Truist One View Connect: Embedding Banking Into Clients' Enterprise Systems

The Embedded Finance Play: Truist Puts Banking Inside Clients' Workflow#

TFC is taking a calculated wager on the future of wholesale banking by embedding its payment and cash management capabilities directly into the enterprise resource planning systems its clients already use. On Tuesday, the regional bank unveiled Truist One View Connect, a pilot programme designed to eliminate the friction of switching between banking platforms and corporate software. Rather than forcing finance teams to navigate between NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Workday, or Microsoft Dynamics 365 to execute treasury functions, Truist has built connectors that surface cash management, Real-Time Payments, and reconciliation workflows natively within those applications. The strategy reflects a deeper truth about regional banking in the 2020s: survival depends on revenue sources less vulnerable to interest rate cycles.

The pain point is not subtle. Finance teams at mid-market and corporate enterprises spend disproportionate time on manual reconciliation, managing payment approvals across multiple platforms, and reconciling transaction data. Each system switch introduces latency, increases the risk of error, and fragments visibility into liquidity. Truist One View Connect addresses this by providing what Chris Ward, the bank's Head of Enterprise Payments, calls "simplicity, speed and safety directly inside our clients' ERP platforms." Early clients in the pilot have reported faster onboarding times, improved data accuracy, and measurable time savings—the kind of tangible operational improvements that justify technology adoption and deepen client lock-in.

The Technology Foundation#

The solution is built on an API-first architecture and developed in partnership with Koxa, a fintech platform company specializing in embedded finance connectors. This partnership signals an important competitive shift: large regional banks cannot credibly compete in embedded finance without fintech co-developers who understand the technical landscape of modern ERP systems. Truist's asset size (USD 544 billion as of Q2 2025) and wholesale banking relationships provide distribution and credibility, but the technology foundation requires outside expertise. The trade-off is acceptable because it accelerates time-to-market and reduces the engineering burden on Truist's technology organization.

The feature set moves beyond simple bank feeds. One View Connect delivers in-ERP reconciliation and reporting, enabling finance teams to match bank transactions to accounting records without leaving their primary system. Real-Time Payments allow the initiation and approval of payments within the ERP environment, creating a unified workflow that reduces the manual steps typically required in treasury operations. Automated approvals and controls are embedded into the interface, enabling CFOs to establish and enforce spending policies at the point of transaction. For large enterprises managing millions of dollars in daily cash movements across geographies, this efficiency translates into millions of dollars in freed-up operational capacity.

Why Now, Why This Matters#

Truist's move into embedded finance is not arbitrary. The bank's profitability is under structural pressure from multiple directions. Net interest margin has compressed to 2.66% on a trailing basis, a level that reflects competitive deposit pricing and the gradual repricing of Truist's asset portfolio in a higher-rate environment. The efficiency ratio stands at 83.0%, representing a deterioration of 180 basis points year-over-year as expense growth has outpaced revenue expansion. Return on tangible common equity of 12.2% remains respectable for a regional bank, but the trajectory is constrained by these margin dynamics.

Fee-based income offers an escape route from this trap. Treasury management revenues grew 14 per cent year-over-year in the most recent quarter, demonstrating robust client appetite for services that deepen relationships beyond the core lending and deposit franchises. Digital transformation initiatives have already proven Truist's execution capability, with 17 per cent year-over-year growth in digital account production showing that clients are willing to engage through modern digital channels. One View Connect extends this success into the wholesale banking segment, where treasury management represents a larger and more sophisticated revenue opportunity than in consumer banking.

Equally important is the capital position. Truist's CET1 ratio of 11.0 per cent significantly exceeds regulatory minimums, providing the strategic flexibility to invest in product development and market expansion without immediately returning all excess capital to shareholders. Management has already demonstrated disciplined capital allocation, returning USD 1.4 billion to shareholders in Q2 2025 (USD 750 million in share buybacks and USD 650 million in dividends) while maintaining the buffer required for opportunistic growth investments. One View Connect represents precisely the kind of product investment that can drive medium-term earnings accretion without requiring massive upfront capital outlay.

