Digital transformation succeeds when nearterm innovation strengthens the core architecture, rather than adding complexity to legacy systems.
08 Mashreq’s digital playbook: scaling data, platforms and purpose across retail and SME banking
Mashreq is scaling digital banking through unified platforms, real-time analytics and AI to drive growth across retail, payments and SMEs.
12 A meaningful impact: How Absa Bank is empowering Africa, one step at a time Absa drives digital innovation across payments, savings, and employee wellbeing to advance financial inclusion and trust across Africa.
21 “AI is the most powerful force reshaping our industry” — Standard Chartered’s Guillermo Veiga
Standard Chartered advances platformled, responsible AI and digital assets to scale innovation while strengthening security, resilience, and client trust.
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15 From loyalty to lifestyle: UOB leads the CX revolution in Asia
UOB redefines customer experience by blending digital innovation, human touchpoints, and lifestyle-led engagement across Asia.
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Standard Chartered builds AI skills through global learning hub
Standard Chartered scales AI literacy through a global learning hub, empowering employees to adopt AI responsibly and confidently.
Built for customers: UOB Malaysia leads the next chapter in the country’s retail banking landscape
UOB Malaysia combines digital convenience and personalised advisory to deliver customer-centric banking and scalable retail growth.
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GXS Bank advances financial inclusion through data-driven innovation and inclusive credit
GXS Bank uses data analytics and inclusive credit products to expand access, personalise banking, and promote responsible financial participation.
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Maybank’s credit card rewards its customers for spending time with ‘Family and Friends’
Maybank’s Family & Friends Card rewards everyday lifestyle spending with flexible cashback, regional benefits, and a seamless, digitally enhanced customer experience.
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Digital-first, AI-powered:
GXBank’s blueprint for modern banking
GXBank delivers inclusive digital banking through instant credit, generative AI risk management, and multilingual support to drive accessibility and operational efficiency.
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ZA Bank achieves firstever interim net profit and surpasses 1 million users
ZA Bank reaches profitability and scale by combining digital banking, AI, wealth innovation, and Web3 leadership in Hong Kong.
Feedzai builds a privacy-first network to combat global fraud
Feedzai enables banks to collaborate against fraud using privacy-preserving AI, improving detection accuracy while safeguarding customer data and regulatory compliance.
36 How Julie Lévesque strengthened National Bank of Canada’s digital and AI foundations
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38 UOB leads Southeast Asia retail banking with multiple accolades in 2025
UOB’s regional expansion, lifestyle partnerships, and digital-first products strengthened customer engagement, earning multiple retail banking accolades across Southeast Asia.
41 Powering progress: How Scotiabank is shaping the future of transaction banking in Canada
Scotiabank leverages AI, real-time data, and open banking to deliver intelligent, sustainable, and integrated transaction banking solutions.
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Azure Tide Holdings setting the institutional standard for digital asset fund management
Azure Tide delivers institutional-grade digital asset credit through disciplined risk management, advanced technology, and consistent performance across market cycles.
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Taxbit scales growth with stronger regulatory integration
Taxbit combines tax automation and regulatory-grade infrastructure to deliver trusted, scalable compliance for digital asset businesses and governments.
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HSBC highlights global strength as it marks 150 years in the Philippines
HSBC reinforces its global banking proposition in the Philippines, supporting internationally mobile clients with crossborder wealth and banking solutions.
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Digital-first banking: How
Standard Chartered Saadiq is revolutionising Islamic finance in Malaysia
Standard Chartered Saadiq drives Islamic banking growth through digital platforms, inclusive SME financing, and Shariahcompliant wealth innovation.
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mBank builds scalable AI solutions setting a new standard in banking
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TMBThanachart Bank’s hyper-personalised approach connects RMs with clients better
TMBThanachart Bank empowers relationship managers with AI-driven insights to deliver hyper-personalised advisory and stronger wealth engagement.
“The goal isn’t perfection. It’s preparedness.” — Maybank Singapore’s Ravindra Kumar, on building cyber resilience
Maybank Singapore builds cyber resilience through layered defence, quantum-ready systems, and customer engagement, positioning security as a foundation of trust.
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Precision Fund Services leads innovation in digital fund administration
Precision Fund Services advances digital asset fund administration through enhanced wallet verification, valuation models, and compliant, technologydriven operations.
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“We didn’t just improve what exists, we reimagined what could be” — RBC Clear’s Kartik
Kaushik
RBC Clear reimagines transaction banking by rebuilding treasury platforms from scratch to deliver transparency, efficiency, and client-driven digital experiences.
HSBC brings convenience, control and confidence to cross-border payments
HSBC simplifies international money movement with Global Money Transfers, delivering fast, fee-free, and secure crossborder payments via mobile banking.
72 NTT DATA on driving proactive insurance engagement through agentic AI and digital twins
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Finastra’s LaserPro cloud: Loan documentation in the cloud era
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ChainUp provides integrated digital asset infrastructure, enabling institutions to tokenise real-world assets, unlock liquidity, and scale securely across global markets.
78 Al Barid Bank: Driving Innovation and Digital Transformation in Morocco
Al Barid Bank advances financial inclusion and digital transformation through innovative payment solutions, modern banking platforms, and customer-centric innovation.
From its NEO digital bank to real-time analytics, generative artificial intelligence and youth banking, Mashreq has spent the past year tightening the links between data, distribution and customer experience. The result is a portfolio of initiatives that illustrates how an incumbent Middle East bank is executing digital banking at scale across retail, payments and small businesses.
Across Mashreq’s retail banking, cards and payments, data analytics and SME services, the bank has concentrated on building platforms that can be deployed regionally, integrated with core systems and assessed against defined commercial outcomes. Digital channels are positioned not as extensions of the branch network, but as primary routes for acquisition, servicing and growth.
The approach is visible across Mashreq NEO, the bank’s digital-only retail proposition, as well as in its use of real-time analytics, internal generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools and specialised offerings for younger customers and small businesses. These initiatives show how the bank is aligning technology, data and product design across multiple segments without fragmenting its operating model.
NEO as a retail growth engine
Mashreq NEO has become a leading channel within the bank’s retail strategy in the Middle East. Delivered entirely through mobile and online platforms, it provides a full suite of services including current and savings accounts, payments, lending and investments. In 2024, Mashreq reported steady growth in both customers and balances,
supported by high levels of digital adoption and simplified onboarding journeys. In September 2025, Mashreq achieved a historic milestone by launching the first full-service digital retail bank in Pakistan — marking the inaugural international deployment of its award-winning digital banking platform outside the Middle East.
According to the bank, most new retail customers are now onboarded digitally, with many able to open and fund accounts within minutes. This has reduced reliance on physical distribution, shortened time to activation and improved conversion. The digital model has also supported regional expansion. During the year, Mashreq launched NEO in Egypt and entered a banking-as-a-service partnership with a regional telecommunications provider aimed at extending access to underserved customer segments.
Data-driven personalisation underpins the proposition. Analytics are applied across marketing, servicing and fraud prevention to improve relevance and operational efficiency. Rather than relying on broad demographic groupings, customer engagement is increasingly informed by behavioural signals, allowing the platform to respond more precisely to individual needs.
Mashreq NEO has become a leading channel within the bank’s retail strategy in the Middle East.
Real-time analytics shifts engagement decisions
The bank’s emphasis on data extends beyond the retail front end. In 2024, Mashreq introduced a real-time data streaming analytics capability across its NEO and cards businesses, designed to change how customer engagement decisions are made.
Built on a scalable big data architecture, the platform operates independently of core banking systems and processes live customer events and transaction data. Rule-based analytics identify context-specific opportunities, such as foreign exchange prompts, product offers and loyalty interventions, allowing engagement to occur at the point of relevance. The initiative replaces earlier approaches that depended on delayed data and broad segmentation, which often limited personalisation and dampened conversion.
Mashreq reports that the platform has delivered measurable commercial impact, with revenue from targeted initiatives running at around three times pre-launch levels. Product teams have also gained the ability to test and refine engagement strategies in near real time. Further enhancements are planned, including the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning scoring to sharpen decision-making.
Generative AI applied to internal productivity
Mashreq has also applied generative AI internally to improve how employees access and interpret data. Launched in July 2025, TADA Data Copilot provides a natural-language interface between business users and multiple core banking and data platforms.
Instead of relying on specialist analytics tools or SQL-based reporting, staff can ask plain-English questions and receive structured outputs supported by visual summaries, including charts and trend analysis. The tool is intended to simplify routine analysis and broaden access to data across the organisation.
According to the bank, TADA has reduced the time spent on data retrieval and analysis by between 40% and 60%, while lowering reliance on central analytics teams and traditional business intelligence platforms. By converting multi-source data into role-specific
views, the system has also increased data literacy among non-technical users. Planned enhancements include stronger data governance controls and expanded cross-system querying.
Extending digital banking to younger customers
Mashreq has also extended its digital proposition to younger users through the launch of NEO NXT in the United Arab Emirates. Designed for children and teenagers aged eight to eighteen, the platform provides digital accounts and a dedicated mobile app, while allowing parents to monitor spending and apply controls in real time.
Account opening is completed entirely online, removing the need for branch visits. Teenagers can receive personalised debit cards linked to their accounts, alongside features such as spending insights, savings goals and controlled allowance top-ups. Mashreq positions the product as both a payments solution and a financial education tool, aimed at building early engagement and long-term relationships with families.
Operationally, the fully digital onboarding model supports scalability and reduces administrative overheads. Strategically, it aligns with the bank’s broader focus on inclusion and lifetime customer value by engaging customers earlier in the banking lifecycle.
Payments data meets sustainability objectives
Within cards and payments, Mashreq has applied data analytics to sustainability-focused services. Its Carbon Footprint Calculator, embedded in the Mashreq mobile app, allows cardholders to view the estimated carbon impact of their spending across categories such as retail, travel and entertainment. Developed with Visa and sustainability technology firm ecolytiq, the tool was launched in late 2023 and saw increased engagement throughout 2024.
During the year, Mashreq focused on helping customers interpret carbon data and link everyday purchasing decisions to environmental outcomes.
Usage rose as customers explored personalised insights based on transaction histories, supported by guidance on reducing emissions through alternative spending behaviour. The bank is preparing the next phase of the initiative, including partnerships that would enable carbon offsetting through certified projects.
The calculator forms part of a broader environmental, social and governance strategy that integrates sustainability into everyday banking services rather than positioning it as a standalone feature.
Precision acquisition through advanced analytics
Data has also reshaped Mashreq’s approach to digital acquisition. In 2024, the bank introduced end-toend analytics to track customer journeys from initial engagement through to conversion across its cards and payments business. The framework links backend customer data with frontend marketing performance, providing visibility at the level of individual keywords, creatives and features.
By moving beyond platform-level metrics, marketing teams can test hypotheses, adjust messaging in near real time, and allocate budgets based on conversion quality rather than volume. Mashreq reports improved transparency over marketing spend, stronger coordination between marketing and internal platforms, and higher returns on investment as a result of the approach.
Digitising SME onboarding and servicing
Small and medium-sized enterprises have been another priority. In the UAE, Mashreq accelerated digital initiatives aimed at addressing persistent inefficiencies in SME onboarding and everyday banking, where lengthy documentation and inperson verification have traditionally slowed account opening.
The strategy has focused on expanding the NEO BIZ proposition, including the rollout of NEO BIZ Express. The solution enables fully digital onboarding for sole proprietorships and partnerships, significantly reducing required data fields and documentation while
removing the need for branch visits. For lower-risk SMEs, onboarding timelines have been compressed from months to within two days.
Mashreq has launched Mashreq Biz, a nextgeneration digital banking platform developed in-house to replace a legacy system in place for over a decade. This unified platform brings together business banking, NEO BIZ, and Islamic banking clients under a single login, consolidating payments, foreign exchange, trade finance, and account management. With features like real-time mobile transaction approvals and straight-through processing, it enhances efficiency and operational control. Our payment solutions have also been significantly upgraded — USD payment processing time reduced from 27 hours to just 5 hours, invoicebased and bulk transfers introduced, real-time beneficiary validation and international payment tracking enabled. Additionally, instant QR collections via Aani, multi-authorisation, digital RFIs, and instant limit increases up to $1.36 million (5 million AED) empower businesses with agility and control. Mashreq Biz’s exceptional 4.9/5 rating on the Apple App Store reflects the trust and satisfaction of thousands of SME users.
Mashreq has revolutionised SME lending and trade finance digital journeys, delivering unmatched speed, transparency, and convenience. Our fully digital Merchant Financing solution, covering both Conventional and Islamic products - offers instant eligibility checks, reduced documentation, and RMassisted onboarding, cutting turnaround times by up to 60%. Complementing this, the Bank’s digital trade finance platform enables online initiation of LCs and BGs, real-time transaction tracking, and digital document pickup, reducing branch dependency and enhancing customer experience. These innovations empower SMEs with frictionless access to finance and seamless trade operations, setting new benchmarks in digital banking excellence.
Mashreq’s initiatives have optimised account opening for speed and ease, boosted engagement, and driven SMEs to adopt digital channels as their primary operating accounts—underscoring our commitment to delivering a fully integrated, end-to-end digital infrastructure for SMEs.
TADA Data Copilot provides a naturallanguage interface between business users and multiple core banking and data platforms.
Awards and recognition
Mashreq’s digital initiatives were recognised across multiple categories during The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovation 2025.
Mashreq Bank
• Best Digital Bank – United Arab Emirates
• Best Digital Bank – Middle East
• Best Data Analytics Initiative – Middle East
• Best Gen-AI Initiative – Middle East
• Best Savings Account – UAE
• Best Virtual Account
• Best New Digital Product of the Year
Mashreq Business Banking
• Outstanding Digital Innovation in SME Banking –Middle East
• Best SME Bank – United Arab Emirates
• Best SME Bank – Middle East
• Best Overall Bank for SMEs – Innovative Business Accounts
• Best Digital Banking Solution for SMEs
Mashreq Cards
• Outstanding Use of Advanced Analytics
• Outstanding Innovation in Digital Banking
• Best e-KYC
• Best Client Experience for HNWIs
• Best Credit Card for HNW Clients (USD 1 million AUM and above)
• Best Digital Lending Service – Middle East & Africa
As one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services institutions, with a presence spanning 15 countries across the continent, Absa Group boasts a 12-million-strong customer base across personal, business, corporate, investment banking, wealth management and insurance, with a strong focus on digital transformation and innovation.
To further its goal of becoming a digitally powered business delivering a superior experience for customers, the bank has undertaken several transformation initiatives that have seen success and received due recognition at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025, hosted by The Digital Banker in Singapore. From delivering secure, seamless and swift payment solutions to ensuring employees’ wellbeing by launching a wellness app, Absa Bank is setting the benchmark for retail banking in Africa.
Making payments safer Screen scraping involves third-party companies accessing customers’ bank accounts by mimicking online banking portals, often without their informed consent or understanding of the implications. This poses a significant problem in South Africa’s online transaction landscape due to its inherent security risks and lack of transparency, as this practice exposes sensitive financial information to potential fraud and undermines the integrity of the national payment system.
Absa Pay was launched to replace insecure screen scraping with secure, bank-owned API EFT payments, providing customers and merchants with instant, seamless and safe transactions while creating a new digital revenue stream for the bank and advancing Absa’s open banking strategy.
