How Fintechs Are Using AI for Real-Time Merchant Cash Advance Underwriting

Fintech Conversations with Fexingo: Banking, Payments, and Financial Software Companies · Jun 30, 2026 · 8m · transcript

In this episode of Fintech Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how fintechs are applying AI to underwrite merchant cash advances in real time. They focus on the case of Forward Financing, a Boston-based fintech that uses machine learning models to analyze daily card sales data, bank statements, and dozens of alternative data signals to approve funding within hours — not weeks. Lucas explains how the shift from FICO-heavy scoring to cash-flow-based underwriting has made capital accessible to small businesses that traditional banks ignore. Luna questions the risk of adverse…