AWS has launched its first Local Zone in Hanoi, marking its initial infrastructure deployment in Vietnam to support data residency and low-latency cloud computing. The new facility allows organisations in highly regulated sectors, such as banking, fintech, and healthcare, to store and process data locally. This infrastructure helps enterprises comply with domestic data localisation requirements while reducing the operational burden of maintaining private servers. The Hanoi deployment offers single-digit millisecond latency, which supports applications requiring real-time responsiveness. This capability benefits financial services executing high-frequency trades, as well as gaming and live-streaming companies operating real-time digital platforms. Jeff Johnson “The AWS Local Zone in Hanoi puts world-class compute and storage where it matters most: closer to their customers, making sure Vietnamese organisations have what they need to build, scale, and compete without compromise,” said Jeff Johnson, Managing Director, ASEAN, AWS. The launch is part of the global network expansion from AWS, offering a local connection point that links Vietnamese enterprises to the global cloud network. For regional fintechs and financial institutions operating across Southeast Asia, the facility provides a standardised environment to deploy workloads across borders using identical APIs and management tools. Deputy Minister Pham Duc Long, Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), said, Pham Duc Long “The launch of the AWS Local Zone in Hanoi, Vietnam will provide a low-latency, secure cloud computing platform and contribute to supporting Vietnamese businesses’ technology needs.” The facility provides access to core cloud services, including compute-optimized and memory-optimized Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances. It is also among the first globally to offer localised object storage through Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and local snapshot capabilities via Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS). Several Vietnamese digital platforms and financial institutions have already integrated the infrastructure into their operations. These include commercial banks such as VIB, VPBank, and Techcombank, fintech developers like Trusting Social, and green mobility networks such as Green SM. AWS operates the Hanoi facility on an on-demand, pay-as-you-go model, removing the requirement for upfront capital investments or long-term infrastructure contracts.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Graphython (KB) via Magnific The post AWS Introduces Hanoi Local Zone for Low-Latency Cloud Services appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Thailand’s first virtual bank Clicx has launched with a 4% savings promotion for customers opening accounts through its app. According to the Bangkok Post, the rate is offered through the Clicx Save Max 4% pocket, which is available to Clicx Save account holders. The promotion runs for three months from the bank’s 19 June launch. It covers deposits of up to 20,000 baht, while balances above that earn 0.5% per year. Each customer may open one Clicx Save Max 4% pocket, in line with Bank of Thailand requirements. Clicx was established by Krungthai Bank, Advanced Info Service and PTT Oil and Retail Business. It received its virtual bank licence in May. Kanjana Chockpisansin, head of banking and finance research at Kasikorn Research Center, said virtual banks usually start with savings and investment products before expanding into other services. She added that these products often use capped balances and limited promotional periods, while targeting underserved and unserved customers under the central bank’s framework. Clicx uses digital identity checks and transaction monitoring to help protect customer accounts. It may investigate or suspend transactions if risks are detected. The bank also noted that depositors receive protection under the same standards applied to commercial bank customers. Clicx plans to add Clicx Ready Credit, a digital lending service.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by Rashed_stock via Magnific and Clicx   The post Thailand’s First Virtual Bank Clicx Launches With 4% Savings Offer appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

OCBC has launched a free online SME ESG assessment tool for SMEs across its core markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, named OCBC Pulse. The ESG tool is said to be capable of independently assessing the sustainability readiness of SMEs, while also enabling large companies to better understand the ESG performance of their respective SME suppliers. OCBC Pulse is said to offer these actionable recommendations for SMEs to identify gaps and improve in crucial sustainability areas. The bank intends to pilot the tool, which was developed in collaboration with the UN Global Compact Network Singapore, with its own suppliers via its procurement operations. Elaine Heng, the Head of Global Commercial Banking for OCBC, shared, Elaine Heng “Available at no cost and being easy to use, it lowers the cost and complexity for SMEs to start taking action to track and improve their ESG performance, and enhances their access to financing with us.” The tool is a web-based self-service platform that requires SME suppliers to complete questions across ESG areas, including submitting relevant documents if necessary for validation. Upon completing the assessment, the SME would receive a comprehensive report immediately, indicating their ESG readiness levels by Starter, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced classifications, as well as insights on where to improve. Large companies can onboard their SME suppliers through a dedicated landing page they can share with their suppliers, inviting them to complete the assessment. The rollout of OCBC Pulse is said to be in line with OCBC’s goal to support 12,000 SMEs in  Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia with sustainable financing by 2028. Featured image edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image bydigitizesc on Magnific The post OCBC Rolls Out OCBC Pulse, A Free ESG Assessment Tool for SMEs and Supply Chains appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sumsub has launched an AI agent integration that lets compliance teams turn AML policies into configured verification workflows. The Model Context Protocol integration allows teams to upload anti-money laundering policies or regulatory requirements to AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT or other models. The AI agent can then configure verification levels, risk questionnaires and onboarding workflows in Sumsub based on those documents. According to Sumsub, the process can reduce setup time from days to minutes, including for complex policies with country-specific risk brackets, scoring tables and conditional rules. The company said the integration is meant to reduce the manual work involved in translating compliance policies into platform settings. AI agents can also help embed Sumsub’s verification process into customer applications. Compliance teams can use the agents to review applicants, run analytics, generate verification links and respond to regulatory changes. Andrew Novoselsky Andrew Novoselsky, Chief Product Officer at Sumsub, said, “Our agentic experience changes that by connecting an AI agent directly to the configuration layer of the platform — a team can take their AML policy, hand it to an AI agent, and have their full environment built automatically. That is a fundamentally different category of capability from what has been available in this space.” The integration is model-agnostic and designed to work with leading AI agents. Sumsub has also published open-source agent skills on GitHub. The MCP integration builds on Sumsub’s existing AI tools, including Summy, its AI Copilot for compliance and fraud teams. Access is controlled through separate permissions, while sensitive actions run in an isolated sandbox. Configuration changes still require human review and approval. The integration is available now. Sumsub added that it is the first verification platform to be officially listed on the ChatGPT Apps platform. Documentation and agent skills are available through Sumsub’s developer resources.