The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has revoked the Major Payment Institution License of Bsquared Technology (BSQ) following findings of alleged breaches of regulatory requirements as well as the submission of false or misleading information. The revocation came into effect on 14 May 2026. Bsquared Technology is no longer permitted to provide digital payment token services in Singapore under the Payment Services Act 2019. MAS detailed the enforcement action in an official notice issued 16 months after it originally licensed the firm in January 2025. According to the regulator, an onsite inspection in 2025 revealed significant weaknesses in the company’s risk management practices and conflict of interest policies. MAS also noted that the firm failed to meet outsourcing guidelines in its arrangements with related entities. Bsquared Technology submitted information that was false or misleading in material particulars on multiple occasions, the regulator found. MAS found that these misrepresentations occurred from the time of the firm’s initial license application and continued through the inspection period. The company conducted limited activities while licensed and reported holding no outstanding customer funds or assets, MAS said. The firm must submit an auditor-issued closure certificate that confirms it has appropriately routed all customer funds. The regulator stated it takes a serious view of the breaches and is currently reviewing the responsibilities of key officers at the firm. MAS added that entities breaching regulatory requirements or providing inaccurate information will face consequences.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by artyomstock89 and mamewmy via Magnific The post Bsquared Technology Payment License Revoked Over Serious Breaches, MAS Says appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

DBS is partnering with the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to develop financing approaches and internal banking capabilities for climate adaptation and resilience in the APAC region. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of Temasek’s Ecosperity 2026 sustainability event in Singapore. Through the collaboration, DBS and CBI will jointly publish research identifying investable climate adaptation opportunities in sectors such as energy and real estate. The research will combine CBI assessment methodologies with regional market data from DBS. The bank is also launching an internal capability-building programme to help its relationship managers and assessment teams integrate climate resilience factors into core banking processes. Staff will receive foundational and advanced training on how to avoid maladaptation risks and monitor the impact of resilience investments. Shilpa Gulrajani “Unlike mitigation projects, which typically generate clear and predictable cash flows, many adaptation investments are centred on loss avoidance,” said Shilpa Gulrajani, Head of Sustainable Finance, Institutional Banking Group, DBS. Gulrajani added that this dynamic makes adaptation projects inherently more challenging to finance using conventional approaches, highlighting the need for new frameworks. Sean Kidney “Financing resilience investment has become critical to avoid derailing economies and increasing default risk,” said Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative. The partnership aligns with a growing domestic focus on physical climate risks. Singapore’s Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment has designated 2026 as the Year of Climate Adaptation. Broader estimates cited during the announcement indicate that economies will need over US$365 billion annually by 2035. This is to develop resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding climate shocks such as floods and heatwaves.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Rashed_stock via Magnific The post DBS Partners Climate Bonds Initiative on Climate Adaptation Financing in APAC appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Primer has raised US$100 million in Series C funding to expand its AI payments platform and grow its US business. The round was led by Sofina, with participation from Peak XV Partners and existing investors Balderton, Accel, ICONIQ, Tencent and Speedinvest. Primer will use the funds to develop AI tools for payments and finance teams, including Primer Companion, its AI agent for merchants. Founded in 2020, Primer helps merchants manage payments across processors, acquirers, fraud tools and payment methods. Its platform captures more than 400 data points per transaction, manages more than 95% of customer payment volume on average and processes billions of transactions annually for businesses including GetYourGuide, Dialpad and Printful. Fragmented payment data can affect how AI tools support payment decisions. Gabriel Le Roux “In the next few years, every payment decision in a large business will be initiated, optimized or audited by AI. That shift is already underway. The question is whether the data those systems run on is complete because when you deploy agents across fragmented data, they don’t just underperform, they make the wrong decision. That’s why the next era of payments can only be built on complete, contextual intelligence.” said Gabriel Le Roux, CEO and co-founder of Primer. Primer Companion was launched in 2025 to answer payment queries and surface insights from merchant payment data. Primer plans to develop the tool further so it can run experiments, optimise performance and operate within merchant-defined parameters. The US accounts for around a fifth of Primer’s revenue, with annual recurring revenue in the region doubling year-on-year. Primer aims to grow US revenue to more than a third of total revenue by 2028 and hire up to 50 people in the region.