In today’s digital economy, embedded finance is rapidly transforming how consumers and businesses interact with financial services. Banking, payments, lending, and insurance are no longer confined to traditional channels—they are seamlessly woven into e-commerce platforms, ERP systems, and a host of non-financial digital journeys. This shift is redefining the competitive landscape: the quality of the customer experience (CX) is now the primary lever for driving adoption, loyalty, and growth in embedded finance ecosystems.
Yet, as financial services become increasingly invisible and journeys span multiple brands and digital touchpoints, measuring and improving CX becomes exponentially more complex. Traditional metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) fall short, offering little actionable insight into which investments will truly move the needle. In this context, banks, fintechs, and platform providers need a new, more nuanced approach—one that links CX directly to business outcomes and provides a roadmap for prioritizing investments across fragmented, multi-brand journeys.
Embedded finance journeys are inherently complex. A single customer experience might span an e-commerce checkout, a third-party payment provider, a bank’s lending API, and a retailer’s loyalty program—all under different brands and technology stacks. The customer expects a seamless, intuitive, and emotionally resonant experience, regardless of who is providing each component. Any friction, confusion, or inconsistency can erode trust and drive customers elsewhere.
For banks and their partners, this creates several challenges:
The Customer Experience Growth Index (CXGX), developed by Publicis Sapient, is a new standard for measuring, benchmarking, and improving CX in financial services—including the unique context of embedded finance. Unlike traditional metrics, CXGX is designed to:
CXGX is built on the “Three E’s” of customer experience:
By surveying customers at key moments across 11 touchpoints—including mobile apps, websites, live chat, call centers, and more—CXGX generates a granular, channel-specific view of the customer journey. Each interaction is scored from -100 (strongly negative) to +100 (strongly positive), allowing banks and partners to pinpoint which touchpoints delight or disappoint.
CXGX enables banks and their partners to benchmark their CX performance not just against other banks, but against digital leaders in every sector. This is critical in embedded finance, where customer expectations are shaped by the best digital experiences, regardless of industry.
The CXGX value chain approach combines touchpoint scores with usage data to highlight the biggest levers for improvement. For example:
Embedded finance is about meeting customers where they are. The CXGX framework helps banks and partners design journeys that:
CXGX provides a common language and measurement system that can be used across partner ecosystems. By focusing on the moments that matter—regardless of which brand “owns” the touchpoint—banks and their partners can collaborate more effectively to deliver seamless, end-to-end experiences.
As embedded finance matures, the winners will be those who move beyond technical integration to true customer-centricity. This means:
Banks that embrace the CXGX framework can:
Customer experience is the new battleground in embedded finance. The CXGX framework provides banks and their partners with the tools to measure, benchmark, and improve CX across every embedded journey. By focusing on the moments that matter, and investing where it counts, organizations can turn superior CX into a powerful lever for growth, retention, and long-term value.
Ready to put CX at the heart of your embedded finance strategy? The future of growth is experience-led—and it starts with CXGX.