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Louis H via Magnific The post Sumsub Launches AI Agent Tools to Help Compliance Teams Build Workflows appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Early Chinese investors in Singapore-based AI startup Manus are planning to buy the company back from Meta for US$2 billion, matching the price the Facebook parent company paid for the firm in December, according to Reuters, citing The Information. The proposed transaction involves early backers HSG, ZhenFund and Tencent, with HSG and ZhenFund reportedly considering the use of fresh capital to acquire Meta’s position in the startup. Early investor Benchmark will not participate in the buyback process. The move follows a regulatory directive in Beijing in April that led to renewed scrutiny of the deal and discussions around unwinding Meta’s ownership, as Chinese authorities tighten oversight of US investments in advanced AI startups. Following the directive, Meta carried out an internal operational separation from Manus and halted data sharing between the two firms, according to the report. Manus develops AI agents capable of autonomously carrying out tasks with minimal human input and has seen significant revenue growth since the acquisition closed. Its annualised revenue run rate has risen to between US$400 million and US$500 million in recent weeks, up from US$100 million at the time of the deal. The startup is also reportedly exploring a restructuring into a China-incorporated joint venture, which could pave the way for a potential Hong Kong listing.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Magnific The post Original Investors to Buy Back Singapore-Based Manus From Meta for US$2 Billion appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Wise has acquired Expatica, an online resource for people navigating housing, healthcare, immigration, finance and everyday life abroad. Founded in 2000, Expatica provides practical information for people relocating or living outside their home country. Its content covers areas including housing, healthcare, immigration, work, finance and everyday life in a new country. The platform recorded more than 7 million visits in 2025, with its largest audiences in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain. Wise serves around 19 million people and businesses globally, including many customers who manage money across borders. The acquisition comes as international migration remains significant. Citing United Nations data, Wise noted that 304 million people were international migrants in 2024, equivalent to 3.7% of the world’s population. Danny Butler, Head of Owned Sites at Wise, said, “Expatica has spent years helping people make sense of life abroad with practical, locally relevant guidance. That makes it a strong fit for Wise, because we already support millions of people whose lives span borders. When people are planning, moving and settling into life abroad, money is a big part of that experience – from getting paid to sending, spending and managing money across borders. Wise is built for those moments.” Wise plans to continue investing in Expatica by expanding its content, local coverage, markets and languages over time. The company said Expatica will complement its financial products by giving people access to information as they plan, move and settle abroad.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Mockup_Mania via Magnific The post Wise Acquires Expatica to Add Relocation and Expat Guidance appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

More than a quarter of Trust Bank’s one million customers are aged 55 and above, showing that digital banking adoption extends beyond younger users. Its customers span all age groups, with those aged between 25 and 45 accounting for more than 40% of the customer base. Trust Bank CEO Dwaipayan Sadhu previously discussed the digital bank’s growth and its approach to attracting customers in Singapore. @fintechnewsnetwork They grew to be Singapore’s 4 largest bank in 2 years Trust Bank CEO, Dwaipayan Sadhu reveals the secrets to their rapid growth @Trust Bank Singapore #fintech #digitalbanking #banking #innovation #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network Trust Bank customers have completed more than 60 million overseas transactions in more than 175 countries and saved over S$142 million in foreign exchange fees. Malaysia recorded the highest overseas spending and customer participation. Other key markets included Japan, China, the United Kingdom and the United States. Customers have earned more than nine billion Linkpoints and over S$27 million in cashback through spending on groceries, dining and transport. The bank has recorded more than 430,000 Split Purchase transactions. The service allows customers to divide payments into instalments, with jewellery the largest category, followed by department store shopping and travel. Customers Turn to Savings and Investments Customers have funded more than 150,000 Savings Pots, with an average balance of about S$3,000 per pot. The feature is used to organise savings for goals such as travel, bills and future plans. Trust Bank has introduced a generative AI chatbot that has reduced customer chats handled by human agents by 50% and complaints by about 40%. CIO Rajay Rai has discussed why banks need to accelerate their adoption of AI. @fintechnewsnetwork After 35 years in banking, Rajay Rai, CIO Trust Bank says the industry has never faced a pace of change like AI. And it isn’t ready. He explains why. Here’s Rajay Rai’s take on AI in banking. fintech Digitalbanking AI banking @Trust Bank Singapore ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network Trust Bank has seen early interest in US-listed shares and exchange-traded funds. Customers have made thousands of trades in stocks including NVIDIA, Tesla, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, as well as ETFs. Nitin Bhargava Nitin Bhargava, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Trust Bank, said, “The real story behind our 1 million customers is intent. The data shows a shift where our customers are more hands-on, more cost-conscious, and more purposeful about how they manage their money.