banking needs

• You want to avoid regulatory burden entirely—Swan handles all licensing, KYC, and compliance so you can focus on your core SaaS product

• You value speed to market and want API-driven integration that resembles adding Stripe to an e-commerce site

Choose Embed if:

• Payment operations are core to your product—not a feature, but the infrastructure that makes your vertical possible

• You need programmable fund flows with automated splits to multiple parties, escrow-like holds, or conditional payout logic

• Your platform serves a specific vertical with industry-specific compliance requirements (e.g., trust account regulations in construction, split payments in hospitality, charge point operator settlements in EV)

• Reconciliation complexity is a pain point for your users, and you can differentiate by automating multi-party settlements

• You want to monetise payments strategically with segment-specific pricing models and Interchange++ transparency

• You're building in Europe and need regulated payment infrastructure with local payment rails (SEPA, bank transfers) and virtual IBANs for seamless reconciliation

Side-by-side: Key differences

Talk to an embedded finance expert

Choosing between embedded banking and payment operations infrastructure isn't about which provider has more features—it's about which architecture aligns with how your users experience money movement in your product.

If you're building vertical SaaS in Europe where payment splitting, reconciliation, and industry-specific compliance define your competitive advantage, Embed's programmable infrastructure turns payment complexity into product differentiation.

To explore how purpose-built payment operations can unlock new revenue streams and reduce operational overhead for your platform, talk to one of our embedded payments experts.

FAQs: Swan vs Embed

Is Swan good for vertical SaaS platforms?

Swan excels at providing embedded business banking for horizontal SaaS—accounting tools, HR platforms, and business management software where accounts and cards enhance workflow. However, vertical SaaS platforms with complex multi-party payment flows, industry-specific compliance requirements, or sophisticated reconciliation needs will find Swan's architecture limiting. For these use cases, payment operations infrastructure like Embed is purpose-built.

What are alternatives to Swan for embedded banking?

Besides Swan, Solaris and Treezor offer BaaS infrastructure in Europe, while Stripe Treasury provides embedded financial accounts (US-focused with limited EU availability). However, none of these providers specialise in the programmable fund flows and multi-party payment operations that vertical SaaS platforms require—that's where Embed differentiates.

Does Swan support multi-party payment splits?

Swan provides business accounts and payment functionality, but doesn't offer native multi-party split capabilities at transaction time. Platforms needing to automatically route payments to multiple parties (e.g., marketplace seller payouts, service provider splits, revenue sharing) will need to handle settlement logic externally or choose infrastructure like Embed where programmable splits are core.

Which provider offers better support for vertical SaaS compliance?

Swan handles generic KYC, AML, and payment institution compliance, but doesn't specialise in vertical-specific regulations. Embed's hands-on approach includes working with platforms on industry-specific requirements—trust account regulations in construction, PCI compliance for hospitality, CPO settlement rules in EV charging—making it better suited for regulated verticals.

Can I use Swan or Embed for expansion outside Europe?

Swan is expanding across Europe with local IBANs in France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, and Italy. Embed focuses on EEA and UK markets. Neither is optimised for expansion outside Europe—platforms with immediate needs in North America, APAC, or other regions should consider multi-provider strategies or processors with broader geographic coverage.

Which provider integrates faster?

Swan positions itself as API-first with "Stripe-like" integration simplicity, aiming for weeks-to-launch timelines for standard embedded banking use cases. Embed's approach is consultative—co-designing payment architecture with your team. Choose based on whether you need "works out of the box" or "built for your specific use case."