QNB Group, the largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa, has announced a strategic partnership with TransferMate, the world’s leading provider of embedded B2B payments infrastructure as a service, to expand global receivables and local accounts solutions for QNB customers worldwide.

This partnership enables QNB to integrate TransferMate’s award-winning technology directly into its platform, providing corporate clients with access to a broader network of international multicurrency collections and local accounts capabilities.

Through this collaboration, QNB customers will now be able to invoice and receive cross border payments in multiple currencies, benefiting from reduced transaction times and fees, improved cash flow management and enhanced transparency and reconciliation.

QNB constantly strive to provide its customers with new and innovative solutions to support their business needs. This platform enables them to receive international payments in multiple currencies so seamlessly, which is considered is a game-changer for its clients.

This marks TransferMate’s first banking partnership in the Middle East, capitalizing on the strategic alliances the fintech has established with major financial institutions and global notable brands.

The partnership marks a major milestone in QNB’s ongoing digital transformation journey and reinforces its position as a leader in delivering future-ready banking services.

About QNB Group

QNB Group is one of the leading financial institutions in the MEA region and among the most valuable banking brands in the regional market. Present in over 28 countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa, it offers tailored products and services supported by innovation and backed by a team of over 31,000 professionals dedicated to driving banking excellence worldwide.

About TransferMate

TransferMate is a leading provider of embedded B2B payments technology, helping companies, software providers & financial institutions to streamline their global receivables, payments, & local account needs. TransferMate owns the largest E-Money / payment license network of any fintech, regulated in 92 jurisdictions and owning 99 licenses.

Preqin Private Markets Data now integrates with Juniper Square’s AI CRM for Investor Relations, offering GPs a comprehensive source of truth for investor data

Juniper Square, the fund operations partner to more than 2,000 private markets GPs, today announced a new collaboration with BlackRock Aladdin to integrate Preqin data into its AI CRM for Investor Relations. The integration will enable GPs to pull key Preqin data, a premier source of private markets data, directly into Juniper Square’s AI CRM for Investor Relations and make smarter, faster outreach to qualified LP prospects during fundraising.

“We’re excited to bring this powerful Preqin integration to Juniper Square’s AI CRM for Investor Relations – the only CRM purpose-built for the private markets,” said Brandon Rembe, Chief Solutions Officer at Juniper Square. “As investment in the private markets accelerates, it’s critical that fund managers have comprehensive datasets that work seamlessly with purpose-built AI solutions. This integration will give fund managers the enhanced visibility into investors needed to raise capital faster in a highly competitive fundraising environment.”

Juniper Square customers can integrate Preqin data in minutes to create a single source of truth for all their investor data. By enriching the AI CRM with Preqin data on LPs—including allocations, AUM, and investor contacts—GPs benefit from deeper insights that help them identify LPs that best match their target profile, expand their pipeline, and accelerate fundraising with greater precision.

“Bringing together market intelligence from our Preqin data sets and Juniper Square’s purpose-built AI-enhanced CRM for Investor Relations will empower GPs with the customized, near real-time investor insights that current and future capital raisers require,” said Piers MacWhannell, Global Head of Preqin Licensing, Feeds and Integrations at BlackRock Aladdin. “We’re thrilled to partner with Juniper Square and help drive their vision of modernizing private markets investor relations, while providing a platform that fosters stronger GP-LP relationships at scale.”

About Juniper Square

Juniper Square is the fund operations partner to more than 2,000 private markets GPs worldwide. Our unified platform connects software, data, and fund administration services to help firms scale faster, streamline operations, and enhance the investor experience. Juniper Square’s technology brings LPs and GPs together and powers everything from fundraising and onboarding to treasury, reporting, and business intelligence. Today, more than 40,000 funds, 650,000 LP accounts, and $1 trillion in LP capital are managed through Juniper Square.

Led by Village Global with participation from Circle Ventures, Paxos, and WTI; Startup achieves $1 40 Million in total payment volume within first 11 months of launch

Mesta, the Global fiat + Stablecoin Payment Network, today announced it has raised a $5.5 million seed round led by Village Global, with participation from Circle Ventures, Paxos, and WTI – Western Technology Investment. Existing backers including Garuda Ventures, Canonical Crypto, Everywhere Ventures, and Inventum Ventures also reaffirmed their support.

Mesta will deploy this capital to expand its global payment features, strengthen its international teams, and accelerate growth worldwide.