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user8647581 via Magnific   The post Over a Quarter of Trust Bank Customers Are Aged 55 and Above appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sea is reportedly testing an AI chatbot called Migoo in the US as it searches for growth beyond its established businesses. According to Bloomberg, Migoo is already accessible in multiple markets, but neither the app nor its website discloses Sea’s involvement. The chatbot uses stored information about users’ preferences and personal traits to personalise conversations. Users can also interact with it through services including Apple’s iMessage. Sea has not announced the project. The company declined to comment, while people familiar with the plans said Migoo could be introduced more widely. The launch would take Sea into the crowded US consumer AI sector, where OpenAI and ByteDance are among the companies competing for younger users. Bloomberg identified Sea President Chris Feng as the executive overseeing Migoo. Long-time Sea executive Bingyu Wang is also reportedly involved in its development. The chatbot is offered in the US through Marvelous Technology Inc, which is registered in California. Filings cited by Bloomberg link the business to a Singapore entity in which Wang is registered as a director. Sea Expands Its AI Strategy Migoo adds a consumer product to Sea’s growing use of AI. The group already applies the technology to areas such as product recommendations and tools for Shopee sellers. Sea also expanded its partnership with Google in February to develop AI applications across Shopee, Garena and Monee. The collaboration includes an AI shopping prototype designed to support product searches and purchases. Separately, Sea has established a team to evaluate potential investments in AI companies. The reported test comes as Shopee cuts several hundred developer roles worldwide, reducing the team by roughly 8%. There is no confirmed link between the layoffs and Sea’s broader AI strategy.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by geetaroy via Magnific The post Sea Reportedly Brings Migoo AI Chatbot to the US Market appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Checking someone’s ID at the door of a nightclub tells you who they are, but it does not tell you how they will behave once they are inside. Lionel Grosclaude, CEO of Fime, used that analogy to explain a challenge emerging in agentic commerce, where AI agents are beginning to search, shop and make payments on behalf of consumers. The comparison comes as agentic commerce moves rapidly from concept to live infrastructure. @fintechnewsnetwork The Nightclub Test for AI Payments Fime’s FACT Framework makes the case for continuous checks in AI payments, because an agent can still go off track after it is approved. fintech AI commerce payments ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network OpenAI has introduced Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, Google launched its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), while just recently, Visa and Mastercard joined in, with their Intelligent Commerce and Agent Pay, which are building systems that allow AI agents to participate directly in transactions. Worldpay research also suggests that consumers are becoming more comfortable with the idea, with 73% globally open to using AI agents to browse and purchase on their behalf, rising to 85% in Singapore and 95% in China. Lionel also pointed to estimates from McKinsey and Bain that place the future agentic commerce market between US$3 trillion and US$5 trillion by 2030. Why Payment Approval No Longer Tells the Whole Story The size of the opportunity of agentic commerce also explains why the trust problem cannot be treated as a small technical detail. Lionel linked that projected scale to today’s dispute rates, pointing out that even a 1% dispute rate in a US$3 trillion to US$5 trillion market could turn into tens of billions of dollars in contested transactions. Agentic commerce starts to look different from ordinary e-commerce when a successful payment no longer proves the consumer got what they meant to buy. Authentication can confirm who initiated a transaction, and payment networks can move money, but neither was designed to determine whether an AI agent has remained faithful to the user’s original instruction. Which leaves the industry with a question hanging over their heads.  Once an AI agent starts acting on behalf of a consumer, how can merchants, banks and payment networks know that the final purchase still reflects what the consumer actually intended? A Payment Can Be Correct and Still Be Wrong Lionel’s starting point was that the internet, and by extension much of digital commerce, was built around human action. A person searches, compares and decides before clicking the button to pay. Agentic commerce changes that sequence because the consumer may still give the original instruction, while the selection and purchase decision happens through software acting in between. Existing payment safeguards can still confirm who is involved in the transaction. They do not, however, answer whether the agent stayed within the boundaries the user set. As Lionel put it, the industry will need to trust that the agent is “staying within its mandate.” Know Your Agent, or KYA, has started to emerge as one way to check an AI agent when it is onboarded. Fime’s CEO sees value in that approach, although he warned that an onboarding check only captures one point in time. Lionel Grosclaude “You can test it at the beginning,” he said, but that does not mean the agent will not “adapt, learn and at the end of the day behave in a different way.” The risk becomes easier to understand once the agent starts buying real products. “It could be a simple mistake … you ask for blue shoes, and he buys you a red pair of shoes. This is an issue, but it’s not that serious,” Lionel said, putting the problem in everyday terms. A merchant may process the order exactly as requested and still leave the consumer with the wrong item. Health or safety raises the stakes further because one missed allergy can turn a mistaken purchase into something harmful. The system may still treat the transaction as valid, but that matters little if the agent has already bought something the user should never have received. FACT-Checking Whether the Agent Stayed on Brief Fime’s Framework for Agentic Commerce Trust, or FACT, was developed to address this gap. When a merchant receives a request from a shopping agent, the framework can compare that request against the consumer’s original prompt, helping determine whether the purchase remains consistent with what the consumer intended. Lionel described the process as checking whether “what the agent is asking me is totally consistent with the intent of the human.” The limits of onboarding also explain why Lionel does not see Know Your Agent as the full answer. KYA can help check an agent when it first enters the system, but it does not prove how the agent will behave later when real transactions begin. Agent protocols can help systems communicate, while payment networks can move the money. FACT focuses on the missing link between those functions: whether the agent’s request still matches the consumer’s original intent at the moment of purchase. In his explanation, the merchant agent asks the FACT agent to check the intent. FACT then accesses the original human prompt and compares it against what the shopping agent is requesting. If the request is consistent, the merchant can proceed. If not, the merchant can push back before placing the product in the basket. The transaction-level check matters because it happens when the agent is trying to buy something, not only when the agent is first approved. Lionel’s earlier nightclub analogy helps explain the difference. Checking someone’s ID may be necessary, but the harder question is whether they continue behaving properly once they are inside. FACT, in his view, is closer to making sure the agent continues “playing by the books” after the initial check has already happened. Fime Wants FACT to Sit Outside the