Leaders In Payments · 2026-01-08 · 22 min
The backbone of the economy is feeling both confident and squeezed, and we wanted to get specific about what actually helps. In this episode I sit down with Shruti Patel, Chief Product Officer for Business Banking at U.S. Bank , to unpack fresh small business data and the concrete tools that turn payments into faster cash, lighter admin, and clearer decisions. We start with the Small Business Perspective survey: high optimism paired with pressure from inflation, tariffs, and supply chain uncertainty. Shruti explains why access to working capital and lower operating costs remain top priorities, and how owners are already using AI to sharpen marketing, streamline service, and simplify back office tasks. From there, we dig into U.S. Bank’s strategy shift from methods of payment to jobs to be done - bundling what matters so owners can open, accept, pay, and reconcile without the swivel-chair fatigue. You’ll hear how Business Essentials merges a no-fee operating account with Elavon acquiring, a free mobile reader, and same-day funds to ease cash flow.
Other episodes covering the same guests and topics, from across The B2B Podcast Index.
The Trust Advantage with Andie Hill, Payroc | Episode 52873 / 100Building the Trust Layer for Payments with Noam Izhaki, CEO of Ballerine | Episode 51373 / 100Embedded Finance Special Series: Embedded Accounting, the Next Big Fintech Product with Justin Meretab, Layer | Episode 527Embedded Finance: From Hype to Execution with Jane Podbelskaya, Charge Forward | Episode 526Verified Authority for Payments with Jeremy Blackburn, ChainIT | Episode 525