This innovative solution by Absa is one of Africa’s first large-scale, bank-owned open banking EFT API, enabling secure, instant payments while safeguarding customer credentials. Launched within six months, it provides 25-second average payment speeds without requiring customer credential sharing. It features automated merchant onboarding, rapid scalability, secure payment flows, and a new digital revenue stream for Absa.
For delivering a solution that benefits customers with safer transactions and reduced risk of fraud, as well as benefiting merchants with instant payments and reduced checkout abandonments, Absa Bank won the ‘Best New Product Launch of the Year – Payments’ award at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025, hosted by The Digital Banker
Encouraging good financial habits
South Africa struggles with a low national savings rate. Absa Bank noted that a significant portion of the population prioritises short-term needs over long-term financial planning. As part of a financial literacy survey, the bank observed that 46% of adults admitted to “living for today” while 44% were not actively saving.
reclaimed the top spot within the mobile app store and through structured business decisions, he achieved the
Subash Sharma Chief Digital Officer Absa Group
The struggle to build up savings often arises from a lack of discipline, visibility or motivation, but can also stem from traditional savings tools feeling rigid, uninspiring or disconnected from real-life spending.
To address this issue, Absa Bank launched Savings Coach – a digital savings account easily accessible through the Absa Banking App – designed to make saving automatic, intelligent and engaging, helping users build healthy financial habits effortlessly. A first in the South African banking industry, the proposition is anchored through Behavioural Science, to help make savings effortless, personalised and engaging for customers.
In recognition of its efforts, The Digital Banker presented Absa Bank with the award for ‘Best New Product Launch of the Year – Africa’.
Ensuring employee wellness
In its efforts to become a leading bank not only for its customers, but also for its employees, Absa Bank developed a holistic wellness ecosystem focused on financial, mental and physical wellbeing. Absa Pay was launched to replace insecure screen scraping with secure, bank-owned API EFT payments, providing customers and merchants with instant, seamless and safe transactions.
The platform – Absa Wellness – was delivered as a standalone app with single sign-on integration from the Absa Banking App, providing colleagues with engaging content and gamified activities that guide them towards positive behaviours and reward them for their efforts through Absa Rewards.
With Absa Wellness, the bank has created a truly distinctive offering, putting together a carefully considered combination of features that influences colleagues to be healthy, keep themselves engaged, and ultimately make them happier and healthier. For this, Absa Bank took home the award for ‘Best Bank for Employee Experience – Middle East & Africa’.
Leadership recognition
For Absa Bank, another notable achievement at this year’s ceremony was its Chief Digital Officer, Subash Sharma, winning the ‘Digital Banker of the Year –Middle East & Africa’ award.
Over the course of 2024, Sharma achieved several major milestones that helped the bank advance its digital strategy. These include the launch of Absa Pay, which has improved security, reduced fraud risk, and
simplified checkout for over 3 million digitally active customers. The bank also rolled out AI-led services such as ChatWallet – a WhatsApp-enabled wallet that allows users to perform transactions through conversational commands – alongside AI upgrades across digital platforms.
Absa, under Sharma’s leadership, also enabled facial biometric verification for PIN resets and account access, reducing branch dependency and improving customer experience.
In terms of sales, Sharma orchestrated a notable growth, with transaction digital sales growth climbing over 85% year-on-year (YoY). He also ensured that the bank’s new digital active user base exceeds target – with transaction new-to-bank strike rate at 67% in 2024 – up from 19% in 2020.
Additionally, Sharma also ensured swift migration to digital from the contact centre, with a 30% YoY call centre volume reduction due to the focus on AI-driven assistance. Overall, Sharma’s steps ensured that Absa reclaimed the top spot within the mobile app store and through structured business decisions, he achieved the business R47 million ($2.9 million) in cost optimisation.
With a sweep of accolades across different segments, UOB has reaffirmed its place at the forefront of customer experience innovation.
Apart from being recognised as the ‘Best Digital Bank for CX’ in Malaysia, Thailand and Southeast Asia, and ‘Best CX Business Model’ in Singapore, UOB has also been lauded for its seamless offline to online and hybrid CX, and excellence in loyalty and rewards. These wins highlight its ability to seamlessly blend digital and human touchpoints, while empowering staff through continuous upskilling. By launching products designed around enhanced customer journeys, UOB is setting new benchmarks for loyalty, trust and long-term engagement for all its customers.
Smarter customer acquisition and personalising the Privilege Banking experience for clients
By building strategic business collaborations and partnerships internally with colleagues and stakeholders across Retail and Wholesale business units, UOB focuses on driving regional connectivity and spurring its growth as ‘One Bank’.
Guided by this vision, UOB Privilege Banking continues to provide excellent client journeys, right from onboarding. UOB Clients benefit from dedicated client advisors, a network of Privilege Banking Centres across the region, bespoke events, macro and investment outlook publications, and concierge services to meet their travel, medical and education needs. UOB Privilege Banking primarily focuses on amplifying core business intents and strategic themes via suitable, scalable and timely business initiatives and partnerships to drive franchise growth of its affluent client segment.
UOB also actively grows its business through curated events and close engagements with internal and
external ecosystem partners in Singapore and ASEAN, across diverse focus areas such as health and wellness, lifestyle, dining, medical, travel, legacy succession, business communities, among others. For these achievements, The Digital Banker has recognised the bank’s CX business model through the ‘Excellence in Omni-Channel Customer Experience’ award.
Transforming customer service through innovation To elevate customer experience, UOB Privilege Banking launched a new service transformation strategy and programme named SOAR (representing the key values of Service, Ownership, Accountability, Responsibility).
Aligned to UOB Retail’s vision to be the ‘#1 Bank of Choice for Aspiring ASEAN’, SOAR is about employee upskilling and modernising operations to meet dynamic market conditions and evolving customer expectations. This helps ensure long-term sustainability and success in the ever-changing banking landscape.
Embodying the “I touch, I own” principle, the upskilling programme incorporates an enhanced training curriculum to include service skills for all frontline staff. As part of this training, UOB’s service culture is further embedded into team meetings, coaching sessions and best practice sharing sessions, enabling staff to build trust among customers by fulfilling commitments, listening and understanding their needs, personalising engagement by providing the right solutions, forging cross-department teamwork and going the extra mile to delight customers.
As for modernising operations, SOAR reduced average wait times at service counters using an innovative, AI-led and data-driven system to deliver a seamless customer experience at each Privilege Banking Centre.
UOB received top honours under the ‘Excellence in Customer Service Innovation’ category for its SOAR service transformation initiative, which has led to positive results including streamlined service processes, better Net Promoter Score (NPS) ratings, reduced wait times, more customer compliments and increased business revenue.
Building out an impressive hybrid CX
UOB is redefining the hybrid customer journey by focusing on emotive experiences, driving digital capabilities, and data-driven insights to deliver meaningful experiences at every branch. Our commitment to transform the hybrid customer experience at its branches involves staff upskilling, redesigned branch formats and enhancing digital capabilities This transformation has been anchored on three pillars: people, physical spaces, and digital capabilities.
• People: The bank continuously upskills employees and future-proofs them. Roles and journeys have been redesigned to serve customers seamlessly across touchpoints.
• Spaces: Branches have been transformed with different layouts; optimised to suit different customer personas and lifestyles. These redesigned spaces support customers’ changing behaviour, ensuring a seamless experience.
UOB is redefining the hybrid customer journey by focusing on emotive experiences, driving digital capabilities, and data-driven insights to deliver meaningful experiences.
• Digital: Building on digital capabilities such as the UOB TMRW app, the bank integrates digital solutions within branches to enhance convenience and efficiency. With the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics, the bank leverages on insights to personalise engagement and strengthen decision-making.
By bridging physical and digital interactions, UOB brings both warm and efficient experience to our customers — to feel valued, understood, and engaged. These efforts culminated in UOB winning the ‘Best Hybrid Customer Experience – Branch’ award at the Digital CX Awards 2025, a testament to the bank’s commitment to innovation and customer-centricity.
Earning consumer loyalty
The UOB Rewards+ Programme – available to all UOB cardmembers – offers instant cashback, the opportunity to earn and redeem rewards, and access to a wide selection of UOB partner merchants. It features both UNI$ Rewards and the UOB$ Cashback Programme to meet the diverse lifestyle needs of UOB cardmembers.
The UNI$ Rewards enhances cardmembers’ spending experience by transforming everyday transactions into rewarding opportunities. With every qualifying purchase made on a UNI$- earning UOB credit card, cardmembers accumulate UNI$ that can be redeemed for an extensive range of rewards. Likewise, the UOB$ Cashback Programme is a closed-loop loyalty initiative designed to provide
instant cashback. Cardmembers earn UOB$ Cashback when they spend with their UOB Mastercard or Visa Card at participating merchants. These Cashbacks can be used to offset future purchases at the same merchants.
With more than 500 participating outlets across Singapore, the programme offers savings and added value on everyday spending and luxury purchases. For businesses, it serves as an effective loyalty solution, attracting new customers, encouraging repeat spending, and leveraging on marketing opportunities. Recognising the value this initiative creates for its customers, UOB received the award for ‘Best Retail Consumer Loyalty Programme for Digital CX’.
Building the best business models
As the ‘Best CX Business Model – Singapore’, UOB Workplace Banking allows employers to engage their employees with a holistic suite of wellbeing engagement programmes, where employees can find solutions to their financial needs while taking a break at pop-up festive bazaars and even benefit from trending health and wellness solutions provided by certified partners.
Operating differently from conventional banking models, UOB Workplace Banking serves all employee communities through a team of dedicated relationship managers and personalised banking services and product solutions. The business unit works on engaging customers from all market
segments, in any stage of life and their employment cycle. Whether someone has just begun their employment journey, currently in the workforce, or wanting to build wealth and save for the next generation, UOB aims to bring the right advice for customers.
The UOB Workplace Banking proposition remains strong as the bank has a portfolio of product solutions. These products include deposit and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgage and wealth advisory. Further complimenting product strengths is a series of curated Customer Value Propositions (CVP) unique to the UOB Workplace Banking business model. These propositions are built with a customer-first approach which includes campaigns to improve engagement and loyalty.
Launching quality loan products
UOB’s 2-Year Fixed Plus Home Loan Package was launched after careful study and deliberation, in January 2024. The bank utilised the loan’s features, as opposed to rates, to gain market share. What differentiates UOB from competitors is how it allows customers to make a hassle-free switch to a pre-determined floating rate package with no documentation or assessment required, while also freeing up bank resources from handling repricing requests.
The strong uptake of this product following its launch was a strong testament to the bank’s focus on customer-centricity. For this, UOB received the award for ‘Outstanding Digital CX – Mortgage Product’.
Backed by Grab and Singtel, GXS Bank deepened its push for inclusive, technology-led banking in 2024 through a series of innovations. This includes a data-driven initiative that provides real-time business and customer insights that shape the Bank’s product and app iterations, and the launch of the GXS FlexiCard which is designed for customers who are new to credit.
GXS Bank has been making inroads in improving financial inclusion and financial access through data and product innovation since its launch as Singapore’s first digital bank in August 2022.
The Singapore-based digital bank, jointly owned by Grab Holdings and Singtel, has focused its efforts on using technology to simplify money management for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2024, the Bank introduced
new data and lending platforms designed to improve how customers save, borrow, and engage with their finances, making it one of the region’s most progressive and accessible digital banks.
Ms Jenn Ong, Group Head of Retail at GXS Bank said, “At its core, financial services exist to serve the customer. With today’s technology, we have the capability to hyper-personalise banking for each customer through real-time data insights and AIdriven innovation. Our recognition in both data analytics and digital lending reinforces the core of our mission at GXS Bank to harness technology to make banking simpler and more accessible for everyone. Whether it’s helping customers save with confidence or to empower them to build up a healthy credit score, our goal is to create financial experiences that are transparent, inclusive and tailored to their needs.”
Building a digital-first foundation
GXS Bank, licensed under the Monetary Authority of Singapore, was established to drive digital banking innovation that can improve access to smart, simple and suitable financial solutions for consumers and SMEs. In 2024, the Bank added the GXS FlexiCard to its suite of retail products and introduced Boost Pockets, a new feature for its flagship GXS Savings Account to help customers to grow their savings faster. GXS Bank also began serving Singapore’s
businesses with the launch of the GXS Biz Account, a fully digital operating account and GXS FlexiLoan Biz, an unsecured business line of credit.
GXS Bank also works closely with its subsidiary, GXBank in Malaysia, and Superbank in Indonesia. Together, they form a regional network committed to delivering accessible financial solutions for underserved communities.
Data-led
precision in deposit management
GXS Bank launched its Deposit Intelligence framework in the fourth quarter of 2024. This initiative has enhanced the Bank’s ability to manage its deposits portfolio management amid changing interest rates and macroeconomic conditions.
The GXS Deposit Intelligence framework uses Machine Learning to drive three proprietary models — Customer Love, Balance Forecasting, and Behavioural Segmentation. Built on a scalable, cloudnative stack, the framework processes vast amounts of transactional data, equipping the Bank’s business teams with predictive, actionable insights to enhance portfolio management and customer engagement.
As a result, withdrawal rates declined from 27% in 2023 to 17% in 2025. Forecast accuracy for 30day balances improved by 10 percentage points, enhancing liquidity management. Targeted marketing campaigns achieved up to six times higher conversion rates, reflecting stronger personalisation and engagement.
GXS Bank plans to enhance its Deposit Intelligence framework by integrating churn prediction and realtime personalisation, and linking deposit and lending analytics for a unified customer view. The project earned GXS Bank the ‘Best Data Analytics Initiative’ award at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovations Awards 2025 for embedding predictive analytics as a strategic capability.
Expanding access through flexible, transparent credit GXS Bank continues to drive credit innovation and
Group Head of Retail
Ms Jenn Ong
GXS Bank
improve credit access for consumers in 2024 with the launch of the GXS FlexiCard. The GXS FlexiCard addresses a persistent gap in consumer credit access. The interest-free, fee-based facility is designed for underserved groups — students, gig workers, and individuals new to the workforce — who often face barriers to traditional credit due to income thresholds or limited credit histories.
With a fixed credit limit of SGD 500 ($383) and no minimum income requirement, the GXS FlexiCard helps customers build a credit profile responsibly. Instead of compounding interest, users pay a flat “Flexi fee” when extending repayments, ensuring predictable costs and transparency. Customers can also set custom repayment dates to align payments with their cash flow cycles. This is a notable shift from conventional credit models.
Powered by a cloud-native, API-first platform, consumers can sign up for and receive a decision on their application within three minutes. GXS FlexiCard-holders benefit from waived foreign exchange fees, zero-interest charges, unlimited instant cashback, and a seamless virtual-to-physical card experience.
As the GXS FlexiCard is designed for customers who may be new to credit, GXS Bank has put in place several measures to help its customers be prudent. For example, GXS Bank ensures that it is lending responsibly by leveraging alternative data for underwriting. The Bank also sends out regular financial literacy content and prompts to help its customers build a healthy credit history.
Recognised for broadening access to responsible borrowing, GXS Bank received the ‘Best Digital Lending Service’ award for the GXS FlexiCard at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025, underscoring its mission to make banking simpler, fairer, and more inclusive.
