Visa announced the general availability of its innovative product, Visa AR Manager, in the United States. Visa AR Manager is designed to grow and maintain existing card volume by automating the virtual card transaction process, addressing a significant pain point for suppliers accepting commercial credentials. Visa AR Manager streamlines the virtual card transaction process by retrieving card account details, initiating authorization and clearing steps on the supplier’s behalf, and then providing meaningful and timely reconciliation data to close out invoices in the supplier’s ERP system. This automation revolutionizes the way virtual card transactions are managed, simplifying the process and reducing manual touchpoints for merchants, allowing them to focus on core business activities. Abhishek, Global Head of B2B Acceptance, Visa Commercial Solutions said “Visa AR Manager will significantly transform supplier AR workflows to enable increased efficiency and lower operational costs, while streamlining virtual card payments for merchants.” Key Capabilities of Visa AR Manager: Streamlined onboarding process for suppliers, including identification and verification of merchant identifiers needed to enroll; Automatic card account retrieval via batch file integration (recommended), or email parsing with participating issuers. API coming soon; Initiates authorization and clearing steps on the supplier’s behalf for most major acquirer processors in the US; and Provides meaningful and timely reconciliation to close out invoices, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.
Google partners FS-ISAC offering Priority Flaggers dedicated channels to inform Google of potential fraud and violations that will be reviewed at a priority.
Google has launched a joint effort with the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or FS-ISAC, that will combine the search giant’s threat detection capabilities with FS-ISAC’s network and intelligence sharing to prevent fraud within the financial sector. The program is dubbed the Financial Services branch of Google’s Priority Flagger Program. The collaboration with Google “accelerates the speed with which FS-ISAC members can identify and mitigate evolving fraud threats, increasing the security of institutions and the communities they serve,” said Teresa Walsh, FS-ISAC’s chief intelligence officer. While anyone can flag content on Google platforms flags from Priority Flaggers are prioritized for review by content moderators due to their high degree of trust and expertise. Google’s Priority Flagger program provides tools to eligible organizations like government agencies and non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, to quickly resolve with Google any violations of the platform’s policies, such as ads that attempt to defraud bank customers by imitating that customer’s bank and misusing its branding. Google considers priority flaggers to be particularly effective at reporting content that violates Google’s Community Guidelines or policies. The program gives participants dedicated channels to inform Google of potential violations that will be reviewed at a priority. Content reported by Priority Flaggers is not automatically removed. The same standards apply for all flags; the difference is the prioritization of the review process. The goal of the Financial Services Priority Flagger Program is to accelerate fraud prevention and detection specifically for the financial sector, according to Google and FS-ISAC. Google’s Priority Flagger Program generally streamlines the process of identifying, reporting and mitigating fraud threats related to Google platforms — specifically, Google Workspace and Google Ads. This collaboration builds on “years of collaboration” between the organizations, according to Amanda Storey, senior director of trust and safety at Google. It is “the kind of concrete cross-sector effort that meaningfully helps financial institutions protect their customers and employees,” she said. As part of this financial services-specific initiative, FS-ISAC will operate a dedicated channel for its members. Through this channel, members can report fraud and other malicious activity that leverages Google Workspace or Google Ads. The program initially launched with a pilot group of FS-ISAC member institutions. In the first 10 days of the pilot, FS-ISAC flagged 21 accounts, which allowed Google to identify and take action on 288 abusive accounts connected to the original ones, according to the press release. The program is now expanding to include all FS-ISAC member firms, providing access to reporting mechanisms, resources and direct support from experts. FS-ISAC’s new program is part of Google’s participation in the consortium’s Critical Providers Program. The Critical Providers Program is an official conduit for nonfinancial organizations that provide network infrastructure and services to share timely and industry-specific security information. Google Cloud was the first major cloud provider to join this program. Google’s new partnership with FS-ISAC reflects the significant and persistent challenge of fraudulent advertisements published through the Google Ads platform. The issue not only impacts consumers but also poses a substantial financial threat to legitimate businesses.
