Peace of Mind as a Product: How ToolTime Turned Payment Friction into Their Next Revenue Stream

Marcel Mansfeld, co-founder and CPO of ToolTime, shares how his German craft industry software company successfully launched embedded payments after raising € 55 million. From serving over 20,000 tradespeople with paperless workflows to building ToolTime Pay, Marcel reveals the challenges, learnings, and strategic decisions behind integrating finance into vertical software.Main Takeaways:Timing is everything: Don't rush into embedded finance; build core product maturity and a sufficient customer base first before adding financial servicesOpen banking vs. embedded accounts: Why ToolTime chose embedded banking over open banking APIs for a better user experience, especially for less tech-savvy customersThe pivot lesson: Their initial card-only payment launch failed; bank transfers remain 98%+ of volume in German B2B marketsSell peace of mind, not payments: ToolTime monetises the complete automated billing workflow (invoice → payment → reconciliation → dunning) rather than just processing transactionsLong-term commitment required: Embedded finance isn't a quick win; it demands dedicated teams, ongoing customer service, and continuous product iterationPartnership strategy: How working with Paymi (embedded finance platform) provided the flexibility to build custom user experiencesRevenue diversification: Embedded finance seen as a strategic advantage by investors, moving beyond the core SaaS subscription modelCustomer-driven development: A 50,000+ customer insights database guided their embedded finance roadmap and feature prioritisationVisit our website www.embeddedfinancereview.com for more content.This episode was produced by Orama.tv.(00:00) Intro(01:41) Welcome and Introductions(02:05) ToolTime: Digital Solutions for the Craft Industry(02:56) Going Paperless: The Key Benefits(03:48) Understanding the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)(05:35) ToolTime Pay: Embedded Finance for Trades(10:01) Future of Payments and Financial Services(18:42) Discussing Open Banking and User Experience(19:19) Challenges with Customer Adoption(19:59) Philosophical Views on Open Banking(21:48) ToolTime's Fundraising and Embedded Finance(23:23) Monetizing Payment Products(25:43) Learning and Adapting in Embedded Finance(27:07) Structuring Payment Product Teams(27:47) Embedded Finance in European Verticals(29:03) Advice for Building Payment Products(29:45) The Importance of Customer Base(30:30) Long-term Commitment to Embedded Finance(33:48) Final Thoughts and Contact Information

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