Bilt Rewards has partnered with Southwest Airlines to enable Bilt members to turn points earned from housing payments into points that can be used to book flights. Bilt members can convert their Bilt Points into Southwest Rapid Rewards points at a 1-to-1 ratio. Bilt Points are earned each time members pay their rent on time through Bilt. “Now, your housing payment that was once just a monthly expense can unlock travel experiences with one of America’s most popular airlines, giving our members access to more destinations across the U.S. and beyond,” Bilt Founder and CEO Ankur Jain said. Bilt and Southwest plan to add exclusive promotions and enhanced capabilities for their customers as their new partnership evolves. Jonathan Clarkson, vice president and chief product officer at Southwest Airlines, said that the collaboration “allows Southwest to connect with a unique audience of renters and homeowners across the United States while offering them the opportunity to use their Bilt Points to fly Southwest.” Bilt Points can now be used toward travel across over 100 airlines and hotel partners, fitness classes at boutique studios, art and home decor through the Bilt Home Design Collection, rent credits, future down payments on a home, or eligible student loans.
US banks are bracing for a 23% increase in instant payments volumes over the next three years driven by RTP and FedNow’s rising transaction limits
New research from RedCompass Labs shows that RTP and FedNow’s rising transaction limits are making instant payments significantly more attractive for U.S. banks. 84% of US banks say the new $10 million RTP® limit boosts its attractiveness, and 84% believe raising FedNow’s $500,000 cap will have the same effect. The results suggest larger transaction limits are helping to boost instant payment demand. Nearly half (47%) of US banks now experience overwhelming corporate demand, more than triple the 16% from 2024. Banks are now bracing for a 23% increase in instant payments volumes over the next three years. 12% expect that surge to top 50%. 88% believe that instant payments will directly benefit their bottom lines, with 45% anticipating a major boost. The report also reveals significant concerns around fraud. With adoption on the rise, 85% of banks expect fraud to rise, and 36% predict a sharp uptick. In response, 96% of US banks back the implementation of a ‘confirmation of payee’ scheme to protect against fraud. Other fraud-fighting measures like AI (40%), real-time fraud detection (39%), and multi-factor authentication (35%) are also gaining traction. Other US banks lead instant payments race – 81% of US banks believe they are leading the way on instant payments compared with the rest of the world, with 42% saying it’s a significant lead. Only 4% feel they are behind but have the potential to catch up.
Accounting platform Paperchase integrates Weavr’s embedded payment solution to enable accounts payables and cloud accounting software to execute payments within a single workflow and allow near-instant transfers
Weavr, a provider of embedded finance solutions, has partnered with global accounting leader Paperchase to integrate its Embedded Payment Run (EPR) solution into Paperchase’s platform. This first-of-its-kind solution is designed to eliminate the pain of Accounts Payable (AP) processes and boost efficiency. EPR enables AP and cloud accounting software to execute payments within a single workflow – without users ever needing to leave the application. Traditional AP systems often delay supplier payments by up to three days after invoice approval. EPR changes this by leveraging UK Faster Payments to enable near-instant transfers once payment is instructed. By automating data handling and connecting every step – from invoice approval to payment execution – into a single, embedded workflow, EPR significantly reduces manual work, errors, and the risk of fraud. Delivered as a developer toolkit, EPR gives AP software providers everything needed to support real payment execution within their own applications. For bulk payments, this includes onboarding business customers, managing approval flows, and initiating payments – entirely within a seamless user experience. By removing the need for SaaS platforms like Paperchase to integrate with multiple third-party fintech providers, EPR streamlines implementation while also creating new revenue opportunities through features such as payment cards and embedded lending. With Weavr’s open banking solution being compliant with financial regulation, Weavr’s faster payment options saves time and prevent errors with AP and vendor payments. The FPS process backed by Weavr open banking APIs eliminates the need for manual payment uploading and prevents human error.
