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Finovate Blog
Tracking fintech, banking & financial services innovations since 1994
Generative AI-powered shopping has been gaining steam in the latter half of this year and is shaping up to be one of the top trends as we move into 2026. The availability and convenience of Gen AI tools are shifting consumers’ shopping habits away from traditional browser-based shopping as these new tools become more deeply embedded in the shopping experience.
Adobe for Business published a report earlier this year that shows momentum in the use of generative AI-powered chat services. The report, which surveyed more than 5,000 US individuals, aimed to complement a study conducted during the 2024 holiday shopping season that examined consumers’ usage of Gen AI-powered chat services and browsers.
There are six standout findings from the report that exemplify the shift in consumers’ habits.
Generative AI traffic to retail sites exploded
Adobe found that the first surge during the 2024 holiday season reached a growth of 1,300% year-over-year. Following this, the recent data shows that traffic from Gen AI-powered chat tools and browsers has continued to accelerate, reaching a 4,700% year-over-year increase as of July 2025. AI-driven visits now represent a meaningful and fast-growing share of retail shopping and research activity.
Over one-third of US consumers have used AI for shopping
According to Adobe’s 5,000-person survey, 38% of consumers have used generative AI at some point during their shopping process, while 52% plan to do so this year. Shoppers are most commonly using it for product research (53%), recommendations (40%), finding deals (36%), creating shopping lists (30%), and gift ideas (30%).
AI shoppers are more engaged and informed
Consumers that arrive at a website from AI-powered sources spend 32% more time per visit, view 10% more pages, and have a 27% lower bounce rate than those coming from traditional sources such as search, social media, and email. Shoppers using Gen AI also report an increase in satisfaction, with 85% of users saying that AI improved their shopping experience and 73% now rely on it as their primary product research tool. Overall, shoppers using Gen AI tools are more engaged than shoppers using traditional ecommerce methods.
Conversions still lag
While consumers are increasingly using Gen AI tools for browsing, many stop there and fail to actually make the purchase. In fact, Adobe’s study showed that AI-driven traffic is still 23% less likely to convert than traditional traffic. This figure has actually shown a bit of improvement over the past few months. The study showed that conversion rates were 49% lower in January 2025 and 38% lower in April 2025. This suggests that consumers increasingly trust AI-powered recommendations enough to complete purchases directly.
Revenue-per-visit from AI sources is catching up to non-AI visits
When it comes down to dollar figures, it turns out that Gen AI-powered shopping isn’t as valuable, though that is quickly changing. Adobe’s study found that AI-driven revenue-per-visit rose 84% from January 2025 to July 2025. While AI-driven visits were worth 97% less than non-AI visits in July 2024, they were only 27% less than a non-AI visit a year later. This indicates shoppers are moving from using AI purely for research to actually buying through AI-driven paths.
Mobile is fueling AI-driven shopping growth
According to the study, in July 2025, 26% of AI-driven retail traffic came from mobile. This is up by 8 percentage points from 18% six months earlier. Adobe expects mobile AI use to further close the conversion gap, given consumers’ tendency toward more impulse-driven shopping on phones.
All of these statistics paint a picture of what we can expect to happen to ecommerce in the next few years. As consumers increasingly turn to their preferred Gen AI tool when they start their shopping journey, we’re witnessing the early stages of a new kind of marketplace. In ecommerce 2.0, we’ll see discovery, recommendation, and payment converge within a single interface. Competition in this new frontier will no longer be about who owns the checkout. Rather, it will centralize around who owns the conversation that leads there. As the 2025 holiday shopping season picks up, expect to see fintechs, retailers, and payment providers racing to claim their spot in the Gen AI shopping ecosystem.
Netherlands-based digital banking experience platform Plumery introduced its Cashback Management capability this week.
The solution will help financial institutions build and launch their own cashback programs in weeks, providing real-time, personalized rewards that boost customer engagement and loyalty.
Founded in 2016, Plumery made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025 in London. Ben Goldin is Founder and CEO.
Digital banking experience platform Plumerylaunched its Cashback Management capability this week. The new offering will empower institutions to build and run personalized, real-time rewards in weeks. The cashback management capability helps firms boost engagement, NPS, and revenue.
Many financial institutions would like to offer cashback—insofar as cashback is one of the most universally recognized and appreciated loyalty schemes. Yet many legacy core systems are unable to provide it, leaving some institutions stuck with outdated rewards programs that lack both personalization and real-time responsiveness. To help institutions manage this challenge, Plumery’s Cashback Management enables them to launch modern cashback programs—from instant or scheduled credits to AI-driven reward groups—while maintaining control of compliance, costs, and the customer experience.
