By Allianz Trade editorial team - Published on 17 September 2026
Embedded finance is making B2B transactions faster and easier. Discover how Allianz Trade pay natively integrates real-time credit risk assessment and payment protection into digital trade.
Today, financial processes still lag behind the rapid digitisation of B2B commerce. B2B buyers can now search for products and make purchases online with speed and convenience, but that momentum slows, like debris blocking a river, when credit or payment terms enter the transaction.
Credit applications typically move offline, approvals require manual work, and identity, company and credit checks take place separately. Each handoff creates a bottleneck, adding uncertainty and friction just as the buyer is poised to place an order.
Demand for a more integrated experience is growing. Global B2B Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) adoption is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 17.1% between 2026 and 2030, according to PayNXT3601. This would trigger a rise in gross merchandise value from US$204.2 billion in 2025 to US$466.6 billion2 by 2030. Yet in B2B commerce, convenience must be supported by reliable credit decisions and protection against non-payment.
Allianz Trade pay is designed to close this gap by integrating buyer checks, credit decisions, and payment protection into the digital transaction. Like the current carrying a river forward, its supporting infrastructure operates largely beneath the surface, helping trade to continue to advance while the associated risks are assessed and managed.
Embedded finance brings financial services into the digital environments where trade takes place. If a buyer needs payment terms, they can arrange them within the seller’s platform instead of going through a separate application process. This keeps the request within the same digital transaction and reduces manual work and delays for the seller.
The European embedded finance market is expected to reach US$31.47 billion in 2026, according to Custom Market Insights2. This is becoming a significant part of the financial infrastructure supporting digital commerce. Effective embedded finance has three defining characteristics:
APIs, plug-ins and specialist partners allow these capabilities to work together inside the financing provider’s platform. Much of this complexity remains beneath the surface, helping finance flow smoothly while the provider retains a clear view of the risk.
Faster financing does not automatically mean safer financing. For fintechs and financial institutions, the opportunity is to give B2B customers faster access to finance without increasing their own exposure to fraud and non-payment. In many digital financing products, that protection is not built into the transaction.
B2B financing is more complex than consumer credit. A request can involve a buyer, a supplier and a financing provider, as well as larger sums and payment periods of 30, 45 or 60 days.
In Europe, average late payments exceeded 14 days at the end of 2025, according to Altares, increasing the exposure carried by the financing provider4. Confidence in each transaction therefore rests on four questions:
When a seller can answer these questions quickly and reliably, offering terms to an unfamiliar buyer in a previously unexplored market becomes a more manageable decision.
For fintechs and financial institutions, this is where Allianz Trade pay comes in. We integrate credit-risk assessment and insurance protection into your digital financing workflow, with much of the work taking place behind the scenes.
We do this in three ways. The first is knowing the buyer. Our self-service onboarding verifies the buyer’s email address, company details, identity and IBAN. These checks are supported by APIs and our extensive company database, giving you a reliable picture of who is placing the order and reducing the risk of identity fraud.
“Identity fraud is probably the bigger risk now with online trading – even more, at times, than credit risk,”5 says François Burtin, Global Head of E-commerce at Allianz Trade.
The second is making the credit decision. We assess the buyer's creditworthiness and determine whether payment terms should be offered, so you can focus on growing the relationship. Our assessment is made within the e-commerce workflow, enabling a decision to be made in real time without a separate and often lengthy manual review. In practical terms, a decision that once took days can now be made in seconds.
The third is protecting your portfolio. For approved transactions, we can provide trade credit insurance cover, subject to applicable terms. This helps you manage your exposure to non-payment, while giving sellers greater certainty over cash flow and buyers a flexible way to pay.
This integration also affects how insurance is experienced. Trade credit insurance has traditionally been a heavy, manual process, often managed separately from the transaction. When insurance cover is embedded into a digital customer journey, it becomes a seamless part of enabling the transaction, rather than requiring a separate step. Its value is reflected in the availability of payment terms and the ease of the financing experience. Our APIs, plug-ins and specialist partners allow these capabilities to work together inside your platform. Much of the complexity remains beneath the surface, allowing your customers to move smoothly through the transaction while you retain a clear view of the risk.
Before embedding credit insurance into your financing proposition, you need to understand what happens after a customer requests finance. A seemingly smooth checkout can still conceal manual work. The buyer may have to repeat information or wait while an application is handled outside the platform. You should also examine the data behind the credit decision and understand how applications that cannot be approved automatically are dealt with.
The commercial arrangements need the same scrutiny. You should know when cover is confirmed, how the financing is funded and what protection applies if the buyer does not pay.
The real test is whether financing can continue to flow as transaction volumes rise or the business enters a new country. If expansion brings back spreadsheets, case-by-case approvals or other manual workarounds, the solution will struggle to scale.
Research and Markets describes the B2B BNPL market as highly fragmented by region, and notes that no provider has yet established a significant multi-regional presence6. Geographic coverage, local regulation and partner reach therefore need to be considered from the outset.
Allianz Trade pay addresses these requirements through API-based integration, real-time credit assessment and automated insurance decisions. Our company data and continuous monitoring help you maintain consistent decision-making as transaction volumes grow, while Allianz Trade’s international reach supports expansion into new markets.
Embedded payment terms are expected to become a standard feature of B2B marketplace checkouts, ERP procurement systems and supplier portals by 2028, according to PayNXT3607. That will raise buyer expectations and make applications handled through slow, offline processes look increasingly out of place.
According to Allianz Trade, flexible payment options can increase conversion rates by up to 40%8. That makes payment terms part of the sales proposition, with a direct bearing on whether digital demand becomes revenue.
Backed by our credit-risk expertise, Allianz Trade pay helps you meet those expectations. You can make payment terms part of your digital proposition instead of a bolted-on exception handled by the back office. As embedded finance becomes part of everyday B2B trade, the advantage will lie with financing providers ready to meet demand when it arrives. Allianz Trade pay gives you the confidence to keep that trade flowing in your direction.