GXS Bank’s core mission is to harness technology to make banking simpler and more accessible for everyone. The GXS FlexiCard is a breakthrough in digital lending, designed for consumers who are new to credit or who often struggle with access due to limited credit bureau history. As Singapore’s first and only credit card that charges flat fees instead of revolving interest, the FlexiCard reinforces GXS Bank’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of financial inclusivity.
GXS Bank’s core mission is to harness technology to make banking simpler and more accessible for everyone.
Since stepping into the role of Group Chief Information Officer earlier this year, Guillermo Veiga has been steering Standard Chartered’s digital transformation across markets and businesses, ranging from wealth and retail platforms to corporate and investment banking.
In a fresh conversation with The Digital Banker, he reflects on early wins, the disciplined architecture behind the bank’s innovation roadmap, and how responsible use of AI, cloud, and digital assets is shaping up its next phase of growth.
Shruti Khairnar, The Digital Banker: When we last spoke in July, you had just stepped into the Group CIO role. Looking back at this year, what early outcomes or wins can you share on SC’s digital transformation strategy?
Guillermo Veiga, Standard Chartered: Our digital agenda has become an integral part of Standard Chartered’s overall strategy that combines differentiated cross-border capabilities for corporate and institutional clients with leading wealth management expertise for affluent clients.
In Wealth and Retail Banking, we have continued to invest in digital platforms that integrate seamlessly across the portfolio, driving scalability and improving client experience. One major outcome has been the automation of client operations through digitised workflows and advanced analytics. By redesigning core processes, embedding controls, we have reduced manual intervention, minimised errors, and improved turnaround times; all of which translate into faster, more consistent service for clients.
In Corporate and Investment Banking, a defining
milestone this year is the launch of our Digital Assets Trading Platform, making Standard Chartered the first global systemically important bank to offer secure, regulated spot trading in Bitcoin and Ether for institutional clients. This marks an important step in our digital assets journey, providing end-to-end access for investors and corporates across both traditional and digital asset classes. As institutional interest in regulated digital assets continues to grow, we are well positioned to lead with trust, scale, and compliance.
How do you ensure near-term digital rollouts don’t compromise the longer-term innovation roadmap?
Our approach is guided by a simple principle: progress should strengthen the foundation, not add complexity.
We design all new solutions to fit within a consistent architectural framework; one that is platform-led, API-first, and cloud-enabled. This ensures that each near-term rollout contributes to our longerterm strategy of simplification, reusability, and interoperability across businesses and markets.
In practice, that means every initiative, whether in payments, digital assets, or client onboarding, is built on shared components, common data models, and disciplined governance. This allows us to deliver quick wins while reinforcing the broader transformation. Innovation and safety advance together: strong cyber and risk controls give clients confidence that new capabilities are not just fast, but also secure, resilient, and sustainable.
How do partnerships with industry bodies, fintechs, cloud providers, or technology vendors fit into your broader innovation strategy — and what do you, as Group CIO, look for in a strong partner?
Partnerships are central to how we innovate responsibly and at scale. What I value in a partner is not just technical strength, but shared purpose — a commitment to trust, security, and long-term execution excellence.
Through SC Ventures, we develop and scale solutions in digital banking, trade and supply chains, and digital assets, using technologies such as AI, blockchain, and quantum computing, underpinned by ESG principles. Ventures like Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets deliver bank-grade custody and trading infrastructure for institutional digital-asset clients, combining resilience, transparency, and regulatory compliance. Libeara recently powered Moody’s firstrated tokenised bond, demonstrating how institutional finance can evolve through trusted blockchain innovation.
Our cloud-native banks, Mox in Hong Kong and Trust Bank in Singapore, embody this approach. They provide mobile-first, personalised banking experiences built on modern, secure data platforms. In Corporate and Investment Banking, we are taking the same path: becoming digital-first and data-driven. Straight2Bank, for example, now digitises trade services end to end, enabling clients to obtain pricing, confirmations, and financing in real time.
We also actively monitor regulatory developments, such as those related to digital assets and AI, and respond to consultations either bilaterally or through well-established industry bodies. This helps us to
We design all new solutions to fit within a consistent architectural framework; one that is platform-led, API-first, and cloud-enabled.
shape regulation, particularly in new areas like AI and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), through thought leadership, and actively engaging with policymakers and central banks. For instance, our responsible AI approach aligns with leading industry standards, specifically the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s FEAT and Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s BDAI guidelines, which are benchmarks in the banking regulator space.
How do you measure the effectiveness of the tech and transformation initiatives you’re leading, particularly in improving client experience?
We measure transformation through three dimensions: availability, adoption, and acceptance.
Availability reflects the reliability and resilience of our platforms; for instance, our API services now achieve 99.9% uptime globally. Adoption tracks how widely digital features are used across businesses and markets. Acceptance measures client satisfaction through metrics such as NPS and mobile app ratings.
Our open banking and API platform is a strong example. We process more than 530 million API calls per year across 33 markets, with nearly 400 readymade APIs that allow clients and partners to integrate securely with our cash, trade, FX, and securities capabilities through platforms like Kyriba and SAP MBC.
We have also transformed client onboarding. In 2019, over 85% of activations were paper-based; today, 95% are digital, with more than 90% straight-through
processing. AI-driven document verification, biometric authentication, and e-signatures have reduced onboarding time dramatically. The result is reflected in client sentiment: our digital markets now achieve mobile ratings above 4.5 out of 5.
What is the one thing in the tech space that currently keeps you up at night, and what energises you as you look at the next 12 to 24 months?
Artificial intelligence, both its potential and its pace, is the most powerful force reshaping our industry.
AI, cloud, and digital assets open extraordinary possibilities, but they also expand the threat landscape. As digital ecosystems grow and interconnect, the risks of cyberattacks, scams, and data misuse increase in complexity.
We manage this through a defence-in-depth model
anchored in our Information and Cyber Security framework, aligned with global standards such as NIST and ISO 27001. Regular red-team exercises, penetration testing, and threat-led risk assessments keep our defences sharp and adaptive.
The adoption of new technologies, like new products and business models, requires clear operating models and risk frameworks. So, it is essential to upskill our people to develop in-house capabilities and futureready skills to manage associated risks. People, process and technology agendas must be viewed holistically to effectively implement new infrastructure.
That said, what energises me is the opportunity to apply AI responsibly, to amplify human capability rather than replace it. When engineers, relationship managers, and clients can use AI to make better, faster decisions, technology truly becomes a growth engine. The next 12 to 24 months will be about turning that responsible innovation into measurable business impact.
Standard Chartered has expanded its efforts to embed artificial intelligence (AI) across its global workforce through the creation of the AI Learning Hub, a centralised platform designed to build AI literacy, strengthen human-AI collaboration, and encourage responsible adoption of new technologies.
A structured approach to AI learning
The AI Learning Hub is a one-stop-centre designed to empower colleagues through continuous learning and enhance adaptability through knowledge of AI and its application through flexible learning solutions for individuals, teams and communities.
The AI Learning Hub offers six core learning products. Its foundation is a self-paced AI literacy programme covering topics such as AI fundamentals, responsible use, and practical workplace applications. Employees also have access to curated content from education providers including Skillsoft, Udemy, Intuition, and aXess Academy.
For those seeking formal qualifications, Standard Chartered partnered with Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management to deliver the “AI Application for Growth” certification, a course designed to provide frameworks for building effective AI strategies.
The programme also emphasises interactive engagement. Employees are invited to participate in “AI Expert Connects”, a series of virtual sessions
with internal specialists, as well as the “AI Thought Leaders” series, which features external experts from academia and industry. Hands-on workshops complement these sessions, allowing participants to test AI concepts in practice and co-create solutions to business challenges.
Scaling adoption and participation
To date, over 30,000 employees have engaged in AI upskilling, with uptake spanning multiple functions and regions. Standard Chartered said the learning model was designed to be voluntary, focusing on accessibility and relevance to encourage participation.
Standard Chartered describes its strategy as learner-first and human-centred.
The initiative has also resulted in more than 400 employees obtaining external certification, while thousands more have taken part in innovation workshops, live expert talks, and prompt-engineering sessions linked to the rollout of the bank’s internal generative AI platform, SC GPT.
Through the AI Learning Hub, Standard Chartered is fostering a culture of continuous learning and Human & AI collaboration.
Evolving priorities for 2026
As 2026 approaches, the AI landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Standard Chartered remains committed to expanding its AI learning agenda under a wider AI Talent Strategy. The focus is on equipping the workforce with tailored, role-specific solutions that move beyond awareness toward applied capability, empowering colleagues to use AI confidently and responsibly.
The bank is taking a skills-first approach, partnering with business areas to validate key roles and identify critical AI skills. This ensures the capabilities investments are aligned, strategic, and tailored to drive meaningful impact.
In 2026, the bank will continue to invest in enterprise-wide AI awareness and literacy, alongside business and function specific upskilling. Enabling colleagues to effectively use AI tools such as Enterprise ChatGPT in their day-to-day work will be a central priority.
The bank is also prioritising skills that strengthen human & AI collaboration, including prompt engineering and applied problem-solving. Its AI Innovation Workshops will be further expanded to encourage human-centred design and critical thinking, supporting colleagues in exploring creative and responsible AI use cases.
Other initiatives include customised training in partnership with business units and driving greater
The AI Learning Hub is a one-stop-centre designed to empower colleagues through continuous learning and enhance adaptability through knowledge of AI and its application.
adoption and active use of CAISY, an AI-powered conversation simulator developed by Skillsoft, which allows employees to practice real-world interactions with virtual AI agents.
Human-centred approach
Standard Chartered describes its strategy as learnerfirst and human-centred. Employee surveys and focus groups have shown that many staff remain in the early stages of AI literacy, with some expressing concern about the impact of automation on jobs. By embedding training alongside the rollout of generative AI tools, the bank aims to address both knowledge gaps and mindset shifts while empowering teams to combine AI with human collaboration to drive smarter decisions and deliver innovative solutions for clients.
The AI Learning Hub also supports the bank’s wider goal of embedding responsible AI adoption into its organisational culture. Sessions highlight ethical considerations, regulatory developments, and the importance of balancing innovation with governance.
At the Global AI Innovation Awards 2025, Standard Chartered’s AI Learning Hub received the award for Best AI Training Initiative by an Institution. The programme was recognised for making AI literacy accessible at scale while fostering responsible adoption and practical application across a global workforce.
Strengthening AI Literacy is part of Standard Chartered’s ongoing commitment to responsible innovation and a future-ready workforce.
After the successful acquisition of Citibank Malaysia’s consumer banking portfolio in 2023, UOB Malaysia has taken decisive steps to deliver a holistic suite of solutions to a significantly expanded customer base. Powered by UOB TMRW, an AI-driven Personalised Insights banking app, the bank is combining the convenience of seamless self-service with personalised, relationship-led advisory to make banking smarter and more human.
Putting customers first UOB Malaysia has redefined everyday banking with One Account—a high-performance transactional account that rewards customers with market-leading interest just by crediting their salary or savings, spending on a UOB debit or credit card, and paying their bills. It combines the flexibility of a savings account with the earning power of a fixed deposit, turning routine transactions into a smart, effortless wealth-building habit.
The timing was pivotal. Following the acquisition of Citibank Malaysia’s consumer banking portfolio in 2023, UOB Malaysia expanded its reach into the country’s mass and emerging affluent segments. With 66% of new accounts opened in 2024 being One Accounts, the
product’s appeal as an accessible yet high-value solution for the country’s growing urban middle class has been proven.
Beyond individual benefits, One Account reflects UOB Malaysia’s wider retail banking vision: seamlessly integrating digital convenience with financial value. Supported by the UOB TMRW mobile platform, the bank aims to make its customer experience easy and rewarding.
For delivering a simple yet powerful proposition that has helped the bank in its growth journey, UOB Malaysia was recognised for having the ‘Best Savings Account – Malaysia’ at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025, hosted by The Digital Banker
Elevating insurance journeys
With rising customer expectations for simplicity, speed and on-demand access to insurance solutions, without the hassle of paperwork, branch visits and jargon, UOB Malaysia decided to introduce fully digital insurance journeys for its customers.
To expand reach, improve accessibility and deepen customer engagement, the bank rolled out PRUEzy Insure – a customer-centric platform that streamlines the insurance journey end-to-end.
With PRUEzy Insure, customers can apply online for a life insurance plan according to their needs in minutes, with only simplified declaration. They can choose from affordable life protection, income replacement due to cancer, or wealth accumulation plans. Within the platform, customers receive bilingual support, smart forms, and flexible data entry. With tooltips and wildcard search functionalities, the platform ensures a smooth, user-friendly insurance experience.
Since its launch, the platform has delivered a significant impact in terms of top-line insurance sales and seamless customer onboarding experience. The platform has not only enhanced user experience through intuitive design and automation but also improved operational efficiency by eliminating manual processing. Moreover, it has empowered customers with tools for financial literacy and self-service options, while driving digital adoption
among diverse customer segments through its bilingual support.
For this, UOB Malaysia picked up the award for ‘Best Digital Insurance Platform – Malaysia’ at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025.
Simplifying insurance
PRUEzy Saver – another digital insurance solution by UOB Malaysia – won the ‘Best Bancassurance Product of the Year’ at the awards ceremony.
What makes PRUEzy Saver unique is that the product comes with guaranteed acceptance, guaranteed annual income and the capital is guaranteed upon maturity. This simple and affordable product enables customer to save as low as RM1,000 a year and it makes protection simple, instant and accessible through digital channels. With an easy-to-understand product design, customers can receive real-time quotations, complete applications, and secure policy issuance in a single session virtually.
Equipped with integrated needs analysis tools, the platform ensures each individual receives the right insurance coverage, while bilingual support broadens accessibility. This seamless, end-to-end journey eliminates friction, shortens decision time, and expands reach—delivering both customer empowerment and measurable business growth.
Beyond individual benefits, One Account reflects UOB Malaysia’s wider retail banking vision: seamlessly integrating digital convenience with financial value.
Maybank Family & Friends Card offers one of the most flexible and rewarding cashback programmes in the market, with 8% cashback across ten lifestyle categories and regional spend in Malaysia and Indonesia. Designed around evolving consumer habits, the card is an ideal companion for customers who value experiences, travel, and time with loved ones.
As a leader in retail banking innovation, Maybank Singapore has relaunched its flagship cashback product to offer even greater flexibility, transparency, and digital convenience. The refreshed Maybank Family & Friends Card reinforces Maybank’s customer-first approach, delivering unmatched cashback rewards across everyday categories and a seamless digital experience that positions it among the best cashback credit cards in Singapore.
Maybank’s Family & Friends card
The Maybank Family & Friends Card gives 8% cashback on five customisable lifestyle categories from a list of ten. Cardmembers automatically receive 8% cashback with a minimum monthly spend of SGD 800 ($616), and enjoy the same rate on eligible transactions in Malaysian Ringgit and Indonesian Rupiah — perfect for frequent travellers within the region. With a monthly cashback cap of SGD 25 per category, users can earn up to SGD 150
in cashback monthly, plus unlimited 0.3% cashback on all other spend.
Whether it’s a weekend meal, grocery run, or a short getaway, the Maybank Family & Friends Card rewards the everyday moments that matter. Its flexibility ensures that every lifestyle choice, from dining to digital shopping, comes with meaningful returns.
