Fifth Third and Brex bring AI to modernize $5.6 billion in business banking

Fifth Third Bank is bridging the gap between traditional institutional banking and Silicon Valley speed, announcing a major multi-year partnership today with intelligent finance platform Brex.

The deal will see the Cincinnati-based bank deploy "Brex Embedded"—a proprietary API-driven infrastructure—to power its commercial card offerings. The partnership effectively unlocks $5.6 billion in annual commercial card payment volume, aiming to replace legacy banking friction with AI-native automation. Brex technology will be deployed across all markets where Fifth Third operates.

Why it matters

This partnership represents a significant shift in how regional banking giants are competing in the modern fintech landscape. Rather than building proprietary spend management software from scratch, Fifth Third is integrating best-in-class technology to instantly modernize its offering for commercial clients.

• For Brex, the deal provides immediate access to a massive slice of the legacy market.
• For Fifth Third, it transforms a standard financial product into a software-led solution capable of automating complex workflows.

The details

Under the agreement, the "Fifth Third Commercial Card powered by Brex" will become the default solution for the bank’s Commercial Banking clients.

This integration goes beyond simple payments. Fifth Third clients will gain access to Brex’s broader financial software stack, which includes:

• AI Agents: Tools that automate end-to-end workflows to close books faster and reduce manual review.
• Spend Management: Real-time visibility into company expenses and automated receipt matching.
• Global Scalability: Capabilities to issue corporate cards and manage spend across borders.

What they’re saying

Tim Spence, Chairman, CEO, and President of Fifth Third, positioned the move as a necessity for future growth.

"The future of business demands financial platforms that do more than process payments—they must power growth," Spence said. "By combining the strength of a leading bank with Brex’s AI-driven innovation, we’re creating intelligent solutions that simplify complexity, drive efficiency and enable businesses to scale globally with confidence."

"98% of businesses in our country are still using legacy corporate cards," added Pedro Franceschi, Founder and CEO of Brex. "What began as a card for startups has become a full-stack intelligence platform for finance, now serving 300+ public companies and tens of thousands of mid-sized businesses."

What's next

For decades, commercial finance has been defined by a persistent friction: the wall between banking transactions and accounting data. This disconnect has forced finance teams into a cycle of manual reconciliations and reliance on rigid systems that struggle to scale with growth.

By integrating Brex across its entire footprint, Fifth Third is moving to eradicate this "spreadsheet fatigue." The deployment signals a broader shift in regional banking, moving away from static payment products toward interoperable, automated financial infrastructure that serves clients nationwide.