Schnuck Markets to expand to new stores across Missouri and Illinois, Instacart’s Caper Carts feature that allows customers to shop heavy, bulkier items by simply scanning and placing them on the bottom tray
Midwest grocer Schnuck Markets Inc. is expanding Instacart’s Caper Carts to new stores across Missouri and Illinois. In addition to Caper Carts, Schnucks has introduced a number of Instacart Platform technologies, including e-commerce, Carrot Ads, Eversight and Carrot Tags. Meanwhile, Instacart has introduced a new feature to its Caper Carts: a lower tray. Designed to improve the cart’s versatility, this option now makes it easier for customers to add heavy, bulkier items such as cases of water, soda or pet food to the cart. By simply scanning the item and placing it on the bottom tray, customers can shop for every item on their shopping list, without having to skip heavy items or lift them all the way to the basket. Caper Carts are equipped with AI, cameras and a built-in scale, which work together to automatically recognize items as they’re added to the cart. Customers can bag as they shop, watch their running total, and, once shopping is complete, they can conveniently check out directly from the cart. The Caper Carts at Schnucks stores also alert customers to available promotions and discounts by syncing to their Schnucks Rewards account, as well as provide Caper-exclusive coupons just by shopping with the cart.
IntelePeer’s conversational AI platform’s speech processing technology enables automatic speech recognition (ASR) and text-to-speech (TTS) streaming that delivers accurate and reliable voice interactions in real-time; claims record breaking low ASR latency
IntelePeer, an end-to-end conversational AI platform provider, launches next generation voice capabilities. Designed to handle verbal communications, the new speech processing technology enables automatic speech recognition (ASR) and text-to-speech (TTS) streaming that provides users with advanced control and customization within a communications workflow. The system improves customer experience with more natural interactions, ensures low latency that enables real-time conversations, and improves the overall performance of the company’s AI and automation platform. With minimal wait times between responses, the new functionality provides a more natural conversation between a caller and AI Agent while also increasing the speed at which information is processed within an AI workflow. The proprietary ASR handler provides TTS streaming and can deliver accurate and reliable voice interactions with high confidence scores, is able to detect and change languages, and can understand customer behaviors and preferences. Benefits of this new functionality include: Record Breaking low ASR Latency, Enhanced Customer Experience, and Enhanced Platform Analytics.
Automotive CDP Fullpath integrates Urban Science’s daily defection (lost sales) data allowing dealers to identify leads who made new, or certified preowned (CPO), vehicle purchases at same- and competitive-brand dealerships
Fullpath, automotive’s leading Customer Data Platform (CDP), announced latest integration with Urban Science, a leading global automotive consultancy and technology firm. This data integration enables Fullpath to enrich its customer profiles through Urban Science’s unrivaled defection (lost sales) data – updated daily – allowing dealers to identify customers who made new, or certified preowned (CPO), vehicle purchases at same- and competitive-brand dealerships each day. Urban Science’s defection data empowers dealers to know when leads in their CRM buy cars elsewhere, driving Fullpath’s marketing automation efforts to more efficient and productive outcomes. In the dealer space, Urban Science’s daily defection data powers the company’s turnkey SalesAlert and TrafficView solutions, which are used by almost 4,000 dealers to uncover previously unseen insights regarding dealership traffic across brands and locations. These insights deliver unmatched visibility of a dealership’s losses, helping dealers learn from missed opportunities to improve marketing/CX and sales effectiveness. Christina Rosenbach, VP of Customer Experience at Fullpath said, “This intelligence enables dealers to immediately recognize when a lead has purchased elsewhere – enhancing a dealer’s depth of customer insight and personalization options so marketing workflows can stay agile and easily target active, high-potential service opportunities. Through Urban Science’s defection insights, Fullpath clients can craft personalized messages to acknowledge key concerns that may have resulted in a lost sale, positioning the dealership as a reliable partner for future service needs and enhancing the potential for long-term loyalty and relationship building. Key features of this integration include: Targeted Communication, Data-Driven Insights, and Resource Optimization.