Enhancing relevance through product innovation
In October 2024, Maybank relaunched its cashback programme for the Maybank Family & Friends Card to better align with evolving consumer trends and preferences. The Online Shopping category was expanded beyond fashion to include major e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and Taobao. The Dining & Food Delivery category now includes fast-food and quick-service eateries, while Transport was enhanced to cover electric vehicle (EV) charging. In response to increasing regional travel, the MYR Spend category was broadened to include IDR transactions, catering to Singaporeans travelling to Malaysia and Indonesia.
With its generous cashback on travel-related spend and everyday lifestyle categories, the Maybank Family & Friends Card is a great companion for customers who enjoy leisure, shopping, and short getaways.
A smarter digital experience
Complementing the card’s features is the relaunched TREATS SG app, which enables customers to track spending and cashback earnings easily, with realtime transparency and insights. The app displays computations for both current and previous months, helping users manage their finances more effectively.
“The Maybank Family & Friends Card has always been about rewarding our customers for the way they actually live, whether it’s a favourite weekend meal, online shopping sprees or short getaways across the Causeway. With this enhanced cashback programme and the refreshed TREATS SG app, we’ve
made it even easier for them to enjoy more value and convenience in every moment that matters,” said Tessa Er, Head of Cards and Personal Loans, Maybank Singapore.
The relaunch has led to a 29% increase in new card sign-ups, as more value-seekers recognise the Maybank Family & Friends Card as a market leader in cashback rewards. Moving forward, Maybank will continue to monitor consumer trends and customer feedback to ensure the card remains relevant and competitive. The bank is committed to maintaining the Maybank Family & Friends Card as one of the best cashback options available, delivering exceptional value and personalised financial solutions.
Recognition and regional strength
For these achievements, Maybank has received the Credit Card of the Year – ‘Cashback Award’ and ‘Highly Acclaimed for Credit Card of the Year – Travel’ at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Innovation Awards 2025.
Institutional profile
As Southeast Asia’s fourth-largest bank by assets, Maybank serves millions of customers through more than 2,600 branches across 18 countries. With total assets of approximately S$91.1 billion and a workforce of over 2,300 employees in Singapore, the bank remains committed to delivering personalised, customer-centric financial solutions for every stage of life.
GXBank, Malaysia’s first licensed digital bank, is redefining customer experiences through flexible credit, generative AI risk management, and multilingual chatbot services. Its solutions combine speed, accessibility, and operational efficiency while advancing financial inclusion, earning multiple industry awards.
GXBank is transforming financial services through innovative, customer-centric solutions. Launched in November 2023 as the first of the five digital banks licensed by Bank Negara Malaysia, the Bank combines local talent with international expertise to deliver seamless banking experiences. In 2024, it expanded its offerings with savings account, debit card, payment solutions, and FlexiCredit, a flexible digital credit line. Additionally, its Impian Gigih programme which was also launched in 2024 aims to empower the underserved B40 segment (bottom 40% income group) and gig workers in Malaysia, supports financial inclusion, providing scholarships, bursaries, and financial literacy initiatives to underserved communities, making banking more intuitive, accessible, and socially impactful.
GXBank’s FlexiCredit addresses a critical gap in Malaysia’s lending market: fast, flexible, and user-friendly access to credit.
FlexiCredit delivers instant, inclusive credit
GXBank’s FlexiCredit addresses a critical gap in Malaysia’s lending market: fast, flexible, and userfriendly access to credit. Traditional products, often rigid and slow, leave many customers unsupported during urgent financial moments. FlexiCredit delivers near-instant approvals and disbursements, with funds available under a minute after confirmation. Interest applies only to drawn amounts, giving users greater financial control.
The simplified credit line extends credit to individuals with limited or no credit history, a group traditionally underserved by banks. This feature illustrates GXBank’s commitment to inclusion, providing a dignified pathway for customers to build credit while meeting immediate needs.
For the bank, FlexiCredit has enhanced operational
efficiency. Automated credit assessments, paperless processing, and scalable digital infrastructure streamline operations, reduce costs, and allow staff to focus on complex customer needs. Real-time insights enable more personalised offerings, deepening customer relationships.
High adoption rates and positive feedback underline the product’s impact on financial wellbeing and customer confidence. FlexiCredit won ‘Digital Lending Product of the Year’ at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards for its speed, accessibility, and human-centred design.
AI strengthens risk and fraud controls
GXBank introduced its GenAI-powered assistants, FrAIdy and TrAIdy, to manage the potential increase in fraud and transaction monitoring cases parallel rapid customer growth. As a result, the bank may review over 11,000 cases monthly with only a 10-analyst team. To address this, GXBank built and deployed FrAIdy and TrAIdy, our GenAI-powered case processing assistants. FrAIdy handles fraud, while TrAIdy manages transaction monitoring, automating data extraction, summarising up to 12 months of transactions, and providing preliminary recommendations.
Built via a secure Streamlit interface, the system enables real-time analysis while maintaining strict data governance and compliance. Preliminary case assessments have dropped from 15–20 minutes to one-three minutes. High-risk case identification now reaches 95% accuracy, allowing the team to handle 50% more cases without additional staff.
GXBank won ‘Best Gen-AI Risk Management Initiative’ for using generative AI to improve operational efficiency, enhance risk detection, and strengthen fraud and AML controls.
AiNi delivers multilingual, 24/7 support GXBank deployed its AI-powered chatbot, AiNi, to provide round-the-clock support and reduce pressure on customer service teams. Launched in December 2024, AiNi leverages the GPT-4o model and specialised AI agents to classify queries, detect security threats, retrieve relevant information, and generate context-aware responses. Integrated into the mobile app, AiNi supports English, Malay, Chinese, Tamil, and Manglish, ensuring accessibility for a diverse customer base.
The chatbot now manages around 60,000 messages monthly, resolving nearly 60% without human intervention and reducing agent workload by more than half. It proactively identifies and blocks about 1,000 sensitive or non-bank-related messages monthly, strengthening security and compliance.
GXBank deployed its AI-powered chatbot, AiNi, to provide roundthe-clock support and reduce pressure on customer service teams.
GXBank plans to expand AiNi’s capabilities in 2025–26, including secure backend access to customer data, advanced analytics, and streamlined knowledge updates for faster, personalised assistance. AiNi won ‘Best Gen-AI Chatbot Initiative’ for its operational impact and securityfocused design, and ‘Outstanding Interactive Chatbot Service by a Retail Bank’ for consistently delivering accurate, accessible, and reliable customer support.
From intelligent chatbots and virtual assistants to predictive insights and content generation, Generative AI has unlocked new levels of efficiency and innovation — pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in modern banking.
In the five years since its launch, ZA Bank has reached a significant milestone, recording its first-ever interim net profit in the first half of 2025, as it continues to redefine the future of digital banking in Hong Kong.
ZA Bank announced a net profit of approximately HK49 million ($6.30 million), cementing its position as the leader in Hong Kong’s digital banking sector. This achievement coincides with the bank surpassing one million users, making it the first digital bank in the city to reach this scale.
The bank’s financial performance shows strong momentum. For the first half of 2025, net revenue increased by 82.1% year-on-year, driven by a 42.8% rise in net interest income and a 56% growth in fee income. The bank’s asset size grew solidly, with customer deposits expanding to over HKD 21.1 billion ($2.71 billion) and total assets reaching HK$24.65 billion ($3.17 billion). The net interest margin remained robust at 2.38%.
This growth reflects the market’s growing embrace of innovative financial models. As noted by CEO Calvin Ng, “This achievement demonstrates that even in a mature financial market like Hong Kong, seizing the right opportunities can still lead to meaningful breakthroughs.”
A digital bank that thinks differently
What sets ZA Bank apart from the growing field of digital players is its sharp, deliberate focus on three
strategic pillars: Wealth Management, Web3, and AI. At a time when many fintechs chase scale or speed, ZA Bank is prioritising building long-term value through innovation, infrastructure, and customer empowerment.
Its wealth management strategy exemplifies this deliberate progression. It began with fund and US stocks offerings, with the recent introduction of Hong Kong stock trading, giving users seamless access to local equities directly through the platform. In an industry-first move, ZA Bank newly launched the StockBack x ZA Card — Hong Kong’s first Visa card to
ZA Bank’s StockBackxZA Card that offers 2% stock rebates for eligible purchases
reward users with stocks on eligible purchases. This product allowed users to turn everyday spending into long-term investment, reinforcing the bank’s mission of making wealth-building accessible and engaging.
Back in 2024, ZA Bank made headlines again by becoming Asia’s first licensed bank to offer regulated retail crypto trading. This landmark move opened the doors to digital assets for individual investors, further expanding the bank’s wealth management offerings and solidifying its role as an innovation leader.
Calvin Ng Chief Executive Officer ZA Bank
Leading Hong Kong’s Web3 ecosystem Beyond traditional wealth products, ZA Bank has emerged as a key enabler in Hong Kong’s Web3 financial ecosystem. It was the first digital bank to offer reserve custody services for stablecoin sandbox participants and today provides banking services to over 300 Web3 companies, including the majority of licensed Virtual Asset Trading Platforms (VATPs) in the city.
Technology as a foundation, not just a feature Central to ZA Bank’s success is its technology stack, built on a proprietary dual-cloud architecture that enhances stability and security. The bank also heavily invests in data-driven systems and AI to streamline operations, enhance customer protection, and improve risk management.
One standout feature is XDecision, ZA Bank’s proprietary real-time transaction monitoring system. It processes over 600,000 risk assessments daily, with 90% completed in under 0.2 seconds, helping detect fraud and safeguard customer assets.
Unique customer engagement and advertising strategies
ZA Bank has redefined customer engagement by blending finance with lifestyle. Gamified campaigns like “PowerDraw” rewarded users with cashback for spending, while “Walk to Earn” incentivised healthier lifestyles, i.e. walking, with bonus interest rates.
During the 2024 Olympics, they also launched “ZA Sports Festival” which invited users to collect digital sports cards by walking and playing minigames.
A leader among Hong Kong’s digital banks
From its inception in 2020 to achieving monthly profitability in 2024 and interim profit in 2025, ZA Bank has consistently demonstrated bold vision and relentless innovation. Its efforts were recognised with the ‘Best Digital Retail Bank – Hong Kong SAR, China’ award at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Innovation Awards 2025.
Feedzai’s new platform, Feedzai IQ, enables banks to share fraud intelligence without exposing customer data. Its federated learning model is helping financial institutions detect more fraud with fewer false alerts while staying compliant with privacy laws.
As digital transactions surge, the financial sector continues to struggle with the dual challenge of stopping fraud and protecting customer data. Feedzai, an AI-native RiskOps platform for financial crime prevention, founded in Portugal, believes it has bridged that gap. Its latest platform, Feedzai IQ, uses a privacy-preserving AI framework that lets banks collaborate against fraudsters without sharing raw data — a shift that could change how global institutions defend their customers.
Turning shared intelligence into stronger defence
Founded in 2011 by Nuno Sebastião, Pedro Bizarro, and Paulo Marques, Feedzai protects more than one billion people in 190 countries and monitors over $8 trillion in transactions each year. The company, valued at more than $2 billion, reinvests roughly a quarter of its revenue into research and development, keeping innovation central to its growth strategy.
Feedzai IQ, launched in mid-2025, was built to address one of the sector’s persistent constraints: banks cannot easily collaborate on fraud prevention because of strict privacy regulations. The platform’s federated learning system aggregates anonymised insights from hundreds of institutions, transforming them into real-time intelligence that can be shared safely across the network.
At the core of Feedzai IQ are two AI components — TrustScore and TrustSignals. TrustScore offers a ready-to-use risk model that detects up to four times more fraud while cutting false alerts by half. TrustSignals delivers pre-calculated indicators such as card BIN or email domain ratios, improving fraud detection rates by 27%, and increasing payment acceptance by around 5%.
Unlike traditional consortium approaches, no raw customer data leaves an institution’s environment. Instead, the system exchanges processed intelligence about confirmed fraud events, ensuring full compliance with global data-protection standards.
A collaborative model with measurable results
Banks and payment firms using Feedzai IQ have reported stronger detection rates and reduced operational strain. One global payments provider detected four times more fraud while halving its alert volume. Another client cut 270,000 alerts from a base of one million, preventing an additional $50,000 in fraud for every $1 million at risk.
The platform is designed to integrate easily with existing fraud detection systems, offering immediate protection without the need for historical data or extensive model retraining. Feedzai IQ’s network now processes insights from over 70 billion events annually, extending its benefits even to smaller institutions with limited in-house analytics capacity.
Feedzai’s efforts earned recognition at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Innovations Awards 2025, where it won Best AI Initiative for Feedzai IQ. The award highlighted the company’s success in combining AI innovation with data privacy, creating a global fraud detection model that promotes trust, accuracy, and regulatory compliance across the financial system.
Mohan Marndi, Sales Director, Feedzai; Wy-Lin Tan, Fraud & Financial Crime Account Lead, Feedzai; Vincent Tan, Lead Solutions Consultant, Feedzai
National Bank of Canada’s technology strategy has accelerated under the leadership of Julie Lévesque, whose work across AI, operations and enterprise governance has strengthened the institution’s digital foundations while advancing responsible innovation.
Julie Lévesque, Executive Vice-President – Personal Banking, IT & Operations, has led the institution’s technology organisation since 2020. Over the period under review, she directed end-to-end IT operations, reinforced governance frameworks, and accelerated the adoption of artificial intelligence across core business lines. Her leadership supported hyperautomation programmes, expanded lowcode development to improve delivery efficiency, and introduced AI-powered virtual assistants that enhanced service responsiveness across the Bank and created tangible value for our clients.
Strengthening culture, skills, innovation and inclusion
Julie Lévesque also prioritised internal capabilitybuilding, advancing AI literacy programmes and developing academic partnerships to strengthen the institution’s talent pipeline. Her commitment to inclusion, particularly through initiatives supporting employees with disabilities and neurodivergent colleagues helped shape a more collaborative and skills-focused technology culture. These efforts contributed to a more adaptive workforce equipped to support the Bank’s evolving digital strategy while delivering the best client experience.
Improving fraud detection through multi-model analytics
National Bank of Canada also advanced its data
capabilities through a multi-model analytics initiative designed to address the growing complexity of deposit cheque fraud. The institution introduced three complementary machine-learning models that each analyse behavioural anomalies, historical fraud patterns and transactional inconsistencies. This architecture delivers more precise scoring, reduces false positives, and improves case prioritisation for fraud analysts. Integrated directly into existing investigative workflows, the system provides interpretable outputs that combine human judgement with AI-driven insights. Its modular design supports continuous learning and future optimisation. For our clients, these innovations mean greater security, faster resolution of issues, and a more trustworthy banking experience.
National Bank of Canada introduced three complementary machine-learning models that each analyse behavioural anomalies, historical fraud patterns and transactional inconsistencies.
Enhancing compliance and operations through GenAI and automation National Bank of Canada deployed a complaint summarisation solution to improve regulatory reporting. The initiative uses prompt-engineered generative AI, supported by a low-code interface, to generate standardised summaries of issues, resolutions, and client interactions. As results, the Bank achieved five to ten times productivity gains, standardised outputs and improved compliance while reducing operational costs. Clients benefit from faster complaint resolution, clearer and consistent communications to foster trust, that results of an improved service quality. This innovation sets a new benchmark for responsible AI adoption in financial services and lays the foundation for future applications across credit applications and audit documentation.