Since its launch just 11 months ago, Mesta has cemented itself as one of the fastest growing cross-border payment networks, combining the reliability of fiat rails with the efficiency of stablecoin rails. The company has processed more than $140 million in total payment volume (TPV) to date, with transaction volumes scaling more in the last two months than the first nine combined. Today, Mesta executes an average of $3 million in daily volume and is on track to surpass $300 million in TPV by year-end.

Scaling the Payment Network That Solves Cross-Border Pain

Cross-border payments have historically forced businesses to choose between speed and cost — sacrificing one for the other. Mesta solves this problem by combining fiat rails for reliability and compliance with stablecoin rails for speed and cost-efficiency, creating a single, faster, cheaper and more efficient hybrid payment network.

Mesta enables enterprise-grade cross-border payments across multiple use cases such as bill payments, payroll, supply chain payments and same name On/Off ramps. Mesta’s customers span the full spectrum of Web2 and Web3 – from payment companies, SMB fintechs, crypto wallets, OTC desks, and more. With support for USD, EUR, GBP, USDC, USDT, USDG and PYUSD, Mesta can convert these into global Stablecoins and 40+ global currencies via hybrid rails that eliminate the inefficiencies of legacy systems such as SWIFT. Its local rails built natively in many currencies deliver unmatched cost, speed, and compliance advantages – without the need for pre-funded pools. Mesta’s settlement times are very often just a few minutes and their customers save more than 50% on fees.

“Our mission at Mesta is to rewire the way money moves globally – faster, cheaper, and at enterprise-grade accuracy, without sacrificing compliance,” said Sandeep Pyapali, Founder & CEO of Mesta. “In under a year, we’ve proven the demand for hybrid fiat + stablecoin rails. This seed round allows us to double down on scaling our network and building the holy grail: the ability to move money seamlessly between any two fiat currencies worldwide.”

Why Now: Timing with the Genius Act and Market Momentum

The recently passed Genius Act, coupled with rising liquidity and adoption of stablecoins, signals a regulatory and market environment that is finally ready for enterprise-grade blockchain-enabled payments.

Mesta anticipated this convergence early, building a network that combines the best of blockchain innovation with regulated fiat corridors — positioning it as the go-to infrastructure for the next wave of global money movement.

The Founder Factor: Experience That Wins

Sandeep brings unmatched expertise to Mesta, having previously spearheaded the Uber Global Payment Network, facilitating billions in transactions across 70+ countries. His leadership experience at PayPal and BILL, gives him a unique perspective on what it takes to build a global, compliance-first, enterprise-grade network that addresses the real-world pain points of payments teams.

“When policy and innovation align, entire economies benefit,” Sandeep added. “We foresaw this moment, built the rails early, and now we are ready to help fintechs, wallets, and enterprises move money without friction.”

Investor Confidence in the Future of Payments

“Cross-border payments remain one of the most broken areas in global finance. Mesta’s hybrid rails – stablecoin + fiat, offer a real, enterprise-ready solution that the market has been waiting for,” said Jacob Mullins, Venture Partner at Village Global. “We are proud to back Sandeep and the Mesta team as they continue to accelerate adoption among fintechs, wallets, and enterprises worldwide.”

With strategic partnerships across leading fintech organizations, liquidity providers, and banks, Mesta is building a resilient, compliance-first network designed to become the global standard for cross-border money movement.

About Mesta

Mesta is the Global Fiat + Stablecoin Payment Network designed to rewire cross-border payments with enhanced speed, cost optimization, and efficiency in a compliance-first model. Launched in 2024, Mesta has already processed over $140 million in transaction volume, serving fintechs, payment companies, trade aggregators and wallets across the world. Founded by Sandeep Pyapali, Mesta is backed by leading global investors including Village Global, Circle Ventures, Paxos, WTI, Garuda Ventures, Canonical Crypto, Everywhere Ventures, and Inventum Ventures.

For more information, visit www.mesta.xyz

New solution drives efficiency in payments processing and enables improved customer experience for banks and financial institutions

Finastra, a global leader in financial services software, today announced its Intelligent Routing Module at Sibos 2025. The new solution brings intelligent, data-driven payment routing to banks and financial institutions, enabling them to process transactions faster, at lower cost, and with upwards of 95% straight-through processing rate, driving better outcomes for both banks and their customers.