The new Cashback Management offering features ready-to-use cashback journeys for transaction processing, rules engine, settlement, customer user experience, and analytics. The technology’s AI module reviews purchase history and category preferences to create monthly cashback groups based on spending habits—all fully configurable to ensure regulatory compliance. And as a SaaS-first, API-driven solution, Plumery’s Cashback Management integrates with core infrastructures, card processors, and KYC/AML providers to ensure that institutions can modernize and enhance their rewards offerings over time.
“Financial institutions tell us they want to increase engagement with cashback and rewards but are blocked by legacy infrastructure,” Plumery Founder and CEO Ben Goldin said. “Our Cashback Management capability changes this. With pre-built APIs, configurable rules, and an AI personalization module all designed to be transparent, compliant, and under the institution’s full control, banks and other financial institutions can move from design to live cashback in weeks. That means stronger retention, higher spend per customer, and new revenue opportunities from merchant-funded offers—and without the vendor lock-in.”
Plumery’s Cashback Management news comes days after the company reported that it had been included as a Sample Vendor in the 2025 Gartner Market Guide for Digital Banking Platforms. Plumery also announced earlier this month that it was expanding its digital banking platform to support credit unions in Canada. The company partnered with Aequilibrium, a digital transformation consultancy and implementation services firm based in Vancouver, British Columbia, to help ensure that its platform meets the specific needs of Canadian credit union members.
“Canadian institutions have a rare opportunity to modernize on their own terms, rather than being tied to outdated systems,” Goldin said. “Our platform provides an immediate, future-ready option that puts control back in the hands of credit unions.”
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in the Netherlands, Plumery made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025 in London. At the conference, the company demonstrated its Super App Accelerator, which enables financial institutions to build and launch their own comprehensive Super App in weeks rather than years.
To learn more about Plumery, check out my interview with Ben Goldin from earlier this year.
SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu announced the launch of its composable banking approach for credit unions in North America.
The initiative will help credit unions move beyond monolithic, legacy systems and embrace a modern composable banking infrastructure that supports innovation.
Mambu also announced that it has extended its partnership with Indonesian digital bank Krom for five years.
SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu finds itself in the fintech headlines twice in a week’s time. The Europe-based fintech announced today the launch of its composable banking approach for North American-based credit unions. The initiative is designed to enable credit unions to evolve beyond legacy core systems, modernize their infrastructures, and provide their members with a more compelling digital experience. The launch news comes just days after Mambu announced that it was extending its partnership with Indonesian digital bank Krom (PT Krom Bank Indonesia).
An innovator in the field of composable banking—which relies on modular, interchangeable components rather than singular, monolithic systems—Mambu is looking to help credit unions transition from legacy systems and embrace a more modern infrastructure that promotes speed, offers flexibility, and supports innovation. In a statement, the company noted that its composable banking approach also facilitates new options when it comes to deployment, including speedboat deployment, dual core, and staged migrations. These deployment strategies enable credit unions to continue to innovate while maintaining control over the pace of the institution’s transformation.
“Credit unions are under immense pressure to keep pace with member expectations, all while operating on legacy systems that many feel hold them back,” Mambu VP of Credit Unions Amber Harsin said. “Composability is not a strategy of patching or layering complexity onto legacy systems to force integration; it’s about forging a clean, digital-first foundation that allows credit unions to scale, innovate, and serve their communities better.”
Mambu also recently announced that it has extended its partnership with Indonesian digital bank Krom (PT Krom Bank Indonesia) for five years. The collaboration between Mambu and Krom enabled the latter to launch its digital banking app in 2024.
“Mambu has proven to be a powerful partner from day one,” Krom Bank President Director Anton Hermawan said. “Our renewed partnership is a key step in Krom’s long-term strategy to build a scalable, innovative, and inclusive digital bank for Indonesians. With Mambu’s cloud-native core and the flexibility it provides, we’ve been able to launch high-impact products faster, stay compliant, and deliver a seamless experience to our customers.”
Krom’s relationship with Mambu goes back to the spring of 2022, when the digital bank selected the company as its core banking partner. Today, Krom Bank is one of the fastest-growing digital banks in Indonesia and has targeted both profitability and more than 20 million accounts on its books by 2030.
“Krom Bank is a standout example of what’s possible when bold vision meets modern technology,” Mambu Managing Director, Head of APAC Sales, David Becker said. “Its rapid growth and strong financial performance are a testament to how a cloud-native, composable core like Mambu can support scale and agility in even the most complex markets.”