The Bank also expanded its generative AI capabilities across retail banking through its Advice Center chatbot, launched in 2024. Built on Large Language Models and integrated with internal systems, the tool delivers real-time, validated guidance to branch advisors. Early pilots show faster information retrieval, improved satisfaction, and a reduction in support requests for all products and services for Retail Clients. Full deployment
has been completed in September 2025, with further enhancements across commercial and enterprise banking.
Recognitions
At The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovations Awards, National Bank of Canada received the ‘Digital Banker of the Year – North America’ award for Julie Lévesque’s leadership in advancing responsible AI, automation and enterprise technology foundations.
The bank also received:
• Best Data Analytics Initiative – Canada’ for delivering a scalable, explainable fraud-detection system.
• Best RPA Initiative for a compliant, cost-efficient GenAI solution that improves regulatory reporting.
• Best Gen-AI Chatbot Initiative, Best Gen-AI Investments Initiative, Best Gen-AI Retail Operations Initiative – Canada, and Highly Acclaimed Best Gen-AI Personalised Assistant Initiative for applying generative AI to strengthen advisor autonomy, operational efficiency and customer experience.
Julie Lévesque
Executive Vice-President – Personal Banking, IT & Operations, National Bank of Canada
United Overseas Bank (UOB) strengthened its regional presence and customer-centric offerings in 2024, earning recognition across credit, debit, loyalty, and service innovation at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025.
UOB reported a year of expansion in 2024, driven by the integration of Citigroup’s consumer businesses in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, with Vietnam set to complete in 2025. The enlarged franchise added over 850,000 customers,half onboarded digitally, raising UOB’s total customer base to 8.4 million.
The bank also saw a 27% year-on-year rise in
wealth fees, reflecting deeper engagement with clients across investment and deposit products. Its credit and debit card offerings strengthened through exclusive partnerships and growing customer engagement in shopping, dining, travel, and entertainment. UOB’s expansion strategy was complemented by high-profile collaborations in lifestyle and entertainment, increasing brand
visibility among younger customers and driving higher billings.
Regional leadership recognised
UOB Singapore was named Best Retail Bank – SouthEast Asia for its integrated regional strategy and ability to deliver personalised customer experiences across digital and physical channels. The bank also won Outstanding Customer Service Innovation by a Retail Bank – South-East Asia, recognising its ability to implement seamless, customer-centric solutions at scale.
CEO Wee Ee Cheong was recognised as CEO of the Year – Asia Pacific, reflecting his leadership in steering UOB’s regional expansion, digital transformation, and customer-focused strategy. Together, these achievements underscore UOB’s position as a leading retail bank in Southeast Asia, combining innovation, operational excellence, and regional growth.
Debit card innovation
The UOB FX+ Debit Card, rebranded from UOB Mighty FX in October 2024, is designed for travellers and global consumers, the card offers zero foreign currency transaction and conversion fees, cashback on all foreign currency transactions, and bonus interest on the UOB One Account.
Through the TMRW app, users can convert and hold nine major currencies, set rate alerts, auto-convert at preferred rates, and invest in currency fixed deposits or unit trusts. Mastercard World Elite privileges,
UOB saw a 27% yearon-year rise in wealth fees, reflecting deeper engagement with clients across investment and deposit products.
including travel insurance and Grab transport discounts, further enhance the proposition. Since the rebrand, UOB recorded a 47% rise in new card issuance, a 58% increase in monthly foreign currency billings, and 22% year-on-year growth in currency conversion volume, highlighting the bank’s focus on delivering convenient, cost-effective, and digitally integrated solutions for global consumers. The UOB FX+ Debit Card won Debit Card of the Year for its seamless international spending features.
Customer loyalty and service excellence
UOB’s Rewards+ Programme combines UNI$ and UOB$ Cashback initiatives, allowing Cardmembers to earn points for everyday spending and redeem them for vouchers, travel, and lifestyle products, while enjoying instant cashback at participating merchants.
In 2024, the UOB$ Double Cashback Campaign drove a 17% increase in Friday billings, while the “double dip” system enabled simultaneous UNI$ and UOB$ accrual, boosting transaction volumes by 24% yearon-year. Geo-personalised deals and tailored insights on the TMRW app further enhanced engagement. These initiatives demonstrate UOB’s approach to building meaningful, digitally enabled relationships with customers across Singapore and the region. UOB’s Rewards+ Programme earned Best Customer Loyalty Program for its integrated, digitally engaging rewards offering.
Triple credit card recognition
UOB secured three major awards: Credit Card of the Year – Women, Credit Card of the Year – Travel, and Credit Card of the Year – Co-Branded.
The UOB Lady’s Card, Southeast Asia’s first credit card designed for women, marked its 35th anniversary with the Unstoppable Pairing initiative linking the card with the Lady’s Savings Account. Cardmembers earn up to 25 times UNI$ across seven personalised categories, combining spending and saving incentives. A refreshed design by awardwinning artist Sunny Chyun and the “Unstoppable Together” campaign highlight modern femininity and multi-generational bonds. The initiative doubled
card acquisitions, lifted billings by 40%, and increased cross-product penetration by 141%, reinforcing customer engagement and loyalty.
The UOB PRVI Miles Card, relaunched across ASEAN in October 2024, targets frequent travellers with enhanced miles earning, complimentary lounge access, Agoda booking benefits, and duty-free privileges. Integrated with the UOB TMRW app, it automates miles conversion and offers curated rewards tailored to individual spending patterns. The relaunch drove strong application growth, cross-border transactions, and higher customer retention, underlining UOB’s ability to deliver travel-centric credit solutions in a region seeing a post-pandemic rebound in mobility.
The Lazada-UOB Credit Card, launched in April 2024, offers up to 20% rebates on Lazada and RedMart, multi-category perks, and seamless in-app redemption. Data-driven personalisation has increased transaction frequency and loyalty, while strategic marketing campaigns have raised brand awareness and engagement among digital-first shoppers. These accolades recognise UOB’s commitment to innovative, customer-focused credit card solutions across lifestyle, travel, and co-branded partnerships.
Awards summary:
• ‘Credit Card of the Year – Women’ – UOB Lady’s Card for empowering women with tailoured rewards.
• ‘Credit Card of the Year – Travel’ – UOB PRVI Miles Card for enhanced travel benefits and crossborder rewards.
• ‘Credit Card of the Year – Co-Branded’ – LazadaUOB Credit Card for bridging retail and banking with personalised perks.
• ‘Debit Card of the Year’ – UOB FX+ Debit Card for seamless international spending and digital innovation.
In an era of real-time payments, data-rich treasury solutions and sustainable finance, Chad Wallace of Scotiabank sits down with The Digital Banker to discuss how collaboration, innovation and open banking are redefining Canada’s transaction banking landscape.
A developing scene
Canada’s transaction banking landscape is characterised by a combination of collaboration, regulatory engagement, and client-focused innovation. While the Real-Time Rail is still in development, real-time payment capabilities are already in use through Interac’s infrastructure, which is anticipated to support RTR.
“A distinguishing feature of the Canadian market is the ability to drive network scale across the country,” says Chad Wallace, Executive Vice President, Global Transaction Banking, Scotiabank, “given the smaller number of financial institutions in the ecosystem and their involvement in co-developing the future of payments through Payments Canada’s consultative framework — aligning policy, technology, and client needs.”
Canada’s financial ecosystem has also promoted robust competition, with new governance in the PSP and NBF space allowing direct access to clearing. Additionally, the move toward open banking is expected to unlock new use cases and contribute to broader data access and financial inclusion.
Solving the corporate treasury puzzle Canadian corporates face persistent challenges in managing reconciliation from various sources of
reporting and navigating the burdensome KYC process across multiple products — issues that are especially critical in treasury and cash management.
“Many companies struggle to track their cash inflows and outflows across regions or business units in real time,” explains Wallace.
Cash flow analysis remains a key challenge, particularly given limited data, inconsistent domestic payment formats and manual reporting. These hurdles can result in fragmented visibility, delays and increased operational overhead.
To address these challenges, Scotiabank works closely with clients to improve automation through API connectivity into tools designed for the Office of the CFO. The bank also leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract invoice data from remittance emails and other sources. When paired with enriched data from newer payment rails, this approach boosts straight-through processing, reduces manual effort, and improves reconciliation timelines.
“As expectations evolve, so too does the demand for more intelligent, data-driven solutions,” says Wallace. “We enable clients to access richer payment insights — accelerating receivables
matching, improving reconciliations, and increasing the accuracy of cash forecasting.”
Harnessing the power of AI and real-time data
Digital transformation is reshaping transaction banking globally, and Scotiabank is harnessing technologies such as AI, real-time payments, and data analytics to reinvent the client experience.
“AI is a key enabler for innovation and to drive business results,” notes Wallace. “We are pursuing and scaling opportunities where we use AI in our business today to make it easier for employees and for our clients to do business with us.”
Scotiabank applies AI and analytics to enhance fraud detection, enrich transaction data and automate reporting processes. These applications reduce risk, increase data quality and offer clients more informed decision-making capabilities.
The bank is also enabling embedded payment experiences through APIs, helping clients integrate banking into their workflows and connect seamlessly with ERP and TMS platforms. To deliver a unified digital experience, Scotiabank is rolling out a crossborder digital banking platform that provides realtime balance and transaction reporting, alerts, and approvals — all within a single ecosystem. Designed for commercial and corporate clients operating across multiple markets, the platform has been designed to deliver a secure, efficient and intuitive cash management experience.
Sustainability as a strategic lever
Sustainability has become a defining theme in treasury and transaction banking. Increasingly, it’s being viewed as a lever for sustainable finance—particularly in supply chain finance, ESG-linked trade instruments and green payment solutions.
“Global sustainable trade finance and cash
management revenues are expected to reach US$28–35 billion this year,” shares Wallace, citing McKinsey estimates. “At Scotiabank, we continue to assess opportunities to align treasury services with sustainability objectives in collaboration with clients and industry partners.”
The next frontier: open banking Open banking — or Consumer Directed Finance in Canada — represents the next big leap for the market.
“As Canada’s regulatory framework evolves, we see significant potential to improve access and usability of financial data while appropriately managing risks and providing consumer protection,” explains Wallace.
Scotiabank’s ambition is to be embedded wherever clients need it—within ERP systems, expense management tools, cash flow reporting, or as part of account management. Consent-based data sharing and frictionless payments could unlock a new wave
We enable clients to access richer payment insights — accelerating receivables matching, improving reconciliations, and increasing the accuracy of cash forecasting.
of innovation, driving personalised services, fintech collaboration and operational efficiency in treasury and cash management.
“At Scotiabank, we’re excited to embark on this journey to co-create new and relevant experiences with our clients,” concludes Wallace.
Azure Tide Holdings has built an institutional-grade digital asset credit platform focused on disciplined risk management, global compliance and consistent performance.
2024 milestones & innovations
Azure Tide’s 2024 programme reflects a strong emphasis on scaling responsibly while elevating operational standards. During the year, the firm extended more than $400 million in loans, which contributed to an annualised lending run-rate of $804 million while maintaining its flawless track record. The firm also designed bespoke monetisation structures for FTX and other bankruptcy-related claims, creating timely liquidity solutions for institutional creditors
dealing with complex insolvency matters.
In parallel, Azure Tide enhanced its technology infrastructure by integrating leading platforms including Elliptic, Chainalysis and Debank. These integrations provided real-time collateral monitoring, predictive stress-testing capabilities and automated reporting features, strengthening the firm’s risk management systems and reinforcing its reputation as a gold standard in digital asset credit oversight.
Azure Tide — the team making waves
The year also marked an important milestone for its distressed opportunities fund, ADOC, as the strategy returned 100% of investors’ committed capital within twelve months of its final capital call while continuing to build asymmetrical upside exposure for investors.
“Sustained performance comes from engineering processes that are rigorous, transparent, and defensible, executed with discipline by an excellent team.” Azure Tide CEO Zhu Zhiwei Benjamin said.
A
relationship-driven
approach to digital asset credit
Azure Tide offers a suite of loan solutions, encompassing both secured and unsecured financing underwritten by robust due diligence and tailored to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. Azure Tide firmly believes that lending is a relationship business and has invested significantly to develop strong, deep-rooted relationships with its counterparties.
Throughout its development, Azure Tide has played a significant role in shaping the digital asset credit ecosystem by bridging centralised finance and on-chain credit markets. The firm maintains active lending relationships with global market makers such as Wintermute, Flow Traders and B2C2, while also deploying capital across curated decentralised finance protocols, including Clearpool Finance, Wildcat Finance, Upshift and August. This activity is supported by a host of institutional custodians such as BitGo, Copper and Hex Trust. This alignment ensures secure and compliant handling of assets demanded by institutional counterparties.
Technology at the Core of Operational Excellence
Technology and innovation form a central part of Azure Tide’s competitive advantage. The firm has developed proprietary systems that streamline internal processes, including real-time loan and collateral monitoring tools. Automated margin alerts and continuous monitoring capabilities ensure that collateral thresholds are consistently supervised, with instant escalation procedures triggered when limits are approached.
Benjamin Zhu Founder and CEO Azure Tide Holdings
Azure Tide has developed loan lifecycle protocols and processes to ensure seamless transaction flows, efficient execution and robust audit trails across environments, enhancing transparency and institutional confidence. Azure Tide’s security framework is further strengthened through the use of multiple custodians, wallet rotations and a dynamic suite of verification protocols. These layers work together to reduce single-point vulnerabilities and maintain strong operational defences.
A proven partner shaping the future of digital assets
Azure Tide’s achievements in performance, technology, governance and education demonstrate a firm that is not only delivering consistent results for its investors but also raising the standards for the broader digital asset industry. With more than $1.2 billion in loans originated, an unbroken record of profitability and a commitment to institutional-grade
Azure Tide offers a suite of loan solutions, encompassing both secured and unsecured financing underwritten by robust due diligence and tailored to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
risk management, Azure Tide stands as one of the most trusted bridges between traditional finance and the digital economy. For these achievements, the firm was awarded the ‘Best Asset/Fund Manager for Digital Assets - Asia Pacific’ at the The Digital Assets Awards 2025.
Taxbit is redefining digital asset compliance by combining innovative tax automation with enterprise-grade regulatory security, empowering both businesses and governments to manage digital assets with trust, transparency, and efficiency.
Taxbit has emerged as one of the leading tax and accounting solutions designed specifically for the digital economy. Created by certified public accountants and tax attorneys, the platform is trusted by crypto exchanges, financial institutions, government agencies, regulators, and large
enterprises. It offers a comprehensive software system that manages tax and accounting requirements for organisations dealing with digital assets, ensuring compliance and accuracy at scale. With its Big Fourgrade self-service solution, Taxbit provides seamless support across every stage of the compliance journey.
Expanding its capabilities
The company has recently expanded its product portfolio to include stablecoin payment processing, further strengthening its role in the digital asset ecosystem.
In August 2025, Taxbit also announced a partnership with Mural Pay to launch a payments module that allows companies to integrate stablecoin payments into their daily operations. This includes invoice generation and tracking, enabling businesses to meet financial reporting and tax filing requirements with greater ease. The new functionality is available to clients across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and beyond, making cross-border payments faster, more costeffective, and secure.
