B2B Agri-Fintech models are increasingly gaining popularity in the embedded finance arena

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Embedded finance in the B2B space holds massive potential to scale in various other niche verticals, where online platforms and SaaS firms already have a foot in the door facilitating their transactions. With the help of embedded finance infrastructure players or enablers, practically any business can use the proprietary user data and deep customer relationships to offer customized financial services. 

Several enablers are choosing their area of expertise and developing embedded finance models to emerge at scale with products that are customized to their use cases. Therefore, unique and new cases are developing in healthcare, auto, agriculture etc. The following are the embedded finance market activity for B2B space in agricultural space. For instance, 

• In June 2022, a United States-based software technology company, Bushel, launched a digital payment network on its platform to address the challenges of the agricultural industry of payment by paper check. This would help agricultural producers and agribusinesses to transfer money instantly across the agriculture supply chain. The platform launched

• Bushel Payments acts money movement facilitator between growers and agribusinesses on the Bushel Platform. 
• Another product, Bushel Wallet, is an innovative digital wallet created to resolve the complexity of agribusiness.
• Lastly, Bushel Wallet Link is an API that helps agribusiness embed payments in their application, connecting to Bushel Wallet's network to transfer money.

Grain and Barge Co. (CGB) will be one of the first agribusinesses to pilot Bushel Wallet Link, allowing for simple and easy electronic settlements for their growers. Bushel has been building and standardizing the digital infrastructure for the agriculture industry for the past five years by facilitating digital transactions. The company has already acquired a network of grain companies who are using their platform safely and efficiently to deploy the payment engine for 40% of grain origination in the United States.

Therefore, PayNXT360 anticipates that agribusinesses will be able to embed Bushel Wallet Link into software applications they use to connect with their customer base beyond grain merchandising. Moreover, Bushel Wallet Link can also embed into existing customer flows through an API connection, bridging payments and brand end-to-end maintenance.

• In June 2021, Growers Edge, an agri-fintech solutions provider, launched a fully digital financial software and services platform for the agriculture industry. It is a customizable platform for agricultural retailers and input manufacturers to process and manage loans quickly and efficiently. 

With the help of the platform, the retailer's online platform can feature apps for loan submission, management, and payment to simplify the process between the retailers and their grower customers. Together with this, the platform also provides a suite of tools and services to analyze and manage the retailer's lending portfolio. With the help of data science and analysis, Growers Edge helps make loan decisions faster and more secure for the retailers to make informed lending decisions. Therefore, agricultural retailers can bring speed, efficiency, and flexibility in consumer lending to the agricultural arena by embedding the tech infrastructure of the platform.

Because of the platform's streamlined underwriting scorecard that analyzes a grower's credit using traditional lending analysis factors; it has attracted significant customers in the agricultural space. Notably, the platform partnered with Puris, the largest pea producer in North America. Growers Edge, through its embedded lending tech infrastructure, provided financial solutions to Puris farmers to purchase the seed and inputs used to grow crops.

New York-based, Europe-focused start-up, Agro.Club is an agri-fintech firm that provides embedded financial solutions for the agricultural players in the value chain. Specifically, it connects growers, food companies, crop buyers and input suppliers through a digital ecosystem enabling members to perform more efficiently. The platform mainly stands on three pillars: crop marketing, agricultural input sales, and community and marketing services. Through its effective commercial platform, it claims to have captured around 19,000 farmers across Europe and North America. In addition to this, Agro.Club has reached a transaction volume of US$40 million, growing at 10x.

In July 2021, the platform raised fresh capital, US$5 million, in a Series A funding round led by Rabo Frontier Ventures and VentureFriends. Initially, it will be used by the firm to launch products in Spain and the United Kingdom, further across Western Europe and into the Americas.

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the embedded finance market in the United States, click here.