Platforms As agentic commerce spreads across separate ecosystems, Lionel sees a risk in leaving intent checks to each platform. Protocols may help agents communicate and transact, but as he put it, “they’re not checking the intent.” “The platform has to work with any protocol,” he said. “It has also to work with any payments network.” A neutral layer becomes more important as agentic commerce fragments across AI platforms, payment networks, merchants and banks. Without shared trust signals, every ecosystem may end up checking agent behaviour in its own way, making disputes harder to resolve and standards harder for merchants to navigate. Merchants should not need a different intent-checking model for every agent, wallet, payment network or platform they support. The more fragmented the market becomes, the more important it becomes to have a way of verifying intent that can sit across those systems. Building Evidence Before Disputes Happen Lionel’s argument returns to disputes because agent-led purchases could create a commercial problem long before the market reaches full scale. If agentic commerce reaches the size forecast by McKinsey and Bain, even a small dispute rate could create a large exposure. The problem lies harder to resolve when each party sees a different part of the transaction. A consumer could argue that the agent misunderstood the instruction, while the merchant could point to the request it received and fulfilled. Banks and payment networks may only recognise the transaction as valid, while regulators may ask how the agent made the decision and whether the right safeguards were in place. FACT helps create the evidence needed before a dispute happens. “If something goes wrong, and if the merchant has used FACT, he is going to be able to have a report,” Lionel said. @fintechnewsnetwork What If AI Makes a Bad Purchase For You? AI can already shop and pay on your behalf. But what happens when it buys something you never wanted, or worse, something that puts you at risk? fintech AI payments ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network The report could show whether the transaction requested by the shopping agent was consistent with the user’s intent. Such a record matters because liability in agentic commerce will not always be obvious. A human checkout creates a relatively direct link between decision and payment, while agentic commerce inserts another layer into that process. Before the payment reaches the merchant or bank, the agent may have already made the purchase decision on behalf of the consumer. FACT attempts to make that boundary clearer by preserving evidence around what the agent was allowed to do and whether it followed that instruction. Merchants could find that protection increasingly important. Lionel said a merchant that cannot prove it respected the user’s intent may find itself responsible when the consumer challenges the transaction. Regulators Will Need More Than Promises The need for evidence also matters because regulators are bringing AI governance further into financial services. Take, for example, the EU AI Act, which has raised expectations for how firms govern higher-risk AI systems, while Singapore’s FEAT principles have long pushed financial institutions to consider fairness, ethics, accountability and transparency in their use of AI and data analytics. Lionel said FACT can tune its checks according to the rules of the market where the transaction occurs, rather than apply one fixed standard everywhere. Agentic commerce may require firms to prove on an ongoing basis that they are checking autonomous transactions against the rules in each jurisdiction, instead of treating compliance as something completed at launch. Regulators are unlikely to accept vague claims that an AI agent was trusted. They will need to understand what the consumer authorised, what the agent requested, how the merchant responded, and whether the transaction stayed within the relevant rules. According to Lionel, FACT provides a check that can adjust to those regulatory expectations while still operating across different markets and payment environments. Trust Could Decide If We Should Adopt Agentic Commerce Agentic commerce may already be technically possible, although broad adoption is still far from guaranteed. Fime’s CEO said relatively few people have actually used AI to buy things so far, even as the use case moves closer to everyday commerce. In his view, trust will decide whether consumers and businesses move beyond early experimentation of agentic commerce. “The trigger for this market will be trust,” Lionel said. The line brings the interview back to its central point. AI agents may soon be able to handle much of the shopping and payment journey on behalf of consumers. The real test is whether the industry can prove those actions still reflect the limits set by the human behind them. Wider adoption will depend on whether agents remain within those limits, and whether merchants, banks and regulators can prove what happened when something goes wrong. Fime’s FACT Framework is one attempt to answer that problem before agentic commerce reaches mainstream scale. So, speaking of agentic commerce, would you trust an AI agent to pay on your behalf, or would you still want proof that it bought exactly what you asked for? Watch the full conversation with Lionel Grosclaude, CEO of Fime, to hear how the industry may begin answering that question.   The post Fime Wants to FACT-Check Whether AI Buys What You Really Asked For appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Broadridge has joined Anthropic’s Project Glasswing to use advanced AI models to strengthen its cybersecurity defences. The new industry initiative brings together organisations that build or maintain software for critical infrastructure, including financial services. Participants will use Claude Mythos Preview, an unreleased frontier model from Anthropic, to strengthen security across foundational systems that make up a significant part of the world’s shared cyberattack surface. Broadridge will use the model as part of its defensive security work. Tim Gokey “Cybersecurity is fundamental to the resilience of financial markets. We are participating in Project Glasswing to apply frontier AI models to our own systems, helping us stay ahead of emerging threats and supporting a safer financial ecosystem.” said Tim Gokey, CEO of Broadridge.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by lifeforstock via Magnific The post Broadridge Joins Anthropic’s Project Glasswing for Cyber Defence appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Adyen has launched an agentic commerce suite that connects merchants to multiple AI shopping platforms through a single integration. Adyen Agentic links existing product catalogues, checkout systems and payment infrastructure to conversational AI channels. The suite includes Agentic Feed for real-time product, pricing and inventory data, Agentic Cart for checkout and order management, and Agentic Payments for authentication, fraud controls and agent-led transactions. It is designed to reduce the integration work required as new AI commerce channels emerge. American Express, Mastercard, Salesforce and Visa are among the initial partners. ESW, Scheels, Sézane and SharkNinja are early retail participants. Adyen Agentic is available on a limited basis to enterprise merchants in the United States, with global expansion planned. The suite is compatible with Meta’s AI checkout and builds on Adyen’s work with the Universal Commerce Protocol, Google’s Agent Payments Protocol and OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol. Karan Katyal Karan Katyal, Global Head of Agentic Commerce at Adyen, said, “We believe the future of agentic commerce should be open, so we intentionally designed Adyen Agentic to help retailers integrate once and participate across evolving platforms, protocols, and experiences — without having to bet on which ecosystems ultimately win. The ecosystem is evolving rapidly and we’re excited to enable innovative merchants to experiment with agentic commerce first-hand.