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Candescent positioned as a SPARK Leader and the Only Emerging Innovator in the QKS Group SPARK Matrix(TM): Digital Banking Platform, 2026. ACCESS Newswire 16 Jul 2026, 21:21 GMT+10 Candescent's Recognition as the Category's Only Emerging Innovator Validates its Intelligent Banking Strategy and Signals Where the Market is Heading ATLANTA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2026 / Candescent, defining the era of Intelligent Banking for banks and credit unions, today announced it has been named a SPARK Leader and the only provider recognized as an Emerging Innovator in the QKS Group SPARK Matrix(TM): Digital Banking Platform, 2026. The recognition affirms Candescent's innovation momentum as the company leads the shift to Intelligent Banking. The QKS Group SPARK Matrix(TM) provides a comprehensive, research-based evaluation of digital banking platform providers, giving financial institutions a clear view of vendor capabilities, competitive position, and market direction. Placement as a SPARK Leader recognizes Candescent's standing among the top providers in the digital banking platform market, while its distinction as the only Emerging Innovator highlights the company's differentiated trajectory and its role in advancing the category. For more than a decade, the industry's focus has been making banking digital. Candescent is defining and driving what comes next: Intelligent Banking, where unified experiences and AI-powered, real-time intelligence move customers and members from access to understanding, helping them know not just what happened, but what to do next. That vision took center stage at AXIS 2026, Candescent's premier client and partner conference, where the company unveiled a coordinated wave of innovation across its Intelligent Banking Platform. Announcements included Votiv, a reimagined mobile experience built on proactive intelligence; Votiv for Business, a connected operating platform unifying onboarding, payments, servicing, and intelligence for businesses of every size; the Candescent Marketplace; and Forge, the company's developer experience platform. Together, these launches bring Intelligent Banking to life across consumer banking, business banking, and the partner and developer ecosystem, making clear that the era of Intelligent Banking is not coming - it is here. 'Candescent has moved quickly to differentiate itself in the digital banking platform market with a cohesive Intelligent Banking strategy, strong technology foundation, and clear product roadmap,' said Akhilesh Vundavalli, Principal Analyst at QKS Group. 'Its recognition as both a SPARK Leader and the only Emerging Innovator reflects the company's momentum in advancing more intelligent, connected, and extensible banking experiences for financial institutions.' 'The industry spent well over a decade making banking digital. Our focus now is making it intelligent,' said Jason Edelboim, CEO of Candescent. 'Being named a SPARK Leader and the only Emerging Innovator reflects the progress we are driving. We are bringing our technology, teams, and clients together around a unified platform with real-time intelligence embedded across the experiences banks and credit unions rely on every day. This recognition reinforces the direction we are leading, in partnership with our clients, as we shape where banking goes next.' The SPARK Matrix recognition follows Candescent's recent naming as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: North America Retail Digital Banking Solutions 2025-2026 Vendor Assessment. Candescent serves more than 1,300 banks and credit unions representing more than 30 million registered users. This continued recognition highlights both the company's established market position and the innovation trajectory of its Intelligent Banking Platform. By leading the shift to Intelligent Banking, Candescent is helping financial institutions create lasting value through smarter ecosystems, deeper customer insight, and experiences that strengthen every relationship. About Candescent Candescent is defining the era of Intelligent Banking for banks and credit unions. Through its cloud-native Intelligent Banking Platform, Candescent enables institutions to unify data, channels, and real-time intelligence to deliver differentiated experiences, accelerate growth, and deepen customer and member relationships across account opening, consumer and business banking, and digital and branch experiences. Candescent serves more than 1,300 banks and credit unions representing more than 30 million registered users. For more information, visit www.candescent.com. About QKS Group QKS Group is a global analyst and advisory firm helping enterprises, technology vendors, and investors make trusted, data-driven decisions. Its portfolio spans the flagship SPARK Matrix(TM) evaluation framework, SPARK Plus(TM) analyst advisory platform, QKS Intelligence(TM) for market and competitive tracking, and QKS Community(TM) for CXO leaders and practitioners. All offerings are powered by a Human-Intelligence-driven framework and QKS's closed-loop research methodology - integrating expert-led insights, quantitative modeling, and continuous validation to deliver credible, outcome-focused intelligence. Media contact:

