bank99 vs Mercury

Vienna Fintech PlusMarie Launches Financing for Home Improvements

PlusMarie, a Vienna-based fintech founded by Michael Bayer and Matthias Hausberger, offers installment financing for home improvement projects such as heat pumps, solar panels, and pools. Operating since late August 2026, the platform targets both tradespeople and private customers, comparing loans, leasing, and mortgage refinancing options. Partnering with banks like bank99, Bank Austria, Oberbank, and easyleasing, PlusMarie provides status updates to businesses and earns referral commissions. The service addresses new Austrian consumer credit regulations effective late November, which require creditworthiness checks, making it harder for small businesses to finance directly. The company aims to onboard major banks like Erste Bank and Raiffeisen, targeting 10+ bank partners by 2027. Competitors include Bees & Bears and Cloover in the DACH region.

• PlusMarie was founded in summer 2026 by Michael Bayer and Matthias Hausberger and launched at the end of August.
• The platform offers financing for home improvement projects via tradespeople and direct to consumers, comparing loans, leasing, and mortgage refinancing.
• Partnerships include bank99, Bank Austria, Oberbank, and easyleasing, with about 30 trade businesses.

Mercury Hits $1B Annualized Revenue, CEO Reveals on Podcast

Mercury, a fintech startup, announced it has surpassed $1 billion in annualized revenue, marking approximately 50% year-over-year growth. The company now serves over 450,000 customers and is launching a new payroll service. CEO Immad Akhund disclosed these milestones during an interview on the Newcomer Podcast. Akhund also discussed broader industry topics, including the potential for AI agents to spend money autonomously, his view that the startup ecosystem is experiencing a bubble, and a cooldown in fintech startups following the pandemic-era boom. The announcement underscores Mercury's rapid scaling in the B2B financial technology space, which could have indirect implications for payment infrastructure and financial operations within the advertising and marketing technology sectors.

• Mercury reached $1 billion in annualized revenue, up 50% year over year.
• The company has over 450,000 customers.
• Mercury is launching a payroll service.

JPMorgan Blocks AI Agents; Mercury Embraces Them

JPMorgan Chase has decided to block outside AI agents, such as Meta's Muse, from accessing customer accounts and initiating money movements, as stated by CEO Jamie Dimon. This move aims to protect its cheap deposit base of $2.7 trillion, which pays only 0.01% on savings. However, the ban does not prevent AI agents from advising customers to switch banks. In contrast, fintech Mercury allows AI agents to connect via a hosted MCP server, and AI assistants now recommend Mercury over Chase by a five-to-one margin. The article analyzes the limitations of the ban, JPMorgan's potential motives, and the implications for the emerging agentic finance ecosystem.

• JPMorgan Chase blocks outside AI agents from customer accounts and money movement.
• CEO Jamie Dimon announced the ban, citing security and protection of deposits.
• Chase has $2.7 trillion in average deposits, with savings paying just 0.01%.

Introducing Mercury Books

Mercury has launched a new product called Mercury Books, a bookkeeping solution, and also introduced exclusive mutual fund products through Mercury Treasury.