Finastra vs Mercury

BRAC Bank enhances trade finance operations with Finastra

New platform enables a more connected and efficient trade finance experience for corporate clients

Finastra launches cloud-enabled SBLC solution to help U.S. banks digitize standby letter of credit processing

StandbyX helps U.S. banks streamline and digitize their SBLC flows through easy and quick cloud-enabled implementations, without the cost and complexity of deploying a full trade finance platform.

BDO Unibank powers smarter, next-generation payments with Finastra

With modern Global PAYplus, BDO is enabling cost efficient modernization, greater automation, and more innovative and flexible payment services for customers

Blacksmith hits unicorn valuation with $66M Series C

Blacksmith, a platform that helps companies build and test software including AI-generated code, announced a $66 million Series C funding round led by Sequoia, valuing the company at $1 billion. The company also reported that its annual recurring revenue has grown 17x and that it has run over 90 million CI jobs. Customers include Mercury and Granola. This round comes just two months after a $45 million Series B at a $550 million valuation. A year ago, Blacksmith was valued at $60 million after a $10 million Series A. Total funding raised to date is $125 million. The company aims to address the growing volume of continuous integration (CI) needed as AI agents write more software, emphasizing the importance of trust in code validation.

• Blacksmith raised a $66 million Series C round led by Sequoia at a $1 billion valuation.
• The company's annual recurring revenue has grown 17x.
• Blacksmith has run over 90 million CI jobs.

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%.