Candescent enables Tap to Pay on iPhone for small businesses at Zions Bancorporation with Autobooks. * Delivers secure, hardware-free payment acceptance inside Zions Bancorporation's mobile banking experience. [PRESSWIRE] ATLANTA - March 31, 2026 - Candescent, defining the era of Intelligent Banking for banks and credit unions, today announced a collaboration with Zions Bancorporation and Autobooks to bring Tap to Pay on iPhone to Zions Bancorporation's small business customers. The solution enables secure, in-person, contactless payments without extra hardware, helping business owners get paid faster and more conveniently. Integrated directly into Zions Bancorporation's mobile banking experience, the solution empowers small businesses to get paid faster and more securely wherever they do business, with funds deposited straight into their bank account. The integration expands Zions Bancorporation's small business toolkit, which already includes professional invoicing and online payment acceptance. This launch reflects how Candescent brings together partners, payments, and digital experiences to help financial institutions deliver Intelligent Banking for small businesses. "Candescent is a proven leader in empowering financial institutions to innovate faster, with a laser focus on intelligent customer-centric experiences that drive impact," said Gareth Gaston, Chief Product Officer, Candescent. "By collaborating with Autobooks and Zions Bancorporation to embed Tap to Pay on iPhone directly into Zions Bancorporation's mobile banking experience, we are removing friction from the payment process and enabling small businesses to get paid faster and more securely. This is a powerful example of how intelligent integrated digital tools can transform everyday banking into a growth engine for small businesses." "Tap to Pay on iPhone is the latest addition to the small business tools Autobooks delivers through Candescent. In-person payments now connect to the same invoicing, accounting, and cash flow tools already inside digital banking, giving business owners one complete picture of their money. Fintechs and megabanks are targeting small businesses with individual tools, increasing competition for customer primacy. This gives financial institutions something better: a complete, connected solution their customers don't have to leave to find." Autobooks is a featured partner in the Candescent Marketplace, the curated ecosystem of fintech integrations purpose-built for banks and credit unions seeking to expand their digital capabilities without disrupting their core banking infrastructure. About Candescent Candescent is defining the era of Intelligent Banking for banks and credit unions. Through its cloud-native Intelligent Banking Platform, Candescent enables institutions to unify data, channels, and real-time intelligence to deliver differentiated experiences, accelerate growth, and deepen customer and member relationships across account opening, consumer and business banking, and digital and branch experiences. Candescent serves more than 1,300 banks and credit unions representing over 30 million registered users. For more information, visit www.candescent.com. Web site: www.candescent.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/candescent-tech/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@Candescent-tech/videos About Autobooks Autobooks helps financial institutions bring payments, bill pay, accounting, and lending together in one connected experience inside digital banking. Instead of stitching together separate vendors, banks and credit unions partner with Autobooks to give their small business customers the tools to get paid, pay others, manage their books, and access working capital. Based in Detroit, Autobooks is trusted by thousands of financial institutions nationwide to help them deepen small business relationships. About Zions Bancorporation Zions Bancorporation, N.A. is one of the nation's premier financial services companies with approximately $89 billion of total assets at December 31, 2025, and annual net revenue of $3.4 billion in 2025. Zions operates under local management teams and distinct brands in 11 western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Bank is a consistent recipient of national and state-wide customer survey awards in small- and middle-market banking, as well as a leader in public finance advisory services and Small Business Administration lending. In addition, Zions is included in the S&P MidCap 400 and NASDAQ Financial 100 indices. Investor information and links to local banking brands can be accessed at www.zionsbancorporation.com. Media Contact: Kristina LeBlanc - [email protected]; 508-930-5636