Thread Bank is looking to embedded banking to grow its deposits, while scaling operations through tech stack investments.  

The Nashville, Tenn.-based bank started offering embedded banking to businesses in 2021, Chief Executive Chris Black told Bank Automation News. Deposits were $700 million in 2024, up from $100 million in 2021.

“The majority of growth is coming through the embedded channels,” Black said.  

Old Missouri Bank, for example, has also gained deposits through embedded banking offerings and expects to gain $500 million in deposits this year, Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Steve Bishop at Old Missouri, previously told BAN. 

Health care services provider Thatch uses the Thread tech, Black said; The bank works across industries including property management, hospitality and small business management. 

Many FIs are considering offering embedded banking or BaaS to increase profitability because it provides “a continuing revenue stream from deposits and transactions that might have gone to a competitor,” Huard Smith, principal analyst at think tank Forrester, previously told BAN.  

Role of the cloud 

Thread’s ability to grow its embedded banking offerings is partly attributed to its cloud strategy, Black said.  

The cloud gives Thread the ability to scale operations while adding embedded banking clients, he said. . “It is the overall infrastructure of security and scalability.” 

While he declined to disclose its cloud provider, Black said Thread does have 90% of its data and nearly 90% of its applications in the cloud.  

Migrating to the cloud helps banks manage their computing requirements while working with vendors and allows them to run proof of concepts without investing too much in their tech stack, Citizens Bank Chief Information Officer Michael Ruttledge, previously told BAN. 

Smith said cloud-native applications are becoming increasingly crucial in embedded banking models due to: 

• Superior scalability, allowing applications to handle varying workloads efficiently;
• Optimized costs, passing savings on to customers; and
• Flexibility, enabling rapid deployment and updates, which are crucial for staying competitive in the fast-paced open finance market.