The World Economic Forum and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City established the Vietnam Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Vietnam). It has signed a strategic partnership with Ant International through a MoU. The partnership aims to advance Vietnam’s digital economy, foster innovation, and support Ho Chi Minh City’s (HCMC) ambition to become an international financial centre and a regional fintech hub. Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and HCMC People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc officiated the announcement at the Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum 2025. The collaboration seeks to accelerate Vietnam’s Fourth Industrial Revolution agenda. It also aims to enhance HCMC’s global competitiveness and improve access for small businesses. Beyond payment infrastructure, the partnership will focus on developing the domestic fintech ecosystem through regulatory innovation and talent development. Chairman Nguyen Van Duoc hoped that working with Ant International would advance the city’s financial centre goals, digital transformation, and talent development. He acknowledged the company’s contributions to financial technology and digital payments, emphasising a spirit of partnership. Nguyen Van Duoc “We play together and win together,” he said. The partnership will focus on several key areas. It will promote HCMC as an international financial centre by advising on regulatory strategies and providing policy support. It will enable local innovation through joint initiatives and technology capacity-building. It will enhance the competitiveness of SMEs using Ant International’s solutions. It will also develop next-generation talent through comprehensive training and mentorship in digital finance, cross-border payments, and fintech operations. Ant International, which already operates in Vietnam, will progressively expand merchant access while monitoring progress towards HCMC’s financial centre targets. Peng Yang “Vietnam is one of the most exciting digital economies in the world today, powered by forward-looking policy, a vibrant startup ecosystem, and fast-growing local talent pool,” said Peng Yang, CEO of Ant International. He added that HCMC has the potential to become a world-leading financial centre and that Ant International is committed to supporting Vietnam as a regional innovation hub.   Featured image credit: Ant International The post Vietnam and Ant International Partner to Boost Digital Economy appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Ant International’s WorldFirst is expanding into enterprise services with an AI-driven financial suite built for digital platforms operating across borders. The solution brings checkout, business accounts, global spend tools, AI FX, foreign exchange, treasury functions and embedded finance into a single API. It targets large digital enterprises across e-commerce, the gig economy, SaaS and online travel. WorldFirst said the service is supported by its global account infrastructure and licensing network, which spans more than 200 markets and over 60 approvals. It uses Ant International’s Falcon AI model for liquidity and FX forecasting with more than 90 percent accuracy. The platform supports mass payouts in more than 100 currencies, enables 95 percent of global transfers on the same day and provides real-time settlement in 25 currencies. It is designed to automate collections, payouts and treasury workflows inside existing enterprise systems. The launch comes as digital platforms face rising pressure from inefficient payments, high costs, compliance demands and uneven user experiences. McKinsey estimates these platforms could account for more than 30 percent of global economic activity within six years, representing about 60 trillion dollars. A global e-commerce platform has adopted the service for its third-party sellers, using it for multi-currency wallets, automated eKYC and eKYB checks and end-to-end treasury functions covering collection, payment and FX. WorldFirst said the integration has cut onboarding to under a day and strengthened compliance and scalability through broader global coverage. Clara Shi Clara Shi, CEO of WorldFirst and Vice President of Ant International, said, “Efficient payment and account services are no longer optional—they are fundamental to how platforms operate and compete globally. At WorldFirst, we built our API-integrated enterprise solution precisely to meet this critical need. It delivers a responsive and streamlined treasury experience, enabling digital platforms to lead in today’s fast-paced market. We remain dedicated to deepening the integration of fintech and global commerce, empowering businesses to seamlessly connect with the world.”     The post WorldFirst Launches Enterprise Payments Solution for Global Digital Platforms appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Simon-Kucher has appointed Charles Wong as Senior Partner to lead its Retail and Digital Banking practice across Asia-Pacific. He will be based in Singapore and will focus on strengthening the firm’s work with banks and fintech companies across the region. Wong has more than 25 years of experience in retail banking, digital transformation, ecosystem development, and strategic marketing. He was the founding CEO of GXS Bank Singapore, where he helped secure the city-state’s full digital banking license and oversaw the buildout of its retail and ecosystem platform. Before that, he held several senior roles at Citi, including Managing Director and Head of Retail Bank Singapore, as well as regional leadership positions overseeing emerging affluent segments, employee banking, wealth strategies, deposits, and customer experience across Asia-Pacific. Earlier in his career, he served as Regional Head of Strategy and Marketing for Global Markets. Simon-Kucher said the appointment reflects its plans to expand its banking and fintech work in Asia-Pacific as financial institutions accelerate commercial transformation and explore new digital growth models. Jan Weiser “We are delighted to welcome Charles to Simon-Kucher. His distinctive track record in building digital and retail banking propositions, driving profitable growth, and leading transformation across Asia-Pacific will significantly strengthen our ability to help clients capture new opportunities in an evolving financial landscape.” said Jan Weiser, Co-Managing Partner APAC. Charles Wong “AI transformation, digitalisation, and ecosystem partnerships are redefining the future of banking. In a world of declining interest rates, banks and fintechs must focus on optimising profitability and deposits, while unlocking new opportunities through data monetisation and the rise of the emerging affluent. I look forward to helping clients navigate this journey and to advance Simon-Kucher’s mission of unlocking better growth for businesses and their customers.” said Wong.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by MD.Laik alom mollik via Freepik The post Former GXS Bank CEO Charles Wong Joins Simon-Kucher as Senior Partner appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

There’s a fundamental shift slowly taking place in the asset management space. While global money market funds hold close to US$10 trillion in assets, tokenised funds’ AUM sits at a few billion dollars, according to the CFA Institute. But that gap is precisely what makes this moment interesting. The question is less about whether tokenisation will scale, but more about how the infrastructure, legal frameworks, and operational playbooks will need to evolve to make it happen. The Guardian Asset & Wealth Management Industry Group’s recent report, “Operationalising Tokenised Funds”, cuts through to examine what actually needs to work. It shares insights on how firms can build legally sound structures, select the appropriate settlement assets and connect across a fragmented blockchain landscape. Three Models for Tokenised Fund Structures According to the report, the cornerstone of any tokenised fund is its legal structure. A central question is how ownership is represented and transferred, an area where tokenisation introduces meaningful change. In traditional fund structures, this question has a clear answer: ownership exists in an off-chain register maintained by an administrator. That register is the single source of truth. Tokenisation destabilises this certainty. Now ownership could be recorded on-chain as a mirror of the official register, as a parallel record, or as the sole legally recognised source, with the blockchain serving as the authoritative record. Each approach carries significant implications for investor rights, regulatory compliance and operational risk. The report outlines four models of tokenisation, grouped under three broader archetypes of tokenised fund share register forms: Digital Mirror, Digital Twin (Distributor and Feeder Fund), and Digital Native models. Source: Operationalising Tokenised Funds, Project Guardian The choice between these models could fundamentally shape the legal, operational, and regulatory architecture of the fund. Digital Mirror implementations offer a conservative entry point, preserving existing legal frameworks while exploring blockchain’s operational benefits. Digital Twin structures represent a middle ground, while Digital Native funds, in contrast, represent a more radical departure as they retain a blockchain-only register. Stablecoins Gain Ground, With Caveats According to the Operationalising Tokenised Funds report, well-regulated stablecoins are increasingly used as settlement assets for tokenised products, including tokenised money market funds (tMMFs). 