Author: Wamala Sipirian

Artificial intelligence is moving beyond chat-based assistance toward systems capable of carrying out multi-step tasks across enterprise data, applications and workflows. In financial services, that shift is creating new opportunities for automation while increasing the importance of data controls, auditability, security and regulatory oversight. Google Cloud has entered this market with Gemini Enterprise for Financial Services, a purpose-built agentic AI solution initially available in preview for capital markets and corporate banking. Google Cloud announced the platform on August 25, 2026, positioning it around financial research, risk analysis, KYC processes, portfolio monitoring and other data-intensive workflows. The platform has been developed…

Introduction Banks have invested heavily in fraud detection to prevent unauthorized card transactions, but measuring the opposite problem remains more difficult: legitimate transactions that are incorrectly rejected. These false declines can reduce payment revenue, disrupt customer spending and shift transactions to competing financial institutions. A 6 August 2026 analysis published by payment technology provider BPC estimated that a mid-sized card issuer processing 10 million debit transactions a month could lose an average of $160,000 a year in interchange revenue under a deliberately conservative false-decline assumption of 0.5 percentage points. The estimate illustrates why payment approval accuracy has become an increasingly…

Introduction Zimbabwe’s fintech sector is developing within an unusually complex monetary environment. The country introduced the Zimbabwe Gold, or ZiG, in April 2024 after years of currency instability, while the US dollar remains widely used for transactions, wages and savings. The coexistence of local and foreign currencies has created a financial market in which digital-payment providers must operate across multiple forms of money. At the same time, electronic payments have become deeply established in the economy. Mobile money, bank transfers and other digital-payment channels are used by consumers and businesses, while regulators are moving toward greater interoperability between competing payment…

Introduction Tokenized public equities are moving closer to regulated mainstream capital markets as the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) explores infrastructure that could connect traditional listed shares with blockchain-based distribution and settlement. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) plans to launch UK tokenized equity structures through a strategic partnership with Payward, the unified financial infrastructure platform and parent company to global digital asset platforms. The initiative is designed to examine how regulated market infrastructure can work with on-chain networks while maintaining shareholder rights, legal protections and established corporate governance standards. The settlement and asset-servicing infrastructure is expected to rely on LSEG’s…

Introduction Money mule accounts have become an increasingly important layer in modern financial crime, allowing illicit funds to move through legitimate-looking bank accounts before being transferred onward or withdrawn. A new whitepaper from Dubai-based consultancy VerityX, produced with financial crime operations specialists, argues that conventional anti-money laundering systems are struggling to identify these networks because they often assess accounts individually rather than examining relationships and behaviour across the wider financial system. The scale of the challenge is significant. Financial institutions globally spend an estimated $206 billion a year on financial crime compliance. In EMEA, firms spent more than $85 billion…

Introduction AI in banking is changing how financial institutions onboard customers, process information and deliver digital services. Yet the increasing use of automation does not necessarily eliminate the need for human involvement. For businesses opening accounts, arranging payment processing or resolving compliance issues, access to a knowledgeable person can remain an important part of the banking relationship. This tension is particularly visible in international fintech and payments. Businesses increasingly expect fast digital onboarding, multi-currency capabilities and modern payment infrastructure, while still wanting human assistance when automated systems cannot adequately explain a decision or resolve an unusual situation. The emerging model…

Introduction Stablecoins are increasingly moving beyond cryptocurrency trading and into everyday financial activity, including payments, payroll and corporate treasury operations. Data published by Mercuryo in August shows that stablecoins represented 60 per cent of crypto purchase value through its on-ramp during the first half of 2026, compared with 43 per cent in the second half of 2025. The company also reported a significant increase in stablecoin use on the cash-out side. USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDt) accounted for 57 per cent of accepted off-ramp transactions in the first half of 2026, compared with 25 per cent a year earlier.…

Introduction Credit union fraud is becoming a more complex challenge as organised criminals exploit the same community relationships that have traditionally distinguished credit unions from larger financial institutions. In Britain, credit unions operate as member-owned savings and lending cooperatives, regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. Their local structure often means staff know members through employers, addresses and established relationships. That familiarity can strengthen customer service, but it can also create vulnerabilities when criminals use stolen or synthetic identities to make fraudulent applications appear credible. The growing threat highlights a broader issue for smaller financial institutions:…

Introduction Behavioural credit scoring is becoming an increasingly important part of digital lending as financial institutions look beyond traditional credit histories to evaluate applicants. Credolab, a Singapore-founded alternative credit scoring company established in 2016, has taken another step into the mainstream by joining the FICO Marketplace on 19 August 2026. The listing places Credolab’s behavioural scoring technology within an environment used by businesses in more than 80 countries, potentially making the company’s technology easier for lenders already operating on FICO Platform to discover and test. Credolab says its technology is designed to provide an additional risk signal based on how…

Introduction Yemen’s financial system has been reshaped by more than a decade of conflict, leaving institutions, banks, payment infrastructure and monetary conditions divided between authorities in Sana’a and Aden. The result is an economy in which access to formal financial services remains difficult and cash continues to play a central role. At the same time, digital financial services are beginning to expand. Electronic wallets such as ONE Cash and Jawali provide transfers, payments and other services without requiring customers to maintain conventional bank accounts. A $20million World Bank-supported project is also working on payment infrastructure, including a Fast Payment System…