Founded in 2011, Mambu most recently demoed its technology at FinovateEurope 2022 (in partnership with Persistent Systems). The European fintech has more than 260 customers around the world, 114 million end users, and its technology handles 200 million API calls per day. Fernando Zandona is CEO.
TrueLayer plans to acquire Sweden-based Zimpler, expanding its footprint in the Nordics and strengthening its position in Europe’s growing pay-by-bank sector.
The deal combines TrueLayer’s European network with Zimpler’s Nordic expertise and Swish integration, creating a strong alternative to traditional card payments.
The acquisition highlights the rise of account-to-account payments in the debt-averse Nordic region, where pay-by-bank adoption already leads the world.
UK open banking platform TrueLayerunveiled today that it will acquire Sweden-based pay-by-bank company Zimpler. The financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
TrueLayer will leverage Zimpler’s strong standing in the Nordic market to expand its network and expertise. The purchase will support TrueLayer’s mission to build a payments alternative in Europe, which will in turn create competition and increase value for customers.
“We’re not just expanding our footprint in the Nordics—we’re combining talent, technology, and scale to accelerate Pay by Bank adoption across the continent,” said TrueLayer Co-Founder and CEO Francesco Simoneschi.
Zimpler was founded in 2012 with a mission to democratize payments and enable growth for businesses across industries and markets. The company connects businesses with over 350 million customer bank accounts across more than 25 markets.
“Joining forces with TrueLayer is a fantastic opportunity to build the leading Pay by Bank provider in Europe,” said Zimpler CEO Johan Strand. “TrueLayer has a proven track record of innovation and a powerful network. Our combined strengths will allow us to offer an even more compelling proposition to the market. Joining TrueLayer will enable us to reach new heights and drive the next wave of growth in the industry. At the same time, we remain firmly anchored in Sweden, with our local license and expertise ensuring continuity for our customers.”
Europe, specifically the Nordic region, has some of the highest adoption rates of account-to-account payments in the world. The debt-averse culture of the Nordics leads to low credit card usage. Only around 35% to 45% of Swedish adults have an active credit card. Because of this, pay-by-bank is widely adopted and accepted.
By acquiring Zimpler, TrueLayer will strengthen its pan-European network to more than 20 million users and will add coverage across key markets such as Sweden, Finland, and will add A2A capabilities through the Swish payment rail integration. This significantly strengthens TrueLayer’s pan-European network, accelerating the shift to smarter, safer, and more cost-effective payments.
TrueLayer’s acquisition of Zimpler consolidates pay-by-bank in Europe. As open banking matures, scale and network coverage are two key differentiators. Combining TrueLayer’s European reach with Zimpler’s Nordic expertise, plus its connectivity to Swedish mobile banking app Swish, the partnership creates a strong alternative to traditional card networks.
“I am excited to welcome the Zimpler team to TrueLayer,” said Simoneschi. “We’ve long admired their progress, and we’re excited to add such an incredible group of builders and payment experts to the TrueLayer team. We’re not just expanding our footprint in the Nordics—we’re combining talent, technology, and scale to accelerate Pay by Bank adoption across the continent, and further strengthening Pay by Bank as a force of disruption that is changing how the world pays.”
Fintech solutions provider Tavant unveiled its TOUCHLESS AI Mortgage Origination Suite this week. The technology enables the end-to-end, AI transformation of the mortgage origination process from initial lead to funded loan. TOUCHLESS offers a full suite of modules to upgrade existing LOS and POS via Agentic AI assistants, AI-powered document analysis, AI-assisted underwriting, and an Agentic AI architecture that dynamically personalizes workflows, loan products, and programs. The result is a solution that enhances the borrower experience, boosts lead conversion, reduces origination costs, and compresses cycle times.
“TOUCHLESS now allows any lender to rapidly transition into the era of AI,” Tavant Head of TOUCHLESS Mohammad Rashid said. “The industry’s promise of seamless borrower experience and lower origination cost has often fallen short. The TOUCHLESS AI suite allows lenders to rapidly wrap their LOS and POS to unlock higher borrower satisfaction, increased loan volumes, and dramatically lower origination costs. It’s time for the industry to truly move forward and bring the full power of AI to borrowers and employees.”
TOUCHLESS leverages Tavant’s MAYA, an intelligent AI assistant that provides borrowers, loan officers, and underwriters with personalized, real-time support and feedback through the entire application process. MAYA helps guide borrowers through complicated questions, and notes when applicants hesitate in the process in order to step in and assist. MAYA explains the differences between mortgage products and programs and responds around the clock to leads from digital sources.
Combined with TOUCHLESS AI-powered document analysis, data consistency checks, automated conditions clearing, and Policy-as-Code underwriting, MAYA also helps boost underwriter productivity. Mortgage originators that have piloted the product have reported 12x gains in underwriter productivity, and reductions in overall operational costs of 60%.