2025 marks an inflexion point, largely thanks to regulatory clarity enabled by frameworks like the United States’ GENIUS Act. Stablecoins have also become critical in cross-border payments, especially in emerging markets where currency volatility, large unbanked populations, and high transfer costs make traditional rails inefficient. But that utility doesn’t erase the risks. Regulators and investors must still consider risks like the potential for de-pegging when the value of the underlying assets fluctuates. Crucially, not all stablecoins are created equal. Those with transparent, provable reserves, independent audits and full backing by cash or cash equivalents are far more likely to gain institutional acceptance as credible settlement assets. Regulatory frameworks are catching up accordingly. Singapore and Hong Kong, among others, have introduced or are developing specific rules for stablecoins and cryptoassets. MAS, for example, has implemented a stablecoin framework that requires issuers to meet standards for value stability, reserve management and redemption policies. Clear and consistent regulation is essential for stablecoin adoption, giving institutional investors the confidence to integrate them into regulated financial infrastructure. But alignment with global standards from bodies like the FSB and BIS will be critical to preventing regulatory arbitrage as adoption scales. Without it, jurisdictional fragmentation could undermine the stability these frameworks aim to ensure. Tokenised Deposits Emerging as a Regulated Alternative Multiple commercial banks are now exploring and issuing tokenised deposits as an alternative to stablecoins or CBDCs, such as HSBC. These instruments are on-chain representations of traditional bank deposits, created and managed within fully regulated banking environments. They offer the potential for faster settlement, lower counterparty and settlement risk, and greater security and transparency compared to traditional payment rails. Whether tokenised deposits can compete with stablecoins’ network effects, or whether they remain a conservative option, is still an open question. wCBDCs Are Taking Shape as the Institutional Settlement Rail If stablecoins are the pragmatic choice and tokenised deposits the conservative hedge, wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (wCBDCs) represent the structural shift. Issued by central banks for use by commercial banks and authorised financial institutions, wCBDCs are designed for high-value interbank payments and securities settlement. A 2024 BIS survey found that wCBDCs are currently the most widely used settlement asset in tokenisation pilots, ahead of both tokenised and non-tokenised deposits. Their role mirrors that of central bank reserves in today’s system, while adding new features such as programmability and composability, making them a strong candidate for tMMF settlement, particularly within distributor-led models. Overall, regardless of the settlement asset chosen, the playbook shares that financial institutions will need to build the supporting infrastructure. This includes secure digital custody, efficient on- and off-ramps, compliant digital wallets for handling assets and settlement tokens, and robust KYC and AML processes to meet regulatory expectations. What It Will Take for Tokenised Funds to Scale Scaling tokenised funds will take more than blockchain efficiency. While the technology is inherently scalable, applying it to regulated financial markets introduces challenges around compliance, operations and interoperability. Onboarding and Compliance Must Become Simpler Mainstream adoption depends on frictionless, compliant onboarding. Firms must still meet KYC, AML, CFT and sanctions requirements, which are difficult to automate on-chain. Today, most platforms rely on whitelisting wallet addresses individually. They rely on their existing KYC onboarding process, during which the client submits a wallet address that is then added to the allowlist. Select models using digital identity and verifiable credentials are emerging, but will require strong industry governance around credential issuance, validation and revocation before they can be widely adopted. More of the Fund Lifecycle Needs to Move On-Chain Fund managers are beginning to migrate parts of the fund lifecycle on-chain for efficiency. But a fully digital-native ecosystem is still some distance away, insights from the report indicate. Tokenised funds still rely heavily on traditional on/off-chain functions such as custody, transfer agency and fund administration. To reach true scale, on-chain platforms should support efficient issuance, record-keeping, subscriptions, redemptions and corporate actions, and deliver value beyond what existing processes already provide. New Operational Risks Require New Safeguards Tokenised finance introduces risks not found in traditional markets. Smart contracts underpin most processes and require rigorous testing, upgrade controls and monitoring. Digital custody and key management add another layer of complexity. Public-chain consensus models also introduce new forms of settlement and finality risk. Institutions will, therefore, need strong operational safeguards, including secure key frameworks, multi-sig or MPC wallets, fallback mechanisms and clear recovery processes. Interoperability and Standards Will Unlock Scale Institutional adoption increasingly depends on reaching liquidity across multiple chains. This requires reliable cross-chain communication, standardised messaging formats (such as ISO 20022 and the Common Domain Model), and consistent APIs to support custody, settlement and lifecycle management. The industry is also laying the groundwork for broader interoperability through efforts such as FIX standards into smart contract integration, cross-chain protocols and oracle networks. These standards are essential if tokenised markets are ever to reach the seamless interoperability moment that email achieved with SMTP. Privacy-preserving tools like zero-knowledge proofs will strengthen security and compliance, while ongoing research into post-quantum cryptography will prepare blockchain systems for future threats. Meanwhile, smart-contract standards across EVM-compatible chains will continue to support composability and cross-network functionality. Project Guardian’s Operationalising Tokenised Funds report makes the direction clear: the question is no longer whether tokenised funds will reshape the asset management industry, but how quickly institutions can prepare for this shift. Featured image edited by Fintech News Singapore based on image by thanyakij-12 on Freepik The post Singapore’s Project Guardian Releases Playbook for Operationalising Tokenised Funds appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (FIDReC) logged 4,355 claims this year as scam disputes drove its highest caseload in two decades. Claim volumes rose 50 percent from the previous year, led by a surge in scam cases, broader disputes across financial institutions and stronger public familiarity with FIDReC’s services. Of all filings, 2,646 were accepted for handling, up 22 percent, while 2,358 were completed, a 36 percent increase. The Early Resolution phase introduced in July 2024 contributed to the gap between claims received and handled. The process gives parties 10 business days to resolve matters directly and closed 811 cases, or 19 percent of all filings, before mediation or adjudication. Scam disputes remained the largest category with 1,285 cases, up 55 percent. They formed 49 percent of all handled claims compared with 38 percent a year earlier. Compromised credentials continued to dominate, accounting for 64 percent of scam cases. Scam victims were largely older consumers, with those aged 51 to 60 forming the biggest age group. Across all disputes, consumers aged 51 and above made up nearly half of FIDReC’s caseload. Claims Stretch Across Banks, Insurers, Advisers and Payment Firms Banks and finance companies remained the main source of disputes with 1,831 cases, or 69 percent of claims handled. Conduct-related issues such as unsuitable product recommendations, misrepresentation and service lapses added to scam-related complaints. General insurers recorded 297 disputes, capital markets licensees saw 94 cases and financial advisers and brokers accounted for 84. Payment service providers appeared for the first time with 17 cases, most of them scam-related. Life insurers were the only category to see a drop, falling to 323 from 387. Case studies in the annual report pointed to growing risks in digital wallets, international fund transfers, leveraged trading, premium financed insurance and medical claims linked to co-payment requirements and policy definitions. The year marked FIDReC’s 20th anniversary. The centre raised its adjudication limit to S$150,000, prepared to extend its scope to small businesses and non-large charities from July 2025 and completed the onboarding of payment service providers for stored-value e-wallet disputes. It also expanded its digital portal and continued engagement with industry and global ombudsman groups. Mediation accounted for 88 percent of completed cases, while 12 percent proceeded to adjudication. Of those adjudicated, 16 percent resulted in an award for the consumer. The median claim amount fell 10 percent to S$4,859 and the average amount declined 10 percent to S$46,660. Eunice Chua FIDReC’s Chief Executive Officer, Eunice Chua, said, “The record number of claims this year is a clear reminder of how quickly financial risks are shifting. As scams grow more sophisticated and financial offerings become more complex, consumers are looking to FIDReC for clarity and fair resolution. We will continue to step up our education initiatives, and we hope the industry will draw lessons from these disputes to strengthen customer experience, transparency and fair dealing.