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by freepik via Magnific The post Adyen Launches Agentic Commerce Suite for AI Shopping Platforms appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The costs of energy and chips supporting artificial intelligence are climbing even as returns on AI investments remain uncertain, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Managing Director Chia Der Jiun said. Speaking at the Lujiazui Forum on 17 June, Chia described accelerating AI investment in 2024 and 2025 as a positive demand shock to the global economy. However, he warned that growing reliance on AI could leave economic growth and financial markets vulnerable if investment expectations change. Chia Der Jiun “Global economic growth and equity market valuations are highly reliant on AI, and could slow sharply or reverse if investment assumptions are reassessed. The returns on investments in AI are uncertain, while the costs of energy and chips have been climbing,” he said. Chia also highlighted medium-term risks from AI adoption. Risks could build if AI safety is not adequately addressed or its economic benefits are not widely shared.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Borin via Magnific   The post MAS Chief Warns Rising AI Costs Could Weigh on Investment Returns appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Bulgaria euro transition on 1 January 2026 required a live, national-scale payments transformation involving banks, payment service providers, fintechs, government institutions, international schemes, and technology partners. BORICA AD, Bulgaria’s national card and payment infrastructure operator, has outlined in a new case study how the cutover was carried out with ecosystem partners including OpenWay. Its Way4 platform supported BORICA’s card issuing, acceptance, and payment processing environment. Useful lessons can be inferred for all payment companies preparing high-risk infrastructure change. Lesson 1: Treat the cutover as an ecosystem challenge The case study, Bulgaria’s Euro Day One: How BORICA Orchestrated a National Payments Cutover at Scale, shows that the Bulgaria euro transition depended on coordination across the full payments ecosystem. More than 35 banks, payment service providers, fintechs, government institutions, and technology partners were involved in synchronized changes to ensure payment continuity across channels. “The euro transition was a live, national-scale infrastructure transformation that required precise coordination across the payments ecosystem. Our objective was to ensure that payments worked seamlessly from the first minute of euro adoption, across every channel. This case study captures the operational model behind that outcome.” said Miroslav Vichev, CEO at BORICA.  Lesson 2: Rehearse the critical window before it arrives A defining phase was the planned three-hour cutover of the national card infrastructure. During this window, issuing and acquiring systems, POS and ATM devices, and international scheme integrations were updated simultaneously to support euro-denominated transactions. The Bulgaria euro transition highlights a central lesson for other markets: the most visible moment of change must be prepared long before the cutover begins. Governance, testing, escalation paths, partner readiness, and operational rehearsals are as important as the technology itself. Lesson 3: Treat the processing platform as part of national resilience In a national currency migration, the processing platform is not a back-office component. It becomes part of the country’s operational resilience layer. According to BORICA, more than 930,000 card and ATM transactions worth nearly EUR 42 million were processed within the first 48 hours of euro adoption, with zero unplanned downtime. The first successful euro ATM withdrawal was recorded just 20 seconds after midnight, followed by card and digital payment transactions within minutes. This outcome depended not only on project governance and ecosystem coordination, but also on the readiness of the platform layer. OpenWay’s Way4 platform supported BORICA’s card issuing, acceptance, and payment processing operations, helping maintain transaction traceability, reconciliation integrity, and operational stability under real-time load. The point for other markets is clear: resilience in a euro cutover is designed long before midnight. It sits in the architecture, testing model, partner coordination, and the ability of the processing platform to absorb synchronized change without interrupting live services. The case also illustrates the value of long-term technology partnership. BORICA and OpenWay have worked together since 2018 to modernise Bulgaria’s card infrastructure. By the time of Bulgaria’s euro transition, Way4 was already an established processing platform within the BORICA national payments environment. Lesson 4: Protect the wider digital payments ecosystem The case study also shows that continuity must extend beyond card processing. Value-added services including blink instant payments, B-Trust digital identity, SoftPOS solutions, and e-voucher platforms remained operational during the transition. For payment infrastructure operators, this is an important point: customer impact is shaped by the full ecosystem of services, not by core transaction processing alone. Lesson 5: Align regulation, settlement, and infrastructure early Regulatory and infrastructure alignment played a central role in the transition. BORICA now operates as an ancillary system within TARGET and is connected to TARGET Instant Payment Settlement, allowing Bulgarian banks to offer instant euro transfers across SEPA. For other markets, this reinforces the need to treat legal, settlement, and operational readiness as connected workstreams rather than separate milestones. A reference model for future payment transformations Bulgaria’s experience shows that national payment transformations succeed when governance, technology, regulation, partner coordination, and operational discipline are managed as one program. It also shows why relationships with progressive technology partners need to be built before the critical window arrives. In BORICA’s case, its long-term work with OpenWay meant the required platform was already embedded in the national payments environment. This supported the resilience, traceability, and operational control needed for the euro cutover. For executives at national payment companies, banks, processors, fintechs, and wallet providers, BORICA’s case study offers a practical reference model for preparing high-risk infrastructure change under live transaction conditions. It also shows how technology partnerships can support modernisation before, during, and after the moment of transition.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by OpenWay The post BORICA and OpenWay Put Payments Resilience in Focus During Bulgaria’s Euro Transition appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