Competitive Positioning and Expansion Plans#

The embedded finance landscape has become increasingly crowded. Fintech platforms like Stripe, Adyen, and others have built direct relationships with ERP vendors and end-users, effectively disintermediating traditional banks from certain payment flows. Larger banks have responded by building their own embedded finance capabilities or acquiring fintech platforms to accelerate development. Truist's strategy—partnering with a specialized fintech provider rather than attempting to build the entire stack internally—is pragmatic. It allows Truist to leverage its wholesale banking relationships and balance sheet credibility while avoiding the engineering complexity of supporting multiple ERP platforms simultaneously.

The pilot stage is critical to product-market fit validation. Truist is currently working with select clients, with plans to expand to additional users of the supported ERP systems "in the coming months." The pace of expansion will likely correlate with client adoption, integration complexity, and competitive response from other banks and fintech platforms. If the expansion accelerates and adoption metrics support the business case, One View Connect could eventually contribute material fee revenue and strengthen Truist's competitive position in mid-market and corporate wholesale banking.

Risks and Strategic Uncertainties#

The path forward carries identifiable risks. Fintech competition remains acute, particularly from providers who have deeper technical relationships with ERP vendors. Integration execution—both technical and commercial—can constrain growth. The appeal of embedded finance depends partly on sustained demand for treasury services, which in turn depends on business activity levels and working capital cycles that are sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. A recession would dampen the volume of payments and treasury transactions, potentially reducing the value proposition of the One View Connect offering.

There is also the meta-question of whether traditional banks can execute and sustain advantage in fintech-adjacent domains. Truist's track record on digital transformation is mixed: the 17 per cent growth in digital account production is solid, but the 83 per cent efficiency ratio suggests that the cost structure of the bank remains challenged. Delivering a best-in-class embedded finance experience may require organizational and cultural shifts that are difficult for a large regional bank to implement at speed.

Outlook#

Investment Thesis and Catalysts#

Truist's One View Connect pilot represents a calculated wager that fee-based revenue diversification is a necessary—and attainable—antidote to net interest margin compression. The early client validation is encouraging, with pilot participants reporting measurable operational improvements in onboarding speed, data accuracy, and time savings. The strategic logic is sound: embedded finance allows Truist to deepen wholesale banking relationships, create switching costs through workflow integration, and generate revenue streams inherently less sensitive to interest rate cycles. The near-term catalyst is pilot expansion metrics and client adoption feedback in coming quarters. If adoption accelerates, the solution could contribute material fee revenue and demonstrate the viability of Truist's digital transformation strategy beyond consumer banking channels.

The competitive positioning advantage derives from Truist's dual strengths: wholesale banking relationships built over decades and the financial resources to invest in product development without sacrificing shareholder returns. Rivals lack either the balance sheet capacity or the existing client relationships to mount credible competing offers at the same pace. Treasury management revenues have already grown 14 per cent year-over-year, validating underlying client appetite. Success with One View Connect would signal that Truist can execute at the intersection of traditional banking and modern fintech, a capability that could extend to adjacent products in the wholesale banking suite.

Key Risks and Strategic Uncertainties#

The path forward carries identifiable risks that could constrain growth and limit fee contribution. Fintech competition remains acute, particularly from providers who have deeper technical relationships with ERP vendors and enjoy structural advantages in platform agility and pricing flexibility. Integration execution—both technical and commercial—can constrain expansion pace and profitability. The appeal of embedded finance depends partly on sustained demand for treasury services, which in turn depends on business activity levels and working capital cycles that are sensitive to macroeconomic conditions. A recession would dampen the volume of payments and treasury transactions, directly reducing the value proposition of the One View Connect offering and fee contribution potential.

There is also the persistent question of whether traditional banks can execute and sustain advantage in fintech-adjacent domains at the pace required to maintain competitive moats. Truist's track record on digital transformation is mixed: the 17 per cent growth in digital account production is solid, but the 83 per cent efficiency ratio suggests that the underlying cost structure of the bank remains challenged. Delivering a best-in-class embedded finance experience may require organizational and cultural shifts that are difficult for a large regional bank to implement at speed, particularly if product-market fit requires rapid iteration and product-team autonomy.