How does Fifth Third use AI in payments?
Fifth Third's payments AI is built for other companies' agents. Newline, its embedded-payments platform, launched a Model Context Protocol server in December 2025 so AI agents get secure, standardized access to its APIs and documentation, which CEO Tim Spence called 'a first among U.S. banks', and in April 2026 added Skills, a layer that guides AI models to use tools and workflows correctly. Newline's general manager says a client's agent can now approve an invoice and Newline will 'release payment and reconcile it'. For its own commercial clients the bank made Brex the commercial-card provider in December 2025, bringing Brex's AI agents for receipts, spend policy and month-end close to $5.6 billion of annual card volume. The July 2026 investor deck describes commercial payments, about 1,500 people and $1.0 billion of trailing fees, as moving from automation to 'agentic work'. Newline fee revenue grew 53% in 2025, it serves Stripe, Trustly, Plaid and Circle, and in 2026 the bank invested in Payload and paired Newline with Comerica's tech franchise in Innovation Banking. Commercial payments processed more than $18 trillion in 2025.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Data as of Oct 16, 2026 · Fifth Third profile updated Oct 13, 2026 · 25 sources cited on this page · 140 banks profiled on this site · Markdown
What AI and agent capabilities has Fifth Third built into payments?
| Capability | What it does | Who uses it | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newline MCP server | Securely connects AI models to Newline APIs, data and documentation, standardising how agents access the platform | Newline's enterprise and fintech clients | December 2025[1][2] |
| Skills | Guides AI models to use tools correctly, apply predefined workflows, review and generate code and follow development templates, 'while maintaining stronger governance' | Developers building on Newline | April 13, 2026[2][10] |
| Agent-initiated invoice payment | Tom Bianco: a client can 'hit the Newline infrastructure, approve an invoice via their agent, and we can actually release payment and reconcile it' | Newline clients | April 2026[3] |
| Brex agentic commercial cards | Brex's system of agents captures receipts, matches transactions, enforces spend policy, automates approvals and accelerates month-end close | Fifth Third commercial clients; pilot in one regional market, then all commercial segments | December 2025[4][5] |
| Treasury automation lineage | CPS launched 2014; Expert AP, Expert AR and Choice Disbursements launched 2017-2023; healthcare receivables automation acquired 2023 (Big Data Healthcare) and physical cash management acquired 2025 (DTS Connex); next on the deck: 'Future Agentic Solutions' | Commercial treasury clients | 2014-2026[6][11] |
| AI in healthcare revenue-cycle services | Several AI proofs of concept across the managed-services portfolio, built on Big Data Healthcare's payment data | Healthcare providers | October 2025[12] |
How big is Fifth Third's payments business, and what has Newline delivered?
Figures as the bank or its executives reported them; Newline numbers are the bank's own.
| Metric | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial payments volume | More than $18 trillion processed in 2025; sixth-largest commercial payments provider by revenue | 2025 | Newline MCP release[2] |
| Commercial payments fees | $1.0 billion over the twelve months to Q2 2026; about 1,500 people; about 24,000 payments-related clients; about 40% of new relationships payments-led with no credit | Q2 2026 | July 2026 investor deck[6] |
| Newline fee revenue growth | 53% year over year in 2025 | 2025 | American Banker[3] |
| Newline Q4 2025 | Revenues more than doubled year over year; deposits up $1.4 billion | Q4 2025 | Q4 2025 call[1] |
| Newline Q1 and Q2 2026 | Q1: deposits up $2.7 billion, fees up 30%; Q2: fee revenue up 35%, related deposits $5.3 billion | H1 2026 | Q1 release; Q2 call[13][14] |
| Brex card volume | $5.6 billion of annual commercial card volume moved onto Brex | December 2025 | Bank release[4] |
| Innovation Banking | Comerica's 34-year Tech and Life Sciences franchise plus Newline; a potential $10 billion multi-year deposit opportunity | October 1, 2026 | Bank release[9] |
Why is Fifth Third betting on agents in payments?
Bridgit Chayt, head of commercial payments, said in July 2025 that AI will be 'the unlock for taking the data that banks have had for years associated with the payments and actually turning them into real insights', and that AI agents sitting on top of a bank's offering in a particular vertical would let banks catch up with fintechs' vertical solutions, 'a buddy at work for your customer'. Being in clients' tech stacks means 'they rarely even know you're involved', she said.[15]
Newline is staffed for fintech distribution: Banking Dive reported in July 2026 that Dan Allred joined as group head for fintech, working with Sushil Raja, general manager of Newline. Payload, in which the bank invested in August 2026, builds real-time risk monitoring and KYC into its core. Not disclosed: how many clients use the MCP server or Skills, payment volume initiated by agents, or loss and fraud data for agent-initiated payments.[16][17]
What does the Fifth Third profile record on this topic?
