Wallester, the licensed payment institution, has released insights from a recent webinar featuring Visa and GF Money, revealing that European companies are increasingly bypassing traditional banks to launch branded card programmes.
The session highlighted a dramatic shift in the speed of market entry. While launching a card programme was historically a complex, capital-intensive project requiring years of preparation, modern API-driven infrastructure has reduced this timeline significantly. According to Wallester, the industry standard has fallen from 12 months to an average of three to four months, with some programmes launching in as little as 28 days.
The consumerisation of B2B
A key driver of this acceleration is the changing expectation of business users. Linus Olofsson, head of business development (Nordics & Baltics) at Visa, noted that the B2B sector is undergoing “consumerisation”.
“If you are using the smoothest payment solutions as a consumer, you want to do the same when acting on behalf of your business,” said Olofsson. “Small businesses can no longer afford to wait for credit decisions or physical card delivery. Time is money, and they need to move as fast as the consumers they serve.”
Regulatory clarity driving adoption
Edouard Roca, head of business development at Wallester, pointed to European regulatory frameworks like PSD2 as a catalyst. These regulations have created a predictable environment for non-banks to enter the issuing space, removing barriers that previously discouraged enterprises from integrating card capabilities.
Case study: Scaling in the Nordics
David Öhlund, CEO Scandinavia at GF Money, shared how the consumer credit firm transitioned from offering simple credit lines to a unified card programme across Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. By utilising a single API stack, the firm can now offer virtual cards instantly during the application process.
“Within five minutes of completing the application, the customer can access the card and start using it,” said Öhlund. He emphasised that unified infrastructure allows solutions like loyalty schemes to be replicated quickly across different jurisdictions.
Future trends: Flex credentials and SaaS growth
Looking ahead, the webinar identified ERP and SaaS accounting platforms as some of the fastest-growing verticals for embedded finance in 2026.
Visa’s Olofsson also highlighted the shift toward “Flex Credentials”, a solution that allows a single card to toggle dynamically between debit and credit facilities based on the merchant or user preference.
despite the enthusiasm, Olofsson warned against launching without a clear strategy. “There’s nothing worse than issuing cards that are never used,” he noted. “You need to know who you are targeting and how you want the card to become part of their daily behaviour.”
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