An offer of subscription management made 13% of trial users to upgrade to a leading bank’s fee-based premium account for continued access
The “subscription economy” has exploded, consumers are struggling to manage their costs, and standalone subscription management tools have boomed. Banks are uniquely positioned to assist their customers with subscription overload, but more institutions need to get in the game. Subscription management is now a critical budgeting tool with the potential to save customers as much or more than a free checking account or a loan refinance. Adding subscription management to your account services will help your customers budget smarter and align their expenses to their values and needs. Bank financial advisors are increasingly recommending that clients audit their subscriptions quarterly. Some are even suggesting setting a “subscription cap” as part of their financial wellness customer check-up processes. But this advice is no more than lip service, when much more sophisticated tools are available to comprehensively meet consumers’ needs. Solutions give control back to consumers by: Algorithmically identifying recurring charges; Exposing unused or forgotten subscriptions; Tracking & monitoring subscription payment deadlines and renewal dates; Alerting users to upcoming milestones; Simplifying cancellation processes; Negotiating more favorable terms for subscriptions they need. A real-world example: A financial institution wanted to grow their base of premium customers by offering a unique digital experience. This financial institution introduced a bill management system to a 200k test population as a freemium trial. More than 28% customers adopted the offering, taking advantage of its ability to auto-identify hidden subscriptions, monitor renewal and payment deadlines, and execute 1-click cancellations of any unwanted services. Fully 12.9% of trial users upgraded to the financial institution’s fee-based premium account for continued access. As even more services continue to shift to subscription models — think cars, clothing, even pet care — the need for robust subscription oversight will only grow. In this landscape, solutions that help consumers regain clarity and control over their financial commitments are more than useful — they’re essential. We predict within 12-18 months, embedded bill management will be table stakes for banks and credit unions of all types, from banks to digital wallets.
Circle announced go-live of stablecoin-powered cross-border payments network that enables exchange of payment instructions securely and reliably, while settling transactions on open, public blockchains with near-instant finality
The Circle Payments Network (CPN) announced in April is now live. CPN is purpose-built to unlock the full potential of stablecoins for mainstream cross-border payments—a $190 trillion market that still depends heavily on fragmented, slow, opaque, and manual infrastructure designed in the pre-internet era. CPN delivers a significant software upgrade for global payments—creating value for financial institutions and their business and retail customers, while enabling innovation to flourish. At its core, CPN is a sophisticated compliance-first payments coordination protocol. It enables financial institutions to exchange payment instructions securely and reliably, while settling transactions on open, public blockchains with near-instant finality. CPN was designed to make it easier for financial institutions to move money globally and supports a wide range of payment use cases, including: B2B supplier payments; Cross-border remittances; Treasury and global cash consolidations; Recurring enterprise payments, including subscriptions; Payroll and mass disbursements. Early adopters of CPN include Alfred Pay, which is using the network to enable stablecoin-to-fiat offramps via PIX and SPEI; Tazapay, which is using it to support compliant fiat disbursements into Hong Kong; RedotPay, which is using the network to initiate USDC-based payments into Brazil; and Conduit, which is using it to onramp fiat into USDC in the U.S. and Europe to support B2B flows into Mexico.
Roblox’s Commerce APIs enable brands and creators to bundle physical purchases with digital items while allowing users to discover, create, and shop without leaving Roblox
Roblox, an online gaming platform, has enhanced its commerce capabilities by partnering with Shopify as its first integrated partner. This partnership allows creators or brands to sell physical goods within their experiences, accessible to all suitable experiences, including those aimed at all ages. The service is initially available to US users aged 13 and above. Plans are in place to broaden the scope of partners and extend the availability of these services to additional markets. The platform offers a unique shopping experience, allowing users to visit virtual stores, try on clothing, and engage with others, fostering interest and intent to purchase. Fenty Beauty, a pioneering brand, has launched a shoppable game on Roblox featuring an exclusive new shade of its Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer. Roblox is also launching an approved merchandiser programme (AMP) that links physical shopping with virtual goods and benefits on the gaming platform. This allows purchasing products at retail locations to unlock corresponding digital items on Roblox, enhancing consumer appeal and increasing the value of intellectual property.