BitGo has appointed former MAS and TRM Labs executive Angela Ang as Managing Director of APAC and President of BitGo Singapore. She took up the roles after clearing all regulatory and fit-and-proper requirements. Angela will oversee BitGo’s regional growth, market development and operating infrastructure. She will also lead the company’s efforts to grow its institutional business across Asia Pacific. Angela joins BitGo from blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, where she served as Head of APAC Public Policy and Strategic Partnerships. She was also part of the company’s founding APAC team and supported its expansion across the region. Before joining TRM Labs, Angela spent more than a decade at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. She led the team that developed and implemented Singapore’s payments and crypto licensing regime. Angela Ang Angela said, “BitGo has built its reputation by focusing on the requirements that matter most to institutions: security, compliance, resilience, and trust. Singapore has established one of the world’s most respected regulatory frameworks for digital assets, and APAC is entering an important phase of institutional market development. I am excited to join BitGo and work with our teams, clients, and partners to expand access to safe, scalable, and regulated digital asset solutions across the region.” BitGo Singapore is regulated by MAS as a Major Payment Institution. Singapore serves as a strategic hub for BitGo’s wider APAC operations. The company provides institutional services covering digital asset custody, wallets, trading, financing, settlement, staking and stablecoin infrastructure.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by vykhopentaras via Magnific The post Former MAS and TRM Labs Exec Angela Ang Joins BitGo as APAC Lead appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Flagright has raised US$12.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Infinity Ventures. The round also included participation from Sella and existing investors Frontline and Y Combinator. The Series A follows a US$4.3 million seed round announced in April 2025, which was led by Frontline Ventures. Flagright plans to use the funding to expand explainable AI across its financial crime compliance operations and strengthen its presence in the United States. This will include investigations, alert intelligence, rule optimisation, decision support and audit-ready workflows. The company provides transaction monitoring, watchlist screening, risk scoring, case management, AI forensics and governance tools through a single platform. The platform is designed for banks, fintech companies, credit unions and other regulated financial institutions. Baran Ozkan Baran Ozkan, CEO and Co-Founder of Flagright, said, “This round helps us accelerate our position as the enterprise standard for financial crime compliance by expanding explainable AI use cases across compliance operations and increasing our US market presence, while we continue serving sophisticated clients with the reliability and depth they expect from a mission critical software.” Madhu G Nadig Madhu G. Nadig, CTO and Co-Founder of Flagright, said, “AI in compliance only matters if it is explainable, governable, and useful in real operations. The market does not need another black box tool. It needs an operating system that brings monitoring, screening, investigations, governance, and explainable AI together in one place. We are building the system of choice for sophisticated institutions that need AI they can trust, audit, and operationaliae at scale.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mkmult via Magnific The post Flagright Raises US$12.5 Million in Series A Funding appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Robinhood will lay off about 10% of its full-time workforce as part of efforts to remain lean and speed up product development. According to an SEC filing, the company will also cancel hiring for a small number of vacant roles. Robinhood expects to record about US$20 million in cash charges related to severance and employee benefits, along with roughly US$8 million in share-based compensation costs. The company expects to recognise the charges in the second quarter of 2026. Robinhood announced the layoffs despite reporting record average daily trading volumes in June to date across equities, options and prediction markets.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by pe_jo via Magnific The post Robinhood Layoffs to Affect 10% of Staff Despite Record Trading Volumes appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

BitGo Singapore will support dtcpay’s expansion across global payment markets with its digital asset infrastructure. dtcpay plans to use the infrastructure to strengthen asset security and improve its operational capabilities. BitGo Singapore is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Major Payment Institution for Digital Payment Token Service and Cross-border Money Transfer Service. Angela Ang, Managing Director of BitGo Singapore, said, “We believe dtcpay is playing an important role in real-world digital asset adoption through regulated payment solutions. As dtcpay expands across new markets, our role is to provide the secure and regulated infrastructure that allows them to scale effortlessly.” Alice Liu Alice Liu, Founder and CEO of dtcpay, said, “BitGo Singapore’s regulated infrastructure is the ideal foundation for dtcpay to scale our global payment network, and this partnership reflects our shared belief that the future of finance is built on security, transparency, and regulatory integrity.” The companies also plan to explore further collaboration in infrastructure, connectivity and ecosystem partnerships across regulated digital asset markets.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by rajacuann via Magnific   The post dtcpay Taps BitGo Singapore for Secure Digital Asset Infrastructure appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Even the people who study fake faces for a living are no longer comfortable trusting what they see on screen. Dominic Forrest, Chief Technology Officer at iProov, said that he has spent more than a decade studying manipulated faces and the ways attackers try to fool identity systems. But right now, the problem he’s facing is that the old visual clues are disappearing. “I have spent the last 13 years looking at fake faces, and I can no longer tell the difference,” Dominic told the webinar hosted by Fintech News Network. Coming from someone with that much experience in the field, the admission is difficult to brush aside. It says a lot about how far deepfake tools have advanced, and how little ordinary users can rely on what looks real during a live digital interaction. His point also lands at a time when deepfake fraud in the Asia Pacific (APAC) is becoming harder for banks to treat as a future concern. Reports of GenAI-enabled scams rose 456% between May 2024 and April 2025, adding urgency to a discussion that centred on how banks can keep trust intact when impersonation looks increasingly convincing. Generative AI is putting more pressure on banks to prove who is behind a screen without turning every digital interaction into a frustrating checkpoint. The webinar brought together executives from Tonik, GXBank, Ryt Bank and iProov to discuss how financial institutions are responding as AI-driven fraud becomes more convincing. Existing eKYC, biometric authentication and liveness checks have helped digital finance scale within APAC, but deepfake fraud attacks are now testing its