Visa, Mastercard and 140 firms launch Open USD, a stablecoin built to undercut Circle

Investec deploying AI tools to every employee

Investec has rolled out Microsoft Copilot to all 8,000 employees across South Africa, the UK, and other markets, claiming to be the first South African organisation to publicly announce a full-workforce AI deployment. The bank reports over 800 AI agents in active use, collectively freeing up more than 350,000 staff hours annually. Investec frames the deployment as augmenting rather than replacing workers, emphasising a 'human-first' philosophy. The freed capacity is described as being reinvested into client service and advisory work, though the bank did not disclose how time savings are measured or any impact on headcount.

Pasqal and Crédit Agricole CIB Deepen Partnership on Quantum Finance Applications

Crédit Agricole CIB and Pasqal have signed a strategic partnership to industrialize quantum computing for capital markets, targeting production use cases by 2028. Building on collaboration since 2019, the partnership covers three tracks: deploying quantum-inspired algorithms on classical infrastructure, operational testing on Pasqal's neutral-atom quantum computers, and hybrid quantum-classical workflows. Focus areas include monitoring capital reserve consumption, risk-weighted assets, counterparty credit risk, and portfolio optimization. Early results suggest quantum algorithms can outperform classical approaches under specific conditions.

How a garage start-up became one of South Africa’s trusted software houses

Pepla Software Solutions, a South African software house founded by Johann Combrink, grew from a garage startup to a 40-person engineering firm over 12 years. The company built its reputation on bespoke software, technical excellence, and long-term client relationships, delivering solutions across banking, insurance, agriculture, logistics, and election systems in Namibia. Pepla has also invested in AI, including Pepla Voice, an AI-powered voice assistant for the South African market. Combrink emphasizes understanding business processes before adopting AI, and the company plans international expansion and continued investment in emerging technologies.

The DeepMind trio who built a poker AI are now making money for quant hedge funds

EquiLibre Technologies, a Prague-based AI lab founded by three ex-DeepMind researchers who built DeepStack (the first AI to beat pro poker players), has raised a Series A at a $500 million valuation. Led by Creandum in its largest-ever single investment, the startup applies reinforcement learning to quantitative trading. In partnership with Tower Research Capital, its algorithms trade billions in daily volume across S&P 500, Nasdaq, and crypto markets, claiming zero negative months since inception. The 25-person team, based in Prague, plans to scale compute infrastructure into one of the largest clusters in Central and Eastern Europe. The startup positions itself as a lab first, competing in a space where firms like Jane Street already deploy RL at massive scale.

Indian payments chief thinks AI will be heavily involved in next era of digital payment growth

Dilip Asbe, CEO của NPCI, cho rằng AI sẽ đóng vai trò quan trọng trong giai đoạn tăng trưởng tiếp theo của UPI, hướng tới 1 tỷ giao dịch mỗi ngày thông qua các ứng dụng đa ngôn ngữ, phát hiện gian lận, nhận dạng tài khoản ma và phân phối tín dụng dựa trên dữ liệu số. Ông cũng nhấn mạnh cơ hội cho các ngân hàng và fintech Ấn Độ xây dựng các mô hình ngôn ngữ nhỏ chuyên biệt từ dữ liệu thanh toán phong phú của nước này.

Nếu bạn đang tìm cách mở rộng khả năng cạnh tranh trong thị trường thanh toán số với các giải pháp AI hiệu quả, bài viết này sẽ giúp bạn hiểu rõ cách áp dụng trí tuệ nhân tạo để nâng cao hiệu suất, giảm rủi ro và tạo ra các sản phẩm đặc trưng cho thị trường Ấn Độ.

Google Finance gets a dedicated app for Android

Google has launched a dedicated Android app for Google Finance, offering watchlists, real-time market data, live financial news, and an AI-powered 'Key Moments' feature that explains stock movements. An iOS version is planned for later. The move puts Google in direct competition with Yahoo Finance and Robinhood. Alongside the app, Google is rolling out portfolio tracking globally on the web, letting users view holdings in a single dashboard and interact with an AI research tool using natural-language queries. New AI task features allow users to set up automated briefings and performance summaries based on their watchlists or portfolios.

OCBC to lift annual tech spending above $771mn as new CEO doubles down on AI

Singapore's OCBC bank plans to raise its annual technology spending to over $771mn, one of the first major strategic moves by new CEO Tan Teck Long, who took over in January 2026. The investment targets deeper integration of AI, digital, and data capabilities across customer journeys, workforce training, and core banking infrastructure. Around 60% of OCBC's employees have already undergone AI or digital training. The bank is also investing in a Punggol Digital District innovation hub and a blockchain-powered commercial paper programme. The move reflects competitive pressure from local rivals DBS and UOB, as well as broader industry estimates that generative AI could add $200–340bn annually to banking value. The key challenge will be balancing rising tech costs against margin pressure and the bank's reputation for cost discipline.