Banks target missing middle with embedded accounting

Finextra and BankiFi hosted an online webinar with representatives from Nordea and HSBC to discuss embedded accounting for mid-market firms with annual revenue between £20 million and £500 million. The session examined how banks can integrate payments, cash management and e-invoicing and why some mid-sized corporates have reduced everyday contact with their banks.

Panelists described a growing “missing middle” of companies that are too large for basic business banking tools and too small for full-scale treasury systems used by large multinationals. These companies often operate across multiple legal entities, payment rails and countries and use a mix of ERP systems, third-party payment vendors, accounts payable and receivable platforms, and several bank portals to manage cash and payments.

The panellists outlined ways banks could provide a single banking environment that combines payments, cash management, invoicing and routine treasury workflows. An integrated platform, they said, would lower the number of separate logins and reconciliations finance teams face, consolidate cash visibility across entities, and speed up routine treasury tasks. Panelists also noted potential revenue streams for banks from services such as payment orchestration and account-linked e-invoicing.

Speakers discussed technology trends that make integration easier. Application programming interfaces and open banking can connect bank services with ERPs and third-party systems. Embedded finance and payment orchestration allow bank services to operate inside corporate workflows rather than only through separate portals. The panel also highlighted regulatory changes, including e-invoicing mandates and VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA), which require changes to invoicing and reporting and affect data flows between companies and banks.

The webinar addressed corporate concerns about data sharing, control and privacy. Panelists said banks seeking deeper integration must present clear rules on transparency and consent and show practical benefits in exchange for access to richer data. Examples cited as persuasive to finance teams were lower operating costs, fewer reconciliations, faster payments and improved cash forecasting.

The discussion included Mark Hartley, CEO and founder of BankiFi; Sanela Dulic, head of embedded banking and business development at Nordea; Phoebe Zhou, head of client solutions for global payment solutions at HSBC; and Sharon Kimathi of Finextra as moderator. They outlined specific steps banks can take, such as packaging account services with invoicing and accounts payable automation and building standardised API connections to common ERPs.

Panelists noted that many mid-sized companies already rely on specialist fintechs to handle day-to-day finance tasks. They identified a gap between the services these firms need and the current offerings from many banks, and they described integration, clearer data controls and compliance support as priorities for banks engaging the mid-market.