Author: Wamala Sipirian

Introduction Investment platforms have made it easier for individuals to buy stocks, exchange-traded funds, managed funds and other assets across international markets. But greater access has also created a reporting problem: investors with accounts spread across brokers, markets and asset classes may not have a single view of portfolio performance. Sharesight, an investment portfolio tracking platform founded in 2007, was created around that gap. The company says it now serves more than 500,000 investors and tracks more than 700,000 stocks, ETFs, managed and mutual funds and precious metals across more than 60 markets. Its system also records trades, dividends and…

Introduction GoAbroad is an online search platform that connects people looking to travel abroad with international programs and opportunities. Its listings cover different types of overseas experiences, with information intended to help users compare destinations, program requirements, reviews and costs before making a decision. Rather than operating as a single travel provider, GoAbroad functions primarily as a discovery and comparison platform. Users can search its program directories, narrow results by preferences, review individual opportunities and save options for later comparison. The platform also provides travel-related articles, participant reviews, scholarships and promotional offers, giving prospective travelers additional resources during the planning…

Introduction For UK fintechs racing to deploy generative and agentic artificial intelligence across lending, payments, wealth management and other financial services, regulation can appear to be an obstacle to rapid innovation. But the UK’s current approach presents a different proposition. Rather than introducing a separate, comprehensive AI rulebook for financial services, the Financial Conduct Authority has said it intends to rely on existing regulatory frameworks and principles to govern AI use. Those frameworks already place significant emphasis on accountability, governance, consumer outcomes and appropriate controls. That creates an opportunity for fintechs that build governance into their products from the beginning.…

Introduction Artificial intelligence has become a significant investment area for banks, with applications ranging from fraud detection and customer service to compliance, risk management and operational automation. Yet demonstrating that an AI system works in a controlled pilot is only the beginning of the adoption process. The more difficult challenge is integrating those systems into live banking operations while maintaining appropriate governance, accountability and human oversight. The World Economic Forum forecasts global spending on AI in banking will reach $97 billion by 2027, highlighting the scale of investment entering the sector. But increasing expenditure does not necessarily translate into enterprise-wide…

Introduction Changes to U.S. federal student lending are expected to affect more than how Americans finance higher education. Tighter borrowing limits and fewer repayment options could alter household cash flow, private borrowing demand and the ability of some consumers to manage other forms of credit. The scale of the student loan market makes the issue significant for lenders. U.S. student loan balances are widely reported at about $1.6 trillion, with federal loans accounting for the majority of outstanding debt. Changes affecting repayment or collections can therefore have consequences beyond borrowers’ education-related obligations. Josh Turnbull, senior vice president of consumer lending…

Introduction For international businesses, having access to multiple payment providers does not necessarily mean having a resilient payments operation. A company can use several banks, processors, currencies and settlement routes while remaining heavily dependent on a single jurisdiction, counterparty or source of liquidity. That distinction is becoming increasingly important as fintech platforms consolidate more financial services into a single interface. SharPay, a payments platform serving international businesses and entrepreneurs, is positioning its infrastructure around this problem, bringing together European IBANs, merchant accounts, payment processing, payouts, cards and access to digital-asset services. Ivan Kroshnyi, founder of SharPay and co-founder and chief…

Introduction Artificial intelligence is increasingly moving beyond the role of a chatbot in business banking. Instead of simply answering questions about financial information, newer systems are being designed to interpret account data and eventually perform actions on behalf of business customers. European financial management platform Finom is pursuing that model through Finom AI, an assistant embedded directly within its business account. According to Finom head of product Alex Gromadzki, the system can work with information already held within a customer’s account, including balances, transactions, invoices, cards and accounting data. The company initially launched Finom AI in Germany, France, Italy and…

Introduction Artificial intelligence is increasingly being integrated into finance operations, from transaction monitoring to expense management and fraud detection. But as businesses deploy AI to review growing volumes of employee spending, the ability to explain why a transaction was flagged is becoming as important as the detection itself. According to Deloitte’s Q2 2026 CFO Survey, 73% of UK chief financial officers are optimistic about AI’s ability to improve business performance, while nearly all expect investment in digital technology to continue increasing in the coming years. For expense fraud detection, that creates a governance challenge. AI systems may identify unusual transactions…

Introduction Trinidad and Tobago is entering a new phase of financial-sector modernisation. The country already has a comparatively developed banking system, relatively high incomes and a financial sector that includes commercial banks, credit unions, insurers and investment firms. The challenge is no longer simply expanding access to formal financial services. Instead, the focus is increasingly on how people and businesses use those services. The country’s 2023 National Financial Inclusion Survey found that 75% of people were formally financially included, while 91% of financially included respondents had a commercial bank savings account. Yet only 24% had a mobile application connected to…

Introduction Digital onboarding is becoming a difficult balancing act for financial institutions and other businesses that need to verify customers remotely. Consumers increasingly expect account opening and identity checks to take minutes, while fraud controls are becoming more sophisticated as criminals adopt artificial intelligence to create synthetic identities and manipulate verification processes. Research cited by identity-verification provider Shufti found that 47% of users abandon digital onboarding when verification becomes too lengthy or cumbersome. Shahid Hanif, Shufti’s chief executive and co-founder, describes the problem as a “friction paradox”: companies must strengthen identity controls without creating enough obstacles to drive legitimate customers…