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by farknot via Freepik     The post Financial Disputes Agency FIDReC Reports 20-Year Peak in Claims as Scam Losses Climb appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

FS Capital, the direct lending arm of Funding Societies, is now a member of Thailand’s National Credit Bureau as the group moves toward becoming a structural financial partner for SMEs. The membership gives FS Capital real-time access to SME credit data, enabling more accurate risk assessments and faster loan approvals. The company will also share borrower credit information with the bureau, helping SMEs build recognised credit histories for future financing. NCB access reduces the effort required from borrowers, who no longer need to obtain their own credit reports. FS Capital can retrieve them with entrepreneur consent, allowing applications to be submitted more promptly and in line with business needs. The shared data also helps lenders evaluate risk more accurately and reduce non-performing loans. Vikas Jain Vikas Jain, Country Head of Funding Societies Thailand, said, “Becoming an NCB member marks a pivotal step for us, granting access to real-time SME credit data while also sharing the data of the company’s customers with the bureau. This ensures that our already automated loan approval processes become even faster and more efficient, ultimately benefiting the SMEs we serve while also being able to contribute to a more data-driven financing ecosystem.” Dr. Luxmon Attapich Dr. Luxmon Attapich, Chief Executive Officer of National Credit Bureau Co., Ltd. (NCB), said, “NCB is pleased to welcome Funding Societies Thailand as our newest member. We truly appreciate the company’s recognition of the crucial role that credit information plays in enabling accurate lending assessments, as well as its confidence in NCB’s services that support fast, transparent, and responsible digital lending for SMEs. This collaboration will enhance the ability of SMEs to access the financing they need, strengthen their competitiveness and contribute to the sustainable growth of the Thai economy.” Funding Societies operates in five Southeast Asian markets. In Thailand, its operations comprise FS Siam, which holds a crowdfunding platform licence from the Securities and Exchange Commission, and FS Capital, which provides structured direct lending to small businesses.     Featured image: Vikas Jain, Country Head of Funding Societies Thailand, and Dr. Luxmon Attapich, Chief Executive Officer of National Credit Bureau Co., Ltd. (NCB) The post Funding Societies Arm Joins Thailand’s National Credit Bureau appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

In this exclusive roundtable jointly hosted by Fintech News and OneConnect Financial Technology banking C-levels from Philippines debate whether we’ve fallen into the trap of incremental gains and end up dreaming too small about how AI can potentially reconfigure banking. Hear real world use cases of top banks in the Philippines’ are leveraging AI to take their banks to the next level. Roundtable speakers: Matthew Chen, CEO, OneConnect Financial Technology Jerry Ngo, CEO, East West Banking Corporation Manish Bhai, CEO, UNO Bank Lito Villanueva, EVP and Chief Innovation and Inclusion Officer, RCBC Gigi Puno, CTO, GoTyme Bank Nishy De Silva, Senior Vice President and Shared Services CTO, Security Bank Mike Singh, President, Tendo by Tonik Gus Poston, Co-founder, Netbank Mila Bedrenets, Chief Growth Hacker, Tonik Jonathan Uy, Head Of Strategy, Philippine National Bank Moderated by: Vincent Fong, Chief Editor, Fintech News Network The post Are Banks Thinking Big Enough About AI? | Philippines AI CxO Roundtable appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) has entered into a partnership with digital payment services provider SingX Singapore Pte Ltd to offer real-time remittance services. The collaboration specifically targets overseas Filipinos residing in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. Through this partnership, BPI clients can transfer funds directly to beneficiaries’ BPI accounts using SingX’s fully digital platform. Joel De Vera, Head of Strategy, Products, and Support Group for Institutional Banking at BPI, stated that the initiative aims to make remittance services more accessible and cost-effective. “SingX is a strategic partner for BPI because of its innovative technology, global reach, and customer-centric approach,” De Vera said. He added that the platform allows for a seamless digital experience, aligning with the bank’s digitalisation goals. Operating with licenses in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, SingX offers international accounts and multi-currency wallets. According to the announcement, the platform places no caps on transfer amounts. However, a minimum fee of S$3.75 applies per transaction. Payments made to the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund) and the Social Security System (SSS) are exempt from charges. BPI noted that as of 2024, approximately 800,000 Filipinos live and work across the three covered regions. De Vera emphasised that the partnership is intended to ensure overseas Filipinos have “modern solutions that make every transaction simpler, faster, and more meaningful”. Featured image by RODWORKS via Freepik. The post BPI and SingX Launch Real Time Remittance for OFWs in Key Markets appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The 2025 Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) marked its most significant edition yet, attracting a record 65,000 participants from around the world. Against the backdrop of rapid advances in tokenisation, cross-border connectivity, and AI, the festival reaffirmed its role as the global epicentre of financial innovation. As the Strategic Knowledge Partner, Zühlke, a trusted technology transformation partner, with engineering and innovation deeply rooted in their DNA, once again played a key role in shaping conversations centred on three defining themes shaping the next chapter of financial innovation. From Technology Hype to Impact AI has reached a decisive turning point, shifting from isolated pilots to connected systems that deliver real performance at enterprise scale. Yet amid rapid advancements, Zühlke emphasised that enduring principles remain the foundation of successful adoption. These principles continue to guide organisations seeking to move beyond experimentation toward sustainable, long-term impact. • Clear articulation and clarity of business value • High-quality, well-governed data • Robust, scalable engineering practices • Responsible AI governance and risk oversight Dr. Gernot Klein Zühlke’s Global Group Head of Data & AI, Dr. Gernot Klein, reflected on this during the Insights Forum discussions: “Technologies will evolve, hype cycles will come and go, but the organisations that succeed are those that firmly align their AI transformations to their business strategy, through articulating clear business value for every use case and the required underlying technology. Building out strong foundations in data and AI governance will allow these organisations not only to stay compliant, but quickly and successfully incorporate the latest developments from the fast-moving AI space.” Preparing for an Agentic Future Agentic AI, systems capable of autonomous action, reasoning, and decision-making, emerged as a rising topic across the festival. Autonomous AI agents are accelerating how decisions are made, how work is orchestrated, and how financial institutions operate at scale. Yet the path from experimentation to production remains complex. Zühlke convened senior leaders from banks, regulators, and technology partners to examine what it takes to translate agentic capabilities into production-ready systems in real-world environments. The discussions underscored two critical success factors: • Focus on high-impact, high-confidence use cases. Not every