“Can an AI-powered, vertically tailored financial operating system replace generic SMB banking for the underserved backbone businesses that dominate Main Street America?”
Affiniti was founded on the thesis that different SMB verticals — pharmacies, HVAC shops, podiatry clinics — have fundamentally different financial needs that generic SMB banking cannot serve. The company started with co-branded, association-endorsed credit cards distributed through trade association partners, powered by i2c on the Mastercard network. It then expanded into a full-stack financial operating system by layering Unit's BaaS infrastructure for checking accounts, bill pay, and money movement, and secured a financing agreement with Column N.A. to fuel credit growth. The platform now bundles banking, cards, expense management, bill pay, and AI-powered automation into one system tailored to each SMB vertical.