“With the introduction of our Intelligent AI Assistant, MAYA is redefining the mortgage origination experience,” Rashid added. “MAYA is human-like and can address any questions and concerns borrowers have and deliver real-time personalized guidance throughout the application process, helping them navigate each step with clarity and confidence. This reduces application errors and abandonment rates, accelerates loan processing, and empowers borrowers and lenders alike with seamless, hyper-personalized support—ultimately saving time and lowering costs for everyone involved.”
Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Tavant demoed its AI-powered loan origination technology at FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego. At the conference, the company showed how generative AI, voice-enabled conversational AI, and advanced data security enable Tavant’s LO.ai to lower sales costs, increase lead conversion, and ensure regulatory compliance.
Tavant’s new product news comes just days after the company announced that it had earned a place in the top 100 of the 2025 IDC FinTech Rankings. This year marked the seventh consecutive time that Tavant has been highlighted by the IDC.
“Being recognized for the 7th consecutive year is humbling and reaffirms our relentless drive to push AI boundaries and deliver measurable outcomes for our clients,” Tavant President Hassan Rashid said.
Tavant’s technology powers one in three US mortgage loans, and enables 3.5 million lending applications and 33 million lending transactions. More broadly, the company offers technology solutions in a wide variety of industries beyond fintech, including manufacturing, agtech, and media. With customers in North America, Europe, and Asia, Tavant has users of its technology in more than 150 countries. Sarvesh Mahesh is CEO.
If you’ve been paying attention to the open banking conversation in the US, you are aware that it is currently on the cusp of a major shift. In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a surprise motion to pause the legal battle over its Section 1033 data access rule. The Bureau then announced its plans to rewrite the rule altogether, and initiated a call for public comments.
The purpose of Section 1033 is to align principles on how consumers access and share their financial data. The rule essentially stands as the legal backbone of open banking in the US. For its part, the CFPB’s role is to define the technical and legal framework behind the mechanics of consumer data access. The Bureau is tasked with creating standards for data access, consent, and security.
The public comment period ends tomorrow, October 21, but writing a new rule will likely be anything but smooth. Aside from the various viewpoints from opposing stakeholders, which complicates the CFPB’s effort to write a fair ruling for all parties, there is now another wrinkle in the story. Last week, White House budget director Russell Vought said on a podcast that he wants to close down the CFPB. If the CFPB were indeed dismantled, would open banking stall or survive?
When the public comments period ends tomorrow, the CFPB will begin drafting the new open banking proposal. Further complicating the matter, the rewrite is unfolding alongside ongoing litigation over the original rule. The Financial Technology Association (FTA) is defending the rule in court after the Trump administration moved to overturn it back in May. In September it argued against an effort by the Bank Policy Institute to keep the rule on hold indefinitely, saying that big banks are trying to limit how much authority the CFPB has over open banking in hopes of shaping what the new version of the rule will look like.
Between the drafting of the new rule and all of the litigation, the next six-to-twelve months are pivotal in steering the open banking conversation. And yet, even as the rule is being rewritten and argued over in court, a much bigger question looms: what happens if the CFPB itself disappears? If Vought’s comments are correct and the CFPB is indeed completely dismantled there are a few likely scenarios of what may happen moving forward:
Regulatory limbo
With no agency to finalize or enforce 1033, the rule could be delayed or stalled indefinitely. This delay would slow technological adoption and would make open banking once again driven by the market, instead of regulation.
In fact, for years, banks and fintechs have been building API-based data-sharing frameworks and forming independent networks such as FDX, which unifies the financial industry around a common standard for the secure and convenient access of permissioned consumer and business data.
In the absence of regulatory guardrails, however, big banks could set the terms of data access and possibly introduce unreasonable fees or restrictive policies. Additionally, smaller fintechs could be squeezed out, which would ultimately reduce consumer choice. As a result, the US would have a more industry-controlled version of open banking instead of a consumer-centric model.
Reassignment
The authority to shape, finalize, and enforce 1033 could shift to other agencies such as the FCC or OCC. Swapping agencies, however, may create jurisdictional confusion since neither agency has a direct consumer-data mandate. This confusion may lead to slower adoption and reduced technological innovation.
If federal leadership falters, however, individual states may step in to organize their own regulations. States like California or New York may end up writing their own data-sharing laws. This would result in a patchwork of regulations, increasing compliance costs and complexity, especially for new fintechs seeking to compete. In theory, Congress could pass national open banking legislation, but bipartisan agreement on financial regulation (or any regulation) is rare.