workflow benefit from autonomy, and prioritisation is critical. • Invest and build the right ecosystem partnerships across cloud providers, domain experts, and engineering teams, to accelerate progress, strengthen governance, and mitigate implementation risks As financial institutions progress from generative AI to multi-agent architectures, Zühlke’s engineering lens highlighted the need for reliability, safety, and accountability at every stage. Digital Assets and Programmable Money Digital assets, and programmable forms of money like stablecoins and tokenised deposits took centre stage across the festival. Beyond the technology itself, SFF 2025 made one thing clear: the next decade of financial innovation will be shaped by interoperable money and institutional-grade settlement rails. Stefan Grasmann At the FutureMatters Stage moderated by Zühlke’s Group Head of Thought Leadership & Chief of Blockchain, Stefan Grasmann, the session explored scenarios for the next decade: from becoming mainstream financial infrastructure to the advent of programmable capital markets, and the risks, opportunities, and policy shifts that will shape the road ahead. “Reflecting about the last 10 years of blockchain adoption in finance but also projecting into 2035: We could feel how far our industry has come. The next decade will not be defined by technology alone, but by converging the new technological opportunities with modernised regulation and radically automated business processes. Especially the combination of stablecoins and agentic AI will give rise to completely new business models on the internet – for beyond ad-based models and subscriptions,” said Stefan. “Throughout SFF 2025, we’re seeing the momentum taking off. Not hype but infrastructure gravity. We created our own Zühlke framework for consulting clients towards their Digital Asset strategy: We see crypto assets as the first layer of adoption. Digital forms of money like stablecoins are now emerging in a second wave – used as modern payment rails and the cash-leg for more complex financial services. Looking forward, tokenised capital markets are rising as the long-term infrastructure shift.” Accelerating banking transformation – shaping what matters together SFF 2025 showcased a financial sector advancing with ambition and innovation, embracing AI, agentic systems, and programmable finance while maintaining a strong focus on trust, governance, and real-world impact. Thomas Memmel “Technology may transform over hype cycles, but the principles of responsible innovation do not. As AI becomes increasingly autonomous, and as tokenised money and programmable finance mature, organisations will need partners who can fuse engineering, strategy, and governance into scalable solutions. Zühlke’s role is to enable exactly that, by helping financial institutions build systems that are not only cutting-edge, but also reliable, safe, and aligned to real business value. This global platform allows us to exchange insights and co-create solutions with global leaders from our clients that will drive sustainable growth, operational gains and new revenue streams,” Thomas Memmel, Group Chief FSI Officer at Zühlke commented. Discover more about Zühlke in Banking: Accelerate your banking transformation where it matters The post From Hype to Impact: Zühlke Puts a Spotlight on AI and Digital Assets at SFF 2025 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has appointed Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli as the next Head of its Innovation Hub. He will take up the role on 1 March 2026 for a five-year term, succeeding Cecilia Skingsley, who stepped down after being appointed County Governor of Stockholm. Mancini-Griffoli is currently Assistant Director in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, where he oversees payments, currencies and financial market infrastructures and chairs the fund’s coordination group on digital money. He joined the IMF in 2011 after serving as a senior economist at the Swiss National Bank advising its board on monetary policy, and previously held roles at Goldman Sachs, the Boston Consulting Group and a Silicon Valley startup. In his new position, he will join the BIS Executive Committee and lead the hub’s work on technology and central banking. He will also support the BIS mandate as part of its leadership team. He will guide collaboration with central banks across the Hub’s centres in Frankfurt and Paris, Hong Kong SAR, London, Singapore, Stockholm, Switzerland and Toronto, as well as its strategic partnership with the Federal Reserve System. The BIS Innovation Hub develops and evaluates emerging technologies with central bank partners, complements the BIS research efforts and connects a network of more than 200 central bank experts. Andréa M Maechler, Deputy General Manager of the BIS, will remain Acting Head until Mancini-Griffoli joins next March.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by digitizesc via Freepik   The post IMF Payments Expert Named Head of BIS Innovation Hub appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Thai digital insurer Roojai has raised US$60 million in funding from Apis Partners and Asia Partners. The Series C round also saw participation from existing shareholders HDI International, Primary Group and the International Finance Corporation. Roojai was founded in 2015 by CEO Nicolas Faquet and has built a strong position in Thailand’s online motor insurance market. The company has expanded into health, personal accident and travel insurance and has begun growing its operations in Indonesia. The new funds will support its expansion in both markets and will be used for strategic acquisitions. Roojai uses a direct distribution model in a sector that has long relied on intermediaries. The company underwrites individual customers instead of vehicles, supported by a risk-based segmentation approach that allows more competitive pricing. It says this model enables clearer pricing, faster service and strong customer satisfaction. Roojai also offers instalment payment options to improve affordability and has developed policies tailored for electric vehicles. Nicolas Faquet Nicolas Faquet, Co-Founder and CEO, Roojai, said, “Apis and Asia Partners bring deep and hands‑on growth expertise. They will strengthen Roojai’s ability to continue its path of disciplined growth, product innovation, and facilitate our mission to bring straightforward and fair insurance to more customers throughout Southeast Asia.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by manichohan37 via Freepik The post Digital Insurer Roojai Raises US$60 Million for Expansion in Thailand, Indonesia appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Banks and payment infrastructures across the Swift network have finished the move to ISO 20022, marking a major upgrade to global payment data. The transition was completed on 22 November when the coexistence period with the older MT message format ended. The shift follows several years of coordinated preparation across the global financial community, which agreed in 2018 to adopt ISO 20022 for cross-border payments. The G20 and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures regard the standard as a core element of efforts to improve the speed and transparency of international payments. ISO 20022 introduces richer and more structured data that is expected to strengthen operational efficiency, support more accurate compliance checks and deepen customer insights. The use of structured data is also viewed as a foundation for future digital currency systems and for enhancing the customer experience in today’s fiat currency environment. Swift began a coexistence phase in March 2023 to help institutions upgrade their systems and reporting processes. At the time of the cutover, Swift observed that 97 percent of payment instructions were already being sent using ISO 20022. A temporary conversion service will continue to translate remaining MT messages into the new format to ensure the continued flow of global payments. With the migration complete, attention is turning to how institutions can make broader use of the structured data now available. Swift said it will continue supporting the industry with guidance, tools and analytics to help firms measure performance, improve operations and develop new services on top of the standard. Jerome Piens Jerome Piens, Chief Operations Officer at Swift, said, “The new standard will power our strategic initiative to create a payment scheme to guarantee a consistently fast, predictable and transparent experience for retail customers worldwide, and will also enable the foundations for our blockchain-based shared ledger, to allow the trusted movement of tokenised value, thereby bringing together TradFi and DeFi for a fully interoperable financial ecosystem of the future.”     