More than a third of European customers are eager to engage with financial services offered by transport providers – including airlines, car manufacturers, train companies, and car associations according to new research from Solaris.

Italian consumers are most eager to try embedded financial services from transport providers, with 61.8% saying they are open to payment cards, (e-money or bank) accounts, or credit. Italian millennials (aged 25 to 34) are especially keen, with 68.9% stating their willingness to use one of the products. Spain was the second strongest market: 51.3% would use at least one embedded financial product from a transport provider.

The other two markets in the survey, Germany and France, were marginally less keen to use an account, payment card, or credit product from a transport firm – at 36.1% and 33.3% respectively. Though again, millennials were much more open to this. The data comes from a new Solaris whitepaper titled ‘On the move: The embedded finance opportunity in the mobility sector’, supported by Handelsblatt Research Institute and YouGov Deutschland GmbH.

Andrea Ramoino, MD EMI UK & EEA at Solaris, comments: “Our study found a high correlation between trust and willingness to try new products from trusted providers in mainland Europe. The higher our respondents rated a transport brand for safety and reliability, the greater their motivation to use a financial product from that brand.”

The whitepaper also emphasises that the main reason consumers in Italy and Spain are most likely to use embedded finance products from travel or transport providers is that they are more willing to buy goods and services on credit. This is illustrated by consumer appetite to finance a Volkswagen car: 33% of Italians and 22% of Spaniards would consider an embedded loan from Volkswagen Financial Service. Meanwhile, only 13% of Germans and 11% of French respondents would consider this option.

In addition, 22% of Italian respondents would use a credit card from Easyjet and 21% of Spanish participants would use a payment card from AirEuropa. Europcar (car hire company) also ranked high in both countries; with 25% of Italians and 21% of Spaniards saying they would use a Europcar credit card. Given this data and a May 2022 survey by Norisbank, which found that over 75% of respondents said credit cards are their preferred way to pay when travelling, it seems credit cards could be a significant method of embedding a first financial product and increasing revenue for providers.

Ramoino added: “A well-considered embedded finance offering can deepen customer relationships, simplify transactions, and create new revenue streams. But this can’t be a one-way road only benefiting transport companies. It is crucial that customers also receive added value, otherwise they would not accept the products. While our most recent survey looked at mainland European markets, it shines a light on the potential value UK businesses are leaving on the table by not utilising embedded finance within their offering.”