Catena Labs aims to be the first fully regulated AI-native financial institution enabling AI agents to transact with regulated stablecoins and offering near-instant settlement, minimal transaction costs, and easy integration with AI workflows
Catena Labs announced its plan to establish the first fully regulated AI-native financial institution (FI) designed to serve the unique needs of the emerging AI economy. The company released a new open-source project defining protocols and patterns for agentic commerce. The company also confirmed an $18 million financing round led by a16z crypto, with participation from Breyer Capital, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures and others. The company aims to address the shortcomings in legacy financial systems that make them poorly suited to the needs of AI agents and agentic commerce. “AI agents will soon conduct most economic transactions, but today’s financial systems are unprepared and resistant to interactions with automated intelligence,” said Sean Neville, CEO and co-founder of Catena Labs. “That’s why we’re building an AI-native financial institution that will give AI agents, and the businesses and consumers they serve, the ability to transact safely and efficiently.” The company is building upon protocols, patterns, emerging standards, and open source components to address new requirements AI agents create for identity and payments. Today, the company released the open source Agent Commerce Kit (ACK), which defines several of these open source building blocks. The company is building on ACK and other emerging standards to offer a broad suite of licensed financial services addressing new risk, security, and compliance challenges that arise from AI systems working as independent economic actors.
Dell leverages ‘customer zero’ model—using internal teams as first adopters—to refine AI services in real time and accelerate scalable enterprise deployment
Customer zero is becoming a strategic advantage in the age of AI-powered services. Enterprises deploying artificial intelligence at scale are learning that the real advantage isn’t just in new tools, it’s in being their own first customer. This “customer zero” approach lets them test AI in-house, fine-tune it in real time and apply those insights externally. By embedding intelligence into workflows from day zero, they gain speed, precision and a repeatable model for real-world impact, according to Doug Schmitt, chief information officer of Dell Technologies Inc. and president of Dell Technologies Services Inc. Acting as customer zero gives Dell greater control over AI’s impact while grounding innovation in real business needs, not theory. By testing and refining AI internally, Dell builds credibility and sharpens its services-led approach, guiding customers from strategy to deployment. That firsthand experience helps reduce friction and deliver smoother, faster AI transformations across the enterprise, according to Scott Bils, vice president and general manager of product management, professional services, at Dell Technologies. “When you take a look at what we’re doing from a professional services standpoint, it’s really to help customers on their end-to-end journey and helping them drive AI transformation. It’s around helping them deploy,” he said. “We provide the consulting services and manage services around it all the way from day zero to day two plus. As we go through the journey internally at Dell, [it] provides us a tremendous amount of insight that we can then take to our customers and help accelerate their journey.” This internal-first mindset has also enabled Dell to digitize and refine its own processes, creating a blueprint that customers can follow. AI is layered into workflows that are already disciplined and well understood, allowing for both rapid experimentation and reliable results. That strong foundation of data, automation and process discipline provides fertile ground for scalable AI and LLM deployment, Schmitt noted. Customer zero is more than a model; it’s a mindset that blends internal accountability with innovation, giving organizations the confidence to build, test and deliver real-world AI outcomes. As AI factories mature and agents begin to automate decisions across the enterprise, that feedback loop between internal use and external delivery will be essential.