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Pixelid via Magnific The post Primer Raises US$100 Million Series C With Backing From Tencent, Peak XV appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Digital assets are gaining real traction among regulated institutions, but security risks are rising just as quickly. As adoption accelerates, scrutiny around custody controls, transaction integrity and compliance oversight is becoming more intense. Banks, exchanges and financial intermediaries are no longer running isolated pilots. Digital asset workflows are being integrated into day-to-day operations, which makes security architecture and governance core requirements rather than secondary considerations. The institutions that move ahead will be those that can scale digital asset activity without compromising control, resilience or regulatory standards. What C-level leaders should consider when building a digital asset security blueprint How regulatory developments are shaping the digital asset landscape Balancing innovation with risk management in a fast-evolving market Speakers: Sanchit Mall, Director Digital Currencies, Asia Pacific, Visa Yip Kah Kit, Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at UOB Group Arthit Sriumporn, Founder of Rakkar Digital Ray Law, Senior Security Solution Architect, Thales Moderator: Vincent Fong, Chief Editor, Fintech News Network The post The Blueprint for Institutional Digital Asset Security at Scale appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Mastercard has launched Merchant Trust Services to help banks and payment providers detect scam merchants earlier. The service uses Mastercard’s network intelligence, cyber and identity tools, and real-time analytics to assess merchant risk during onboarding and ongoing monitoring. It comes as fake online storefronts become harder to spot, with scammers using generative AI to create convincing websites, ads, reviews and customer testimonials. Consumers lost US$442 billion globally to online scams in 2025, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance’s Global State of Scams 2025 report. Mastercard is also introducing the Merchant Scam & Risk Indicator, which gives issuers real-time merchant risk signals during authorisation. In a pilot with a leading issuer, the indicator detected about 80% of risky merchants identified by the issuer. Some were flagged up to 90 days before the issuer’s first escalation. The indicator will first be available in Europe and the United States, with plans to expand globally within the year. Mastercard is also updating its franchise standards from July. Acquirers and payment facilitators will be required to investigate within 72 hours when potential scam activity reaches a defined risk threshold. If the activity is confirmed, the merchant must be stopped from accepting Mastercard transactions. Ann Johnson “Digital commerce only works when people trust what’s on the other side of the screen. If we let scammers keep posing as legitimate businesses, we don’t just lose money — we lose confidence. We need to secure this trust for the good of the entire digital ecosystem: from consumers to banks and the honest merchants who are trying to grow.” said Ann Johnson, Executive Vice President of Security Solutions at Mastercard.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by noob via Magnific The post Mastercard to Help Banks Spot Scam Merchants Earlier With New Trust Service appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

GXS Bank is expanding GXS Invest beyond cash with new funds covering bonds, diversified assets, equities and gold. The digital bank has partnered Lion Global Investors to launch the LionGlobal Dynamic Core Income Fund SGD, a multi-asset fund distributed on GXS Invest as GXS Invest Diversified. The fund is available exclusively through GXS Bank at launch. It invests across equities, bonds, commodities and cash through a mix of unit trusts and exchange-traded funds. Lion Global Investors will manage the portfolio dynamically, adjusting allocations in response to market conditions, economic developments and geopolitical risks. Its investment framework combines data-driven insights with the experience of its portfolio managers. Jenn Ong Jenn Ong, Group Head of Retail at GXS Bank, said, “The LionGlobal Dynamic Core Income Fund SGD is the result of our shared goal with Lion Global Investors to take the stress out of investing for the everyday investor, so that they do not need to fret over making tactical investment choices during volatile market conditions. With GXS Invest, they simply need to choose the investment option that best meets their risk tolerance and investment objectives. The teams of experts behind the funds we have curated will do the rest.” Darius Foo Darius Foo, Head of Distribution Business at Lion Global Investors, said, “Today’s investors are looking for clarity, diversification and resilience in their portfolios. The LionGlobal Dynamic Core Income Fund is designed to address these needs through its simple yet diversified solution that combines active and passive strategies, supporting investors in navigating market uncertainty while staying focused on long-term growth.” GXS Invest was launched in 2025 with GXS Invest Cash Plus, which gives customers access to the Fullerton SGD Cash Fund. The platform now includes GXS Invest Cash Plus, Bond, Diversified, Growth and Gold, giving retail investors options across different asset classes and risk levels. Customers can access the investment platform by signing up for a GXS Bank account through the bank’s mobile app.