Wiping out the CFPB will not wipe out the underlying law, Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. However, even though the law would continue to stand on its own two feet, the rulemaking, enforcement, and coordination around the law could be thrown into disarray. If the rulemaking is stalled for too long, it is likely that we will see individual states take matters into their own hands.
Revolut is rumored to be raising capital and selling previously repurchased shares at a higher valuation in a creative alternative to going public.
Staying private gives Revolut more flexibility as it expands into new markets and adds roughly one million customers every 17 days, without the scrutiny of quarterly earnings reports.
The company is likely delaying its IPO until it secures a full UK banking license, but strong investor demand and ample private funding mean Revolut can continue scaling without listing on public markets.
Global banking fintech Revolut is nearing the threshold of two major milestones. The UK-based company is currently seeking to close a $3 billion funding round, marking a $75 billion valuation.
According to Bloomberg, which broke the news, Revolut has spent months putting the round together and has been informing investors about the allocation of shares they’ll receive as part of the oversubscribed round. The investment will bring in cash and offer early backers and employees liquidity.
Revolut declined to comment, but according to people familiar with the matter, Revolut will use the funds as fuel to enter dozens of new markets across the globe in the coming years. Revolut already operates in the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, and the US, as well as a handful of small territories. Expanding its geographical reach will allow Revolut to deepen its customer base, diversify revenue streams, and strengthen its position as a global financial “super app.”
In August, Revolut bought back some of its own shares from existing investors in a tender offer deal that paid investors for their shares based on the company valuation of $45 billion. Revolut is now considering selling some of the same shares it just bought back to new investors. Notably, this sale would be conducted at a much higher valuation of $75 billion, meaning Revolut could profit significantly from the difference. In addition to selling these existing shares, Revolut may also issue new shares to raise new funding which would bring additional cash into the company as opposed to simply transferring ownership of existing shares.
Sources noted that Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky encouraged early employees to sell some of their stock in order to allow the company to offer more shares to eager new investors. Despite this effort, demand was far greater than supply, so many investors could only buy a small amount. This strong demand showcases Revolut’s rising valuation and positions it well for raising more capital.
This complicated song and dance around share shifting may sound more complicated than simply going public. But many analysts argue that an IPO isn’t ideal for Revolut at the moment. The company is expanding rapidly, adding around one million customers every 17 days, and staying private offers it more flexibility to pivot, experiment, and grow without the quarterly pressure and scrutiny that come with being a public company.
Perhaps the biggest aspect holding the company back is that it has not received its full UK banking license. While the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) awarded Revolut a banking license in 2024, it did so with restrictions. Regulators have been reviewing the company’s application for years, and not having a banking license significantly decreases both revenue potential and investor confidence. In fact, going public before securing the license could lower Revolut’s valuation or limit interest from institutional investors.
Fortunately for Revolut, private funding is still plentiful. Since the company was founded in 2015, it has been able to raise a large amount of capital privately, and at valuations similar to or higher than what it may get in public markets.
The business of helping small businesses secure the capital they need in order to grow is one of the areas in finance where fintech innovation has been most constructive.
In this Women in Fintech interview, conducted in partnership with William Mills Agency, we hear from Adlon Adams, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Revenue Officer at business lending innovator Casca. Adams talks about the importance of making financing easier to access for small businesses, and why developing real relationships with customers is key to understanding how to best help them solve their problems and overcome pain points.
Adams also talks about being a woman in leadership in a male-dominated industry and shares her advice for women who are building their careers in similar spaces.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Casca won Best of Show in its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2024 in San Francisco, and returned to the Finovate stage the following year for FinovateSpring 2025 in San Diego. The company’s loan origination platform is used by leading SBA lenders and FDIC-insured banks across the US, including institutions like Live Oak Bank and Huntington Bank.
In August, Casca secured $29 million in Series A funding in a round led by Canapi Ventures. The investment raised the company’s total capital to $33 million.
Tell us about your role at Casca. What drew you to the fintech space, and what excites you about this industry?
Adlon Adams: I serve as both COO and CRO at Casca, which means I support operations, sales, and strategy. It’s the vision of the founders and potential of this company that drew me into fintech.
The U.S. has seen a 45% jump in small business formation over the last decade, but capital access hasn’t kept pace. Casca’s mission is to help fix a broken system—to make business lending faster, fairer, and more accessible. Thanks to the work we’ve done with some of the nation’s leading SBA lenders, small businesses can access capital in a matter of days instead of months. This means businesses can go to their local bank and get what they need from a trusted source and avoid predatory rates and daily payments. I’m motivated by work that makes a tangible difference.