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by kuruart74 via Freepik   The post Swift Network Finalises Messaging Upgrade to ISO 20022 appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Victor Lysenko is stepping down as founder and CEO of Osome after more than eight years leading the Singapore headquartered business and financial management platform. He announced his departure in a LinkedIn post, describing the decision as bittersweet and noting the company’s growth since he started it in 2017. Lysenko said Osome has expanded into Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The company reached profitability in the fourth quarter of 2024, supported by a 25 percent increase in annual revenue and a 60 percent improvement in annualised EBITDA. Osome raised over US$17 million in a Series B extension in May 2024 from new and existing investors. In his announcement, Lysenko thanked employees, clients and investors for their support and said he was confident the leadership team would continue to expand the business. He said he plans to pursue new opportunities after leaving the company.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Frolopiaton Palm via Freepik   The post Osome Founder and CEO Victor Lysenko Steps Down After More Than Eight Years appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Authorities in Singapore are directing Apple and Google to stop scammers from spoofing government names on their messaging apps. The Singapore Police Force, acting under the Online Criminal Harms Act, issued separate Implementation Directives to both companies on 24 November 2025. Apple must add safeguards to iMessage, while Google must do the same for personal RCS messaging on Google Messages. The measures, which include blocking or filtering names that mimic “gov.sg” or government agencies and adjusting how unknown sender names appear, must be in place by 30 November 2025. Government agencies have used the “gov.sg” SMS sender ID since July 2024, supported by the SMS Sender ID Registry. These safeguards apply only to SMS. Messages on iMessage and Google Messages appear alongside SMS in the same interface, and scammers have exploited the lack of distinction. The government does not use the “gov.sg” identifier on these apps, but users may still assume such messages are legitimate. Police have already seen scams involving the impersonation of SSIR registered sender IDs, including more than 120 cases linked to SingPost. Authorities say this highlights the need to close gaps that allow scammers to imitate trusted senders across different messaging platforms. Apple and Google have indicated they will comply. Users are advised to keep their apps updated so the new protections take effect. Under the Online Criminal Harms Act, providers of designated online services can be required to introduce systems or measures to address offences listed in the Act. Failure to comply without reasonable excuse can result in fines of up to S$1 million, with an additional S$100,000 per day for continuing offences.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on images by AnamulHaqueAniks, motionfox, and dendysign via Freepik The post Singapore Orders Apple, Google to Boost Anti-Spoofing Measures on Messaging Apps appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Pruv Finance announced a $3 million Pre-A round to build the first compliant real-world asset (RWA) infrastructure that enables seamless on-chain distribution of tokenized assets. This funding round was led by UOB Venture Management, with participation from Saison Capital, Taisu Ventures, Ascent, Spiral Ventures and Royal Group. The RWA sector has surpassed $35 billion in market capitalization, yet an estimated 93% of tokenized assets face transfer restrictions — such as whitelist-only trading or complete non-transferability — that prevent seamless DeFi integration and mass adoption. Pruv directly addresses this challenge. As the first and only Digital Financial platform that secured OJK(Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority) Sandbox approval. Pruv offers a compliant architecture that does not fragment liquidity. This allows institutions to tokenize assets that can be seamlessly distributed on-chain, eliminating the traditional trade-off. “The industry has been stuck with a false choice: compliance or liquidity,” said Chung Ying, Co-founder of Pruv Finance. “Our infrastructure makes that trade-off obsolete. We provide the regulatory foundation for assets while ensuring they maintain the transferability expected in decentralized ecosystems.” Key Features of Pruv’s Infrastructure: Regulatory Compliance: A formally approved framework ensuring secure and compliant operations. Full DeFi Integration: No upfront trading locks or transfer restrictions, enabling immediate liquidity. Multi-Chain Accessibility: Partners with multiple major blockchain networks, allowing RWA tokens to be bridged and transfer freely. Native DeFi Compatibility: Tokens are fully composable with DeFi protocols and applications from launch. Pruv has established a global network spanning infrastructure providers, exchanges, and institutional partners, including Avalanche, Polygon, Stellar, Sei, Floq, Pintree and SBI Digital Markets. This ecosystem enables seamless tokenization and cross-chain distribution of diversified real world assets. Featured Image by Pruv Finance The post Pruv Finance Raises $3M to Build Compliant Infrastructure for On-chain RWA Distribution appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Global payments processor Thredd has signed an agreement to enable Visa Cloud Connect worldwide, expanding access for banks and fintech firms seeking greater scale and resilience across markets. Visa Cloud Connect gives organisations cloud-based access to VisaNet, Visa’s secure and powerful payments network. It is built for cloud-native companies and supports faster time to market, stronger flexibility and simpler cross-border expansion without multiple regional integrations. Thredd will connect across three global Visa Cloud Connect endpoints as part of a full global rollout. The company said the integration removes the need for separate regional connections and supports its vision of a unified global processing platform. This agreement advances Thredd’s cloud transformation and builds on its long-standing relationship with Visa. Jonathan Vaux “Signing this agreement is about future-proofing payments infrastructure. By committing to Visa Cloud Connect globally, we’re helping our clients gain faster, more resilient access to Visa’s network, while advancing our strategy to deliver a single, cloud-first global platform. Whether launching new programmes or scaling across markets, we strive to provide our clients with speed, reliability, and simplified expansion.” said Jonathan Vaux, Head of Propositions and Partnerships at Thredd.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by farknot via Freepik   The post Thredd Signs Global Deal to Enable Visa Cloud Connect Across All Regions appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Sumsub, a full-cycle verification platform, warns that APAC has entered a new phase of industrialised fraud driven by synthetic data, AI tools and the growing professionalisation of fraud-as-a-service networks. The fifth annual Identity Fraud Report 2025–2026 by Sumsub describes a global “Sophistication Shift”, where overall fraud volumes are stabilising but high-quality attacks have risen 180 percent year on year. In APAC, synthetic personal data fraud jumped 142 percent and now makes up 15.7 percent of all regional fraud attempts, the region’s third-largest category. The report draws on millions of verification checks and more than four million fraud attempts, supported by responses from over 300 risk professionals and 1,200 end users. APAC Becomes a Testing Ground for Advanced Fraud Techniques Tougher enforcement is changing how fraud is handled in the region. Sixty percent of companies reported cases to police, more than double Europe’s 29 percent. Increased reporting has exposed extensive criminal networks, and one in four individuals has been targeted for mule recruitment, one of the highest rates globally. Hong Kong’s fraud rate fell to 1.4 percent after a 43 percent annual decline, below the global average of 2.2 percent, yet deepfake cases rose 147 percent. Across APAC, the fastest deepfake growth rates were recorded in the Maldives at 2,100%, Malaysia at 408%, Mongolia at 200%, Thailand at 199%, Sri Lanka at 194%, Singapore at 158%, Kyrgyzstan at 155%, Hong Kong at 147%, Kazakhstan at 140% and Taiwan at 139%. In 2025, 69 percent of businesses and 53 percent of consumers reported falling victim to fraud. Survey results show that 47 percent of consumers believe protection should be shared equally between companies and governments. Fraud trajectories remain uneven. Malaysia and Pakistan are seeing rapid increases tied to rising digital adoption. Indonesia and the Philippines remain high-risk markets with growing exploitation of digital platforms and deepfake-enabled schemes. Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Australia have recorded declines supported by stronger regulation, although attacks in these jurisdictions are becoming more sophisticated. The report identifies new attack techniques involving manipulation of the infrastructure behind verification. Telemetry tampering is rising as fraudsters interfere with SDKs, APIs and device signals to bypass checks. Sumsub also notes the emergence of AI fraud agents capable of automating full verification flows, generating synthetic documents, submitting deepfake videos and mimicking user behaviour. These systems are expected to accelerate further in 2026. The findings point to the need for continuous, multi-layered verification systems that analyse device patterns, contextual signals and non-human activity in real time. Sumsub says organisations must shift from static checks to adaptive systems that evolve as threats change. Penny Chai “The fraud landscape in APAC has changed faster in the past twelve months than in the previous five years combined. In 2025, we saw fraud rates decline across mature economies, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea — yet deepfakes and synthetic identities are rising faster than anywhere else in the world. This shift indicates that the region’s success in combating basic scams has prompted attackers to adapt their tactics.” said Penny Chai, Vice President, APAC at Sumsub.     Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by Freepik The post APAC Deepfake Fraud Climbs up to 2,100% as Attacks Become More Industrialised appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Dyna.Ai, a Singapore-based AI-as-a-Service company,  today highlighted how financial services organisations are leveraging AI to elevate human  potential through enterprise AI deployment. As 85% of global financial institutions now launch  AI initiatives, the most advanced organisations are moving beyond human-in-the-loop models  and toward full AI autonomy in routine domains. This will unlock “autonomous efficiency,”  where AI handles menial tasks completely so human expertise can focus on relationship building, complex decision-making, and top-line revenue growth.  Organisations scaling AI successfully are those moving deliberately toward autonomous  efficiency, where AI operates with full autonomy in well-defined, routine domains while humans  remain responsible for strategy, exceptions, and revenue-driving work. “Human oversight in AI is extremely useful for companies just starting out. But for companies chasing real value from AI, actual growth will come from enabling autonomous efficiency. This means having AI handle routine, menial tasks completely so human employees can focus on the work that actually drives growth at scale for enterprises,” said Tomas Skoumal, Chairman and Co-Founder of Dyna.Ai. “Autonomous efficiency reframes how organisations should think about AI deployment. Rather than asking “how do we make humans faster with AI,” the question shifts to “what work can AI eliminate completely so humans can focus on work that drives growth?” Going beyond AI pilots to create revenue impact Research shows that while many financial institutions deploy some form of AI, only 24% qualify as “Leaders”, consistently see significant returns, due to strategic deployment and not technology capabilities. Such organisations invest in building AI capabilities within teams and use AI to eliminate tasks humans shouldn’t be doing, creating space for humans to focus exclusively on work that matters. For example, successful financial institutions are designing workflows around various scenarios including lending algorithms qualifying customers automatically, fraud detection to block suspicious transactions and a customer service agent that resolves routine inquiries completely. Human teams never see these routine cases as they are then focused exclusively on exceptions, complex scenarios, and high-value client work. Dyna.Ai’s agentic platform delivers performance designed for financial services complexity delivering sub-200 millisecond response times ensuring real-time decisioning, and accuracy rates exceeding 95 percent across applications from lending to fraud detection to customer engagement. Multilingual Voice AI: Creating Services with World-Class Capabilities For AI-enabled organisations, the next frontier beyond text is voice. Building truly multilingual voice AI at production quality requires training models on local speech patterns, vocabulary variations, cultural communication norms, regional dialects and more. For voice AI to be effective, it must maintain accuracy despite noisy real-world environments, handle complex financial terminology, support regulatory compliance, and manage sensitive customer information. A voice agent that understands language but not financial context, or that works in studios but fails in call centers, creates liability rather than value. Agentic AI: The economic inflection point Agentic AI systems that plan, reason, and execute complex workflows without human intervention, represent the economic inflection point for autonomous efficiency. The agentic AI market is projected to grow from 7.55 billion dollars in 2025 to 199.05 billion dollars by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate of 43.84 percent. Omdia analysis shows enterprise agentic AI software will surge from 1.5 billion dollars in 2025 to 41.8 billion dollars by 2030. By then, agentic AI will represent 31 percent of the total generative AI market. In financial services, agentic AI applications are expanding rapidly across lending workflows, fraud detection systems, compliance monitoring, and customer engagement. As financial institutions move past exploratory AI adoption, they will now seek to achieve maximum value through autonomous efficiency designed specifically for top-line revenue growth. Organisations that design agentic workflows around AI autonomy, establish clear governance frameworks for human-AI collaboration, and measure success on top-line revenue, will define competitive advantage. Those remaining in pilot mode or treating human in-the-loop as a permanent state, will find themselves increasingly constrained by the very oversight designed to protect them. Showcasing the future of Agentic AI at Singapore Fintech Festival Dyna.Ai recently showcased its full-stack agentic AI platform at this year’s Singapore Fintech Festival, demonstrating how financial institutions are scaling AI from experimentation to production deployment. Together with GXS Bank, the company presented live demonstrations at the Future of Finance booth, highlighting how real-world autonomous efficiency is freeing human teams from routine work to focus on revenue-driving activities. Live demonstration by Dyna.Ai and GXS Bank at this year’s Singapore Fintech Festival The post Dyna.Ai Positions Its Agentic AI to Advance Financial Services Beyond Pilots appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

Banks everywhere are circling the digital asset space, but most that we know are still standing at the edge of the pool instead of diving straight right in. It seems like they all know that they need to get in, and deep inside, they know and can feel that a shift is coming. Yet, for all the talk about innovation and transformation, many banks seem terrified about how to make the first move, let alone when to. As one banker half-joked during Singapore Fintech Festival, “We’re exploring stablecoins,” which in banking language basically translates to “We know this is important, but we have no idea where to start,” it’s starting to look like the technology itself is not the only thing that scares them. Some of the other things that strike terror into these banks are the thousand-page compliance binders, the legacy core systems built in the 90s, the fear of an internal admin fat-fingering a transaction and even worse, colluding with someone. Readers and bankers alike would already know by now that digital assets are not as easy as installing a new app or software. These things touch everything. Security, architecture, compliance, capital treatment, treasury. And banks know that if they get even one of those things wrong, the consequences are no laughing matter. This is why the recent partnership between Fireblocks and Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB) is such a compelling case study. It’s more than another client win. It’s a look at what a modern digital-first bank can be when it’s designed for today’s financial reality. Inside SGB’s Approach as a Digital-First Bank For Stephen Richardson, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Banking at Fireblocks, SGB tells more than just another institution story, adopting the company’s technology, but rather, it is a live demonstration of what a digitally native bank can and should look like. Stephen Richardson “They made it entirely digitally native,” Stephen begins. “They built the bank to be operating at a pretty high caliber level, which then makes integrating a solution like Fireblocks a lot simpler.” SGB’s architecture reflects that intention. Every core component, KYC, onboarding, account creation and the digital asset layer, was designed from day one to operate in a fully digital environment. The result is a platform where the asset infrastructure slots naturally into the rest of the bank without the usual friction. Not only that, but it also helps that Bahrain, where SGB is based, operates in US dollars and can serve a global customer base. It gives them the scale and flexibility to build something modern without