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mangpor2004 via Magnific The post GXS Bank Adds Bond, Equity and Gold Funds to Investment Platform appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Tazapay has added iPiD’s payee verification tools to help businesses check payment recipients before sending money across borders. The integration embeds iPiD’s Know Your Payee capability directly into Tazapay’s platform. Tazapay provides local collection and payouts across more than 70 markets, alternative payment methods, virtual accounts, multi-jurisdiction licensing and stablecoin-to-fiat settlement. It serves more than 1,000 enterprises and fintechs across 30 countries, processing billions of dollars in annualised payment volume. Businesses can now access real-time account validation and beneficiary name matching through their existing Tazapay setup. iPiD’s single-API model supports checks across different markets and payment schemes without requiring multiple local integrations. The move comes as Tazapay supports both traditional payment rails and stablecoin-to-fiat settlement, including for web3 companies and enterprises operating in emerging market corridors. Tazapay recently extended its Series B round, led by Circle Ventures with participation from Coinbase Ventures and CMT Digital. Damien Dugauquier Damien Dugauquier, Co-Founder and CEO of iPiD, said, “Tazapay has solved something genuinely difficult in giving any business access to the full complexity of global payments through a single platform. When you’re operating at that scale and across that many markets, trust in who gets paid cannot be an afterthought. That’s what iPiD brings to this partnership — and why we’re proud to be part of the infrastructure that helps businesses go global with confidence.” Aayush Singhania Aayush Singhania, Chief Product Officer at Tazapay, said, “Businesses that come to Tazapay want to move money across borders without compromise. Integrating iPiD means we can now add payee verification to that promise, so our clients know the payment is going to the right place before it moves.”     Featured image: From left to right: Quinn Pham, Regional Director APAC, iPiD | Damien Dugauquier, Co-Founder & CEO, iPiD | Aayush Singhania, Chief Product Officer, Tazapay | Abhishek Sharma, Director of Banking Partnerships, Tazapay The post Tazapay Adds iPiD Verification Tools as Cross-Border Payment Volumes Grow appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Paymentology has appointed Fiona Tee as its new Chief Financial Officer. Tee joins from cross-border payments firm Currencycloud, where she spent nine years helping scale the business prior to its acquisition by Visa. Her appointment comes shortly after Paymentology secured US$175 million in a funding round backed by Apis Partners and Aspirity Partners. She brings over 25 years of finance leadership experience across the fintech and technology sectors. The company plans to use the capital to accelerate its global expansion and continue innovating its modern issuer-processing infrastructure. Jeff Parker “As demand for modern issuer-processing infrastructure continues to accelerate globally, her experience scaling fintech businesses and navigating transformational growth will be invaluable as we enter our next phase,” said Jeff Parker, CEO of Paymentology. In her new role, Tee will work closely with the executive team to deliver Paymentology’s five-year strategy, supporting new market entry, disciplined execution, and sustainable profitability as the business scales. Fiona Tee “What stood out to me immediately was the strength of the business, the quality of the team and the commitment to delivering exceptional outcomes for customers,” said Fiona Tee, Chief Financial Officer, Paymentology. “I believe sustainable growth comes from a clear strategy, strong financial discipline and a culture that is aligned around execution.” Paymentology also recently updated its brand identity to reflect its evolution into a globally scaled payments infrastructure provider supporting banks and fintechs across nearly 70 countries.     Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by fabrikasimf via Magnific The post Paymentology Appoints Fiona Tee as CFO Following US$175M Funding Round appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Khairi Azmi has joined Paxos as CEO of Paxos Global and Head of APAC, according to his LinkedIn post. Based in Singapore, Khairi will lead Paxos’ regional business across Asia Pacific, with a focus on regulated stablecoins and digital asset infrastructure. His role covers regional strategy, business development and partnerships with crypto exchanges, banks, brokerages, payment service providers and technology companies. Khairi will also oversee Paxos’ Singapore office and work with regional regulators as the company looks to drive adoption of Global Dollar (USDG). Global Dollar (USDG) is a US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd., a separate Paxos entity licensed as a Major Payment Institution in Singapore. He joins Paxos after six years at OKX, where he was Head of APAC, Institutions and Singapore General Manager. During his time at OKX, he helped build the company’s institutional business across the region and led its Singapore office. Khairi has also held roles at Seabury Global Markets, EBS Dealing Resources, Integral Development Corporation, OANDA and DBS Vickers Securities, with a focus on institutional sales, foreign exchange and regional business development.