Author: Wamala Sipirian

Introduction AI agents in banking are moving beyond demonstrations and pilot projects as major financial institutions deploy them in payment repair, trade processing, document checking, liquidity management and client onboarding. At Sibos 2026 in Miami, banks including BNY, BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Citi and HSBC described production or expanding deployments in which artificial intelligence performs defined operational tasks while human employees retain responsibility for material decisions. The developments highlight a broader change in how financial institutions are approaching artificial intelligence. Rather than treating AI as a standalone technology project, banks are increasingly connecting agents to existing workflows, data systems and…

The MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) has published a new regulatory update examining developments in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) financial-services ecosystem, with particular attention to digital assets, tokenisation, custody, staking and emerging financial technologies. The update follows an FSRA Bi-Annual Regulatory Update Session held on 19 May 2026. According to MFTA, the session brought together around 20 representatives from member firms across the fintech and digital-asset sectors and was led by members of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s Policy & Legal team. The report provides an industry-level overview of how ADGM’s digital-asset market is developing beyond its earlier concentration…

JPMorganChase plans to deploy more than $750 billion through 2035 to increase housing supply and support homeownership across the United States, putting one of the country’s largest banks behind a multiyear effort to address housing affordability. The commitment is part of the bank’s American Dream Initiative and includes financing intended to help build or preserve 1 million affordable housing units. JPMorganChase also says it aims to help 500,000 customers purchase homes, including 200,000 first-time buyers. The bank plans to increase mortgage lending by more than 40% and add 850 Home Lending Advisors. For renters, however, the headline figure does not…

Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows are showing a mixed pattern as institutional investors balance demand for regulated cryptocurrency exposure against interest rates, Treasury issuance and broader market risk. A market note published by Bitunix analyst Dean Chen on August 6, 2026, cited approximately $475 million of net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs over the preceding week and about $922 million over the previous month. The same note reported cumulative net outflows of $7.932 billion over the preceding three months. The contrasting figures highlight the difficulty of interpreting ETF flows over different time periods. Short-term inflows can coexist with longer-period redemptions,…

AegisClear, a Taiwan-based digital asset technology company, is developing custody, tokenisation and settlement capabilities as Taiwan advances its plans to strengthen the country’s position as an Asian asset management center. The company says its infrastructure is designed to support institutional digital asset transactions through on-chain delivery-versus-payment (DvP), connecting asset delivery with payment settlement. Its stated focus includes tokenised assets, stablecoin-related settlement and custody across public and private blockchain networks. The development comes as Taiwan is expanding its regulatory framework for virtual assets while implementing its broader Asian Asset Management Center initiative. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has been developing asset-management…

Summa Tech has added anti-money laundering (AML) checks to its cloud-based Onboarder client onboarding platform, bringing identity verification and AML screening into the same workflow used by accountancy firms to establish new client relationships. The feature was introduced in September 2026 through an integration with identity-verification and compliance provider SmartSearch. According to Summa Tech, the expanded platform is designed to reduce the need for smaller accountancy practices to move between separate systems when completing onboarding, know-your-customer (KYC) and AML processes. The development comes as UK accountancy firms continue to face requirements around customer due diligence, risk assessment, record keeping and…

Introduction Stablecoins are increasingly being examined as payment infrastructure rather than solely as crypto-market instruments. Their potential use in recurring payments is attracting attention because subscription businesses depend on transactions that must be processed repeatedly, across different billing cycles, currencies and customer markets. The scale of the underlying subscription market is significant. Juniper Research estimates that global subscription-economy revenue will rise from $722 billion in 2025 to $1.2 trillion by 2030, representing 68% growth over the period. The research covers categories including digital video, software, digital music, gaming, news and magazines, physical goods and mobility services. Stablecoins could provide another…

Introduction Manchester-based payments infrastructure company Ryft has raised £20 million in Series B funding, giving the company additional capital to expand its multi-party payments platform across Europe and the United States. The round was led by Gresham House Ventures, with participation from existing investors Pembroke VCT and Ingenii Capital, as well as new backing linked to the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II. The financing brings Ryft’s total capital raised to approximately £27 million, according to the company. Ryft said its processing volume has tripled over the past 12 months and that more than 6,500 businesses now use its platform. The…

Introduction For financial technology companies building products around payments, digital assets or tokenized financial instruments, obtaining access to the banking system can be as important as determining which licenses apply to the business. Sponsor banks and banking-as-a-service (BaaS) providers can give non-bank companies access to deposit accounts, payment infrastructure and other banking functions without requiring the FinTech itself to operate as a chartered bank. The model has become an important part of the infrastructure connecting digital financial products with traditional money. A digital-asset platform, for example, may rely on bank accounts and payment rails to accept dollars, while its customers…

Venezuela’s financial system has undergone a profound transformation as years of economic instability, currency depreciation, migration and restrictions on international financial access changed how households and businesses manage money. The result is a Venezuela fintech market shaped less by conventional technological disruption than by the practical need to move, receive and preserve value in a difficult monetary environment. The country’s experience combines several financial systems operating at the same time. Bolívares remain the official currency, while US dollars are widely used in commerce. Mobile bank transfers have become an important payment mechanism, digital financial services have emerged around gaps in…