Browserbase Inc., a startup focused on automating tasks that involve interacting with webpages, has closed a $40 million funding round. Browserbase provides a so-called headless browser specifically designed to automate webpage interactions. According to the company, it’s optimized for use by scripts and artificial intelligence agents. The browser is available through a serverless platform that removes the need for customers to manage the underlying infrastructure. According to Browserbase, its platform can spin up thousands of browsers in a fraction of a second. Each instance is assigned four virtual central processing units to ensure that web page interactions are completed quickly. To further boost performance, the platform hosts browsers in data centers around the world. Developers can send requests to a web server from the nearest data center to reduce latency. The platform is compatible with Puppeteer and Selenium, two popular open-source tools for creating browser automation scripts. As a result, developers don’t have to change their existing scripts to use the software. There’s also support for Browserbase’s own Stagehand automation tool, which it touts as a more capable alternative to Puppeteer and Selenium. It allows developers to combine traditional scripts with AI agents in the same workflow. Agents are used when adaptability is needed while scripts automate tasks that require a high degree of reliability.
Project Nemo’s report shows 32% of people with a learning disability don’t have a bank account in their own name and 61% say banks don’t always meet their needs
Project Nemo, a not-for-profit initiative, has released a report revealing the financial exclusion of adults with a learning disability. The report, ‘Safe Spending for Adults with a Learning Disability: A Call to Action for Financial Services’, highlights the challenges faced by these individuals in managing their finances. The study found that 87% of adults with a learning disability and their supporters resort to informal workarounds, often without disclosed statutory authority. The report also revealed that 32% of people with a learning disability don’t have a bank account in their own name and 61% say banks don’t always meet their needs. The report highlights the difficulty of making, receiving, and managing payments for the 1.5 million people in the UK living with a learning disability. The research explored a range of potential money management features to aid safer spending for adults with a learning disability, and identified that: To aid independent user understanding, any features should use clear and simple language, supported by visual explanations where possible; The ability to customise to suit individual needs is critical to success of any products built for this community; Notifications or settings that give supporters oversight of spending and the opportunity to intercept risky purchases provide reassurance for both supporters and users and have potential to enable greater independence.; Accessible and specialist customer support must be available to boost confidence and support longer term independence goals; Priority features for products built for this community include saving pots, the option to turn on a Calm Mode that reduces overwhelm, and wearable alternatives to payment cards.
Google’s new AI screen-selection tool for Chromebook Plus devices explains complex text and NotebookLM and lets users select text and quickly add an event to the calendar
Google’s adding a slew of AI features to its productivity-focused Chromebook Plus line of devices, including a screen-selection tool for search and text capture, a tool that explains complex text, and NotebookLM. The new screen-selection tool works similarly to Google Lens and the “Circle to search” feature in Chrome on smartphones: long-press the launcher button or use the screenshot tool to select what is on your screen, and Google will instantly search for it. The tool also lets you select text and quickly add an event to the calendar. Users can now access Google’s AI image-generation features with the quick insert key, as well as AI-powered writing tools. The new “Simplify” feature lets you use AI to explain, simplify, or summarize any text you have selected. Google’s also giving all new Chromebook Plus users one year’s subscription to the Google AI Pro plan, which includes access to the Gemini app; video editing tool Flow; image-to-video creation tool Whisk; Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and Chrome; and 2TB of storage. Alongside these features, Google is launching two exclusive AI features for Lenovo’s new Chromebook Plus 14: One uses AI to recommend tab and document organization, while the second lets users edit images using the Gallery app to remove backgrounds or make stickers. Lenovo’s new Chromebook comes with an OLED touch screen and runs on an ARM-based MediaTek Kompanio Ultra chip.
SECU’s integration of MANTL’s deposit origination tech to enable onboarding of members on any device or channel through over 85% automation of application decisions, including KYC, AML, Bank Secrecy Act, product service ordering, funding, and core booking
State Employees’ Credit Union of Maryland (SECU), a $5.7B credit union with 23 financial centers across Maryland, has partnered with MANTL, an Alkami solution team, to improve its in-branch and online account opening processes for businesses and retail members. The partnership will allow SECU to open new member accounts on any banking channel, at any time, demonstrating SECU’s commitment to providing the best possible banking experiences. SECU will leverage MANTL’s Consumer Deposit Origination to transform the online account opening experience and streamline the in-branch experience for members and employees. The Business Deposit Origination will allow SECU to better attract, serve, and deepen relationships with businesses across its target markets. By integrating MANTL with its core processing system, SECU will automate over 85% of application decisions, including Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, product service ordering, funding, and core booking.
Over 2/3rd of Gen Z respondents are memorizing card numbers to make online shopping easier, while 20% of baby boomers are doing so to specifically avoid using digital wallets
A survey from Western & Southern Financial Group found that nearly a third of Americans surveyed have memorized at least one debit or credit card number. What’s more, 20% of respondents who know their card numbers spend more than $500 per month online, compared to just 13% of those who haven’t. They also carry, on average, 10% more debt than non-memorizers. The survey found a significant generation gap, with almost half of respondents who memorize their card numbers falling into the millennial group. Overall, more than a third of millennials have memorized at least one card number. The reasons people gave for memorizing their numbers also varied across generations. More than two-thirds of Gen Z respondents said they did so to make online shopping easier, while, 20% of baby boomers memorized their card numbers specifically to avoid using digital wallets. Gen Z was also the most likely to feel that knowing their card numbers led to more impulse buying and overspending. In contrast, a third of the baby boomers were the most likely to report that memorizing their card numbers had improved their financial discipline. There is some evidence that memorization goes hand in hand with responsible behavior. A total of 70% of memorizers checked their credit card or bank statements at least weekly, compared to 61% of non-memorizers. However, impulse buying was also slightly more common among memorizers. Roughly 26% made unplanned purchases, compared to 23% of non-memorizers. Memorizers were also somewhat more likely to shop when stressed.
