AI for SMBs: Southex CEO George Singh urged Caribbean businesses to embrace AI fast, warning it could upend most traditional practices in 4–5 years. AI in the workflow (and the catch): Templafy found 90% of knowledge workers use AI for business docs weekly, but 95% still edit before “business-ready,” with nearly 4 hours/week spent reviewing. SMB cybersecurity: DigiFlight hired Melody Berry to lead CMMC readiness and compliance support; Field Effect is also pushing tools to spot “shadow AI.” Payments & fintech access: Payments Canada approved six new members, expanding eligibility for more payment service providers; WasabiCard will sponsor TOKEN2049 to showcase stablecoin rails for global business payments. SME-friendly funding & growth: Pennsylvania awarded nearly $600k to Meatheads Market to expand processing capacity and safety. Business operations & customer experience: BT Business launched an AI receptionist for UK SMBs, aiming to capture missed calls. Policy pressure on small firms: UK research found many entrepreneurs start “by accident,” often without business experience—highlighting the need for practical support. Tax fight: The IRS is seeking to claw back a $355M research credit tied to Meta’s Zuckerberg stock-option payout and AI data-center “pilot” treatment.