With payments infrastructure evolving into a strategic layer, Stripe and Balance’s latest integrations reveal how embedded finance is reshaping checkout experiences, credit provision, and platform growth across consumer and business transactions.
What began as a back-office convenience is fast becoming the battleground for platform differentiation. Embedded finance has matured into a core component of the user experience, shaping not just how customers pay, but how platforms acquire, retain and monetise them. For infrastructure providers, the focus has shifted from enabling transactions to orchestrating them.
Stripe’s extended partnership with Klarna is emblematic of this evolution. While Klarna’s BNPL model is well established, its recent API upgrade marks a step change in how its services are delivered.
The new integration through Stripe, announced today (July 1), provides near-parity with a direct Klarna deployment, allowing merchants to offer Klarna Express Checkout and on-site messaging via Stripe’s native interface.
This uplift in user experience is translating to measurable results. On OrderMyGear, average order values increased 67% after Klarna was introduced. Automotive platform Tekmetric saw a threefold rise in average order volume where BNPL was activated for repair-related payments. More than 200,000 businesses now offer Klarna through Stripe.
Behind the scenes, Stripe’s Optimised Checkout Suite plays a central role. The platform uses machine learning to determine which payment methods to surface and in what order, based on user context. For Klarna, this allocation improves conversion across a broader range of verticals, including ticketing, travel, healthcare and automotive; markets it is actively expanding into with Stripe’s help.
Klarna is also tapping into Stripe Issuing and Stripe Financial Connections, offering physical and virtual cards while streamlining risk checks via access to linked financial data. For a provider operating across both regulated and unregulated markets, having this infrastructure consolidated under one roof is an operational advantage.
Embedded credit arrives in B2B
If the Klarna example reflects how embedded finance is reshaping the consumer journey, Balance is applying a similar logic to the B2B space, albeit with different complexity.
Balance’s embedded credit product, recently integrated into Alibaba.com, allows US-based SMEs to access net terms and “pay later” options directly at checkout. Credit decisions are returned in real time and embedded within the purchase flow, eliminating the need for external onboarding or post-purchase invoicing.
For platforms selling into cash-constrained customer segments, this kind of liquidity access can be a lever for growth.
The underwriting engine relies on Balance’s AI risk infrastructure, which is designed to deliver high approval rates for small businesses often overlooked by legacy banks. What sets this apart from traditional trade finance is the API-first design and the ability for platforms to maintain full brand control over the experience.
Balance is not alone in this strategy. It recently enabled embedded invoicing for Instacart Business, reflecting a growing demand for consumer-grade payment optionality in B2B environments. By abstracting away the credit mechanics, Balance allows platforms to focus on customer acquisition and retention, while still expanding their addressable market.
With payments infrastructure evolving into a strategic layer, Stripe and Balance’s latest integrations reveal how embedded finance is quietly reshaping checkout experiences, credit provision, and platform growth across consumer and business transactions.
With payments infrastructure evolving into a strategic layer, Stripe and Balance’s latest integrations reveal how embedded finance is quietly reshaping checkout experiences, credit provision, and platform growth across consumer and business transactions.
From payments to orchestration layers
Taken together, these developments suggest a broader reframing of what payments infrastructure actually entails. Platforms now require adaptive tools which can personalise checkout, optimise routing, facilitate financing and handle compliance, all without sacrificing speed or user experience.
The industry is shifting from static integration models toward programmable commerce layers. Payment methods, risk thresholds and credit terms are increasingly governed by AI-led orchestration, tuned to maximise conversion and minimise abandonment.
