- \n
- Strategic Innovation Amid Uncertainty<\/a><\/li>\n
- Leveling Up Traditional Business Models With Embedded Finance<\/a><\/li>\n
- Prioritizing Liquidity, Cash Flow and Working Capital Optimization<\/a><\/li>\n
- AI and Data-Driven Personalization as Infrastructure<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Central to those four themes is the fact that, for a new generation of payments, banking and B2B infrastructure providers, the answers to growth despite uncertainty are emerging not through disruptive leaps but deliberate, architecture-level reinvention.<\/p>\n
[branded_divider]<\/p>\n
Strategic Innovation Amid Economic Uncertainty<\/h2>\n
All nine companies addressed how persistent macroeconomic turbulence\u2014inflation, geopolitical instability, interest rate hikes and supply chain disruptions\u2014is reshaping their priorities. Yet instead of pausing innovation, firms are doubling down on purposeful, risk-aware innovation to maintain competitive relevance.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Marqeta-logo.png\")
\u201cAll businesses<\/a> exist, all the time, in environments that produce some form of risks and at various stages of political, geopolitical, economical change,\u201d Marcin Glogowski<\/a>, senior vice president, managing director of Europe and U.K. CEO at Marqeta<\/a>, told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n\u201cThe underlying principle for businesses remains adaptation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Against this backdrop, firms are choosing thoughtful acceleration over retreat, betting on adaptability and investment in digital infrastructure, cloud computing and artificial intelligence to navigate uncertainty.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/AWS-logo.png\")
\u201cIn the payments industry today, innovation<\/a> is not a luxury; it\u2019s a lifeline,\u201d Nilesh Dusane<\/a>, global head of institutional payments at AWS<\/a>, told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n\u201cLegacy infrastructure simply can\u2019t keep up,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd the traditional model \u2026 those cycles are now too long and too costly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Digital transformation is being driven not by theory but by practical use cases.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Finexio_Logo_HEX-0093DE.png\")
\u201cDigitized payments<\/a> are intended to keep operations moving, even when markets aren\u2019t,\u201d Ernest Rolfson<\/a>, CEO and founder at Finexio<\/a>, told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/fis-logo-newswire.png\")
\u201cWe draw the line where innovation<\/a> would compromise the stability, security or affordability of the customer experience,\u201d Jared Rutkowski<\/a>, head of payables and receivables at FIS<\/a>, told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n\u201cCustomers want innovation, but they need reliability more,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
[branded_divider]<\/p>\n
Leveling Up Traditional Business Models With Embedded Finance<\/h2>\n
Embedded finance also proved to be a dominant theme, not just as a feature but as a fundamental shift in how value is delivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we are seeing is more companies who are not traditionally in financial services<\/a> themselves see the value of bringing financial context… to their existing relationships…,\u201d Marqeta\u2019s Glogowski said.<\/p>\n
The evolution of non-financial brands into financial service providers empowers the broader offering of real-time payouts, embedded accounts or branded card programs. These solutions are reframing customer engagement and enabling new revenue streams, turning finance into a strategic lever.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/logo-ingopayments-home.png\")
\u201cWe\u2019ve moved past that world where we all pick a bank<\/a>, we go stand in line, we open a relationship, and we use their money mobility,\u201d Ingo Payments<\/a> CEO Drew Edwards<\/a> told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n\u201cThe very definition of [embedded banking] is to embed a new banking relationship into a non-financial solution,\u201d and this can be daunting, he added.<\/p>\n
In this model, retailers, logistics firms, gig platforms, property managers and more are all becoming quasi-banks, offering branded financial experiences that drive loyalty and unlock margin.<\/p>\n
[branded_divider]<\/p>\n
Prioritizing Liquidity, Cash Flow and Working Capital Optimization<\/h2>\n
The executive conversations revealed a recurring emphasis on liquidity management, days sales outstanding (DSO)\/days payable outstanding (DPO) trade-offs and automation in accounts payable\/receivable as tools for resilience.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Boost-Logo-November-2024.png\")
\u201cMany companies in the middle market struggle with unpaid invoices<\/a>,\u201d Boost Payment Solutions<\/a> Chief Financial Officer Mariana Lamson<\/a> told PYMNTS. \u201cSometimes as much as 30% go unresolved monthly. That\u2019s not just an efficiency problem. It\u2019s a business continuity risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cCFOs and finance teams are paying closer attention than ever to converting sales into cash as quickly and securely as possible,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Rather than cost-cutting alone, CFOs are investing in digital strategies that accelerate cash conversion, reduce friction and enable real-time visibility\u2014critical capabilities in today\u2019s environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAP is now a frontline lever for liquidity<\/a> and resilience,\u201d Finexio\u2019s Rolfson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cProviding stability in the back office around visibility and predictability of your cash flow … that\u2019s something we can help with,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
[branded_divider]<\/p>\n
AI and Data-Driven Personalization as Infrastructure<\/h2>\n
AI is not being presented as hype but as embedded, outcome-driven infrastructure. The focus is on practical, embedded intelligence that creates scalable, resilient platforms.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Velera-PSCU-Logo.png\")
\u201cWe want to be really upfront when it comes to what\u2019s next<\/a> from the technology side,\u201d Velera<\/a> Chief Administrative Officer Brian Caldarelli<\/a> told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n\u201cClient experience? Non-negotiable. Fraud protection? Non-negotiable. Cybersecurity? Non-negotiable,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
As the payments industry races toward real-time settlement, hyper-personalization and intelligent liquidity, sustainable growth isn\u2019t about chasing the next trend. It\u2019s about embedding innovation into the foundations of financial infrastructure\u2014cloud-first, AI-ready and built for resilience.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Bank-of-America-Logo.png\")
\u201cYou can\u2019t innovate<\/a> your way out of uncertainty,\u201d Geoff Brady, head of global trade and supply chain finance at Bank of America<\/a>, told PYMNTS. \u201cBut if you\u2019re smart about how you incorporate innovation into your risk framework, it becomes part of your process.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cCredit analysis, AI modeling \u2026 these are core areas where innovation can plug directly into our control processes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The companies that succeed may not be those that react to change but those who architect it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pymnts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/i2c-logo-2024.png\")
\u201cMoney<\/a> must keep flowing,\u201d David Durovy<\/a>, senior vice president of transformation at i2c<\/a>, told PYMNTS.<\/p>\n\u201cPrediction is the new protection,\u201d he added. \u201cWe\u2019re using AI to get ahead of fraud, to spot vulnerabilities before they become breaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
- Leveling Up Traditional Business Models With Embedded Finance<\/a><\/li>\n