Gmail’s new ‘Manage subscriptions’ page lists out email addresses and names for your email subscriptions and allows users to unsubscribe from email subscriptions with a single clickout
Gmail is rolling out a handy new “Manage subscriptions” page that allows users to unsubscribe from email subscriptions with a single tap, though it appears to only be on Android so far. A notice in the app shows to inform users of the new option, with a “Manage subscriptions” button in the overflow menu. The new page, which was previously spotted just over a year ago, lists out email addresses and names for your email subscriptions. It also shows how many emails were sent “recently.” A button to the right side of the display then allows users to quickly unsubscribe from emails from that sender. In our testing so far, this generally works in a single click, though a small number of the ones we tried did pop up a browsing window to complete the process. Google adds that it “can take senders a few days to stop sending messages” after you use the unsubscribe shortcut.
Gboard’s new design to feature iOS keyboard’s version of ‘flicking’ keys to enter symbols in the form of a toggle
According to an APK teardown done by Android Authority, an upcoming beta version of Gboard looks to be bringing on a few new features. The biggest one is something we see in Apple’s version of a digital keyboard. When typing, swiping down or “flicking” a key will pull down a symbol or number, allowing you to easily select a secondary character without having to break up momentum to tap and hold. The action comes naturally after some practice and works phenomenally well, if executed correctly. In Gboard, this new feature is found in a toggle labeled “flick keys to enter symbols.” It’s unclear whether this feature will work with numbers in the top row of the keyboard or only symbols. It’d be a little nonsensical to allow for only symbols to be “flicked” into the text bar. It’s also strange that this feature borrows terminology from iOS, though “flicking” would imply an upward swipe, not a downward one as described. Gboard is also adding a toggle for keeping the number row active in password layouts. This is accompanied by prompt entry in the writing tools tab, as well as rounded keys in Gboard.
Customer engagement platform for banks adapts to each bank’s policies, user roles and app structure, and transforms natural language requests into direct in-app action by instantly linking user intent to the right screen, step or solution
WaveCX, provider of personalized, digital product engagement solutions for financial institutions, launched Curator Command, a major advancement in digital banking user experience (UX) that transforms natural language requests into direct in-app action. Built as an extension of the Curator platform, Curator Command expands on its AI-driven, semantic search capabilities, moving beyond simply understanding user intent to acting on it. Digital banking users often face friction when trying to complete basic tasks, including navigating complex menus, disconnected flows and overloaded support teams. Curator Command eliminates this friction by instantly connecting user intent to the right screen, step or solution, streamlining task completion and reducing reliance on manual navigation. The system enables customers and employees to type requests in plain language, understands the intent, reads app structure and real-time context, and activates the appropriate response. Curator Command adapts to each financial institution’s policies, user roles and app structure, rather than relying on prebuilt workflows or manually tagged flows. The platform reads the interface, understands user context and delivers accurate results from day one. Key benefits for financial institutions include: Reduced support volume and faster resolution; Increased adoption of digital tools and services; Faster onboarding and lower training costs; and A more responsive and intuitive user experience.
Pinwheel’s pre-integration with Q2’s digital banking platform’s SDK enables instant direct deposit switching within account onboarding journey in 1-click
Pinwheel announced an integration with Q2’s Digital Banking Platform, via the Q2 Partner Accelerator Program. Q2 Holdings, is a leading provider of digital transformation solutions for banking and lending. With this integration via the Q2 Digital Banking Platform, banks and credit unions can provide consumers with instant direct deposit switching within their account onboarding journey. Pinwheel’s integration with the Q2 Digital Banking Platform means all Q2 customers can embed 1-click deposit switching. The Q2 Partner Accelerator program through the Q2 Innovation Studio allows in-demand financial services companies leveraging the Q2 SDK to pre-integrate their technology to the Q2 Digital Banking Platform. This enables financial institutions to work with these partners, purchase their solutions and rapidly deploy their standardized integrations to their customers. “Removing friction from the deposit switching process is critical for financial institutions to boost activation rates and secure primacy,” said Brian Karimi-Pashaki, Head of Revenue at Pinwheel. “Q2 customers can take advantage of Pinwheel Deposit Switch by making it available through Q2’s Partner Accelerator Program.”
Amount’s platform enhancements allow banks and credit unions to pend certain deposit growth, risk management, compliance, and credit decisioning applications for manual review instead of automatically declining them, to support long-term customer relationships
Amount announced a suite of powerful platform enhancements designed to give banks and credit unions greater control over deposit growth, risk management, compliance, and credit decisioning. Each enhancement reflects direct feedback from Amount’s banking and credit union clients and addresses real-world challenges including adapting credit strategy and navigating regulatory and risk pressures. The platform enhancements also support relationship-driven banking models by allowing institutions to pend certain applications for manual review instead of automatically declining them. This flexibility is particularly valuable for credit unions and community banks that prioritize long-term customer relationships even in cases where traditional data sources may fall short. New capabilities available in this release include: Real-time custom rule builder, Customizable pricing and credit line strategies, Faster, more secure bank account verification. With self-service controls embedded directly in the platform, banks and credit unions can rapidly update risk, eligibility, and pricing logic without filing a change request or waiting on implementation cycles.