limits, whether those controls can keep learning as quickly as fraudsters change their tactics. Deepfakes Are Becoming Easier to Launch Dominic pointed out that the most striking change in the fraud landscape is how quickly convincing attacks can now be created, with believable fakes no longer requiring a professional or expensive setup. According to him, iProov tracks more than 130 face-swapping tools, many of which are available at a surprisingly very low cost. Some are even free. With a single still image from LinkedIn or a company website, someone can now appear as another person on a live video call, which has led to the barrier to entry dropping significantly, turning deepfake scams into something far more easily accessible than they were just a few years ago. Gan Kee Lim, Head of CyberSecurity and Tech Risk at GXBank, noted that digital banks in Malaysia are seeing the same change in the threat landscape. “Fraud is no longer just poorly worded phishing emails. It now involves hyper-realistic deepfakes, voice cloning and AI-enabled chatbots,” Gan said. Attackers are also treating fraud more like a scalable business. Gan described the rise of cybercrime-as-a-service models, where criminal tools and attack methods can be shared quickly across groups and markets. The pace of those attacks puts pressure on banks that still depend heavily on manual review. “Manual fraud reviews are no longer sufficient,” Gan noted. GXBank has responded by using internally developed AI tools to support fraud detection and transaction monitoring. Gan added that the bank has reduced case assessment time from around 15 minutes to close to five minutes, while keeping human review in the decision-making process. Southeast Asia’s Digital Growth Has Created a Larger Attack Surface GXBank’s use of AI in fraud detection reflects a wider pressure across the region, as more banking activity moves onto digital channels. Within the APAC picture, Southeast Asia has become a particularly important market to watch. Dominic noted that the region stands out because many countries have moved quickly into digital-first financial services, bringing more first-time users into online banking. The wider access has been positive for customers, especially in markets where digital banks are trying to reach underserved segments. The same growth also gives criminals more chances to test new tactics at scale. During the webinar, the discussion referenced iProov’s finding that attacks in Southeast Asia rose sharply in 2025, including a 719.55% increase in Q3. Gan noted that better detection may have contributed to the higher number of recorded cases. Even with that caveat, he added that the underlying threat is still growing as generative AI helps fraudsters move faster. Catherine Paleracio, Chief Information Security Officer of Tonik, gave digital banks a warning. “It is not the time for us to be lax,” Catherine said. Tonik is responding by strengthening its cyber resilience programme and using AI-driven analysis to support fraud prevention. Catherine also said an attack on one financial institution should be treated as a warning to the wider financial industry. Fraud tactics can travel quickly across Southeast Asia once criminals find an approach that works, and these groups have been seen to be learning from each other while often reusing successful playbooks that have worked in other markets. Banks Need to Authenticate Presence, Not Just Faces When fraud tactics can move quickly across markets, banks have less room to wait until something looks suspicious after the fact. Banks need enough confidence during the interaction itself to know whether the person behind the screen is real. All this while financial institutions have already built many of their digital journeys around identity verification. eKYC and biometric checks have made remote onboarding possible, while liveness checks have helped institutions confirm that a customer is not simply presenting a static image or recording. Julius Rajeswaran, Chief Operating Officer of Ryt Bank, took that point further, arguing that banks need to think more carefully about what they are actually proving. “Authenticating faces is important, but authenticating presence is what we need to concentrate on,” Julius stated. A face match may only show that an image resembles the customer. Deepfake fraud prevention now requires banks to assess whether a real person is present and whether the interaction fits the customer’s usual behaviour. Higher-risk moments may also need another layer of checks. Julius added that fraud controls cannot create too much friction for customers. Ryt Bank has onboarded 1.2 million customers in seven months, and that scale makes customer experience a central part of the security conversation. “Whatever we do in the fight against fraud has to be invisible to the customer,” Julius noted. Deepfake fraud in APAC is forcing banks to work within a narrow space. Controls have to become stronger without making the digital banking journey feel harder than customers are willing to accept. Stronger Security Still Has to Work for Everyone Keeping the digital banking journey from feeling too difficult becomes even more complicated when customers do not all come to the service with the same devices or digital confidence. Julius pointed to older customers and vulnerable segments as part of that challenge. Lower-end devices add another layer of difficulty because a biometric system that works well on a flagship smartphone may perform differently on a low-cost Android phone with a weaker camera. Dominic made a similar point from the technology side, stressing that inclusivity cannot be treated as a nice-to-have. Identity verification systems need to work reliably for customers with different skin tones and across a wide range of age groups. The same standard also has to hold when device quality or network conditions are less than ideal. He noted that iProov has operated across more than 27,000 makes and models of devices globally. Some users may be trying to complete onboarding or authentication on very low-cost devices, with unstable internet connections making the process even harder. Digital banking security cannot be built only for customers with the latest phones and strong connectivity. Banks risk excluding users, or giving them a weaker experience, if identity checks fail to work reliably for the people who most need digital financial services to be accessible. Catherine explained that onboarding remains one of the most vulnerable customer touchpoints because it is where a bank establishes identity. At Tonik, the bank combines multiple data points in the background, including eKYC and liveness checks. Document checks and device behaviour also help the bank strengthen fraud detection without overwhelming customers. One-Time Verification Is No Longer Enough At the end of the discussion, Dominic brought the issue back to whether banks can keep identity checks effective after the first moment of verification. He urged financial institutions to look closely at whether their existing biometric liveness systems can stand up to today’s AI-generated attacks. eKYC and broader identity verification controls also need the same level of scrutiny. External testing matters here too, and so do recognised certifications and standards, because banks in APAC cannot rely only on vendor claims when tools that are being used for deepfake fraud keep evolving. A customer may pass authentication at the start of a session, only for the risk picture to change minutes later as their behaviour or