The Intelligent Routing Module is designed to work as a standalone capability as part of broader payment orchestration, or as part of Finastra’s Global PAYPlus. It uses advanced algorithms to select the most efficient payment rails in real time. The system factors in costs, speed, payment scheme options, and regulatory requirements to ensure each transaction takes the optimal path, across mass payments, instant payments, and high-value; or optimal correspondent banking chain options within high-value cross-border payments.

“Payments are the lifeblood of banking, and speed, cost, and transparency matter more than ever,” said Radha Suvarna, Chief Product Officer, Payments at Finastra. “Our Intelligent Routing Module delivers on all three – giving banks the intelligence to route payments for maximum efficiency while meeting customers’ expectations for fast, seamless service. This is another example of our commitment to delivering optionality to our bank customers that would want to bring payment routing upstream within the overall orchestration to deliver efficient and customer-centric value propositions, and drive differentiation and innovation.”

Leveraging decades of deep expertise in processing trillions of dollars of transactions daily for some of the world’s largest banks, the Intelligent Routing Module is available within Finastra Global PAYPlus – or as a standalone, system-agnostic modular package. Powered by microservices and open APIs, the solution allows banks to more efficiently validate clearing memberships, determine optimal payment routes, and build efficient cross-border correspondent chains.

The open architecture means the solution can be embedded into payment initiation channels, order management systems, orchestration systems or payment engines, delivering rapid ROI and reducing risks of large-scale transformation or replacements.

Gareth Lodge, Principal Analyst at Celent added, “In today’s competitive environment, payments are no longer just about price – they’re about choice, visibility and customer experience. Smart routing offers a significant competitive advantage, and microservices like this are essential to the modernization of payment systems, enabling efficiency, transparency, and greater client satisfaction.”

By combining an API-first approach with configurable business rules and AI-driven intelligence, Finastra’s Global Payments Framework helps financial institutions deliver differentiated customer experiences with flexibility, speed and minimal customization.

About Finastra

Finastra is a global leader in financial services software, trusted by 8,000+ customers – including 45 of the world’s top 50 banks – in over 130 countries. With expertise in Lending, Payments, Universal Banking, and Treasury & Capital Markets, we deliver reliable, scalable, mission-critical solutions such as Loan IQ, LaserPro, Trade Innovation, Essence, Global PAYplus, Payments To Go, and Financial Messaging. Backed by Vista Equity Partners, we co-innovate with customers to build modern technology that helps financial institutions grow with confidence. Visit www.finastra.com

Built for the new generation of airline and travel retail, OSO turns payments into a commercial advantage

Airlines and travel merchants are overhauling their sales and distribution processes, moving toward modern “Offer-Order-Settle-Deliver” (OOSD) models that promise more personalized retailing and greater revenue potential. Yet payments remain the missing piece – fragmented, expensive, and unfit for modern retail.

Today, CellPoint Digital, the leader in travel payments, announced the launch of One Source Orchestration (OSO), the only platform built exclusively for the airline and travel industry’s transition to Offer-Order-Settle-Deliver (OOSD) retailing.

From coordinating dynamic offers and inventory fulfillment to managing ancillary sales and multi-payer transactions, OSO provides the advanced and configurable payment capabilities travel merchants need to seize the revenue opportunity presented by OOSD models and enter new markets with fewer barriers. With OSO implemented, airlines and travel merchants can expect improvements ranging from 2% to 13% in payment flow-through, depending on operational complexity and market coverage.

How One Source Orchestration Handles the Complexities of Travel Payments

OSO is built to optimize the multi-party flows and challenges unique to travel, whether splitting transactions across multiple merchants or multiple shoppers, processing points-plus-cash bookings, or settling ancillary sales in different currencies. Its modular architecture supports these complex processes without adding operational overhead, giving travel merchants the speed and flexibility they need to adapt to new retail models while reducing friction at checkout, accelerating settlements, enhancing customer experiences, and improving profitability.

The OSO platform builds on CellPoint Digital’s proven expertise in travel payments, processing 10,000 transactions per second, reinforcing its position as a trusted global partner for travel merchants. The cloud-native platform supports hundreds of payment methods, acquirers and fraud solutions, and features 99.999% uptime, providing maximum flexibility and reliability from booking to post-purchase.

“We’re entering a once-in-a-generation transformation of the travel industry, and that demands a purpose-built payment solution for modern retailing,” said Kristian Gjerding, CEO of CellPoint Digital. “OSO was built from the ground up to support convenient, localized payment experiences for travelers, and to drive profitability, efficiency, and revenue for the merchants who serve them.”

