Extend Arms Banks with ERP Tools to Counter Fintech Rivals

By Sharon Henderson

NEW YORK, NY – March 26, 2026 – As the battle for business customers intensifies, AI-powered platform Extend has expanded its arsenal of tools for traditional banks, announcing new integrations with major accounting systems including Sage Intacct, Xero, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. The move is a direct response to a financial industry at a crossroads, where banks face mounting pressure to provide sophisticated software solutions or risk losing clients to a new generation of fintech challengers.

The announcement lands in a market still processing the implications of Capital One's landmark agreement to acquire fintech darling Brex. That deal underscored a critical reality: businesses now expect more than just a credit card; they demand integrated platforms that combine payments, spend controls, and automated workflows. Extend is positioning itself as the key partner for banks looking to meet this demand without having to build or buy a fintech company themselves.

Unlike platforms that require businesses to abandon their long-standing banking relationships and credit card reward programs, Extend’s model is built on partnership. It works with the banks and cards companies already trust, effectively giving them a market-ready software layer to modernize their existing commercial card programs.

A New Playbook for Traditional Banks

For years, the narrative has been one of disruption, with fintechs like Ramp and Brex chipping away at the customer base of established financial institutions. Extend is helping to write a new chapter: the counter-offensive. By embedding its spend and expense management platform within the offerings of incumbent banks, it provides a powerful retention tool.

This strategy is gaining significant traction. Extend reports that half of all commercial credit card holders in the U.S. can now access its platform through participating banks and card programs. Its partner list includes heavyweights like American Express, PNC, HSBC, and Silicon Valley Bank. These institutions can now offer their business clients modern capabilities—such as virtual card creation for employees and vendors, granular spend controls, and streamlined expense reporting—all while using their existing commercial cards.

This “bring your own card” approach is a crucial differentiator. It eliminates the significant friction of switching financial providers, a major hurdle for many businesses. Companies can keep their trusted banking relationships, credit lines, and accumulated rewards while gaining the software-driven efficiencies they need. For the banks, it transforms their credit card from a simple payment tool into the centerpiece of a comprehensive spend management ecosystem, strengthening client relationships and protecting their valuable commercial portfolio from poaching.

Closing the Gap Between Spend and Accounting

Beyond the strategic battle for customers, Extend’s latest expansion directly addresses a long-standing operational headache for finance departments: the disconnect between card spending and the general ledger. The newly announced integrations with Sage Intacct, Xero, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central—which join an existing portfolio including QuickBooks and NetSuite—are designed to bridge this gap.

The core of the offering is an automated, two-way data synchronization. When an employee makes a purchase with a virtual or physical card connected to Extend, the transaction data, along with receipts and notes, can flow directly into the company’s accounting system. This automation virtually eliminates the error-prone, time-consuming manual data entry that plagues month-end closing processes. Research shows that despite the clear need, adoption of dedicated expense management software has remained stubbornly below 50%, with finance teams citing the time spent on reports and credit card reconciliation as top challenges.

“Finance teams are tired of disconnected, cumbersome processes and platforms,” said Andrew Jamison, CEO of Extend, in a recent statement. “They want easy solutions that work with the systems and tools they already have. Our goal is to provide a solution that connects the dots between their credit cards and closing the books.”

This direct pipeline between spending and accounting strengthens audit readiness by creating a clear, real-time trail for every transaction. It moves businesses away from stitching together disparate tools and manual spreadsheets, offering a single, integrated workflow from the point of purchase to final reconciliation.

The 'Un-Disruptive' Innovator

While the term 'disruption' has become synonymous with fintech, Extend is charting a different course based on integration and enablement. Its strategy is not to replace the existing financial infrastructure but to make it better. By partnering with all three major card networks and a growing roster of banks, the company is building a ubiquitous layer that enhances, rather than supplants, the current ecosystem.

This “un-disruptive” model carries significant strategic advantages. It allows for faster market penetration by leveraging the massive distribution channels of its banking partners. Instead of fighting for every new customer, Extend gains access to millions of businesses at once. This approach also fosters a symbiotic relationship: banks gain a competitive software product, and Extend gains scale.

This contrasts sharply with the approach of competitors who built their platforms around their own proprietary cards and accounts. While those companies have proven the market demand for software-centric finance, their model inherently requires customers to make a fundamental switch. Extend’s proposition is less disruptive for the end user, offering a path to modernization without uprooting established financial operations.

As Extend continues to deepen its accounting integrations and expand its network of bank partnerships, it is steadily advancing its mission to become the default spend and expense solution delivered through the banking ecosystem. By empowering traditional institutions with the tools of a modern fintech, the platform is helping to redefine the future of business banking as a collaborative, software-driven experience.