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by leungchopan via Magnific The post Khairi Azmi Moves From OKX to Paxos as APAC Head appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Clicx Bank is preparing to launch services next month after receiving approval to operate as a virtual bank in Thailand. The Bank of Thailand granted the licence on 14 May, Bangkok Post reported, making Clicx the first approved virtual bank applicant in the country to secure an operating licence. The digital bank is backed by Krungthai Bank, Advanced Info Service and PTT Oil and Retail Business. Krungthai Bank disclosed that Clicx had been notified of the finance minister’s approval for its commercial banking licence. The approval also covers regulated payment services. Clicx plans to provide savings, money management and credit services through a fully digital model. The bank is aimed at underserved customers with irregular income or limited financial records, including gig workers, small merchants, new workers and other users outside the reach of traditional banking. It plans to use AI and non-traditional data to better assess customer profiles, including information linked to everyday behaviour and service usage. Clicx’s lending products will take into account customers’ repayment ability. Thailand approved three virtual bank applicants in June 2025: ACM Holding, the Krungthai-AIS-OR consortium and the SCB X consortium with WeBank Technology Services and KakaoBank. The Bank of Thailand requires the groups to establish public limited companies, meet the finance minister’s conditions and pass its readiness assessment before starting operations. The original timeline required the virtual banks to begin operations within one year of the 19 June 2025 approval, but the regulator has since allowed more time. Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn expects at least two virtual banks to begin operations by the end of 2026.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by wahyu_t via Magnific The post Clicx Bank Set to Launch as Thailand’s First Virtual Bank appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Banking Circle Group has appointed Kush Saxena as Group CEO, with its co-founders set to move into advisory and transition roles. Saxena brings more than 20 years of senior leadership experience in payments and financial technology. He was most recently CEO of Getnet, one of the largest merchant acquirer in Latin America. Prior to that, he spent eight years at Mastercard, where he served as Executive Vice President of Merchants and Acceptance and was a member of the company’s Global Management Committee. He also previously served as Mastercard’s Chief Technology Officer. Saxena has also held board and advisory roles, including as Non-Executive Director of Crown Agents Bank and Advisory Board Member of BioVie. He has advised organisations such as the World Bank. Kush Saxena Kush Saxena, incoming Group CEO, said, “Anders, Laust and the team have built something genuinely unique – a technology-led financial infrastructure platform of real global scale, trusted by some of the most demanding clients in financial services and digital commerce. I am honoured to be joining at this exciting moment and look forward to partnering with the broader team and Ralph to deliver on the next phase of growth at scale.” Banking Circle Group was co-founded by Anders la Cour and Laust Bertelsen in June 2013. The company provides financial infrastructure for payment service providers, banks, fintechs, marketplaces, corporates and online merchants. The group reported that it has surpassed €500 million in revenue, supported by client adoption, international expansion and continued investment in its platform. As part of the leadership changes, la Cour will become Senior Advisor, while Bertelsen will remain CEO of Banking Circle S.A. before transitioning out over the next 12 months. The appointment follows the recent naming of Ralph Hamers as Group Chairman.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by prostophotokate via Magnific The post Banking Circle Names Kush Saxena as Group CEO appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

DBS plans to take in more than 500 young local talent this year across its Management Associate, Internship and Traineeship programmes as AI reshapes banking work. The intake will bring the total number brought in through these programmes to close to 1,600 between 2024 and 2026. DBS has hired 112 Management Associates in 2026, more than double its average annual intake across 2024 and 2025. The 12-month programme gives participants structured training, business exposure and hands-on experience across banking, operations and technology. DBS also expects to take in more than 400 interns this year, giving students exposure to real projects and technology-led financial services. The bank plans to recruit a similar number of trainees as last year, when it welcomed 44 fresh graduates under its six-month Graduate Industry Traineeship programme across business, support, technology and operations roles. Tan Su Shan DBS CEO Tan Su Shan said, “AI is enabling young graduates to learn faster, contribute earlier, and take on higher-value work from the outset. Innovative programmes such as the Young Talent Programme for AI in Finance, shaped by DBS’ extensive experience in AI and workforce transformation, further enhance the career readiness of young graduates, and we look forward to partnering with IBF and industry partners to collectively future-proof Singapore’s banking talent pipeline.” DBS also highlighted Clarissa Jew, a Singaporean data scientist who joined its Management Associate Programme in 2024 after graduating from Nanyang Technological University with a degree in data science and AI. She noted that DBS’ internal AI tools, including CodeBuddy and DBS-GPT, have helped her debug code and understand business context faster, giving her more time for problem framing, experiments and solution design.     