The rows below are the entries of the Fifth Third AI strategy profile that bear on this page, as of Oct 13, 2026; the profile holds the full record of 32 dated moves, 13 use cases and 47 sources.
| Use case | What the record shows | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brex agentic commercial cards | AI agents automating expense workflows for commercial clients. | Rolling out | [4][18] |
| Newline MCP server with Skills | Clients' AI models use the bank's payments tools through a standard protocol. | In production | [10] |
| Anthropic Project Glasswing access | Invited into Anthropic's cybersecurity programme in spring 2026; the CFO tied it to the bank's payments role. What the bank does with the access is not public. | Announced | [19] |
| Date | Move | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 10, 2026 | Invited into Anthropic's Project Glasswing | CFO Bryan Preston tells the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials Conference the bank was invited in recent weeks, which he attributes to its role in payments infrastructure. | [19] |
| Jun 1, 2026 | CIO: about 1,000 engineers on AI tools, caution on agents | Schramm lists AI in lending and credit processes and a multilingual chatbot as 2026 priorities; real-time payments throughput rose from 35 to 140 transactions a second and technology changes saved $200 million a year; on agents touching deposit and loan systems, 'we've got to be really intentional'. | [20] |
| Jun 1, 2026 | Newline named Innovation of the Year honoree | For powering payments and embedded finance for fintechs and enterprises. | [21][22] |
| Apr 17, 2026 | Q1 2026 call: Plaid on Newline, tight limits on AI-infrastructure lending | Plaid launched a payment product on Newline alongside Stripe and Circle; Spence calls the tech conversion the largest transaction risk and plans three or four mock conversions; software loans are under 1% of the book and funded data-centre exposure under $100 million. | [7][23][24] |
| Apr 13, 2026 | Newline MCP server adds Skills | Standardises how AI models use tools and workflows for embedded-finance clients. | [10] |
| Dec 9, 2025 | Brex becomes the commercial-card provider | Multi-year partnership on Brex Embedded; $5.6 billion of annual card volume; Brex AI agents for clients. | [4][25] |
What is Newline's MCP server?
A Model Context Protocol server that Fifth Third's embedded-finance business, Newline, launched in December 2025. It securely connects AI models to Newline's APIs, data and documentation so a client's AI agents can use the bank's payment tools in a standard way. CEO Tim Spence called it a first among U.S. banks. In April 2026 Newline added Skills, which guide models to use tools and workflows correctly under stronger governance.
Can an AI agent make payments through Fifth Third?
Through Newline, yes, for business clients that build on it. General manager Tom Bianco told American Banker in April 2026 that a client can approve an invoice via its agent and Newline will release the payment and reconcile it. The bank has not published how many clients do this or the volume involved.
What do Brex's AI agents do for Fifth Third clients?
Under the December 2025 partnership, Fifth Third's commercial card program runs on Brex Embedded. Brex says its system of agents captures receipts, matches transactions, enforces spend policy, automates approvals and speeds month-end close. The rollout started as a pilot in one regional market and two corporate card verticals before expanding across commercial banking segments.
How large is Fifth Third's payments business?
Fifth Third says commercial payments processed more than $18 trillion in 2025 and that it is the sixth-largest commercial payments provider by revenue. The July 2026 investor deck shows $1.0 billion of commercial payments fees over the trailing twelve months, about 1,500 people and about 24,000 payments-related clients. Newline, the fastest-growing part, grew fee revenue 53% in 2025.
- Earnings call transcript: Fifth Third Bancorp beats Q4 2025 EPS forecast
- Fifth Third's Newline Extends MCP Server Capabilities with Skills
- How Fifth Third grew embedded banking fee revenue 53% in 2025
- Fifth Third and Brex Partner to Bring AI-Powered Finance to Businesses, Unlocking $5.6B in Commercial Card Volume
- Fifth Third, Brex ink corporate card partnership
- Fifth Third Bancorp Boston roadshow presentation (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1)
- Fifth Third (FITB) Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
- Fifth Third bets on demand for more complex embedded payments (Payload investment)
- Fifth Third Bank Launches Innovation Banking, a Growth Platform Built for Companies at Every Stage
- Fifth Third's Newline Extends MCP Server Capabilities with Skills
- Fifth Third buys payments player (DTS Connex)
- Fifth Third Bets Big Data Will Tame Healthcare's Revenue Storm
- Fifth Third Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2026 Earnings
- Fifth Third (FITB) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
- Embedded and instant payments: What Fifth Third sees in the near future (Bridgit Chayt video interview)
- Fifth Third lures commercial fintech head from HSBC
- Fifth Third backs Payload in embedded payments push
- Fifth Third stakes claim in agentic payments with Brex
- Fifth Third Joins Anthropic's Project Glasswing
- Fifth Third's CIO is focused on enterprise-viable AI
- Fifth Third's Newline Recognized by American Banker for Powering Next-Generation Payments Infrastructure
- Fifth Third's Newline is one of the Innovation of the Year honorees
- Earnings call transcript: Fifth Third Bancorp beats EPS forecasts in Q1 2026
- Fifth Third CEO on Comerica integration: So far, so good
- Fifth Third, Brex sign commercial cards agreement
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