On a personal note, I’m also proud to work alongside a team of fellow alumni and Stanford graduates. Our AI engineers and banking technology experts have built the first AI-native loan origination system that automates more than 100 manual steps out of old, dated processes. We get to reimagine financial services in ways that change lives and build dreams.
What has it been like joining a startup in a new industry as one of the first executive hires, especially as a female now holding two leadership roles? What advice would you give to others stepping into executive roles at early-stage startups or in unfamiliar industries?
Adams: As one of Casca’s founding executive members, I’ve worn many hats, and have been stretched in ways I never expected. I’ve felt the weight of being one of the few female voices in leadership conversations. That can be daunting, but it’s also an opportunity to set an example for others and contribute fresh perspectives.
I constantly prioritize and reprioritize business needs, and must be comfortable making decisions with incomplete information. My advice: focus on what truly moves the needle each day, lean into curiosity, and trust that you deserve to be in the room—even if you’re new to an industry. Ask the right questions, surround yourself with people who help you learn, and stay focused on making an impact.
It’s both a challenging and incredibly rewarding experience. Pushing myself outside of my comfort zone is exhilarating; it ensures growth both for me personally and the company.
I understand you’ve spent a lot of time working on-site with banks, seeing their processes and challenges up close. As someone new to fintech, has that hands-on experience helped you learn the space more quickly? Would you recommend that approach to others entering the space?
Adams: That’s a resounding “yes!” I recommend anyone entering fintech get as close as possible to their end users on all levels, including those in the weeds of the day-to-day processes. Immerse yourself in their world, listen, and ask questions. Understanding their processes will enhance your technical knowledge and instill empathy for the people who use your product. The best solutions are built with close partnerships and collaborations like this.
For me, that means working alongside bankers, underwriters, credit analysts, and small business owners. It is invaluable to sit alongside loan officers, watching their workflows, and hearing their frustrations. Working hand-in-hand with banks like Live Oak Bank, the nation’s #1 SBA lender, gave me a front-row seat to how SBA lending works in practice. The experience also shaped Casca’s approach. By sharing in the frustrations of bankers, we designed a system that directly addresses their challenges. When you see how legacy systems force long timelines and delays to capital access, you understand the urgency of enabling same-week approvals and faster closings.
Why did Casca choose to focus on SBA lending? What gaps are you aiming to fill, and where do you see the greatest opportunities and challenges for financial institutions in this space?
Adams: SBA lending is a lifeline for small businesses, but it’s also one of the most complex and underserved segments of financial services. Traditional loan origination systems weren’t designed for SBA programs, leaving banks with slow, manual processes that limit their ability to serve this market. Alternative lenders saw this and built faster options, but often at the cost of predatory interest rates, burdening entrepreneurs with unsustainable debt. It is time to disrupt this market. Our AI-driven platform automates the hundreds of manual steps in SBA workflows and enables banks to serve entrepreneurs with fair, community-based rates at fintech-level speed.
The opportunity for financial institutions is enormous—commercial lending demand has grown 65% in the past decade. By streamlining SBA lending for traditional institutions, entrepreneurs can rely on their trusted financial partners for long-term success. Strengthening these local businesses helps the banks and their local communities in the process.
In your conversations with small business owners and entrepreneurs, what pain points or unmet needs are coming up most often?
Adams: The themes I hear most often are speed and simplicity. Business owners frequently feel forced into high-interest loans because they can’t wait months for a traditional bank process to finish. Start-ups often win new business because of their agility and grit, and they need access to capital to execute at the speed with which they do business. Others describe the SBA application process as overwhelming, with documentation and compliance requirements that take focus away from running their business. They simply don’t have the capacity to tackle such a challenging process.
Thankfully, we can alleviate these pain points, providing small business owners a sustainable path to growth. The impact is evident—banks using Casca are closing loans in days, which simply wasn’t possible with legacy systems.
How do you see small business lending evolving over the next few years, especially as AI continues to advance and gain traction?
Adams: We’re at a pivotal moment. AI is shifting small business lending from being manual and reactive to intelligent and proactive. In the coming years, I expect banks to use AI not just for faster loan processing, but also to better assess risk, personalize offerings, and expand access to credit for underserved groups.
Casca is already showing what’s possible: analyzing thousands of pages of financials in minutes and enabling banks to launch new products in weeks instead of years. With a pace of change this fast, we’ll soon begin to see a growing divide between institutions that embrace modern, AI-driven infrastructure and those still tied to legacy systems.
The winners will be the ones who use AI thoughtfully—enhancing transparency and fairness rather than replacing human judgment. My hope is that this evolution will give small business owners the fast, reliable access to capital they need to focus on building their businesses, rather than financing them. This has the potential to bring a new wave of innovation to the world.