Enterprise-grade compliance platform
At the heart of Taxbit’s offering is an enterprisegrade compliance platform built to simplify the complex tax and accounting challenges of digital assets. Its developer-friendly API suite supports both tax information reporting and crypto accounting, acting as a single source of truth for all digital asset transactions. This reduces reliance on multiple systems, minimises manual data entry, and provides real-time dashboards for visibility. The platform is designed to handle evolving global tax regimes, including US Information Reporting, DAC8, CARF, CESOP, and DAC7 in the EU, without costly system overhauls.
Enhancing regulatory oversight
Taxbit’s reach extends beyond the private sector. It provides specialised tools for government agencies, such as Digital Asset Recovery and Tracking System (DARTS) and UCAP/DACP, which support investigation and enforcement. In September 2024, the company announced a partnership with asset management platform provider, Asset Reality, to deliver integrated solutions for digital asset seizure, management, disposal, reporting, and accounting. These initiatives strengthen transparency and accountability in the crypto economy, underscoring Taxbit’s role as a trusted partner for regulators worldwide.
Lindsey Argalas CEO Taxbit
Balancing innovation with security
Taxbit sets itself apart by offering a rare end-to-end solution that combines tax reporting and crypto accounting. Unlike many competitors, it is uniquely equipped to manage evolving regulations without requiring costly system changes. Its credibility is reinforced by its role as the official crypto audit partner of the Internal Revenue Service(IRS), as well as its ability to process over 50 million 1099 forms globally. This combination of innovation, trust, and scalability makes Taxbit a leader in digital asset compliance.
For customers, Taxbit delivers superior innovation and enhanced security. Its platform automates tax processes, reduces manual errors, and ensures realtime reporting, saving valuable time and resources.
By integrating data across multiple exchanges and wallets, it provides a unified view of transactions, improving transparency and building trust with regulators. The platform is backed by strong security credentials, including SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2, and ISO 27001 certifications, which validate its commitment to data integrity and operational effectiveness.
Taxbit’s effectiveness is demonstrated through measurable client outcomes. Major enterprises such as PayPal, Uphold, and ZeroHash rely on the platform to manage compliance at scale. To date, it has processed more than 50 million IRS 1099 forms globally. One enterprise client reported a 75% reduction in accounting overhead after adopting Taxbit’s solutions, highlighting the operational efficiency it delivers.
The future of Taxbit lies in scaling its role as the most trusted compliance infrastructure for digital
At the heart of Taxbit’s offering is an enterprisegrade compliance platform built to simplify the complex tax and accounting challenges of digital assets.
assets. With a strong foundation in enterprise and government solutions, the company is focused on empowering organisations to manage digital assets more efficiently while enabling regulators to maintain clear oversight. For these reasons, it was awarded the ‘Best Technology Solution Provider’ at the Digital Asset Awards 2025 by The Digital Banker.
In an era where digital transformation defines competitive advantage, Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia is rewriting the rulebook for Islamic banking. Through a comprehensive suite of innovative products and platforms, the bank is not just keeping pace with industry evolution but also setting the standard for how financial institutions can drive business growth, operational excellence and meaningful customer engagement. These achievements have been recognised by The Digital Banker which awarded Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia, the ‘Best Islamic Retail Bank – Malaysia’ at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025.
Empowering SMEs through digital excellence
SMEs form the backbone of Malaysia’s economy, yet accessing comprehensive banking solutions has historically presented significant challenges. Standard Chartered Saadiq has addressed this gap head-on by providing holistic solutions spanning term finance, trade working capital, and cash and wealth management, all delivered through its stateof-the-art Straight2Bank online platform.
This integrated digital ecosystem enables SMEs to manage complex financial operations with unprecedented ease. From cash management and trade finance to foreign exchange transactions, business owners can now access enterprisegrade banking capabilities from any location. The impact extends beyond convenience; it represents a fundamental democratisation of sophisticated financial tools that were once available only to large corporations.
The bank’s commitment to SME growth reached new heights through a strategic MYR300 million Portfolio Guarantee agreement with Credit
Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Berhad, including RM100 million dedicated to Islamic financing. This partnership has reaped remarkable results, expanding the SME business portfolio while increasing the Islamic financing share from 24% to 33% , reflecting growing confidence in Shariahcompliant business solutions.
Increasing access to investments
Breaking down barriers to global investment markets, Standard Chartered SmartStocks platform exemplifies the bank’s innovation-first approach. This one-stop online share trading solution connects Malaysian investors to 12 exchanges across seven global markets through a single account accessible via any web-enabled or smart device.
Furthermore, clients trading in global exchanges can consolidate their shares from other providers in one account with Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia for a peace of mind. Conversion of foreign currency is also a breeze with LiveFX (online FX platform) for Saadiq clients to fund their foreign currency settlement account to purchase foreign shares in SmartStocks.
Breaking down barriers to global investment markets,
Standard Chartered SmartStocks platform exemplifies the bank’s innovation-first approach.
Redefining everyday banking
No product better illustrates Standard Chartered Saadiq’s customer-centric philosophy than the revamped JumpStart Debit Card-i. Designed specifically for tech-savvy millennials and frequent travellers, this Shariah-compliant card delivers exceptional value through features that address real customer needs.
Travel enthusiasts benefit from zero-fee currency conversions and no bank mark-up fees on overseas spending, advantages that translate to genuine savings on every international transaction.
For online shopping aficionados, the card offers 5% cashback on online retail purchases (capped at up to RM200 monthly), positioning JumpStart among Malaysia’s most rewarding card offerings. The benefits extend to everyday banking through integrated capabilities: zero-fee remittances via SC Remit to multiple countries, seamless stock trading through SmartStocks with zero custody fees, and complimentary ATM withdrawals both locally
through MEPS and internationally.
As with everything, accessibility remains paramount. There is no minimum deposit requirement and no annual fee, with accounts openable entirely online through the SC Mobile App or Online Banking platform.
Comprehensive wealth management solutions
Standard Chartered Saadiq has developed a structured approach to wealth management. The bank’s Wealth Select framework seeks to understand client’s vision of Today, Tomorrow and Forever for themselves and their family member, and then design portfolios to meet these differing needs. The bank’s specialists partner with clients to build well-diversified, long term foundation portfolios and opportunistic ideas aligned to Today, Tomorrow and Forever needs. Of course, the bank also includes sufficient protection to address the clients and their family objectives.
The recently enhanced Online Unit Trust platform showcases the bank’s commitment to user experience, featuring simplified user interface (UI)/user experience (UX) design and transaction journeys, joint account capabilities, and enhanced fund discovery tools. Clients gain access to fund recommendations and educational articles, empowering informed decision-making backed by market insights from the bank’s Chief Investment Officer.
The introduction of Premier Signature Takaful — a limited pay-regular contribution investment-linked takaful product — addresses a critical market need by combining protection and investment with future financial planning. This launch enhanced the bank’s competitive positioning in the takaful space while demonstrating responsiveness to evolving customer demands.
Vision for the future
The bank’s Wealth$aver-i account, which allows Saadiq customers to earn a special profit rate for
opening a qualified priority account, strongly contributed to double-digit growth in overall retail deposits, while the bank’s diversified offerings have strengthened customer satisfaction and loyalty across segments.
Collectively, these initiatives deliver multifaceted benefits: enhanced operational efficiency through digital-first processes, deeper customer engagement through personalised services, diversified revenue streams to support continued innovation, and clear competitive differentiation to attract both new and existing customers.
Standard Chartered Saadiq Malaysia’s transformation journey underscores a fundamental truth of modern banking: success requires more than technological alone. It demands a deep understanding of customer needs, anchored by Shariah principles and supported by the courage to innovate. As Islamic banking continues to evolve, Standard Chartered Saadiq stands out as a compelling example of how digital excellence and Shariah-based finance can together create exceptional value for all stakeholders.
Ravindra Kumar, Chief Information Officer, outlines how a layered defence, quantumready systems, and customer engagement form the backbone of Maybank Singapore’s cybersecurity strategy, protecting both operations and trust.
Singapore’s financial sector in early 2025 faced a stark reminder of digital interdependence. A series of breaches targeting key suppliers highlighted how even the strongest banks remain exposed to vulnerabilities beyond their direct control.
For Ravindra Kumar, Chief Information Officer of Maybank Singapore, the incidents confirmed what he had long anticipated. “Our digital ecosystem is deeply interconnected,” he says. “A single weak link in a third-party vendor can become an open door. Managing this sprawling digital supply chain is a paramount challenge, as attackers consistently target the path of least resistance.”
At Maybank Singapore, resilience begins with realism. Kumar’s team operates on what he calls an “assume breach” mindset — one that accepts that intrusions will happen and focuses instead on rapid detection, containment and recovery.
“We build resilience at every level — from code development to customer interaction—to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our services,” he explains. “The goal isn’t perfection, it’s preparedness.”
That preparation extends beyond the bank’s own systems. Maybank Singapore now embeds stringent
cybersecurity clauses and incident-reporting rules in every vendor contract. Its most sensitive data are stored on WORM (Write Once, Read Many) systems, ensuring that backups remain unaltered. “Once data are written, they cannot be changed, even by privileged administrators,” Kumar says. “This guarantees a clean source from which to rebuild and renders extortion tactics useless.”
Evolving threats, advancing defences Cyberattacks are growing more sophisticated, and the lines between human manipulation and technical exploitation have blurred. “Phishing remains the primary method of intrusion,” Kumar notes. “But what’s changed is scale and sophistication. Generative technology is now industrialising the creation of hyper-personalised scams and deepfakes, making traditional awareness training less effective.”
Ransomware has also escalated. “Triple-extortion tactics — data theft, encryption and public disclosure— are designed to maximise pressure and bypass traditional recovery strategies,” he says. “That’s why immutable backups and redundancy are essential.”
On another front, Kumar is preparing for the quantum era. “Adversaries are already stealing encrypted data with the intention of decrypting it later, once a
powerful quantum computer becomes available,” he says. Maybank’s answer is a crypto-agile framework that incorporates post-quantum algorithms with existing encryption.
The bank is also deepening its Zero Trust architecture, where every user, device and application is continuously verified. “Zero Trust minimises the risk of breaches, limits the impact of compromised credentials, and strengthens both compliance and customer confidence,” Kumar says.
People at the centre of protection Technology may be the front line, but customers are part of the defence.
“Confidence comes not just from robust controls, but from transparency and consistency,” Kumar says. Maybank’s customer communications now highlight new controls—such as Secure2u authorisation, digital signing and real-time fraud surveillance—to build awareness and trust.
The strategy echoes Maybank’s long-standing “humanising banking” ethos. “Technology alone is insufficient,” he says. “Our customers are an essential layer of defence. Human error and social engineering remain significant vulnerabilities.”
To address this, the bank runs continuous education programmes built on what Kumar calls “education, enablement and engagement.” These include scam advisories within the app, in-branch training and social media alerts. “We encourage customers to enable multi-factor authentication, recognise phishing attempts and stay vigilant,” he says. “Our goal is to build a community shield.”
Leading under pressure
Few roles test composure like that of a CIO during a cyber crisis. For Kumar, leadership is measured by accountability and calm. “In a crisis, there’s no room for blame,” he says. “My role is to own the problem, empower the teams and take decisive action.”
He describes his function as “translating chaos”— turning complex technical information into clear guidance for boards, regulators and customers.“Protect first, prove later,” he says. “Immediate containment and customer protection take precedence over perfect information.” That mindset, he adds, depends on emotional steadiness. “Teams take their cues from leadership. Maintaining a calm, visible presence helps the organisation think clearly and act effectively.”
Kumar also reframes cybersecurity spending as strategic investment. “We don’t treat cybersecurity as a cost centre,” he says. “We position it as a protector of revenue and reputation.”
He quantifies each initiative’s value in financial terms: “A one-million-dollar investment in data loss prevention isn’t a technology expense—it’s protection against a fifty-million-dollar fine or loss. Once the conversation is framed in business language, priorities shift.”
The next frontier: intelligent trust Kumar sees “intelligent trust” as the principle that will define the next decade of cybersecurity. “The future lies in continuous verification,” he says. “Identity, behaviour and context must be assessed in real time. Static defences are no longer enough.”
We build resilience at every level — from code development to customer interaction — to protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our services. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s preparedness.
Still, technology alone cannot guarantee safety. “Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility—from product design to frontline operations,” he says. “You can’t bolt trust on at the end. You have to build it in from the start.”
For Kumar, the essence of resilience remains unchanged. “Cyber resilience isn’t just about technology,” he says. “It’s about people, discipline and trust—the things that have always defined good banking.”
The bank is sharpening its international proposition as demand grows among Filipinos seeking cross-border banking, investment and mobility services.
HSBC is reinforcing its position in the Philippines as one of the country’s leading international universal banks, widening access to global accounts, wealth products and mobility services as part of a broader strategy to support clients with overseas financial needs. The move comes as more Filipino households pursue education, investment and career opportunities abroad, driving demand for seamless cross-border banking.
Bank expands global access for affluent and internationally active clients
HSBC operates three global businesses in the Philippines — Commercial Banking, Global Banking and Markets, and Wealth and Personal Banking — supported by a network of branches in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, and a Global Service Centre serving both domestic and international markets. Its brokerage entity, HSBC Investment and Insurance
Brokerage, Philippines Inc (HIIB), regulated by the Insurance Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, provides access to investmentlinked products, managed funds and offshore opportunities.
The bank’s affluent segment is anchored on HSBC Premier, which offers deposit accounts in multiple currencies, foreign exchange services and an array of credit cards tailored to travel, rewards and international lifestyle needs. Clients can also access local and global securities, feeder funds and dividendpaying products through HSBC Wealth and referrals to wealth hubs and private banking offices.
Services designed for mobile professionals and families remain central to HSBC’s offer. These include free ATM withdrawals overseas for Premier customers, global money transfers, and family-linked Premier accounts that support households with dependents studying in other markets. The bank also assists with opening international accounts for students relocating abroad, providing continuity between local and overseas financial arrangements.
Shift in competitive landscape drives renewed emphasis on global proposition HSBC stepped up its communications in 2024 highlighting its globality most especially to cater to for clients requiring cross-border banking. The bank positioned itself as the primary provider for customers
Pramoth Rajendran Head of International Wealth and Personal Banking HSBC Philippines
in the Philippines with international financial needs, asserting its unique strength and ability to offer integrated overseas servicing.
The bank positioned itself as the primary provider for customers in the Philippines with international financial needs, asserting its unique strength and ability to offer integrated overseas servicing.
A campaign built around cross-border ambition — delivered through airport advertising, outdoor media in business districts and targeted digital channels — sought to connect with travellers, executives and globally minded households. The bank also launched a 3D billboard in Bonifacio Global City to mark the start of its 150th year in the Philippines, supported by premium placements in newspapers and lifestyle publications.
The message centered on HSBC’s longstanding global network and the role it aims to play for customers in the Philippines seeking opportunities beyond the domestic market.
HSBC’s retail strategy was recently recognised as the Best Retail Bank in the Philippines at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025, cited for its ability to support customers with expanding international needs.
mBank’s GenAI Incubator demonstrates how in-house, scalable AI solutions such as mListen, mComplAInts, and Talk to Your Data are transforming customer service, complaint handling, and data analysis with measurable gains in productivity, accuracy, and efficiency.
mBank, one of Poland’s largest commercial banks, has launched its GenAI Incubator in 2024. This initiative aims to develop a structured, scalable, and responsible framework for generative AI adoption. The incubator has already delivered measurable results, transforming customer service, complaint handling, and data analysis, while positioning mBank as a pioneer in responsible digital transformation.