Augur’s threat prevention platform uses AI and behavioral modelling to analyze global internet infrastructure to detect the earliest signs of malicious intent, months before attacks go live
Augur, the AI-powered threat prevention company, has raised $7 million in seed funding, to expand the development of its industry-first predictive threat prevention platform that uses AI to monitor global internet activity, profile attacker behaviors, and map attack infrastructure. Augur’s platform identifies attack infrastructure setup months in advance of it being weaponized, on average. Augur moves first, identifying malicious infrastructure during setup, months before it’s used, providing actionable foresight. The solution integrates seamlessly into customer environments, autonomously identifying threats and coordinating responses through existing security controls. Using AI and behavioral modeling, the Augur platform analyzes global internet infrastructure to detect the earliest signs of malicious intent, months before attacks go live. With a near-zero false positive rate (0.007%), Augur identifies attack infrastructure, enabling security teams to act early, automate enforcement, and shut down attacks before they start. With Augur, security teams retain full control, whether autonomously blocking threats or surfacing critical intelligence for human review. Augur has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to shield customers from landmark cybersecurity incidents with far-reaching consequences—identifying attack infrastructure long before exploitation begins: APT 29 supply chain attack on SolarWinds; DarkSide ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline; Multiple threat actors exploiting the Log4j vulnerability; Cl0p ransomware group exploiting the MOVEit vulnerability; Volt Typhoon attacks on US critical infrastructure; UNC5537 breach of Snowflake; ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware attacks on Change Healthcare and Load Depot
Dashlane’s AI security platform intelligently detects and alerts end users when they visit a malicious website to tackle AI-powered phishing and shadow IT and uses zero-knowledge encrypted vault for secure credential management
Credential security and password management company Dashlane unveiled Dashlane Omnix, a new AI-accelerated credential security platform to tackle AI-powered phishing and shadow IT by unifying proactive intelligence, real-time response and protected access to provide businesses with complete credential security across their workforce. The service also includes new capabilities that equip security teams to pinpoint and expedite responses to credential threats. Dashlane Omnix addresses the entire lifecycle of a credential-based threat, from the initial detection of a compromised credential to alerting to drive user remediation and ongoing credential management. The platform employs a pretrained AI model to intelligently detect and alert end users when they visit a malicious website, serving as a last line of defense against phishing. The platform offers enterprise credential management through a zero-knowledge encrypted vault that allows users to securely store, share and manage credentials, even those outside of SSO coverage. Using Omnix, IT teams can enforce security policies and monitor credential health, with the platform also working with existing tools for a more complete view of access risks. Omnix also features in-browser security via the Dashlane Smart Extension, giving real-time insights into credential activity within browsers and across shadow IT. Chief Executive John Bennett said, “The power of Omnix lies in its pairing of unparalleled insights with action to truly impact behavior and give enterprises the means to build long-term resilience and improve overall security.”
Jericho’s cybersecurity training platform employs generative AI to create hyper-realistic, sector-specific phishing simulations that mimic real-world scenarios, and are dynamic and personalized
AI- powered employee cybersecurity training startup Jericho Security specializes in AI-driven cybersecurity training that focuses on empowering employees to recognize and respond to evolving cyber threats. The company argues that as threat actors employ increasingly sophisticated tactics, companies understand that the best defense against outside attacks is their own employees. Jericho’s platform employs generative AI to create hyper-realistic phishing simulations that mimic real-world scenarios, enhancing the training experience. The simulations are designed to be dynamic and personalized, adapting to the specific needs and roles within an organization. The training modules offered by Jericho are tailored to address the unique challenges faced by various industries, including healthcare, technology and government sectors. The modules use customized content to meet the specific requirements of each industry to ensure that employees are prepared to handle sector-specific cyberthreats effectively. Jericho also provides a comprehensive cybersecurity dashboard that allows organizations to manage their security efforts from a single platform. The dashboard allows for the creation and scheduling of phishing simulations, delivery of custom training content and monitoring of employee performance through detailed analytics.
SquareX’s browser extension can block detection-evasive last mile reassembly attacks that disguise browser-borne malware by splitting it into multiple code snippets
SquareX Ltd., a startup with a browser extension that can detect and block obfuscated malware, has raised $20 million in funding. SquareX’s browser extension promises to help enterprises protect employees from malicious websites, phishing campaigns and other online threats. The extension provides features for blocking so-called last mile reassembly attacks. Those are cyberattacks that disguise browser-borne malware by splitting it into multiple code snippets. Because the individual snippets are harmless on their own, they have a higher chance of evading detection by antivirus tools. The malware resembles itself after the code fragments are downloaded onto the user’s device. In some cases, last-mile reassembly attacks use LSB steganography to further complicate detection efforts. LSB steganography is a data storage method that can be used to encode malicious code into images, which often aren’t scanned by cybersecurity tools. Once a malware-laden image is downloaded by a user, a script extracts the malicious code and runs it. SquareX says that its browser extension can spot such attacks as well. According to SquareX, its browser extension removes macros from Office documents to delete any malicious code they may contain. When the extension blocks a malicious program, it sends the file to a cloud-based sandbox where administrators can study it. SquareX provides more than 20 malware analysis tools to ease the process. SquareX can be configured to block password sharing across applications, data entry into unauthorized applications and other risky practices. It’s also possible to create a list of approved browser extensions and automatically block plug-ins that are not on the list.