Looking ahead, what’s next for Casca? Are there plans to expand beyond SBA lending? How do verticals like nonprofits and other underserved markets factor into the broader vision?
Adams: Looking ahead, Casca is focused on significant expansion across multiple dimensions. On the product side, the company plans to extend well beyond small business and commercial lending into additional loan categories and products. This expansion will be supported by continued platform enhancements, particularly around automation capabilities with deeper integrations into banking core systems. To support this growth, Casca is scaling its engineering, product, and customer success teams to accelerate product development and improve onboarding capabilities for financial institutions.
Any final advice for women entering fintech or stepping into leadership roles in male-dominated industries?
Adams: Trust your expertise and speak up confidently. You earned your seat at the table—own it. Don’t diminish your contributions or wait for permission to share your insights. Your perspective is valuable precisely because it may differ from the majority voice in the room.
Build genuine relationships, not just networks. Focus on creating authentic connections. The best advocates for change are often those who actively use their influence to amplify others.
Don’t do it alone. Seek out other women in fintech and adjacent industries. These relationships provide not just support, but strategic insight into navigating challenges that may be unique to your experience.
Lead with your values, but be strategic. You can push for change while being pragmatic about how you do it. Pick your battles, but don’t compromise on what matters most to you and your team.
Celebrate your wins—and help others celebrate theirs. In male-dominated spaces, women’s achievements are often overlooked. Make it a point to recognize your own successes and spotlight other women rising in the industry.
Finally, bring others up with you. As you advance, actively mentor, sponsor, and advocate for the next generation of women in fintech. Real change happens when we create pathways for those who follow.
The week begins as platforms, websites, and applications around the world are reeling from a major Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage. The impact, which affected more than 500 companies and generated millions of outage reports according to Downdetector, is among the most significant Internet disruptions since the Crowdstrike incident in 2024.
Meanwhile, here on Finovate’s Fintech Rundown, we’re looking at a handful of newly announced partnerships in payments and a pair of announcements in the crypto commerce space. Be sure to check back all week long for the latest in fintech headlines!
Insurtech boltlaunchesboltAI for Agencies, a conversational and workflow AI agent that brings automation to property and casualty (P&C) insurance firms.
FIS launches Smart Basket, a checkout solution that uses real-time, item-level intelligence to optimize payment methods, rewards, and savings for each purchase.
The platform blends FIS’ payments, loyalty, and spend technologies to give shoppers granular payment choices, including HSAs, and help merchants reduce costs while boosting loyalty.
The launch positions FIS in the agentic AI payments race, turning checkout into a proactive decision engine that anticipates consumer needs and personalizes outcomes.
Fintech giant FIS announced its latest planned launch, Smart Basket, this week. The new tool aims to enhance the payment experience at checkout with real-time, item-level adjudication.
The new transaction gateway analyzes an individual’s shopping behavior and applies optimal rewards and payment methods at checkout. The proactive, automated approach helps shoppers save money and earn rewards while increasing brand loyalty for the merchant.
The solution combines FIS’ real-time payments gateway, its loyalty platform, and its filtered spend technologies to differentiate its payment network. Notably, Smart Basket will allow shoppers to select which payment method to use for each individual item they are purchasing. In addition to using traditional debit, credit, and prepaid cards, Smart Basket will allow flexible healthcare spending accounts to be used as payment methods. FIS anticipates that this will lower payment costs while enabling customized loyalty and rewards programs at highly targeted levels.
“Smart Basket represents a significant leap forward in how money can be moved and put to work during the search and shopping experience,” said FIS President Jim Johnson. “By leveraging real-time, item-level intelligence, Smart Basket is seeking to deliver personalized value and frictionless savings to consumers while providing retailers and brands with increased sales and insights they need to optimize their strategies. This will be a game-changer for the industry, and we are excited to bring more value to buyers, sellers, and brands wherever money flows.”
Launching Smart Basket positions FIS within the emerging agentic AI payments landscape. In the past few months we’ve seen a handful of big tech and fintech companies, including Walmart, OpenAI, Google, and Splitit, launch payments capabilities that transform payments into an embedded capability rather than a separate checkout destination.
By leveraging real-time, item-level data to make proactive decisions about payment methods, loyalty redemptions, and savings opportunities, Smart Basket will optimize the checkout experience from a passive endpoint into a dynamic, automated decision engine. This shift aligns with growing consumer expectations around seamless, smart payments that anticipate needs, maximize value, and personalize outcomes.