being held back by decades of legacy systems. And that contrast is crucial for the rest of the industry. The Legacy Problem That Keeps Banks Frozen SGB is a glimpse into what banks would’ve built if they could’ve started with a nice, clean slate. Something that, unfortunately, not most banks could. Why? Well, mostly because these banks are mostly dealing with core systems that are held together by patches, siloed data, manual workflows and architecture that are designed in a completely different era. That is exactly the problem Fireblocks wants to solve. “We integrate into legacy systems,” Stephen says. Fireblocks now works with more than 80 banks, including some of the most systemically important institutions. The integrations aren’t trivial, but they are possible, and Stephen is clear about why banks choose Fireblocks. “If we just hand you Fireblocks out of the box, there’s not a lot of utility,” he says. Stephen enlightens that a bank may be able to accept a stablecoin payment at 3 a.m., but if their core systems cannot recognise that payment, reflect it in customer balances and allow users to act on it, the benefit is lost, and sadly, worthless. This is why Stephen always comes back to one foundational component. The wallet. “It gives you interoperability across multiple blockchains and products,” he explains. With Fireblocks’ wallet stack supporting more than one hundred blockchains and thousands of assets, banks now don’t need to build integration after integration. Saving them time. They now just need to pick the infrastructure and switch on features over time. Retail crypto brokerage, stablecoin payments, tokenisation, you name it. It’s now becoming a modular approach that respects a bank’s existing architecture instead of just bulldozing it straight away. The New Rails Emerging for Global Transactions As banks grapple with legacy systems, the question becomes not just how to modernise internally but how to connect to the wider digital asset ecosystem. That is where SGB’s setup offers another valuable clue. SGB operates its own private rails through SGB Net, and at the same time, also participates in the wider Fireblocks Network. Stephen often describes Fireblocks as the connective tissue that links private banking systems to the broader digital asset universe. It complements a bank’s internal network rather than replacing it. This is also why comparisons to SWIFT come up frequently, although Stephen is quick to clarify the distinction. “SWIFT is a messaging network. The asset moves later,” he explains. Blockchain collapses those steps, allowing messaging and settlement to occur in the same layer. Fireblocks adds the compliance, orchestration and controls that regulated institutions need. Together, these layers form a more modern settlement rail, one built for how value actually moves in a digital world. The result is a settlement rail that is open to more than just banks. PSPs, fintechs and digital wallets all operate along the same pathway, creating a broader, more interoperable foundation for global transactions. The Real Fear Banks Have Is Not Hackers If connecting networks is one part of the puzzle, securing what happens on those networks is the other. And this is where many banks reveal their biggest concerns. We mentioned that digital asset tech is what most banks fear. And if technology were the only problem, banks would have solved this long ago. Their real worry runs deep, much more internal. Banks are no longer primarily worried about hackers. They’re far more concerned about collusion, internal mistakes and privileged access gone wrong. When things go wrong with digital assets, they go wrong fast. Thus, these banks want absolute guarantees that internal users cannot do something they shouldn’t. “You should not let a single person be able to send an amount greater than X,” Stephen says. “Or add a new wallet address without approval.” Fireblocks turns those rules into hardwired enforcement rather than optional guidelines. The platform’s policy engine applies these limits automatically, so the safeguards operate exactly as intended. All of this runs inside secure enclaves that can’t be altered without going through formal governance. Stephen describes it as programmatic guardrails, much like an automated mechanisms that lower the risk of insider threats. Where traditional banking still relies heavily on human judgment, he sees room for smarter automation. And where many institutions view compliance as a burden, Stephen sees something entirely different. Compliance Is Becoming a Feature, Not a Burden All of this leads naturally into the compliance conversation, which Stephen argues is becoming a strength rather than a burden for banks entering the digital asset space. He often hears the assumption that digital assets are inherently riskier, but he thinks that perception is outdated. In traditional finance, once cash leaves the bank, the trail effectively goes cold. Digital assets behave very differently. With blockchain analytics, movements can be monitored across wallets almost instantly, giving institutions a level of visibility they’ve never had before. “We can track where any asset moves in almost real time,” Stephen says, noting that this kind of transparency is new territory for most banks. The Fireblocks Network builds on that foundation by weaving Travel Rule compliance and risk scoring directly into each transaction. Instead of handling these checks manually or bolting on external tools, banks can apply controls based on wallet risk profiles, transaction patterns, size thresholds or allowed destinations. The infrastructure is already in place. What remains is for each institution to decide the level of risk they are willing to accept, and to adjust those dials as their digital asset strategy matures. Looking Beyond Payments Into the Stablecoin Moment The clearer compliance picture also sets up the next major shift in digital finance, which is unfolding even faster than many expected. The stablecoin moment. With global regulators beginning to outline proper frameworks, banks are no longer just watching from the sidelines. Many are now exploring stablecoin issuance as a fresh revenue stream and a way to modernise their payment infrastructure. Fireblocks, as they should, have prepared early for this direction. Its acquisition of tokenisation specialist BlockFold gave the company the ability to support everything from customised smart contract development to templates designed with regulators in mind. Stephen notes, however, that building the contract is only the starting point. The real challenge is ensuring that the controls around it are airtight. “It’s not just about having the smart contract,” he says. “But tying it into a security and operational framework.” This is where Fireblocks’ policy engine becomes critical, as it can now limit how much a bank is allowed to mint, link issuance to verified reserves and block operational errors that could jeopardise the integrity of the stablecoin. The prospect is clearly attractive, yet Stephen believes the next phase of digitised value could be even more consequential for banks. Why Tokenised Deposits Matter for Bank Economics Stablecoins naturally lead to the next question. How do banks make digital value creation sustainable? They are great for users, but not so ideal for bank economics. Stablecoins work well for users because they are fully backed, but that very feature limits how much value banks can generate from them. “If you’re a bank, you don’t make money holding a stablecoin in full reserve,” he says. Stephen answered that tokenised deposits offer a more balanced model. They preserve the familiar fractional reserve approach while modernising how deposits move, settle and interact with digital asset rails. In Stephen’s view, both instruments will coexist. Stablecoins will continue to serve open ecosystems and retail-facing products, while tokenised deposits will support closed-loop environments between trusted financial institutions. Such a dual approach gives banks the flexibility to innovate without abandoning core economic principles. A Glimpse Into Banking’s Next Chapter SGB offers a clear look at what a bank can achieve when it builds for the future instead of trying to modernise systems designed for another era. Fireblocks is working to make that same path viable for institutions still weighed down by legacy infrastructure. For banks that are cautious about stepping into digital assets, Stephen’s message is refreshingly grounded. The technology is already mature. The compliance layer is no longer a guesswork exercise. The risks can be controlled when the architecture is secure and intentional. What remains is the willingness to take the first step. Momentum is shifting, the barriers are lower, and the tools are in place. The future of digital asset banking is no longer out of reach. It is already waiting for the banks bold enough to build it. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on an image by starmultikharisma via Freepik and Stephen Richardson via LinkedIn. The post Banks Know Change Is Coming, and Digital Assets May Be the Turning Point appeared first on Fintech Singapore.

