First-of-its-kind embedded investment platform for partner businesses
Franc, an innovative embedded investment platform, provides businesses with a scalable, simple and seamlessly integrated investment solution designed to increase revenue, drive customer engagement and stickiness, and enable customers to get their money working for them.
The platform allows businesses to create an investment ecosystem for customers which is designed to suit their specific requirements, customer engagement parameters or strategic goals.
“Designed as a seamless plug-and-play solution with our proprietary API [application programming interface], our platform makes it easy for businesses to create investment ecosystems for their customers, grow revenue, and build customer equity through our innovative embedded finance capabilities,” says Sebastian Patel, co-founder and chief operations officer at Franc.
“Many businesses are interested in providing their customers access to products where they can earn a return on their money which may be sitting idle in a wallet or something similar, but they lack the technology or FSP [financial service provider] licence to do so. We have effectively opened up our technology so that partners can benefit from the heavy lifting we have already done.”
Franc differentiates itself by providing businesses with an accessible and easily integrated investment tool that rests within the business’s own branding and environment, becoming part of their overall offering and customer engagement strategy. The embedded finance tool is managed by Franc, ensuring it is compliant and aligned with regulations.
“A buy-now-pay-later platform, for example, could use the tool to allow customers to save money while paying off purchases in instalments,” explains Patel. “If a customer opts into paying off shoes costing R1 000 over four months, instead of paying R250 a month, they pay R300 a month, and the R50 extra goes into a wallet powered by Franc that they can then use for future purchases that will earn interest in the interim.
“Similarly, a short-term insurer could allow customers to contribute a bit extra every month on top of their premium and this surplus could be diverted into an interest-bearing account that sits with us. Then when it is time to claim, the customer has already built up some or all the excess required.
“We partnered with early-wage access provider Paymenow to offer their customers access to a savings product powered by Franc directly off the Paymenow platform and the takeup has been great over the first few months,” he adds.
The Franc platform provides businesses with a space within which they can create their own products for their customers that fit their market and their long-term goals. These can range from cashback offers to digital wallets to customised incentives that drive loyalty. It effortlessly removes the barriers that have traditionally stood in the way of businesses creating their own financial solutions, with a plug-and-play functionality that’s as easy to use as it is to integrate within the business.
“We’ve got the licence, the technology and access to a solid product portfolio, and our API makes it very easy for businesses to integrate Franc into their ecosystems,” concludes Patel. “It allows for any business to either face outward or inward and create an investment product that builds on the brand itself.”