White-labeling: The smarter alternative to building or buying

Companies today are always looking for ways to be more efficient and provide more value to their customers. One solution that’s gained popularity is white-labeling. But what exactly is white-labeling, and how can it benefit both your business and your clients?

What is white-labeling?

White-labeling is when a company creates a product or service and allows other businesses to brand it as their own. In other words, a company provides a ready-made solution that other businesses can use under their own name and logo. The end customer doesn’t know who originally created the product or service, but they interact with it through the rebranded version.

How white-labeling works in B2B

In the business-to-business (B2B) world, white-labeling typically involves services or platforms, not just products. Let’s say you run a business offering financial solutions, but you don’t have the resources or technology to build your own payment platform or you simply want a plug-and-play solution. Instead, you could partner with a company that already has a platform developed. That company would allow you to use their service under your brand name, which you can offer to your clients as part of your product suite.

For example, if your business is missing a way to facilitate virtual card transactions, you could white-label a payments platform, like WEX’s, to provide transactions for your customers without having to create the technology yourself.

How FNBO and WEX are delivering simple, sophisticated payment solutions

Read the case study

What are the benefits of white-labeling?

1. Saves time and resources

Building a product or service from scratch takes time and money. But with white-labeling, you can skip the lengthy development process and save the resources. Instead, you leverage an existing solution that has already been tested and is ready to be branded and launched quickly. This saves you time and money, allowing you to focus on other areas of your business.

2. Quick time to market

In many industries, speed is essential. The sooner you can launch a new product or service, the sooner you can start seeing a return on investment (ROI). White-labeling helps you get your offering to market faster because the product is already developed and ready for branding. Instead of months or years of development, you can have your solution up and running in a matter of weeks.

This rapid deployment can also give you an edge over competitors who may be developing their own products and services from scratch.

3. Focus on what you do best

As a business owner, you probably already have a core area of expertise. White-labeling allows you to focus on that expertise while offering additional services to your customers that are outside of your direct capabilities.

For example, if you’re a healthcare service but don’t have the expertise to manage payment solutions, white-labeling a payment platform means you can offer that service without diving into the technical side of things. You can still deliver a complete, high-quality solution to your clients without getting bogged down in areas that are outside your focus.

4. Enhanced brand reputation

By offering high-quality products and services, you build your reputation as a provider of top-notch solutions. Clients who interact with your branded version of a white-labeled product will think of your business as the one providing the service, strengthening your brand’s credibility.

5. Increased revenue streams

White-labeling also allows you to diversify your revenue streams. By offering new products or services that are complementary to your existing ones, you open up new opportunities for profit. For example, if you already sell consulting services, adding a white-labeled financial management platform or payment solution to your offerings can generate new revenue without a significant investment.

You don’t have to worry about product development – it’s all handled by the solutions provider. Instead, you can focus on marketing, sales, and customer support for the new solution, growing your business while increasing your income.

6. Scalability

As your business grows, you can scale your solution to meet the demands of your expanding client base. With white-label solutions, you don’t need to worry about the operational challenges that come with scaling a product from scratch. The provider typically handles the back-end infrastructure and updates, while you focus on growing your business and serving your customers.

White-labeling: The win-win solution

For businesses looking to help their clients and scale their business without the headache of building new infrastructure, white-labeling offers a win-win solution. You get access to products and services that you can offer to your clients as if they were created by your own business. Your clients, in turn, benefit from added solutions that help them solve their problems and improve their operations.

For more insights and updates on corporate payments, check out:

• Virtual cards 101
• 2025 payment trends
• Is the secret to better cash flow management AI?

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The information in this blog post is for educational purposes only. It is not legal, tax or investment advice. For legal, tax or investment advice, you should consult your own legal counsel, tax, and investment advisers.