There is a familiar statistic that gets mentioned often at fintech events, but it felt different when we were preparing for our conversation with Tony Ball, President of Payments and Identity and the incoming CEO of Entrust. Fraud. Nearly seven in ten organisations reported an increase in fraud attempts in the past year. It is a reminder that the security models the industry used to rely on, now no longer reflect how people live and work. Especially when the bank is no longer big-old physical branches but rather, sits there in your pocket. These days, your office may be a café, a train cabin or your living room, and your colleague might be a spreadsheet or an AI agent. In that kind of workplace, where everything has become location-agnostic, the people attempting to breach your systems are just as unbounded, operating from anywhere in the world with access to the same technologies meant to stop them. When both work and risk move this freely, Tony captured the challenge in a single line that stayed with me. Entrust, he said, is focused on “securing a world in motion.” Identity Is No Longer a Moment But a Continuous Journey Entrust has been known for decades as a company that issues IDs and payment cards and builds the cryptographic hardware and software behind banks and governments. The company’s role has expanded significantly in recent years, and Tony explained that Entrust has moved away from thinking only about the moment of onboarding – issuing an ID or credit card – and now looks at the entire identity journey. From the day a customer first signs up to every interaction afterwards. And this journey is not limited to consumers as more often than not, it extends to employees, citizens and a rising wave of digital identities created by automated systems and AI agents. Tony put it simply: Tony Ball “It is not just human identity. There are also elements of non-human identity, and AI, is changing the game dramatically.” Entrust has invested heavily in AI to speed up verification at the point of onboarding. Tony shared that the company can now verify customers in under ten seconds in the majority of cases. That speed matters to consumers, but Tony also emphasised that the real value lies in what happens after the account is created. Fraud attacks rarely happen on day one. It arrives when a user’s guard is down. “Anytime a bank sees a high-value transaction or a high-security event, like a password request, has to be treated as a potential fraud event,” he told me. “You need to meet the customer where they are in that journey.” That idea guides everything that comes next. Which is why the industry keeps returning to the same concept. Zero Trust. Zero Trust Sounds Simple. Implementing It Is Not Zero Trust has become a common phrase among security leaders. The concept is pretty straightforward. Do not trust by default and verify every interaction. The challenge however comes when organisations try to apply that concept across decades-old systems. Outdated if we may. Many banks and financial institutions carry the weight of legacy infrastructure, and rebuilding everything from scratch is very unrealistic. Tony acknowledged this tension openly. He said that the framework of zero trust is very important. Institutions must make sure that every point of interaction is as secure as they can be. However, at the same time, he still understands that there are some practical barriers, that we must face. Entrust tries to make sure that they meet customers where they are, and not where textbooks say they should be. The company focuses on layering modern security tools on top of existing systems rather than forcing organisations into costly and disruptive re-architecture projects. “We help organisations add security to what they already have,” he said. The move involves combining on-premise components with cloud-based systems that work together as a single environment. Such a layered approach now allows institutions to match friction with risk they encounter. On the one hand, critical systems receive stronger checks. Low-risk interactions on the other hand, remain smooth. The result is a more workable, seamless version of Zero Trust that reflects how real organisations should operate. AI Is Transforming Fraud, And Luckily, Defence Even the best Zero Trust strategy faces a tougher reality. Fraudsters now use AI too, and they are innovating rapidly. If one idea doesn’t work, they can try another, over and over, and at scale. Tony’s view of the situation is nevertheless, straightforward. “It is an arms race,” he said. “The responsibility we take is to use AI for good.” According to Tony, both types of data matter because they teach models how fraud evolves and how legitimate users behave over time. This experience is what gives Entrust a different form of perspective. Many organisations these days treat verification as a one-time event, but Tony believes that long-term protection depends on what he calls the “day-two experience.” Once someone is in the system, the institution must remain confident that the person making each transaction is still the same individual who originally signed up. “We use biometrics trained with AI to understand, in motion, that it is you,” he explained. Institutions can now choose whether biometric templates are stored on a device or within the institution’s infrastructure. They can even request updated templates periodically. This creates a dynamic and adaptive identity, not a static snapshot. The more these models are trained and automated, Tony said, the harder it becomes for fraudsters to take advantage of the same technologies. Quantum Computing Will Redefine Encryption Although AI dominates most conversations today, Tony believes quantum computing poses a much larger long-term, next-gen threat. He emphasised that quantum capabilities will eventually break many of the encryption systems used today, and the change will be sudden. “Quantum is coming, and everything you know about encryption will change forever,” he warned. Despite widespread awareness of the threat, far fewer organisations have started preparing. He warned that institutions that delay may find themselves forced to redesign their systems under enormous pressure. “If you are not ready, you will have to re-architect everything in front of your customers,” he said. Entrust now is already working on quantum-safe cryptography, but the industry still has a long way to go. Different Markets Want Different Levels of Friction Security may be global, but tolerance for friction is very much local. That contrast becomes clearer when you look at how different regions approach digital identity. You see, people want a fully secure service that is also fully seamless. Seems easy, but these objectives do not always align, and Tony pointed out that cultural expectations play a major role in how institutions balance them. In North America for instance, institutions often prioritise user experience and smooth onboarding. As a result, they accept a moderate amount of fraud risk and address issues on the back end. Europe, takes the opposite approach. Because of European Union regulatory requirements, many consumers there expect strong verification at the beginning. They are willing to tolerate friction if it protects them. “There are always trade-offs,” Tony said, “and they vary by region.” Rather than choose one philosophy, Entrust focuses on giving institutions the tools to decide how much friction they want in each part of the journey. The Strength of a Full-Stack Approach One thing that stands out about Entrust is how many layers of the security ecosystem it touches. The company issues physical payment cards. It supplies the hardware that stores cryptographic keys in banking, government, and enterprise systems. It builds the AI-based tools that verify faces and identities on digital channels. Most competitors specialise in only one of these areas. Tony believes this breadth is becoming an advantage. Fragmented security environments create gaps because vendors do not always integrate well with one another. “The more vendors you invite into your environment, the more points of entry you provide for attackers,” he said. Entrust tries to simplify this through a platform approach that ties together identity, card issuance, data encryption and hardware security. The fewer moving parts an organisation has to reconcile, the stronger the trust foundation becomes. A good example is Entrust’s work with AUTENTIKA in Indonesia, where the company’s HSMs form the cryptographic base of a major national identity platform. Tony described the heart of the solution clearly. “It is anchored in providing trust and encrypted data.” The country relies on a multi-tenant architecture to deliver citizen services, and encrypted data is part of the foundation of confidence. Institutions know where data lives, who accesses it and how it is protected. In an age filled with deepfakes and synthetic identities, this type of hardware-based integrity becomes even more essential. Self-Sovereign Identity Sounds Ideal but Remains Difficult Toward the end of our discussion, we turned to the idea of self-sovereign identity. The idea is appealing. One day, people may store their identity in a personal digital wallet and reveal only selective information when needed. Tony likes the vision but views it with caution. “We would all like the utopian idea of an identity we control,” he said. “But the world is not so simple.” Different governments follow different approaches, so standards vary widely. Interoperability remains the biggest obstacle. Even if a person is fully verified in one country’s digital identity system, that identity might not be recognised elsewhere. Entrust expects to play a role across several parts of this future. The company helps organisations create digital identities. It provides the technology needed to manage these identities across long periods of time. It also builds tools that allow identities to be stored securely, whether in national identity wallets, private enterprise wallets or commercial platforms such as Google Wallet. These three capabilities form a complete pipeline that supports identity throughout its life, although the world may need years before self-sovereign models become practical at a global level. A Future Where Trust Must Keep Moving By the time our conversation ended, one idea kept resurfacing. Identity has become a moving target. People work everywhere. Devices shift constantly. AI and automation reshape how fraud appears. Nothing stays still. Security can no longer rely on fixed perimeters or one-time checks. It must follow the user throughout every moment of their journey. Tony Ball summed it up with a simple message. If everything is in motion, trust must remain in motion as well. And for Entrust, that motion is no challenge to fear. Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore based on images by noob via Freepik and Anthony Ball via LinkedIn. The post Your Identity Never Stands Still and Neither Should Your Security appeared first on Fintech Singapore.