OSO arrives as more airlines and travel merchants adopt modern retailing, placing CellPoint Digital in a unique position as the only travel-focused provider with a single, scalable orchestration platform spanning the entire payment supply chain. It delivers unmatched speed, intelligence, and control while supporting global expansion strategies and diverse payment ecosystems.

Positioning Payments for the Next Phase of Airline and Travel Retail

According to McKinsey, advanced retailing will add $45 billion in airline value by 2030. OSO is the infrastructure that makes that value tangible, powering dynamic pricing, personalized bundles, and next-generation revenue models while also eliminating operational bottlenecks. These capabilities enable travel merchants to capture more revenue from their retailing strategies.

Eliminating Revenue Loss through Payment Optimization

Airlines and travel merchants leave hundreds of millions of dollars on the table due to sub-optimal payment processes—foregone revenue that will only grow with the higher order values created by OOSD. OSO, which is designed for payment optimization in the OOSD framework, pays both front-end and back-end dividends for airlines and travel merchants, positioning them to capitalize on the industry’s transition to more dynamic packaging and bundling.

OSO also helps travel merchants increase revenue by addressing one of the most significant leaks in the payment process: failed or declined transactions that often result in abandoned bookings. Using AI and machine learning, the platform continually optimizes transaction routing to improve approval rates by up to 25%. Automated retries and real-time fraud optimization further reduce declines.

Orchestration that Supports Global Growth

For travel merchants entering new markets, OSO removes common barriers such as integrating local payment methods, supporting multi-currency transactions, and addressing regional fraud risks. Its alternative payment method (APM) hub, configurable form-of-payment (FOP) rules engine, dynamic currency conversion, and localized fraud protection all work together to create consistent, trusted payment experiences in every geography and channel. The result is much higher customer satisfaction and greater capacity to scale.

An Integrated Platform Built for Travel Retail

OSO goes beyond solving travel payment pain points—it sets the standard for how payments power the future of airline and travel retail. It provides a unified control layer for all payment providers and methods, with tools to manage ticket changes, refunds, and itinerary modifications. Real-time order processing and payment-driven offer creation support OOSD retail strategies, while multi-region support, complete with FX optimization, simplifies cross-border transactions.

AI-driven routing improves acceptance rates and reduces fees, while continuous fraud monitoring helps maintain high conversion rates without adding friction. OSO also integrates with the core systems that run the travel industry, including Global Distribution Systems (GDS), Central Reservation Systems (CRS), Property Management Systems (PMS), Offer Management Systems, and features pre-built connectors to airline Passenger Service Systems (PSS). It can be deployed in single-tenancy environments with local data storage to meet the data privacy requirements of all global regions.

“OSO puts the customer at the center while delivering clear business results,” said Gjerding. “Higher approval rates, lower costs, broader payment choice, and stronger fraud protection benefit travelers and the brands that serve them. This is the future of travel retail and OSO is the platform that makes it possible.”

About CellPoint Digital

CellPoint Digital is a fintech leader in payment orchestration and optimization for the global airline, travel and hospitality industries. CellPoint Digital’s industry leading solution, the One Source Orchestration Platform, is designed for modern retailing and distribution processes, including “Offer-Order-Settle-Deliver” (OOSD) models. CellPoint Digital optimizes digital payment transactions from cards and alternative payment methods and accelerates the deployment of new payment options, allowing merchants to easily scale their payment ecosystem worldwide, unify their customer payment experiences across channels, intelligently route each transaction, increase conversion rates, and minimize payment costs. CellPoint Digital has offices in Copenhagen, Dallas, Dubai, London, Miami, Pune and Singapore. Visit www.cellpointdigital.com to learn more.

Platform Adoption Fosters Network Integrating Corporate Clients and Funding Partners

GSCF, a leading global provider of working capital solutions, today announced strong market adoption and significant new platform enhancements one year after its launch of Connected Capital. Built to unify bank financing and alternative capital on one servicing platform, Connected Capital has evolved into a scaled ecosystem delivering broader risk coverage, faster liquidity access and a more streamlined servicing experience for global enterprises, growth-stage companies and financial institutions.

Since launching the platform in 2024, GSCF has activated 30 new working capital programs with leading enterprise corporates and emerging growth companies while deepening collaboration with its bank and asset manager partners to support more than $52 billion in volumes. The Company’s integrated servicing model helps clients optimize working capital through access to cost-efficient bank funding from a curated group of bank partners alongside flexible alternative capital solutions supported by GSCF’s asset manager partners.

