Optimism among America’s small businesses fell last month amid labor and profit headaches. That’s according to the October edition of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index, released Tuesday (Nov. 11), and showing a 0.6 point decline in October to 98.2....
In uncertain times, access to cash can make the difference between survival and shutdown. For small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the third-quarter earnings season revealed a growing dependence on working capital extended by the very platforms that power their sales. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “How...
For years, embedded finance was shorthand for retail convenience. It included buy now, pay later buttons, one-click checkouts and rideshare wallets. This year marks a turning point, however. The same technology stack that made consumer payments invisible is now redrawing how businesses fund, transact and...
Data and tech firm Experian and embedded lending platform Lendflow launched a collaboration. The partnership is designed to offer small businesses access to “carefully selected and vetted” lenders around the country, according to a Thursday (Nov. 6) press release. “Powered by Lendflow’s platform and APIs,...
Global Payments’ new point-of-sale software, Genius, has been resonating with merchants since the launch of its configurations for restaurants and retail in the second quarter, executives said Tuesday (Nov. 4) during the company’s third quarter earnings call. The company also sees opportunities in its plans...
For small and mid-sized companies, credit has evolved from a safety net into a growth engine, and what businesses want from it is changing fast. The November 2025 “SMB Growth Monitor: Small Businesses, Big Credit Needs,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and i2c, reveals how...
Most Main Street firms say they’ll make it through the next two years, but data suggest that optimism might be running ahead of reality. The September edition of PYMNTS Intelligence’s “SMB Growth Monitor,” “Main Street SMB Confidence Rises While Cash Flow Strain Lingers,” shows confidence...
Small business owners are the backbone of local economies, sustaining communities one transaction at a time. They are often small teams, sometimes just a few people wearing many hats, balancing customer service, operations and accounting. In today’s economy, many of them are turning to technology...
For small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), embedded finance is no longer a fringe feature. It’s the price of admission. In addition to adoption, rising expectations are reshaping the competitive landscape. As SMBs fold payments, lending and other financial tools into their daily operations, they are...