PortX Fintech News

In this edition of PortX Fintech News, we highlight community banks pioneering high-value FedNow instant payments, explore how PiXi AI revolutionizes data mapping and compliance, and introduce new product updates like the PiXi AI Data Mapper and automated mTLS management. Discover how these innovations empower financial institutions to navigate integration complexities, enhance security, and drive strategic growth.

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FedNow’s Quiet Shift: Community Banks Lead the Way in High-Value Instant Payments

When FedNow launched in July 2023, its promise was straightforward: Venmo-like convenience within the banking system. Initially, the platform saw modest use, with average transaction values around $323. Yet by Q3 2024, something surprising unfolded—the average payment skyrocketed beyond $51,000, eventually settling near $37,000 by early 2025.

What’s behind this dramatic surge? Banks have moved beyond small P2P tests and are now leveraging FedNow for substantial B2B transactions, supplier payments, and treasury sweeps. This transition makes liquidity controls crucial, as a single batch can instantly empty an account, elevating intraday funding and monitoring from optional to essential.

While headlines often highlight large banks, FedNow’s true trailblazers are community and regional institutions. Over 95% of FedNow participants are small-to-midsize banks and credit unions. Core banking providers such as Jack Henry, serving 339 live FedNow clients (about 28% of all active participants), have made it easier for these institutions to adopt instant payments swiftly.

Community banks are proactively adopting FedNow as a defensive strategy against fintech competitors, protecting commercial deposits from migrating to non-bank apps. They benefit from streamlined decision-making, allowing quicker implementation compared to larger institutions bogged down by bureaucracy.

However, these banks also face new challenges: liquidity shocks, instantaneous fraud risks, and complex integrations across multiple payment rails. PortX addresses these issues by providing a unified API across FedNow, RTP, ACH, and wire transfers, coupled with real-time controls and intuitive dashboards, ensuring community banks remain confidently in control of their high-value instant payment strategies.

Learn more about how we can simplify FedNow integration, enhance liquidity management, and help your bank or credit union navigate instant payment complexities with confidence. Start a conversation today.

Accelerate Compliance and Innovation with PiXi’s AI-Driven Data Mapping

As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the banking sector, institutions face increased pressure to rapidly update their cybersecurity and risk management frameworks. Recent guidance from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) emphasizes the importance of addressing AI-related cybersecurity risks, such as deepfakes and sophisticated social engineering attacks. To remain compliant, banks must regularly update risk assessments, strengthen data governance, and enhance staff training specific to AI technologies.

PiXi, PortX’s new proprietary AI engine, is transforming this compliance challenge into an opportunity for efficiency and innovation. PiXi’s advanced data mapping capabilities significantly streamline a typically tedious process, reducing project timelines by up to 40%. This automation accelerates compliance and enables institutions to swiftly adapt to evolving cybersecurity regulations.

With intelligent algorithms capable of recognizing and matching data fields across diverse systems, PiXi ensures accuracy and compliance throughout integration processes. Its intuitive, user-friendly interface allows both technical and non-technical teams to effectively collaborate, ensuring thorough data governance and robust AI integration.

Discover how PiXi empowers your institution to accelerate compliance, foster innovation, and strategically enhance your AI governance framework. Start a conversation with our team today.

Announcements: 

PortX Now Available Through AWS Marketplace

PortX Integration Manager is now available via AWS Marketplace, simplifying API development and accelerating open banking initiatives for financial institutions. Leveraging AWS’s powerful infrastructure, Integration Manager provides seamless scalability, robust security, and streamlined procurement processes. This strategic expansion enables banks and credit unions to quickly deploy innovative integration solutions, reduce complexity, and drive digital transformation efforts. Visit AWS Marketplace or contact PortX at [email protected] to learn more.

Fintech Hub Product Update

PiXi Data Mapper

PiXi Data Mapper, the inaugural tool under our new PiXi brand, automates the traditionally labor-intensive task of data mapping within Integration Manager. Leveraging advanced, context-aware AI algorithms, PiXi Data Mapper intelligently identifies and matches data fields, even when naming conventions differ, significantly reducing mapping efforts from weeks to mere minutes. With an intuitive, user-friendly interface, both technical and business teams can seamlessly collaborate, ensuring high accuracy and efficiency. Now available in beta, PiXi Data Mapper enables financial institutions to accelerate integration projects, reduce errors, and redirect resources toward strategic initiatives. 

Check out the PiXi Data Mapper announcement on our blog.

Automated mTLS Management

Automated mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) credential management is now generally available in Integration Manager, enhancing security for Integration Manager-hosted APIs. Unlike OAuth-based client secrets, mTLS employs certificate-based authentication, significantly reducing unauthorized access and man-in-the-middle attack risks.

The new mTLS feature introduces Service Principals, a credential type allowing verified clients—such as banking cores and fintech partners—to securely access APIs. Integration Manager simplifies the traditionally complex mTLS setup into three straightforward steps:

1. Generate an mTLS credential using Private Key JWT.
2. Create an access token from the mTLS credential through PortX Authorization Server requests.
3. Automatically validate tokens and certificates through the API gateway, with enforced access controls.

The benefits to our customers include simplified security with no extra certificate purchases or advanced configurations required. The traditional OAuth credential option remains available for services that don’t need mTLS.

Learn more in our blog: Automated mTLS Management is Generally Available for Integration Manager-Hosted APIs.

What’s New in the Blog?

Watch for our latest blog posts, where we share our thoughts on industry trends, insights, and best practices. Here are a few of our latest posts that you may be interested in:

PortX Joins the OpenID Foundation and Achieves Financial-Grade API (FAPI) Certification

Despite political and legal uncertainty surrounding CFPB 1033, financial institutions should proactively align with Financial Data Exchange (FDX) standards to ensure regulatory compliance and leverage open banking to build account holder trust and confidence. PortX’s recent FAPI certification from the OpenID Foundation further supports FIs with secure, scalable, and future-proof compliance solutions.

The True Cost of API Modernization—And Why Innovative Banks and Credit Unions Pay It

Not all APIs are created equal—and choosing the right path can mean innovation or costly setbacks. Banks and credit unions face critical decisions about API modernization investments. Discover the hidden costs, strategic advantages, and why industry leaders willingly pay the price to transform their financial institutions into innovation powerhouses.

AI is Rewriting the Rules of Integration: Banks and Credit Unions Need a New Game Plan

AI isn’t just changing integration—it’s redefining it entirely. Banks and credit unions must embrace an AI-first mindset, moving beyond traditional integration methods. Discover why legacy approaches won’t suffice in the AI era, and learn how forward-thinking institutions are transforming complexity into strategic innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Find Us at These Upcoming Events:

Jack Henry Connect 2025
San Diego, CA / September 8-11

Prominent Premier Partners
Omaha, NE / September 16-18

Fiserv Forum Client Conference
Las Vegas, NV / September 28-30

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