“In 2025, we’ve moved from launch to scale,” said Doug Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of GSCF. “By combining our industry-leading service infrastructure with the Connected Capital funding model, we’re helping clients expand funding coverage, unlock liquidity in new places, drive sales growth and manage global programs with greater precision. This is what the Office of the CFO demands today – choice in capital, control in servicing and clarity in data.”

Platform Enhancement: Strengthening Connectivity and Control

GSCF continues to invest strategically in technology, introducing new capabilities that unify data, decisioning and workflows across global working capital programs:

• Connected Capital Control Center: A centralized hub that consolidates program data across buyers, suppliers, funders and regions and offers real-time visibility into utilization, risk, KPIs and cash flow drivers. The solution offers tailored dashboards that empower finance teams to coordinate actions across complex, multi-entity programs with clarity and precision.
• Data Integrations and AI Readiness: Enhanced API connectivity across multiple ERPs and financial systems to eliminate data silos and automate onboarding, reconciliation and reporting. GSCF’s cloud-native platform consolidates data to drive smarter decisions and deliver AI-powered analytics at scale.
• Servicing at Scale: A flexible, technology-enabled operating model supported by GSCF’s expert managed services – from high-touch to self-service – accelerates the time to first funding and reduces operating costs for corporate clients.

“Clients want funding flexibility without operational complexity,” said Shannon Dolan, Chief Product Officer of GSCF. “Our next generation Connected Capital platform brings together data and decisioning across programs and partners, enabling teams to act from a single source of truth, accelerate access to capital and continuously optimize cash performance.”

Why Connected Capital Now

In today’s volatile operating environment, evolving supply chain networks and multi-entity corporate structures require broader risk coverage and faster execution. GSCF’s Connected Capital platform supports clients with:

• Expanded Reach: Ability to serve more buyers, suppliers and geographies while mitigating program risk.
• Greater Flexibility: Multi-funder structures that extend coverage across non-investment grade buyers, non-core geographies and complex program requirements.
• Faster Liquidity Access: Near real-time execution achieved through program design and data integration.
• Lower Operating Friction: Configurable workflows that reduce program complexity and custom builds.
• Actionable Intelligence: Real-time insights that transform working capital from a tactical lever into a strategic growth engine.

About GSCF

GSCF is the leading global provider of working capital solutions. The Company enables corporates and financial partners to accelerate growth, unlock liquidity and manage the risk and complexity of the end-to-end working capital cycle. We originate, manage and analyze working capital programs through our innovative Working Capital as a Service offering, combining the power of a configurable and comprehensive technology platform, expert services and a Connected Capital ecosystem of alternative capital solutions and bank capital. GSCF’s team of working capital experts operates in over 75 countries to solve global working capital efficiency challenges. Visit www.gscf.com to learn more.

Clutch, the leading provider of digital omnichannel origination experiences for credit unions, today announced the launch of HAL, an AI-powered lending assistant that transforms the lending process. HAL enhances the applicant experience, streamlines operations, and drives growth for credit unions by accelerating loan processing and reducing costs.

As part of Clutch’s mission to help credit unions digitally transform and become the obvious choice for financial services, HAL is designed to deliver measurable improvements across the entire lending journey. Regardless of loan type, Clutch’s solutions empower credit unions to convert applications into booked, funded, and activated relationships faster than ever before.

Key Features of HAL

AI-Powered Conversations with Applicants – HAL engages loan applicants with intelligent, real-time conversations, guiding them through the application process while answering questions and addressing concerns.
Automated Document Collection & Validation – HAL simplifies document collection and verification, reducing manual work, ensuring accuracy, and cutting operational costs—all while improving engagement and convenience for applicants.
Loan Status Tracking – Applicants can easily monitor the progress of their loan applications, increasing transparency and reducing stress for both members and staff.

Proven Results

“By leveraging AI to automate time-consuming tasks and provide 24/7 access to the credit union, key performance metrics soar,” said Tamanna Kotwalli, Head of Product at Clutch.

• 80% of document requests facilitated by HAL
• More than one day reduction in time-to-fund
• 70% increase in look-to-book ratio
• Only 2% of member messages required human escalation

“Our pilot customers have seen incredible results with HAL,” said Chris Coleman, Co-founder of Clutch. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive—credit unions are processing loans faster, reducing costs, and delivering an improved member experience. HAL is truly a game-changer for credit unions competing in today’s digital-first financial landscape.”

