Comerica Bank is betting everything on embedded banking and real-time payments, putting itself at the forefront of the next-generation financial services space. At the helm of that initiative is Tessa Naroditsky, Senior Vice President and Director of Payments Strategy at Comerica Bank, who states that these two technologies are changing the manner in which banks deliver value to customers.

"Embedded finance is the way to go," Naroditsky told American Banker. "It's the way you create value." She added that native embedding of financial services into nonfinancial platforms, along with speeding up payment rails, will help banks break free from traditional constraints.

Building a Strategy on Embedded Banking

Naroditsky has led a nine-person team at Comerica, in her position for about two years. Her group is tasked with creating the bank's embedded banking capabilities so that financial services can be natively incorporated into other companies' platforms.

To enable this, her team developed an application programming interface (API) that connects outside partners to the bank's infrastructure. The API is the "rail" for embedded solutions, enabling Comerica's partners to offer payment and banking services without involving customers in direct contact with the bank.

The initiative involves writing technical specifications, monitoring testing, and reporting to clients on progress. The effort is also closely aligned with Comerica's participation in The Clearing House's real-time payments committee, where Naroditsky positions the bank at the forefront of innovation.

Real-Time Payments and On-Behalf-Of Transactions

Comerica's biggest innovation is employing the RTP network for processing "on-behalf-of payments," or OBO transactions. This enables businesses to make payments immediately on behalf of their customers, clients, or suppliers.

Comerica is one of the first banks to adopt this OBO strategy, and its executives see it as a platform for growth. Naroditsky and her staff believe that the model can expand exponentially, catering to payroll firms, gig economy companies, e-commerce firms, and supply chain vendors.

For example, payroll processors are able to pay freelance and contract workers in real-time through Comerica's RTP rail. It reduces delays, builds confidence, and increases financial flexibility for workers who depend on immediate access to their pay.

Opportunities Beyond Traditional Banking

The use of embedded banking forms a wide universe of new opportunities for Comerica. Through partnership with technology platforms, e-commerce marketplaces, and payroll providers, the bank can access customers without opening traditional customer-facing branches or apps.

Naroditsky's team is pursuing new use cases aggressively, including vendor payment, supplier finance, and digital disbursement. As more and more businesses are interested in embedding banking into their platforms, the addressable market is huge.

"Those banks which don't implement embedded banking will be behind," Naroditsky said. "More and more joint ventures between banks and nonfinancial institutions will happen, because that's where the need is emerging."

Recognition for Leadership

Naroditsky's initiative has not gone unnoticed at Comerica. She recently developed a five-year payments expansion strategy, drawing together internal studies with external market data. The proposal was presented to senior managers, including five-year return-on-investment projections.

Her job also includes creating an intellectual property plan for a 24/7 reciprocal deposit product, which led to Comerica filing its first patent. This success reflects her forward-thinking attitude and capacity to convert imagination into tangible outcomes.

"Tessa captures a distinct combination of strategic acumen, market awareness, and executional excellence—skills that all future C-suite leaders will require," stated Allysun Fleming, Executive Vice President and Comerica Bank Payments Head.

Why Embedded Banking Matters

It's not about technology, industry insiders say—about changing what banks are to people. Rather than being a distinct visit for financial services, banks are the unseen infrastructure that drives payments and transactions where customers already spend their time.

For Comerica, timing is ideal. The boom of e-commerce expansion, the expansion of the gig economy, and the digital supply chain are creating demand for faster, simpler financial products. By offering those services via partners, Comerica can expand its reach without competing head-on in every consumer market.

Looking Ahead

Comerica is set to release several new products in 2025 that will broaden its RTP-based services. Executives see these programs opening up new revenue streams, deepening partner relationships, and keeping the bank competitive within a fast-changing financial environment.

As banks throughout the United States rethink their technology approaches, Comerica's leadership in embedded banking and real-time payments serves as an example for how a mid-tier institution can innovate in tandem with fintechs and larger competitors.

Naroditsky has a good outlook on the future. "If you look where the market is going, embedded banking is the bridge that closes the distance between new technology and real business strategy. That's how we stay in business, and that's how we create long-term value."