Mistral unveils Devstral: an open-source AI model optimized for coding tasks, outperforming peers on SWE-Bench and runnable on consumer hardware
AI startup Mistral announced a new AI model focused on coding: Devstral. Devstral, which Mistral says was developed in partnership with AI company All Hands AI, is openly available under an Apache 2.0 license, meaning it can be used commercially without restriction. Mistral claims that Devstral outperforms other open models like Google’s Gemma 3 27B and Chinese AI lab DeepSeek’s V3 on SWE-Bench Verified, a benchmark measuring coding skills. “Devstral excels at using tools to explore codebases, editing multiple files and power[ing] software engineering agents,” writes Mistral. “[I]t runs over code agent scaffolds such as OpenHands or SWE-Agent, which define the interface between the model and the test cases […] Devstral is light enough to run on a single [Nvidia] RTX 4090 or a Mac with 32GB RAM, making it an ideal choice for local deployment and on-device use.” Devstral, which Mistral is calling a “research preview,” can be downloaded from AI development platforms, including Hugging Face, and also tapped through Mistral’s API. It’s priced at $0.1 per million input tokens and $0.3 per million output tokens, tokens being the raw bits of data that AI models work with. Devstral isn’t a small model per se, but it’s on the smaller side at 24 billion parameters.
OpenAI enhances Responses API with GPT-4o image generation, remote MCP integration, and enterprise-grade tools for building advanced AI agents- developers can now perform searches across multiple vector stores and apply attribute-based filtering to retrieve only the most relevant content
OpenAI is rolling out a set of significant updates to its newish Responses API, aiming to make it easier for developers and enterprises to build intelligent, action-oriented agentic applications. The Responses API provides visibility into model decisions, access to real-time data, and integration capabilities that allowed agents to retrieve, reason over, and act on information. A key addition in this update is support for remote MCP servers. Developers can now connect OpenAI’s models to external tools and services such as Stripe, Shopify, and Twilio using only a few lines of code. This capability enables the creation of agents that can take actions and interact with systems users already depend on. To support this evolving ecosystem, OpenAI has joined the MCP steering committee. The update brings new built-in tools to the Responses API that enhance what agents can do within a single API call. A variant of OpenAI’s hit GPT-4o native image generation model is now available through the API under the model name “gpt-image-1.” It includes potentially helpful and fairly impressive new features like real-time streaming previews and multi-turn refinement. This enables developers to build applications that can produce and edit images dynamically in response to user input. Additionally, the Code Interpreter tool is now integrated into the Responses API, allowing models to handle data analysis, complex math, and logic-based tasks within their reasoning processes. The tool helps improve model performance across various technical benchmarks and allows for more sophisticated agent behavior. The file search functionality has also been upgraded. Developers can now perform searches across multiple vector stores and apply attribute-based filtering to retrieve only the most relevant content. This improves the precision of information agents use, enhancing their ability to answer complex questions and operate within large knowledge domains. Background mode allows for long-running asynchronous tasks, addressing issues of timeouts or network interruptions during intensive reasoning. Reasoning summaries, a new addition, offer natural-language explanations of the model’s internal thought process, helping with debugging and transparency. Encrypted reasoning items provide an additional privacy layer for Zero Data Retention customers. These allow models to reuse previous reasoning steps without storing any data on OpenAI servers, improving both security and efficiency.
EY launches blockchain complex contract manager featuring public chain deployment, zero-knowledge proofs, and automated compliance checks
Ernst & Young (EY) has launched the EY OpsChain Contract Manager (OCM), a blockchain tool designed to simplify complex business agreements. The OCM, which is operational on the Polygon proof-of-stake blockchain, uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) to ensure contract confidentiality without compromising efficiency. This feature allows parties to verify information accuracy without revealing sensitive details, safeguarding critical contract terms and transaction specifics. The OCM can automatically validate contract terms through real-time checks, ensuring policy adherence and promptly notifying users of discrepancies. This development is part of EY’s ongoing commitment to blockchain technology, which it has previously introduced to enhance transparency and accountability in government operations. EY has also collaborated with industry leaders like ConsenSys and Microsoft to develop the Baseline protocol, a suite of blockchain tools for enterprises. The integration of Polygon with EY’s blockchain services further solidifies its position in the blockchain ecosystem.