Nicky Hinrichsen, CEO and Co-founder of Clutch, added: “With HAL, credit unions are equipped to meet the growing demand for seamless, efficient, and personalized financial services. This launch reflects our continued focus on helping credit unions thrive in a rapidly changing financial ecosystem.”

Why Clutch

Clutch helps credit unions modernize every step of the member journey, from digital account opening to digital loan opening and cross-sell. Our platform provides:

• Automated Application Processing – Streamlined digital applications for deposit accounts and loans (auto, personal, credit card, and home equity). By automating data entry and verification, Clutch reduces manual work, increases speed, and minimizes errors.
• Cross-Sell Opportunities – Intelligent recommendations surface personalized financial products that deepen member relationships.
• Omnichannel Support – A simple, intuitive interface empowers MSRs to guide members through applications and approvals, driving better service outcomes with less effort.

About Clutch:

Clutch is a FinTech company that partners with credit unions to modernize their operations by providing digital solutions that enhance loan origination and deposit account onboarding. Clutch’s platform offers seamless, secure experiences for both members and employees, increasing operational efficiency, cross-selling opportunities, and overall customer satisfaction. Since its founding in 2020, Clutch has expanded its suite of services, including digital loan applications and deposit account openings, while helping credit unions grow their portfolios. With over $10 billion in consumer loans funded and deposits raised, Clutch continues to drive innovation in the financial sector.

For media inquiries, demo requests, or to learn more about HAL, contact:
www.withclutch.com

Better Business Advice has recognized QuickBooks for its AI Payments Acceleration capabilities, highlighting how the platform’s new Payments Agent helps businesses receive payments an average of five days faster. The report examines how QuickBooks’ AI agents work to address one of the most persistent challenges faced by businesses of all sizes: securing timely payments while managing operational complexity.

Best AI Payments Acceleration

QuickBooks – known for helping small businesses manage accounting, payroll, and invoicing, now integrates AI-driven payments acceleration into its platform.

Late or inconsistent payments remain a significant barrier to growth for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. The resulting cash flow gaps can hinder investment, delay supplier payments, and create operational strain. Better Business Advice’s report notes that AI-enabled tools like QuickBooks’ Payments Agent are part of a broader shift toward embedding proactive, data-driven decision-making into everyday financial workflows.

Inside QuickBooks’ AI Agents

The Payments Agent is part of a suite of proactive AI agents built directly into QuickBooks. These agents aim to reduce manual effort, improve accuracy, and create a connected environment where critical business functions work in sync.

Most small businesses manage operations across multiple disconnected tools, often leading to inefficiencies and duplicated work. QuickBooks’ AI agents consolidate these processes within a single platform, giving businesses a holistic view of their finances. By automating repetitive tasks, the platform frees owners and finance teams to focus on strategic growth rather than administrative maintenance.

How the Payments Agent Works

The Payments Agent uses payment history and predictive analytics to identify potential delays and recommend tailored strategies that improve the likelihood of on-time payment. Features include:

• Personalized payment methods that suggest the most effective options based on a customer’s past behavior and industry trends.
• Proactive invoice reminders with AI-generated, editable messages that include updated invoice details.
• Customizable late fees to encourage timely payment.
• Personalized invoice email subject lines designed to improve open rates.
• Auto-filled invoices created from documents, images, or text, with extracted details ready for review.

In the U.S. Intuit Assist Beta program, businesses using the Payments Agent’s outstanding invoice notifications and AI-drafted reminders saw payments arrive an average of five days faster compared to those using standard reminders for the same customers.

Other AI Agents Supporting Business Operations

While the Payments Agent focuses on cash flow, QuickBooks has expanded its AI capabilities to cover other critical areas of business management. The Accounting Agent automates bookkeeping, transaction categorization, and reconciliation, ensuring financial records remain accurate and up to date. For mid-market companies, the Finance Agent delivers in-depth reporting, KPI analysis, and forecasting, using both performance metrics and peer benchmarks to inform strategic decisions.

Customer management also benefits from AI through the Customer Hub, included in most QuickBooks plans. Within this hub, the Customer Agent handles lead sourcing, drafts personalized communications, schedules meetings based on engagement data, and tracks every opportunity in the sales cycle. Later in the year, a Marketing Agent will be introduced to automate audience targeting, campaign execution, and content creation via Mailchimp, improving both customer acquisition and retention.

