BILL Jumps on SMB Growth, nCino Rallies on AI

The FinTech IPO Index posted a strong performance this past week, rising 6% as double-digit surges became commonplace for the platforms and digital upstarts that continued to report quarterly results.

nCino shares jumped 15.5%.  In PYMNTS reporting on nCino’s results announced this week, we detailed that the company plans to add sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and fully agentic workflows to its Banking Advisor product during the next quarter.

Sean Desmond, CEO at nCino, said during the company’s quarterly earnings call that nCino expects AI to be as transformative for financial services as the shift to cloud services was a decade ago, and that financial institutions are looking to nCino to help them navigate their “AI journey.”

nCino unveiled Banking Advisor in June 2024, at which time it served as a “banker-focused, conversational copilot tool” that provided portfolio management, streamlined tasks, and helped banks track and comply with regulatory requirements.

During Tuesday’s call, Desmond said that as an AI-powered interface designed for financial institutions, Banking Advisor is the “first pillar” of nCino’s AI strategy and has been purchased by more than 80 of the company’s customers.

“Financial institutions don’t just need AI tools; they want a partner they trust who deeply understands banking, has a proven ability to drive industrywide change, and possesses the data foundation necessary to build truly differentiated AI capabilities,” Desmond said.   nCino reported that its total revenue increased 12% year over year during the quarter ended July 31, while its subscription revenues increased 15%.

BILL reported that total Q4 revenue rose 12% to $383.3 million, while core revenue climbed 15% to $345.9 million. The company now serves approximately 493,800 businesses, processed $86 billion in payment volume, a 13% increase, and handled 33 million transactions in Q4.  The company stated in its results that subscription fees increased by 5% and transaction fees rose by 18% year over year in the quarter.  BILL shares jumped 19.3%.

In separate earnings news, KE Holdings lost 4.4% as it reported Q2 net revenues of RMB 26.0 billion (US$3.6 billion), up 11.3% year-over-year, while gross transaction value reached RMB 878.7 billion (US$122.7 billion), up 4.7%.  The company noted in its materials that revenues derived from platform service, franchise service and other value-added services were relatively flat compared to a year ago. 

Cornerstone Community Financial Credit Union, serving Michigan and Ohio, said in an announcement that it had partnered with Upstart to extend digital personal loan offerings. As a referral network partner since April 2025, Cornerstone now receives qualified Upstart loan applicants matching its credit policies. Upstart’s AI-based platform automates over 90% of loan approvals with no human intervention, the companies said.  Upstart shares tacked on more than 16%.

PYMNTS reported that the Workday Wellness employee benefits platform will integrate the Chime Workplace suite of financial wellness solutions, enabling employers to offer additional benefits. The integration is part of a new partnership between Chime and Workday.

Chime Workplace offers financial tools for managing money, savings, credit building, and other tasks, according to the company. Workday customers can enable these benefits through the Workday Wellness platform, which enables employers to gain insights into the benefits employees want, allowing them to improve their programs and add new offerings.

Last week, Robinhood sued regulators in Nevada and New Jersey. The trading platform’s lawsuits are geared toward, in essence, forcing a national debate around whether prediction markets are regulated financial products or simply sports betting dressed in FinTech branding.

“The clash mirrors larger debates over how innovation in FinTech and wagering disrupts legacy regulatory frameworks and comes just as event-based contracts start to gain traction in mainstream finance,” PYMNTS reported.  Robinhood shares slipped 2.5%.

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