Over the decades, it has become synonymous with innovation in online and mobile banking,
serving millions of individual clients, businesses, and institutions. Today, the bank employs approximately 8,000 full-time staff globally and operates as part of the mBank Group, which also includes brokerage and leasing entities. Its reputation as a digital leader in Poland is reinforced by its comprehensive portfolio of services, ranging from personal and business accounts to mortgage and consumer loans, credi cards, deposits, savings products, insurance, investment services, and advanced digital platforms.
The GenAI Incubator Initiative
The GenAI Incubator was launched in 2024 as a strategic response to the rapid rise of generative AI technologies. Rather than adopting off-theshelf solutions, mBank chose to build an in-house programme that could test, validate, and scale AI solutions across the organisation. The incubator was designed to deliver tangible value to both employees and customers, while ensuring compliance with internal governance and external regulations such as the EU AI Act. By focusing on modularity and reusability, the programme avoids duplication of effort and ensures that successful solutions can be adapted quickly across departments, significantly improving cost efficiency.
Flagship Solutions
Three flagship solutions have already emerged from the incubator, each addressing critical operational challenges.
The first, mListen, is an AI-driven platform that analyses customer voice and chat interactions. It transforms thousands of daily conversations into structured insights by generating transcriptions and summaries, identifying sentiment and topics, and enabling full-text search across historical interactions. Employees have reported improved service quality, faster onboarding, and enhanced compliance monitoring, all of which contribute to a more consistent customer experience.
The second solution, mComplAInts, is an AIassisted complaint handling tool. The system generates complaint summaries, suggests next steps, retrieves historical cases, and prepares response proposals aligned with mBank’s standards. Within a few months of implementation, the areas where the solution was introduced began to show clear, positive improvements across various performance indicators, such as productivity and resolution time.
The third solution, Talk to Your Data, is an AI-driven assistant for data analysts. The tool has streamlined analytical processes, delivering noticeable efficiency gains in data governance projects and making database exploration significantly easier.
Future Plans
With measurable impact and bold plans for expansion, mBank continues its Full Speed Ahead strategy to set new standards in digital banking. The bank plans to expand the reuse of existing GenAI tools across additional retail banking domains, thereby maximising the return on investment in AI. Compliance readiness will be advanced to ensure full alignment with the EU AI Act, reinforcing mBank’s commitment to responsible innovation. Educational programmes will also be scaled to empower more employees with GenAI capabilities, embedding AI literacy across the organisation.
While details of other GenAI solutions currently under development remain confidential, mBank has made it clear that the incubator will continue to evolve, supporting new use cases and technologies while maintaining ethical and regulatory standards.
The GenAI Incubator represents a turning point in mBank’s digital transformation journey. By focusing on in-house innovation, modular architecture, and measurable impact, the bank has created a blueprint for responsible and scalable AI adoption in financial services. With demonstrable improvements in productivity, accuracy, and customer experience, and with ambitious plans for expansion and compliance, mBank has shown how generative AI can be harnessed not as a passing trend but as a strategic driver of long-term value. For these reasons mBank was awarded the ‘Best Gen-AI Retail Operations Initiative’ and the ‘Best Gen AI Initiative in Europe’ by The Digital Banker at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025.
The ttb Segment of One initiative aims to revolutionise wealth management in Thailand by empowering Relationship Managers with AI-driven insights and hyper-personalised engagement, shifting their focus from operational tasks to strategic advisory.
TMBThanachart Bank, one of the largest retail banks in Thailand, serves more than 10 million retail customers. Guided by its vision to become “The Bank of Financial Well-Being” for Thais, the institution has undergone a profound transformation from a productcentric to a customer-centric model.
Ttb Segment of One
Central to this evolution is ttb Segment of One, which tailours financial solutions to the unique needs of four customer ecosystems: car owners, homeowners, salarymen, and wealth customers. This initiative consolidates fragmented data into a unified 360-degree customer view, empowering relationship managers (RM) with actionable insights and enabling hyper-personalised engagement.
For wealth customers, the bank has introduced innovative products such as the ttb reserve credit card, which offers exclusive rewards, lifestyle privileges, and integration with investment and insurance products, driving a 35 % year-on-year growth in spending.
Another key product is ttb the treasure, a combined savings and insurance plan designed for families, simplifying financial planning and supporting longterm wealth transfer. These offerings are supported by advanced analytics and AI engines, ensuring that each customer is treated as a unique individual rather than a member of a broad segment.
Unlike traditional wealth management tools that focus narrowly on investments, ttb Segment of One
delivers a holistic, customer-centric experience across credit cards, deposits, investments, insurance, loans, and lifestyle services. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to integrate financial, behavioural, and lifestyle data into a single customer view, enabling proactive engagement through predictive analytics. Generative AI tools then support RM’s with personalised scripts and conversation starters, enhancing productivity and confidence.
Using AI to create hyper-personalised offers
In 2024, ttb advanced its vision of Humanised Digital Banking, emphasising hyper-personalisation through AI. The bank introduced a unified digital solution that provides a 360-degree customer view, actionable next steps, personalised product simulations, and generative AI sales scripts. These innovations have transformed the RM platform from a product-centric system with limited insights into a customer-centric solution that delivers relevance and timeliness. Looking ahead, ttb plans to launch a conversational AI Agent Assistant in 2025, designed to transform complex data into intuitive dialogues and further enhance RM capability.
An RM’s processing time has been reduced by 70%
Before the implementation of ttb Segment of One, customers often received generic product recommendations based on broad segmentation or manual RM judgement. Since its launch however,
credit card promotions are now tailoured to individual spending habits, investment portfolios and financial goals for seamless recommendations.
The platform has transformed RM workflows by automating data aggregation, prioritising recommendations, and providing tailored scripts. This has reduced an RM’s processing time by up to 70%.
From a survey of 238 RMs, 81% said their productivity has improved after the implementation of ttb Segment of One, while 91% have admitted that the tailoured scripts have made initiating conversations with customers easier.
Enhanced customer engagement and business impact
The initiative has delivered measurable results across wealth dimensions. Assets under management have grown by 7%, campaign interaction rates have risen by 27%, and credit card utilisation has increased by 35% year-on-year, with a 63% spike in May 2025 alone. Customers are reallocating idle cash from deposits into investments, leading to a 25% growth in investment allocation while maintaining stable deposits. Insurance engagement has also surged, with life insurance holdings doubling from 33% to 78%. These outcomes reflect stronger trust, deeper engagement, and improved financial outcomes for customers.
ttb Segment of One has empowered Relationship Managers with AI-driven insights, shifting their focus from operational tasks to strategic advisory. Customers benefit from personalised, timely, and relevant recommendations, while the bank enjoys increased adoption rates and reduced processing times for the RMs.
Safeguarding trust and enhancing customer protection
Unlike traditional wealth management tools that focus narrowly on investments, ttb Segment of One delivers a holistic, customercentric experience across credit cards, deposits, investments, insurance, loans, and lifestyle services.
Beyond wealth management, ttb has also advanced its machine learning capabilities to reinforce digital trust and resilience against financial crime. The launch of ttb protect: Real-time engine for mule prevention and customer trust marks a significant innovation in safeguarding customers and the wider financial ecosystem. Built on a multilayered machine learning framework, the system profiles new customers during onboarding, applies adaptive transfer limits, and continuously monitors behavioural signals to detect anomalies indicative of mule activity. By integrating clustering techniques, graph network analysis, supervised learning models, and explainable AI, the platform delivers personalised alerts and proactive interventions in near real time. Reinforcement learning further refines accuracy as behaviours evolve, ensuring fraud prevention remains both scalable and adaptive. The initiative has already reduced financial losses by 27%, cut mule account prevalence by over half, and streamlined fraud investigations to near realtime response, while also contributing to national policy frameworks in collaboration with the Thai Bankers’ Association and the Bank of Thailand. These outcomes highlight not only enhanced operational efficiency and regulatory compliance, but also ttb’s leadership in secure digital banking innovation.
For customers, the benefits are tangible and transformative. Enhanced protection from fraud has reduced the number of affected individuals by up to 44%, while preventing as much as 90% of potential financial losses among those targeted. The system learns each customer’s behaviour, tailoring alerts and monitoring to deliver personalised security recommendations—over 9.3% of customers have already adjusted their daily transfer limits based on these insights. This proactive approach fosters greater confidence in mobile banking, ensuring customers feel secure
when conducting online transactions. By combining convenience with robust safeguards, ttb has elevated customer satisfaction and loyalty, empowering individuals to engage with digital financial services confidently and securely.
For these achievements, the bank was awarded the ‘Innovator of the Year for Digitally Empowering RMs – Thailand’ and ‘Outstanding Machine Learning Initiative - Risk Management’ at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Innovation Awards 2025.
With approximately $2 billion in assets under administration and a client retention rate that continues to strengthen, Precision Fund Services has become a trusted partner for both emerging and established managers worldwide.
Precision Fund Services is now servicing more than one-third of regulated virtual asset managers in Hong Kong, reflecting its reputation as a frontrunner in digital asset fund services. Its strategic focus is rooted in long-term partnerships and personalised support, offering solutions tailored to clients’ needs as they navigate the complexities of an increasingly digital financial ecosystem.
Expanded service capabilities in 2024
In 2024, Precision expanded its service offerings to reflect both industry growth and rising client demand. Its Digital Asset Fund Administration division continued to deliver specialised support for cryptocurrency and blockchain-based funds, integrating sophisticated digital wallet verification processes and meeting evolving regulatory requirements.
The firm’s approach to fund valuation incorporated advanced modelling techniques designed to capture the complexities of nontraditional and digital assets with precision. Transfer agent services were strengthened through streamlined digital platforms that elevate the speed and accuracy of investor transaction management. Precision also reinforced its KYC and AML framework with enhanced digital wallet verification, ensuring compliance with global standards and robust protection against financial crime.
Strengthened
reporting, audit and accounting functions
Further expansion of Precision’s accounting and reporting capabilities allowed the firm to provide detailed, fully compliant annual financial statements supported by next-generation digital tools. Its audit support services maintained high standards by supplying transparent and reliable digital audit trails. FATCA and CRS reporting benefitted from automated systems that simplify cross-border tax compliance, while the onboarding division adopted digitalfirst workflows to accelerate fund formation and regulatory readiness. Its fund accounting services continued to deliver comprehensive coverage across NAV calculations, fee computations, portfolio reconciliation and corporate action monitoring, all supported by state-of-the-art software. Precision’s cryptocurrency fund services advanced the industry standard through seamless token transaction facilitation, rigorous digital wallet verification and the use of a sophisticated three-layer valuation model. Treasury services enhanced liquidity management and transaction security, integrating modern technologies to safeguard and optimise fund performance.
Clients have consistently commended these efforts. Atlas Capital’s Risk Control Manager, Jiali Chen, described Precision Fund Services as an indispensable partner in their growth journey, citing the firm’s professionalism, expertise and commitment to excellence.
Allen
Li CEO Precision Fund Services
New initiatives driving technological leadership
A wave of new initiatives in 2024 further strengthened Precision’s technological and operational capabilities. The firm introduced enhanced digital wallet address tracking designed to identify additions or removals across fund wallets in real time, eliminating gaps during reconciliation—particularly for DeFi transactions. Its reporting tools were continuously updated to meet ILPA standards and reflect evolving market practices. Onboarding processes were streamlined through digital collaboration with leading service providers, resulting in faster fund launch timelines and improved client satisfaction. Precision also broadened its digital solutions to serve a more diverse set of strategies, incorporating investor wallet risk rating, ongoing monitoring and onchain data capture and reconciliation across more than 100 centralised exchanges and 80 chains. Its three-layer valuation model for cryptocurrency funds, built on API-driven on-chain data collection, automated data mapping and consolidated portfolio PnL calculations, provided unparalleled transparency and accuracy.
Allen Li, CEO of Precision Fund Services, commented, “this recognition reflects our longterm commitment to innovation and operational excellence in digital fund administration. As digital assets and tokenised structures continue to evolve, our focus remains on delivering robust, compliant, and scalable solutions that support fund managers navigating increasingly complex global markets.”
The firm’s approach to fund valuation incorporated advanced modelling techniques designed to capture the complexities of nontraditional and digital assets with precision.
Award-winning commitment to excellence and innovation
The firm prioritises continuous learning and technological readiness, ensuring its team remains at the forefront of industry trends and innovations. This commitment to excellence enables Precision to deliver highly customised, reliable and forward-looking services to clients navigating the complexities of global fund administration.
With $3 billion in assets under administration, servicing more than one-third of Hong Kong’s regulated virtual asset managers and pioneering advanced digital solutions such as enhanced wallet verification and a three-layer valuation model, as well as its consistent innovation, strong client satisfaction, and expanding suite of specialised digital asset services, Precision Fund Services was hailed as the ‘Best Digital Assets Fund Administrator – Asia’ at the Digital Assets Awards 2025.
In an era where corporate treasurers demand consumer-grade digital experiences, RBC Clear took the bold step of starting from scratch. Rather than patching legacy systems, the platform was built from the ground up with direct client input by addressing pain points from cumbersome onboarding to limited payment visibility. In this interview, Kartik Kaushik, Managing Director and Head of RBC Clear, discusses the lessons learned from this transformation journey and how next-generation technologies are reshaping transaction banking.
Shruti Khairnar, The Digital Banker: With rapidly evolving client expectations, how are you ensuring RBC Clear keeps pace with the demands of today’s treasurers, particularly when it comes to user experience?
Kartik Kaushik, RBC Clear: At RBC Clear, we’ve embraced a forward-thinking approach to keep pace with the ever-changing demands of corporate treasurers. Instead of modifying an existing platform, we made the deliberate choice to start fresh, building a solution from the ground up with direct input from our clients. This decision to innovate from scratch allowed us to focus on creating a platform that not only addresses today’s challenges but is also flexible enough to adapt to the needs of tomorrow. Our philosophy is simple yet transformative: rather than just improving what exists, we reimagined what could be.
Through deep engagement with corporate treasurers, we uncovered key obstacles they face, such as cumbersome onboarding processes, limited visibility into payments, and generic ACH systems. These inefficiencies often result in treasurers spending too much time on repetitive, low-value tasks. With these insights, we set out to design a platform that
prioritises transparency, traceability, and efficiency. By leveraging cloud technology, we’ve built a solution that is both agile and scalable, while our API-first design supports seamless integration and omni-channel accessibility. The result is a platform that empowers treasurers to focus on high-value activities, confident that their banking experience is streamlined and intuitive.
When you set out to build RBC Clear, what were the biggest pain points you wanted to address?
When we set out to build RBC Clear, we focused on addressing the most pressing and recurring pain points voiced by corporate treasurers during our extensive client advisory sessions. One of the top challenges we heard was the inefficiency of manual and complex onboarding processes. Treasurers shared stories of managing account openings in cumbersome spreadsheets and dealing with banks that seemed to forget who they were, often requiring them to resubmit documentation already on file. This lack of continuity created unnecessary delays and frustrations. Another significant pain point revolved around payments, where treasurers struggled with limited visibility into inflight payments. They
often had to call their bank to track down missing payments, sometimes learning of issues only after suppliers or employees reported non-payment. Additionally, treasurers lacked a secure and efficient way to notify beneficiaries of completed payments, resorting to emailing screenshots of payment confirmations.