For larger or scaling enterprises, QuickBooks is preparing agents tailored to more complex needs. The Payroll Agent will collect and process employee time and attendance data, while the Project Management Agent will oversee project quotes, milestones, and budgets to keep teams on track. Together, these AI tools form an interconnected system designed to support business operations from accounting to customer engagement.

AI Payments Acceleration and the Future of Business Operations

The Better Business Advice report positions AI Payments Acceleration as a response to both technological advancement and market necessity. Faster payments not only improve liquidity but also reduce reliance on credit, strengthen supplier relationships, and enable reinvestment into growth initiatives.

By embedding AI into the payment cycle, QuickBooks addresses a fundamental operational pain point. The Payments Agent’s predictive capabilities, combined with its integration into broader accounting and customer management functions, demonstrate how AI can create measurable business impact.

For small businesses and solopreneurs, even modest improvements in payment speed can reduce the time spent chasing invoices and increase stability in cash flow. For larger enterprises, the ability to integrate payment acceleration with advanced financial analytics provides a more comprehensive view of operational health.

Better Business Advice’s findings align with wider industry trends where AI is increasingly used to automate repetitive processes, flag anomalies, and suggest actions that improve financial outcomes. AI adoption in accounting and payments is growing as businesses seek to consolidate functions within fewer platforms and eliminate inefficiencies from siloed tools.

QuickBooks’ AI agents reflect this shift toward embedded intelligence, offering contextual recommendations rather than generic automation. The emphasis on control – where the user reviews and approves suggested actions – helps maintain accuracy while building trust in AI-driven processes.

The Better Business Advice report highlights how AI agents embedded in QuickBooks go beyond single-use tools, forming a coordinated system that supports accounting, finance, payments, customer management, and project oversight. This approach illustrates how AI, when thoughtfully integrated, can enhance both productivity and decision-making.

About Intuit

Intuit is the global financial technology platform that powers prosperity for the people and communities we serve. With approximately 100 million customers worldwide using products such as TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to prosper. We never stop working to find new, innovative ways to make that possible. Please visit us at Intuit.com and find us on social for the latest information about Intuit and our products and services.

About Better Business Advice

Better Business Advice covers the news and strategies driving modern business success. The information provided by Better Business Advice does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are for general informational purposes only. As an affiliate, Better Business Advice may earn commissions from services mentioned in the links provided.

New initiative focuses on Partnerships, Alliances, and INTegrations, offering competitive margins, joint go-to-market support, and access to Abstract’s AI-native security platform

Abstract Security, the leader in streaming-first security data operations, today announced the launch of its PAINT Partner Program. (Partnerships, Alliances, and INTegrations). The PAINT program is designed to empower resellers, MSPs, MSSPs, and technology integrators to deliver differentiated cybersecurity solutions and accelerate revenue growth through collaboration with one of the industry’s fastest-growing security innovators.

Since emerging from stealth in 2023, Abstract Security has attracted global attention for its modern take on the security operations stack. The company’s platform decouples data sources and destinations, offering customizable pipelines, real-time analytics and an AI-powered assistant that simplifies threat investigation and detection across environments.

Now, with the launch of PAINT, Abstract is formally extending its platform to a broader ecosystem of partners ready to bring these capabilities to market.

“The PAINT Partner Program is a natural extension of how we’re building Abstract through collaboration,” said Michael Anderson, VP, Business Development at Abstract Security, and long-time security channel professional. “Our platform is built for speed, scale, and simplicity, and we’re focused on giving our partners the tools and economics to go win with us. We’ve built Abstract from the ground up with the channel in mind.”

Program Highlights

The PAINT Partner Program is structured to support partners at every stage of growth, from emerging solution providers to global systems integrators. Key benefits include:

• Competitive pricing models with very attractive margin structures. Abstract’s pricing offers predictability, making it easier for partners to maximize profitability while providing value to end customers. We adapt to your business model to provide cost-effective scaling without compromising performance. 
• Flexible deployment models, including SaaS, self-hosted, and region-specific cloud hosting 
• Joint go-to-market opportunities, such as co-branded campaigns, sales enablement, and events 
• Rep-to-rep sales collaboration and technical support to accelerate sales cycles 
• Access to the Abstract Intelligence Gallery, a curated marketplace with integrations from leading threat intelligence providers 
• Streamlined onboarding and enablement, including certification pathways and training for both sales and technical teams