Featured image: Clarissa Jew, who joined DBS through its Management Associate Programme in 2024 and now works as a data scientist. Source: DBS.   The post DBS to Hire Over 500 Young Local Talent as AI Reshapes Banking appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Standard Chartered layoffs will affect more than 7,000 roles by 2030, with automation and artificial intelligence (AI) expected to reshape parts of its corporate functions. The London-headquartered bank will reduce more than 15% of corporate function roles by 2030, Reuters reported, as it set out a new strategy for investors. CEO Bill Winters told reporters that the bank expects technology to drive the reduction, while some affected employees will be retrained for other roles. He presented the move as a reallocation of capital towards technology and investment, rather than a conventional cost-reduction programme. Standard Chartered also raised its profitability targets, with return on tangible equity expected to exceed 15% in 2028 and reach about 18% from 2030. The bank’s return on tangible equity stood at 11.9% in 2025. It had already met its 2026 medium-term financial targets a year ahead of schedule. The lender is prioritising businesses with stronger margins, including affluent retail clients and financial institutions within its Corporate and Investment Banking division. In the first quarter, Standard Chartered reported record wealth income and new client money. The bank also recorded US$190 million in precautionary management overlays related to the Middle East conflict.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Standard Chartered The post Standard Chartered Layoffs to Affect Over 7,000 Roles as AI Use Expands appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

DBS Group CEO Tan Su Shan has trimmed her shareholding after the bank’s stock moved back above S$60. Tan sold 100,000 DBS shares through the open market on May 15 at S$60.12 each, The Edge reported. Her interest in the bank fell to 0.048% after the transaction, from 0.052% previously. The share sale followed a recent rise in DBS’s stock price, which moved past S$60 on 14 May. By the close of trading on 18 May, DBS shares were at S$60.76, giving the bank a market value of S$172.81 billion. DBS had reported first-quarter net profit of S$2.93 billion for the three months ended 31 March 2026. The figure was 1% higher than a year earlier and 24% above the previous quarter. Total income reached S$5.95 billion, supported by wealth management, fee income and treasury customer sales. Chief Financial Officer Chng Sok Hui indicated at the bank’s results briefing that DBS had a reasonable chance of keeping FY2026 earnings near the previous year’s level. Tan received S$9.6 million in remuneration for 2025 after taking over from Piyush Gupta as CEO on 28 March 2025. Her pay package included a base salary of S$975,250, a cash bonus of S$3.7 million, S$4.9 million in deferred awards and S$68,694 in non-cash benefits. Around 17% of the deferred awards will be paid in cash, with the rest to be delivered in shares.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by bunditinay via Magnific The post DBS CEO Tan Su Shan Sells Shares After Stock Moves Above S$60 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Ken Wong has joined Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) as Chief Data Officer and a member of its Board of Management. In his new role, Wong will lead VPBank’s enterprise data strategy, AI capability development and efforts to use data more broadly across the bank. His role covers data governance and architecture, advanced analytics, machine learning and the development of a more data-driven culture within the organisation. Wong joins VPBank after nearly five years at Visa, where he was Vice President and Head of Data Science for Asia Pacific. Before Visa, he spent more than 10 years at OCBC Bank in Singapore, where he held roles including Head of AI Lab and Head of Customer Insights. He has also held senior data, analytics and consulting roles at SAS Asia Pacific, IBM Singapore and International Customer Loyalty Programmes.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by fabrikasimf via Magnific The post VPBank Names Former Visa Exec Ken Wong as Chief Data Officer appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Prudential will acquire a 75% stake in Bharti Life Insurance as it repositions its India operations. The insurer will buy the stake from Bharti Life Ventures and 360 ONE Asset Management for ₹3,500 crore, which Prudential placed at about US$389 million. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The acquisition will give Prudential majority ownership of a life insurance business in India. Bharti Life will also explore strategic distribution agreements with Bharti Airtel and 360 ONE as part of the transaction. After completion, Prudential’s India operations will include Bharti Life Insurance, Prudential HCL Health Insurance, a 35% stake in ICICI Prudential Asset Management and a 22% stake in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. The approvals process is expected to require Prudential to reduce its stake in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance to below 10%. The company is engaging with regulators on the process and possible timeline. Prudential is also seeking approvals for its standalone majority-owned health insurance business in India, which is expected to begin operations in 2026 once approvals are received. The insurer may pay up to another ₹700 crore, which Prudential placed at about US$78 million, if certain conditions are met. Anil Wadhwani Anil Wadhwani, Prudential plc’s CEO said, “India is a strategically important and exciting market for Prudential. By acquiring a controlling stake in Bharti Life, we are bringing together Prudential’s nearly 180 years of global insurance expertise and Bharti’s strong and growing local presence to serve the savings and protection needs of Indian consumers. Through this acquisition, we aim to contribute further to The Viksit Bharat Initiative and, by extending access to our products and services to customers in India, act as a catalyst for achieving ‘Insurance for All by 2047’.” Prudential noted that the transaction will be funded from existing resources and will not affect its plan to return US$7 billion to shareholders between 2024 and 2027.   Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by escapejaja via Magnific The post Prudential to Acquire 75% Stake in Bharti Life for US$389 Million appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Standard Chartered has appointed Manus Costello as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as the bank updates its senior leadership team. Costello will also join the Board as an Executive Director, subject to regulatory approval. He becomes interim Group CFO with immediate effect and will be based in London. He will report directly to Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters and join the group’s management team as part of his new role. Costello joined Standard Chartered in April 2024 as Global Head of Investor Relations. Prior to that, he spent 25 years in equity research, including as a founding partner and Global Head of Research at Autonomous. Bill Winters Bill Winters, Group CEO of Standard Chartered, said, “I am delighted that Manus has agreed to take on the role of Group Chief Financial Officer. Since joining Standard Chartered two years ago, he has made a significant contribution to the group’s strategic positioning and engagement of stakeholders, while also bringing strong rigour and an entrepreneurial mindset to the role.” Winters also thanked Pete Burrill, who had been serving as interim Group CFO, for supporting the bank during the transition. Manus Costello Costello added, “Standard Chartered is a compelling franchise, offering cross-border capabilities that are deeply valued by our clients. As the Group Chief Financial Officer, I look forward to playing my part in building on our momentum, and in delivering on our future ambition at this exciting time for the business.” Standard Chartered also appointed Tanuj Kapilashrami as Group Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. Kapilashrami, who joined Standard Chartered in 2017, has been a member of the Group Management Team since 2021. She will continue to report to Winters. In her new role, she will oversee strategy, group-wide transformation, disciplined delivery and the resilience of the bank’s corporate functions.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by mrsiraphol via Magnific The post Manus Costello Named Standard Chartered Group CFO appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Agentic commerce has started to move into live use, and the payment industry is beginning to confront a problem it has not had to solve at this scale before. When an AI agent acts for a customer, the transaction is no longer only about verifying the person behind the account. The system also has to understand the authority given to the agent carrying out the task. Zac Cohen, Chief Product Officer at Trulioo, believes that gap is where the industry needs to focus. Zac Cohen “I think the industry is ready, but the trust framework isn’t,” Zac said in an interview with Fintech News Network. AI agents in commerce are beginning to influence the work that happens before money moves. They can interpret customer preferences, narrow choices and bring a transaction closer to completion with less direct involvement from the buyer. As that role grows, financial institutions need a clearer way to recognise whether the agent was properly authorised and whether its actions still match the limits set by a real person or business. “It’s not a feature issue that we’re solving for anymore,” Zac added. “It’s really the governance and trust framework.” He believes today’s volumes remain small, but adoption could accelerate once consumers become more comfortable allowing agents to act on their behalf. Many financial institutions still treat the space as early, even as the operating models needed to govern it are only beginning to take shape. Agentic Commerce Could Reshape the Payment Relationship Agentic commerce brings the payment decision closer to the search and selection process. A customer may still give the mandate, but an AI agent can begin carrying that mandate through the journey before a payment instruction reaches the bank or network. The more this happens, the less useful it becomes to look only at the final payment event. Payment firms or even a bank that only sees the transaction at the point of payment may miss how the agent shaped the decision earlier. If the agent has already interpreted the customer’s instruction and moved the purchase towards completion, trust has to be established earlier in the journey. Zac’s warning is that companies which move too slowly could lose more than a new revenue stream. “The laggards aren’t only going to lose potential revenue opportunities, but they might be disintermediated completely,” he