According to CNBC, Fifth Third Bank has signed a deal making fintech firm Brex the exclusive provider of its commercial card program. The partnership will run on Brex’s embedded payments platform, which uses artificial intelligence to automate corporate card issuance and expense reporting. Fifth Third CEO Tim Spence stated the move combines the bank’s strength with Brex’s AI innovation to create solutions for businesses. This comes as Fifth Third is in the process of acquiring Comerica, a deal expected to make it the ninth largest U.S. bank with about $288 billion in assets. The companies claim the program is designed to unlock $5.6 billion in commercial card volume. The announcement was made via a joint press release on December 9, 2025.
The Partner-Not-Build Playbook
Here’s the thing: this deal is a textbook example of the modern banking playbook. Building a competitive, tech-forward corporate card and expense platform from the ground up is brutally hard, expensive, and slow. And by the time a big bank’s internal team ships it, the fintechs have already moved three steps ahead. So why fight it? Partnering with a company like Brex lets Fifth Third instantly offer a slick, AI-powered product that its commercial clients are probably already asking for. It’s a fast-track to relevance. You can see the bank’s strategic thinking laid out in their own commercial card program page and broader growth strategy. But it also means ceding control and a chunk of the economics to a third party. That’s a big bet.
The AI Hype and Integration Reality
Now, let’s talk about that “AI-driven innovation” they’re touting. Every fintech platform uses AI now—it’s table stakes. The real test won’t be the buzzwords in the press release. It’ll be how seamlessly this Brex engine gets bolted onto Fifth Third’s legacy core systems and customer service channels. Can the bank’s relationship managers actually explain and support it? Will the data flow be truly bidirectional? These tech integrations are where big, glossy partnerships often stumble. I think the promised “simplicity” for the end business customer is entirely dependent on a mountain of complex, unseen backend work.
Scale, Ambition, and Inherent Risk
This isn’t a small pilot. They’re talking about unlocking $5.6 billion in volume right out of the gate. That’s a huge vote of confidence in Brex, but it also concentrates risk. Fifth Third is essentially outsourcing a critical product line for its business customers. What happens if Brex stumbles, has a security issue, or gets acquired by a competitor? The bank is tying its fate to the fintech’s execution. And with the Comerica acquisition looming, the complexity only multiplies. They’ll be trying to integrate two massive banks while simultaneously onboarding a new, foundational tech partner. That’s a lot of spinning plates.
What It Really Signals
Basically, this deal screams that the competitive bar for B2B banking tools has been permanently raised. Corporate treasurers don’t want clunky, 90s-era portals anymore; they want the experience they get from a modern SaaS product. Fifth Third is admitting it can’t—or won’t—build that itself. It’s a pragmatic move, but one that highlights a fundamental shift. The bank’s role is increasingly becoming one of distribution, regulation, and balance sheet, while the fintechs provide the tech engine. Whether this model is more resilient in the long run than the old vertically-integrated bank is a huge, open question. For now, it’s full speed ahead on the partnership track.