Innovatively Differentiated

• Data Pipelines: Streamline data management with efficient pipelines for ingestion, processing, and routing of security data. Our pipelines reduce data complexity, making it easier for customers to extract actionable insights. 
• Real-Time Security Analytics: Our Analytics engine delivers real-time threat detection and monitoring, allowing your customers to quickly respond to security threats. This high-performance analytics capability meets the demand for fast, accurate data-driven security decisions. 
• Intel Gallery: Access to curated threat intelligence, providing your customers with a robust resource to reveal threats and stay ahead of those emerging. Abstract’s Intel Gallery helps customers boost their intelligence capabilities, positioning you as providers of cutting-edge security solutions. 
• Abstract LakeVilla: LakeVilla is designed to give you a reliable, cost-effective way to store and access historical data without the high price tag or slow performance of traditional SIEM solutions. It makes cold storage actually work for security teams – no more painful rehydration and no more expensive re-ingestion.

Built for Channel-Led Growth

The PAINT program reflects Abstract’s commitment to building a channel-first business model that rewards joint success. With multi-cloud availability, marketplace listings across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, and support for regional hosting in markets like the Middle East, partners can tap into new revenue opportunities across verticals and geographies.

The PAINT Partner Program is open to qualified partners globally. Interested organizations can learn more and apply by visiting Abstract Security’s partner page.

https://www.abstract.security/partners

About Abstract Security

Abstract Security is an AI-native modern security operations platform purpose-built to simplify data strategy, speed detection, investigation, and response. Founded by veterans from ArcSight, Mandiant, and Palo Alto Networks, Abstract is redefining how organizations manage security data and drive value from analytics. Learn more at abstract.security.

Top SBA lenders and investors back company mission to redefine lending

Casca, the first AI-native loan origination platform, today announced it raised $29 million in its Series A, bringing its total in funding to-date to $33 million.

Only 15 months after its pre-seed raise, Casca is leapfrogging the competition with superior functionality and dramatically faster loan processing–funding commercial loans up to 10 times faster than other fintechs and 30 times faster than industry averages. Casca will use this funding to scale its operations, expand its team, and accelerate go-to-market efforts–making the platform more accessible to additional financial institutions.

Canapi Ventures, a venture and growth equity firm backed by over 70 financial institutions, led the round. “Casca stands out in many ways,” said Neil Underwood, co-founder and general partner. “They’ve worked alongside top AI researchers and within banks themselves to simplify business lending using responsible AI and bank-grade underwriting. With Casca, local financial institutions become the lender of choice–offering more affordable rates and keeping capital within the community. It’s a big step for banking, and we’re proud to be part of it.”

Casca’s flagship customers – Live Oak Bank, the nation’s leading U.S. Small Business Administration SBA 7(a) lender by dollar volume, Huntington National Bank, the nation’s largest originator, by volume of SBA 7(a) loans, and Bankwell Bank, Casca’s first customer – all invested. Bankwell, Y Combinator, and Peterson Ventures, a renowned investor in the vertical SaaS sector, multiplied their investments from the pre-seed raise. Alliance Funding Group, one of the fastest-growing independent leasing companies in the U.S., participated as well.

Chip Mahan, CEO and chairman of Live Oak Bancshares, commented, “Businesses trust Live Oak Bank to provide a personalized, modern approach to lending, which is key to maintaining our leadership in the market. Casca simplifies and accelerates our lending processes while equipping us with the insights needed to build lasting relationships. The tangible value Casca has demonstrated gives us confidence to invest in their future.”

“At Huntington, we are committed to supporting small businesses at every stage of their journey,” shared Christian Corts, regional banking director at Huntington Bank. “Our investment in Casca modernizes the lending experience and expands our ability to deliver the guidance, tools and resources these entrepreneurs need to grow and thrive”

“We’re driven to be a force for good, using technology to make capital more accessible to small businesses and fueling the American Dream,” said Lukas Haffer, CEO and co-founder of Casca. “Partnering with the top SBA lenders and key industry players, we’ve built a platform that fully automates commercial loans in record time–setting a new industry standard. This is a game changer, and now we are ready to scale responsibly, reaching more institutions with the white-glove service our clients expect.”

About Casca

Casca accelerates the loan application and origination process using responsible AI. It is the loan origination platform used by the nation’s leading SBA lenders and FDIC-Insured banks. Founded in 2023 by banking IT experts and AI researchers from Stanford University, Casca is backed by Y Combinator, Canapi Ventures, Peterson Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, The Fintech Fund, and the Sarah Smith Fund. For more information, visit www.cascading.ai