stated. Treating agentic AI as a front-end upgrade would miss much of the challenge. A better interface does not tell an institution whether the agent had the authority to act, whether the instruction came from a real customer, or whether the action stayed within the intended limits. Zac Cohen said that issuers should be part of this conversation early because banks already hold the customer relationship around money movement, identity and account access. As agents begin to act on behalf of consumers, that position could help issuers shape the trust framework rather than simply process the payment after another layer has made the decision. Know Your Agent Enters the Conversation Financial institutions already have established ways to verify the people and businesses that use their services. Know Your Customer (KYC) helps confirm whether an individual is who they claim to be, while Know Your Business (KYB) helps institutions verify the business behind an account or transaction. Agentic commerce changes that chain by placing an AI agent between the person giving the instruction and the transaction being carried out. Zac sees that shift creating the need for a new layer of verification around the agent itself. The industry has begun referring to that layer as Know Your Agent, or KYA. The idea remains early, but the logic follows from the systems that financial institutions already use. If KYC helps establish the person and KYB helps establish the business, KYA asks whether the agent carrying out the instruction had the authority to act in the first place. “KYC is for consumers, KYB is for businesses, and KYA is for non-human actors,” he mentioned. He also highlighted that the shift changes the question institutions need to answer when an agent is involved in a transaction. “We’re no longer asking who is behind this transaction,” he told. “We’re asking what, and what had the right to command, what had the right behaviour, what had the right decision.” Institutions also need different evidence. Traditional checks rely on documents and records that tie a person or business to a known identity, while an AI agent has to be assessed through its origin, instructions and operating limits. The Chief Product Officer at Trulioo said a KYA framework should show who directs the agent and what boundaries govern its actions. Institutions still need to understand the person or business behind the agent, but they also need to examine the code and instructions shaping its behaviour. Agentic payments could push institutions to verify more than the customer at onboarding, requiring them to monitor whether the agent stays within its original authority. Agentic Payments Bring a Different Fraud Problem The need to verify an agent’s authority also changes how institutions think about fraud. Financial crime teams already watch for impersonation, account takeover, mule accounts and suspicious transaction behaviour, but agentic payments create another point of exposure inside the decision-making process itself. Zac also mentioned that the attack surface changes when an AI agent becomes the actor carrying out the instruction. A bad actor may not need to pretend to be the customer if they can influence what the agent believes it should do. “We’re no longer worried about a bad actor impersonating someone else,” said Zac. “We’re actually worried about someone changing what an agent thinks is the right thing to do.” @fintechnewsnetwork The threat is no longer someone pretending to be you. It’s someone changing what an AI agent thinks it’s supposed to do. Zac Cohen, Chief Product Officer at Trulioo, explains why injection attacks and machine-speed exploitation are the fraud risks the industry needs to prepare for now. #fintech #AIfraud #agenticAI #cybersecurity #FintechNews ♬ original sound – Fintech News Network – Fintech News Network That could involve changing the instruction, altering the agent’s guardrails or steering the agent towards an action the customer did not intend. The concern grows when agents operate quickly across large transaction volumes, giving attackers room to exploit one weak point before traditional review processes catch up. Zac suggested that fraud and financial crime teams will need stronger intelligence signals inside each transaction. Procedures built for human-led payment journeys may struggle when an autonomous or semi-autonomous agent can interpret instructions and act within seconds. The same AI tools that make agentic commerce possible may also need to support the teams managing risk. Fraud prevention and compliance teams will need systems that can detect unusual agent behaviour early, before abuse scales through automated transactions. Regulators Are Sketching the Boundaries Regulators are beginning to look more closely at agentic AI, although Zac sees a gap between policy ambition and what the market can implement today. He pointed to Singapore’s work on agentic AI governance, which gives the industry an early view of how firms can manage autonomy with clearer oversight and explanation. The direction is helpful, but turning policy language into working controls will take time, especially while agentic systems are still developing. Zac said regulators are mainly trying to make sure consumers can use new technology safely and that financial institutions know how to respond when something goes wrong. Agentic AI makes that harder because the systems being governed are still taking shape, even as commercial use cases move ahead. Financial institutions will need to build automation in a way that customers can use easily and that regulators can still examine with confidence. Firms that treat innovation and