device signals begin to look different. “Verification can no longer be a one-time gate,” Dominic highlighted. Across APAC, the next stage of deepfake fraud prevention will depend on controls that can adapt throughout the customer journey, especially during account recovery and higher-risk transactions. The full discussion goes deeper into how Tonik, GXBank, Ryt Bank and iProov are thinking about deepfake fraud and the future of identity checks in APAC. Watch the full webinar here: Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image by user850788 via Magnific. The post If Deepfakes Can Fool the Trained Eye, What Should APAC Banks Do? appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Although AI adoption is surging across enterprises, only about half of organizations have established clear AI usage policies, according to a recent survey by Okta. This underscores a significant gap between AI adoption and governance, highlighting an urgent need for stronger security controls and guardrails. The study, which polled 292 executives and 492 knowledge workers to explore their perceptions, experiences, and usage habits regarding AI and AI agents, found that while over 60% of workers use AI tools daily, and AI agents are deployed in more than 90% of organizations, 47% of executives reported their company lacks a formal strategy for AI deployment. While this represents a significant improvement from the 90% figure recorded in 2025, it remains underwhelming given the sheer scale of AI adoption, and creates Results also highlight a disconnect between leadership and staff. 35% of executives reported that their organization’s AI usage policies are unclear, a figure that rises to 57% among knowledge workers. This 22-point gap suggests either that policies exist but aren’t effectively communicated to frontline employees, or that leaders underestimate the practical ambiguity their teams experience. Types of information entered, uploaded, or shared with AI tools, Source: AI Agents at Work 2026, Okta, May 2026 High-risk user behaviors Unclear governance is also actively driving high-risk security behaviors. Findings from the study show that employees regularly share sensitive company and personal data with AI tools including work emails or internal messages (51.4%), HR-related information (35.8%), confidential company documents (29.1%), health-related information (25%), personal ID information (20.3%), and login credentials and passwords (16.3%). Types of information entered, uploaded, or shared with AI tools, Source: AI Agents at Work 2026, Okta, May 2026 The risk extends beyond just data as workers also grant AI tools access to critical internal systems, including files or cloud storage (38.4%), email inboxes (37.6%), workplace collaboration tools (37.4%), and calendars (30.7%). Permission granted to AI tools or agents, Source: AI Agents at Work 2026, Okta, May 2026 These governance gaps have tangible consequences, with 58% of executives reporting that their organization experienced an AI-related security incident or a close call in the past year. AI adoption in the enterprise In the enterprise, AI has become the standard. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the knowledge workers polled reported using an AI tool at least daily, and a similar proportion (65%) expect to use more AI tools in the next six months. AI agents are also being adopted rapidly. The vast majority (92%) of the executives surveyed said that autonomous AI agents are already in widespread (58%) or moderate (35%) use within their organization. In fact, AI agents are actually the most used AI tools, utilized by 68% of workers, followed by large language models (LLMs) and chatbots at 62%. Other AI tools such as writing assistants, coding assistants, browser extensions, and industry-specific utilities, are also common. Findings from the Okta survey mirror a separate 2026 study by LayerX Security, which also found widespread adoption of AI tools in the enterprise but which also emphasizes that usage is increasingly fragmented across platforms. While 70.44% of users rely on a single AI assistant, nearly 30% use multiple AI platforms, including 21.16% using two tools and over 8% using three or more. On average, enterprise users interact with 2.24 AI applications, while the median user utilizing two AI tools. ChatGPT leads the pack in enterprise AI usage, both in adoption and engagement, with about 36% of enterprise users interacting with ChatGPT, and the app driving over 55% of all AI conversations. Microsoft’s enterprise-focused offering Copilot M365 follows with 29% of users and 23% of conversations, trailed by Gemini and Claude. AI platforms: users versus conversations, Source: State of AI Usage Report 2026, LayerX Security, May 2026 As AI adoption accelerates and as associated data risks become increasingly prevent, the AI model risk management market is expanding rapidly. One research firm forecasts that by 2030, this market will reach US$15 billion, rising at a compound annual growth rate of about 16% from US$7.17 billion in 2025. This expansion will be driven by several key factors, it predicts, including increasing demand for transparent decision systems, and adoption of automated risk monitoring tools, but also mandatory AI compliance regulations, and growing deployment of generative AI models.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by ttonaorh via Magnific The post Rapid AI Adoption Outpaces Security Policies in Enterprises appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Visa has partnered with Mintoak to help Asia Pacific acquirers offer merchants more than payment acceptance. The partnership will give banks and financial institutions access to a digital platform that combines in-store and online payments with reporting, data insights, merchant engagement tools and integrated banking services. Visa will contribute its payments network, data and advisory capabilities, while Mintoak will provide its cloud-native, API-led platform. The platform is expected to help acquirers launch services faster, improve merchant activation and generate revenue from additional offerings. Mintoak’s platform gives merchants one place to manage payment acceptance, access business insights and handle service needs. It can be integrated with an acquirer’s existing systems, allowing acquirers to retain ownership of their merchant relationships. Prateek Sanghi Prateek Sanghi, Head of Visa Consulting & Analytics for Asia Pacific, said, “Acquirers play a critical role in the payments ecosystem, but the expectations of merchants are evolving rapidly. By partnering with Mintoak, we are empowering acquirers with modular, software-led capabilities that support deeper merchant engagement, more efficient servicing and sustainable, long-term growth.” Raman Khanduja Raman Khanduja, Co-founder and CEO of Mintoak, added, “By building on the foundation of payments with platform-led engagement, we are enabling acquirers to strengthen competitiveness, enhance merchant lifetime value and unlock new avenues for growth in the SME segment.” The collaboration also supports Visa’s efforts to expand card and digital payment acceptance among underpenetrated SMEs across Asia Pacific. It aims to speed up and lower the cost of onboarding, expand payment acceptance and help acquirers respond to margin pressure and rising service expectations.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by user23413193 via Magnific The post Visa Taps Mintoak to Bring Payments, Business Tools Into One Platform appeared first on Fintech Singapore.