Many businesses approach fintech in a fragmented way. They are forced to stitch together multiple payment systems, APIs, banking partners, and integrations just to achieve basic functionality.
Patricia Montesi, Founder and CEO of Qolo, explains in a FinovateFall video interview how her platform is solving that complexity for banks, fintechs, and enterprises. Qolo offers a unified payments stack through a single API that enables institutions to modernize their payments infrastructure without expensive and risky rip-and-replace of legacy systems.
In the video, Montesi delves into embedded ledgers, real-time rails, and how Qolo can overlay existing cores in under nine months while positioning clients for the next generation of payments, such as stablecoins and novel rails.
“We set out to build an entire, comprehensive payments stack that includes ledger, card, payments, virtual account management—everything all available through a single API served up to you so that you can then focus on your customers.”
Patricia Montesi is a seasoned payments veteran with over 20 years of experience across banking and fintech. Prior to Qolo, she held leadership roles driving innovation in payments and scaling complex platforms. Her deep domain expertise across card processing, FX, bank partnerships, and regulatory environments gives her insight into the pain points that banking partners face when retrofitting modern payments capabilities.
Qolo was founded in 2018 with the aim to simplify payments by offering a comprehensive payment stack, including an embedded ledger, card issuing, money movement, real-time reconciliation, and cross-rail connectivity on a single API. Rather than forcing banks to rip out their core, Qolo overlays its platform directly atop existing systems, enabling deployment in under nine months. This sidecar-oriented architecture lets institutions adopt new payment rails without disrupting core banking operations.
Lithuanian cybersecurity platform Copla has teamed up with Baltic-based bug bounty platform Buck4Bug.
The partnership will enable Copla clients to leverage Buck4Bug’s team of ethical hackers to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities before attackers have the chance to exploit them.
Rebranding from CyberUpgrade earlier this year, Copla made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025 in London.
ICT security and compliance automation platform Coplaannounced a partnership with Baltic-based bug bounty platform Buck4Bug. The partnership will enable Copla customers to request and manage offensive testing directly inside the platform, launching scoped engagements for web, mobile, API, and cloud, or running continuous bounty programs.
“Real security isn’t just about controls, it’s about continuous proof,” Copla noted on its LinkedIn page announcing the partnership. “That’s why we’re partnering with Buck4Bug to bring together two powerful forces: automated compliance and monitoring from Copla and crowdsourced testing from a trusted network of ethical hackers. Together, we’re making it easier for companies to move beyond checklists and into real resilience.”
Buck4Bug combines deep manual expertise with focused tooling to discover security vulnerabilities that scanners often miss. The company connects organizations with ethical, “white hat” hackers to find and fix cybersecurity vulnerabilities before attackers do, validating and documenting each issue to ensure reproducible remediation. Courtesy of the newly announced partnership, Copla will convert Buck4Bug’s findings into action: prioritizing tasks, tracking fixes, scheduling retests, and providing evidence that enables teams to seamlessly move from discovery to demonstrable risk reduction.
“Modern security isn’t about snapshots, it’s about feedback loops,” Buck4Bug founder Paulius Šliavas said. “Together with Copla, we’re turning every pentest into actionable risk reduction and measurable compliance outcomes. Our hackers surface the hard-to-find issues; Copla makes sure fixes stick, risks trend down, and auditors see the story.”
Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, and founded in 2024, Buck4Bug offers bug bounty programs, penetration testing, and auction-based IT audits—all via a single platform. The company’s partnership news with Copla comes in the wake of Buck4Bug’s announcement that it has joined the Startup Lithuania Accelerator, powered by Plug and Play Tech Center, and launched its first public bug bounty program in collaboration with Fjord Bank.
Founded in 2023 and headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, Copla made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2025. At the conference, the company demonstrated its ICT security and compliance automation platform that provides a full cybersecurity and compliance department at a subscription cost. The platform combines CoreGuardian, which ensures compliance with frameworks such as DORA; an AI-powered co-pilot to provide real-time education, assessments, and alerts to boost accountability; and VendorGuard, which simplifies vendor management by handling risk assessments, incident planning, and prioritization.
Formerly known as CyberUpgrade, the company rebranded earlier this year in a move designed to reflect its evolution beyond cybersecurity.
“After years of growing, evolving, and helping organizations secure their digital environment, we’re stepping into an exciting new phase,” the company noted on its LinkedIn page. “We are now Copla—our new name, our new vision, and our next stage of evolution. Why Copla? Because we’re no longer just about cybersecurity. COmpliance PLAtform reflects everything we do today: empowering organizations to manage compliance, risk, and security with one intelligent platform. Same team. Bigger vision. A name that matches our mission.”