governance as separate tracks may find it harder to scale agentic commerce safely. Governance Has to Come Before the Feature Race “Don’t start with focusing on the capability,” Zac added. “Start with the governance framework.” Agentic commerce may look simple to the customer, but banks and payment companies need to prove that the agent had the right authority to act. They need to build trust into the system before agentic payments scale, especially if they want to stay close to the customer relationship rather than leave that role to another layer. Zac Cohen shares more on agentic commerce, Know Your Agent and the future of trusted AI-led payments in the full interview here. The post Agentic Commerce Is Coming, but Zac Cohen Says the Trust Layer Is Not Ready appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will remove the mandatory financial advice requirement for most investors buying complex products, as it shifts towards a more disclosure-based framework. The decision follows MAS’ consultation on changes to Product Highlights Sheets and distribution safeguards for complex products. Investors will be able to decide whether they want financial advice before investing, unless they fall within a group that MAS says requires additional protection. Complex products include structured notes and derivatives. Investment-linked policies will also require a Product Highlights Sheet and be classified as complex products once the changes take effect. MAS noted that the changes reflect how digitalisation has affected the way retail investors access information and make investment decisions. Stronger Disclosures for Complex Products Product Highlights Sheets will be enhanced to make the key features and risks of complex products clearer. Financial institutions will also need to provide pre-transaction alerts before investors buy such products. These alerts will remind investors to review product documents carefully, complete a learning module on complex products or seek financial advice where needed. Investors who fail the Customer Knowledge Assessment must be warned that complex products may not be suitable for them. MAS will also allow investors to receive a shorter version of the alerts for subsequent complex product transactions within the same month if they have already traded in such products during that period. Stronger safeguards will remain for selected clients, including investors who meet at least two criteria relating to age, English proficiency and education level. These investors will still need financial advice before investing in complex products unless they pass the Customer Knowledge Assessment and choose to opt out. MAS will not proceed with its earlier plan to introduce a Product Knowledge Assessment as an alternative to the Customer Knowledge Assessment. Instead, it will work with administrators of learning modules on complex products to improve investor education and knowledge evaluation. Lim Tuang Lee Lim Tuang Lee, Assistant Managing Director (Capital Markets), MAS, said, “These measures foster an accessible and dynamic market. They acknowledge the growing sophistication of investors who can self-direct and analyse their own investments while catering to the needs of selected investors that may continue to require additional support and safeguards.” Legislative amendments to implement the changes will be consulted on later.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by tawatchai07 via Magnific   The post MAS Makes Financial Advice Optional as Complex Product Rules Shift appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Atos and Backbase have formed a new partnership to support banks moving AI from pilots into regulated digital banking environments. The collaboration covers international markets including Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Portugal, Spain, Southeast Europe, Switzerland and Turkey. It will support financial institutions modernising digital banking systems while managing data controls, resilience and regulatory requirements. Atos and Backbase will work together on opportunity development, professional services, delivery support, training and joint go-to-market activities. The partnership combines Backbase’s AI-Native Banking OS with Atos’ expertise in systems integration, sovereign cloud, cybersecurity, AI transformation and large-scale service delivery. Daniele Principato Daniele Principato, Head of International Markets at Atos, said, “This agreement with Backbase reflects our commitment to helping financial institutions in International Markets harness the power of AI in a secure and scalable way. The demand for resilient and future-ready banking platforms continues to grow across all our markets and by combining our global expertise with strong partners and our regional leadership, we are well positioned to support our clients in navigating transformation with confidence and control.” Ricardo Ribelles Ricardo Ribelles, Global VP Partnerships and Alliances at Backbase, said, “Atos brings the sovereign cloud infrastructure, integration depth, and regional reach that banks in these markets need. Together we close the gap between a bank’s AI ambitions and the reality of running those capabilities at scale – inside a governed, compliant architecture that meets local data sovereignty requirements.” The agreement reinforces Atos’ work with financial services firms on secure cloud and digital transformation, while drawing on Backbase’s banking and agentic technology expertise.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Magnific The post Atos and Backbase to Support AI-Native Banking in Regulated Markets appeared first on Fintech Singapore.