Today in B2B Payments: Firms Raise Money for Events Industry, SMB Platforms

Today in B2B payments, Carats & Cake raises $10.6 million to grow its financial operating system for the events industry, while Brightflow AI raises $19M to “demystify finance” with its financial intelligence platform. Plus, Boost Payment Solutions and Robobai partner to accelerate payments optimization.

Special Events Platform Carats & Cake Raises $10.6M

Carats & Cake, a financial operating system for the events industry, has raised $10.6 million in Series A funding. Founder and CEO Jess Conroy said: “With this latest financing, we plan to thoughtfully build out our product, engineering and sales teams as we continue to support properties with purpose-built tools.”

Brightflow AI Raises $19M in Series A, Seed Funding to Empower SMBs

Financial intelligence platform Brightflow AI has announced $19 million in new funding, comprised of a $15 million Series A round and $4.2 million from a seed round. The company will use the new funding to boost its platform, hire new talent and provide faster growth opportunities to small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). It said its goal is to “demystify finance” for the everyday owner.

Boost, Robobai Partner to Accelerate Payments Optimization

B2B payment processing company Boost Payment Solutions has partnered with automated intelligence software provider Robobai. Boost Chief Revenue Officer Lou Longhi said: “Combining [artificial intelligence (AI)-driven] data with Boost’s fast, secure processing for commercial cards can provide customers with the best of both worlds, allowing businesses to understand the opportunities within their supply chains and optimize them with fast, smart payments.”

CommentSold Adds POS Built on Stripe to Handle Omnichannel Payments

Live video commerce solution CommentSold has added a point-of-sale (POS) system built on financial infrastructure platform Stripe to its suite of solutions for retail businesses. CommentSold CEO Brandon Kruse said: “As retailers manage both online and in-person sales, it is increasingly important to get omnichannel inventory and payment handling right.”

37% of FIs Still Struggling to Solve SMBs’ Cross-Border Payment Woes

Financial institutions (FIs) are struggling to give SMBs the same level of service they offer to larger companies. At the same time, most are willing to bring in new technology to solve businesses’ pain points in cross-border payments, according to the PYMNTS and American Express collaboration, “B2B Cross-Border Payments.”

ShipStation, Coupang Partner to Help Merchants Enter S. Korean Market

Cloud-based eCommerce shipping solution ShipStation has partnered with South Korean online retailer Coupang to make it easier for businesses to enter new markets with efficient cross-border fulfillment. ShipStation General Manager Robert Gilbreath said: “We are delighted that this international partnership connects our merchants with the tools they need to enter the fast-growing South Korean [eCommerce] marketplace.”

Banking Group Pitches Its USDF Token as Stablecoin Alternative

There has been a lot of pushback in Congress to the argument that all stablecoins should be issued by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-backed, federally insured banks, particularly by members who want state-chartered banks to be able to get in on the action. That suggestion has one big proponent in the USDF Consortium, a group of nine FDIC-insured banks that have gotten together to issue a bank-backed stablecoin.

Wire Transfers First to Go When B2B Firms Adopt Real-Time Payments

When companies add real-time transactions to their B2B payments mix, wire transfers and regular automated clearing house (ACH) are typically the first methods to get displaced. Once companies enable real-time payments, they account for 14.4% of the total B2B payments they receive and 16% of the ones they make, according to the September edition of “Real-Time Payments,” a PYMNTS and The Clearing House collaboration.

Thryv Holdings, Fora Financial Partner on SMB Capital Access

Thryv Holdings and Fora Financial have announced a partnership in which Fora Financial will be offered through Thryv’s marketplace and let owners of SMBs apply for lending. Thryv Chief Product Officer Ryan Cantor said: “Whether it’s adding a truck to their fleet or a game-changing piece of equipment, small businesses have evolving needs and Thryv helps solve them.”

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