We also sought to tackle the challenges of lengthy and resource-intensive integrations with treasury management systems (TMS). Treasurers expressed frustration over the time and cost involved in setting up these integrations, with limited ability to test systems before going live. The process was so burdensome that some clients preferred to stay with banks they were unhappy with rather than endure another implementation. Furthermore, we addressed inefficiencies in ACH processes, which were often slow and one-size-fits-all. Clients shared how entire batches of transactions could be rejected due to a single error, with no options for specifying rejection
thresholds or customising reporting. By reimagining these processes, RBC Clear was designed to eliminate these pain points, delivering a seamless, efficient, and client-centric platform.
What lessons did you learn during this transformation journey that might resonate with other financial institutions trying to modernise legacy systems?
The transformation journey underscores several interconnected lessons that financial institutions can draw upon when modernising legacy systems. At its core, innovation must be a collective effort, deeply embedded within the organisation rather than existing in isolation. To achieve this, it’s essential to cultivate a culture that empowers teams, encourages distributed decision-making, and strengthens the organisation’s ability to adapt and evolve. Balancing the nimbleness of a new business mindset
with the discipline and rigor of a well-established institution ensures that progress is both creative and sustainable.
Equally important is the recognition that people are the driving force behind successful transformation. A culture rooted in gratitude and generosity fosters a sense of shared responsibility, acknowledging that today’s achievements are built on the foundation of past investments. This perspective encourages giving back to the organisation, creating an environment where progress benefits everyone involved.
Throughout the journey, keeping the client at the heart of every decision is paramount. By prioritising client needs, financial institutions can not only deliver innovative solutions but also create meaningful shifts in how businesses operate.
How do you see next-generation technology transforming transaction banking, especially in the areas of cash management and payments?
Next-generation technology is revolutionising transaction banking by closing the gap between the digital-first experiences long available to consumers and the analog processes that have dominated the institutional space. At RBC Clear, we recognised the need for a fundamental shift and chose to reimagine the system entirely, starting with a blank slate. By building a future-ready platform from the ground up, we focused on simplifying and digitising processes that have traditionally bogged down corporate treasurers. For instance, we prioritised enhancing the client experience by addressing inefficiencies like lengthy onboarding timelines, lack of real-time payment visibility, and the absence of personalisation in KYC. This re-sequencing of the payment journey, combined with a focus on transparency and traceability, ensures treasurers can spend more time on strategic priorities instead of navigating outdated banking systems.
RBC has made significant investments in nextgeneration technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), tokenisation, and cloud computing to drive this transformation. AI will play a pivotal role by automating workflows, enhancing data-driven
“At RBC Clear, we recognised the need for a fundamental shift and chose to reimagine the system entirely, starting with a blank slate.”
decision-making, and improving operational efficiency across the industry.
For instance, in cash management, AI can enable predictive insights into cash flow forecasting and automation of the reconciliation processes, allowing treasurers to make more informed decisions in real time. Tokenisation strengthens security and mitigates fraud risks by safeguarding sensitive data, while cloud-based platforms focus on scalability and seamless updates, keeping systems agile and future-ready. Together, these technologies streamline workflows such as onboarding and payment tracking, improve real-time visibility, and deliver a more secure and personalised banking experience, empowering treasurers to focus on strategic priorities with confidence.
Looking ahead, how do you envision the role of the bank evolving in helping corporates manage liquidity and working capital in an increasingly volatile global environment?
In an increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) global environment, the role of banks in helping corporates manage liquidity and working capital is evolving rapidly. Treasurers today face significant challenges, including navigating fluctuating interest rates, currency volatility, and unpredictable cash flows. To address these challenges, banks must go beyond traditional offerings and deliver tailored, technology-driven solutions that provide real-time visibility, actionable insights, and enhanced flexibility for liquidity management.
At RBC Clear, we are reimagining transaction banking by focusing our future builds on three key themes: visibility and predictability, yield enhancement and working capital optimisation, and advisory and funds mobility. First, we will empower treasurers with tools to consolidate, visualise, and forecast cash flows across global operations. These tools will be designed to optimise liquidity positions by providing industrialised cash flow forecasting and benchmarking capabilities at the industry, market, and currency levels. This will enable treasurers to make informed decisions, improve liquidity projections, and unlock trapped cash, even in volatile conditions.
Second, we will help clients enhance yields and reduce working capital cycles. By leveraging dynamic discounting and advanced payment rail optimisation, such as converting ACH to cards, we will enable treasurers to streamline workflows and free up funds for optimal deployment. Additionally, RBC Clear will offer flexible solutions that help treasurers manage liquidity across group companies with greater agility
and efficiency. Our upcoming FX solutions, including the ability to use a USD DDA to send transactions in multiple currencies, further simplify cross-border transactions while reducing costs and improving payment success rates.
Finally, as a strategic partner, RBC Clear will provide advisory services and advanced tools to help clients navigate global macroeconomic shifts. By leveraging our deep market connectivity, data capabilities, and machine learning tools, we will deliver scenario planning and AI-driven forecasting to support treasurers in building resilient treasury models, such as in-house banking structures.
Looking ahead, banks like RBC must continue to evolve into trusted advisors, delivering innovative, data-driven solutions that empower treasurers to navigate uncertainty with confidence. By focusing on visibility, working capital optimisation, and advisory services, we are redefining how corporates manage liquidity.
Recognising its unique position to support internationally-minded affluent customers, HSBC’s Global Money Transfers is a seamless solution that’s designed to maximise global banking capabilities for their clients.
This innovative platform redefines the way clients move and manage their money across borders. Combining cutting-edge technology with their expansive global network, Global Money Transfers lets clients send money overseas quickly, safely, and
securely, all with just a few taps on the HSBC Mobile Banking App.
Clients can send money to other HSBC and nonHSBC accounts in over 200 countries and territories,
enjoying fee-free transactions, competitive real-time foreign exchange rates, and instant payments to HSBC accounts abroad in 26 markets.
Clients can also send money like a local to 60 destinations, with payments arriving within one to three business days, or sooner. This unmatched service has earned them an award for ‘Best CrossBorder Payments Platform – Overall’ at the Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2025, hosted by The Digital Banker, in Singapore.
Driving innovation on a global scale
When used with Global Money Accounts, Global Money Transfers enhances operational efficiencies and drives customer engagement. With fee-free transfers and a short turnaround time, coupled with streamlined cross-border operations and international payment tracking, these two collaborative HSBC platforms and networks have provided clients with a convenient and easy way to send money internationally.
This cost-effective and secure solution seamlessly integrates with HSBC’s existing platforms, simplifying cross-border money movement. Throughout 2025, HSBC has witnessed a significant growth in U.S. and global foreign exchange (FX) revenue and continues to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving client needs.
With the launch of Global Money Transfers, HSBC has solidified its position as a trusted partner for globally minded clients who prioritise both speed and security with their everyday banking needs.
With the launch of Global Money Transfers, HSBC has solidified its position as a trusted partner for globally minded clients who prioritise both speed and security with their everyday banking needs. By simplifying the complexities of international money movement, HSBC is not only elevating the client experience, but also setting a new benchmark for how cross-border payments should operate in an interconnected world.
Looking ahead, HSBC’s vision is for Global Money to be the core banking product in key markets worldwide, empowering customers to seamlessly manage and move their money conveniently through the HSBC Mobile Banking App.
NTT DATA outlines how insurers are deploying its agentic AI platform, Intelligent Actions (IntelAct), and digital twin of customer (DToC) capabilities to move customer engagement from reactive servicing to predictive, data-led interaction at scale.
NTT DATA, a global innovator in digital business and technology services, supports clients across more than 50 countries in accelerating digital transformation and operational excellence. With a portfolio spanning application modernisation, cloud, cybersecurity, consulting, data and AI, and sustainability solutions, the company continues to deliver agile, value-driven innovations.
In 2025, NTT DATA introduced enhanced GenAI integrations, intelligent fraud detection models, and real-time operational dashboards — underscoring its commitment to building adaptive, data-led systems
that drive business growth and elevate customer experience across industries.
From reactive to proactive: the evolution of IntelAct
Launched to move insurers beyond reactive engagement, Intelligent Actions (IntelAct) leverages Agentic AI to anticipate customer needs and act autonomously in real time. Its goal-oriented reasoning enables systems to take proactive measures — such as initiating service upgrades, sending timely reminders, or resolving potential
issues — before customers even raise a concern.
Unlike conventional rule-based systems, IntelAct combines predictive analytics with autonomous decision-making, enabling hyper-personalised, omnichannel engagement. The platform processes live and historical data to generate intelligent actions that adapt instantly to behavioral or contextual changes. This real-time adaptability, paired with its data-driven precision, has made IntelAct one of the most scalable and effective engagement engines in Insurtech.
For insurers, the results are tangible. IntelAct has improved operational efficiency by automating personalised workflows, strengthened customer relationships through consistent and targeted interactions, and enhanced decision-making accuracy using AI-driven insights. Customers benefit from faster resolution, intuitive service, and a seamless, frictionless experience.
NTT DATA plans to integrate advanced predictive modelling, cross-channel orchestration, and enterprise-wide integration into IntelAct’s roadmap. These enhancements aim to deliver even more context-aware, real-time interactions — setting the stage for the next phase of intelligent insurance engagement.
Creating living customer models with Digital Twin of Customer
Complementing IntelAct’s Agentic AI framework is NTT DATA’s Digital Twin of Customer (DToC), a GenAI-powered solution that creates dynamic, virtual representations of individual customers by synthesising policy data, transactions, and behavioural insights.
DToC was designed to tackle persistent challenges in the insurance sector — such as policy lapses, fraud losses, and declining satisfaction — by turning data into predictive intelligence. The system continuously learns from live data streams to predict risks, detect fraud, and recommend hyper-personalised products or interventions.
Unlike competitors’ point solutions, DToC delivers comprehensive virtual modelling that integrates
Intelligent Actions (IntelAct)
leverages
Agentic
AI to anticipate customer needs and act autonomously in real time.
a 360-degree customer view, predictive AI, and actionable recommendations in a single platform. Its explainable AI framework ensures transparency, while the combination of traditional machine learning and generative AI enables insurers to act on insights with confidence and precision.
Insurers using DToC have reported faster claims processing, improved underwriting accuracy, and significant operational efficiencies. Customers, in turn, experience proactive loss prevention, faster settlements, and tailored engagement that builds trust and loyalty.
As NTT DATA scales the platform, future iterations of DToC will focus on deeper behavioural analytics, broader integration across customer touchpoints, and real-time feedback loops — cementing its role as a strategic enabler of data-intelligent growth.
Recognition of innovation
NTT DATA’s dual innovations have earned industry recognition for redefining the potential of Agentic AI in insurance. IntelAct was named Best AI Initiative – By a Vendor for its autonomous, context-aware action engine that transforms engagement from reactive to proactive. Digital Twin of Customer received ‘Outstanding Customer Service Innovation in Insurance – By a Vendor’ at The Digital Banker’s Global Insurance Innovation Awards for pioneering the use of generative AI to deliver real-time personalisation and predictive insight.
Together, these platforms reflect NTT DATA’s vision for intelligent, adaptive, and customercentered insurance in the digital-first era.
Finastra has succesfully migrated one of the US market’s most widely-used loan documentation systems to a cloud model, delivering faster compliance updates, lower IT overheads, and greater operational flexibility for retail lenders.
For decades, loan documentation has been one of the least visible yet most operationally critical parts of retail banking. In the US, much of that work has been handled by LaserPro, a system relied upon by thousands of community banks and credit unions to generate compliant loan documents across consumer and commercial products. Since 2023, Finastra has advanced this infrastructure into the cloud, reshaping how institutions manage documentation.
From on-premise to cloud
LaserPro cloud marked a migration away from on-premise deployments toward a software-asa-service model hosted on Microsoft Azure. The move has reduced the burden of infrastructure management while enabling lenders to respond more quickly to regulatory change and rising volumes of digital lending.
Under the traditional model, banks were responsible for maintaining local infrastructure, applying software patches, and managing regulatory updates. LaserPro cloud centralises those functions, delivering automatic updates and regulatory content through a web-based interface. Many institutions have reported completing migrations in under 30 minutes, underscoring how far cloud deployment models have matured. For smaller banks and credit unions, the benefits lie in predictability: fewer outages, less maintenance, and clearer visibility over compliance changes.
The platform supports consumer, commercial, and mortgage lending, operating either as a standalone system or integrated with more than 70 core banking and loan origination systems. This flexibility has allowed institutions to modernise incrementally rather than through wholesale system replacement.
Automation, compliance and AI
Since its launch, Finastra has layered automation and artificial intelligence (AI) into LaserPro cloud. An AIpowered assistant trained on Finastra’s compliance knowledge base now guides loan officers through documentation workflows. Geocoding tools convert addresses into geographic coordinates to support reporting and risk assessment, while dedicated workflows for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans simplify a category of lending often criticised for administrative complexity.
Document management has expanded with automated clause insertion, version control, and template management. The emphasis is on reducing manual intervention while preserving the ability for institutions to customise documents to their own policies and branding. A nationwide legal network continues to keep regulatory content up-to-date, reinforcing LaserPro’s reputation for compliance accuracy.
Market reception and recognition
LaserPro has long been a fixture in US community
banking, and adoption of the cloud version has accelerated. More than 75 banks and credit unions have already completed migration, citing lower IT costs, fewer system interruptions, and faster access to new functionality.
In 2025, LaserPro cloud was recognised at The Digital Banker’s Global BankTech Awards as ‘Highly Acclaimed Best Loan Systems Provider for Retail Banking’, praised for combining cloudnative deployment with automated compliance, rapid migration, and scalable document workflows.
Looking ahead
Finastra continues to enhance the LaserPro platform with embedded decisioning services, multi-lingual support, expanded reporting, and deeper integration with Finastra’s Mortgagebot and Originate solutions. The vision is to position LaserPro not just as a documentation tool, but as
part of a connected lending technology stack.
The progress highlights how Finastra has successfully modernised one of lending’s most enduring back-office systems, setting a strong foundation for future growth. The opportunity now is to build on this success, bringing innovation to new markets while respecting the trusted principles that underpin retail banking infrastructure.
Since its launch, Finastra has layered automation and artificial intelligence (AI) into LaserPro cloud.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Singapore, ChainUp has rapidly grown as one of the top providers of digital asset technology solutions. Over eight years, the company has built a presence across 30 countries, supporting more than 60 million end-users and earning the trust of institutions seeking secure, regulation-ready infrastructure.
A unified, market-leading solutions suite for the digital asset lifecycle
Since its early years, ChainUp has continually strengthened its position by offering one of the market’s most comprehensive end-to-end solutions suite. Its white label crypto exchange software delivers institutional-grade performance, underpinned by a high-speed matching engine designed for seamless deployment. Its white label non-custodial MPC wallet addresses critical custody challenges through multi-party computation, removing single points of failure and enhancing institutional confidence. The company’s asset tokenisation solution empowers organisations to mint, issue, and trade tokenised real-world assets with full ownership and transparent compliance, opening doors to new liquidity opportunities.
ChainUp’s suite extends further into specialised technology and other value-added services. This includes liquidity technology that aggregates market depth for efficient trade execution, realtime Know-Your-Transaction analytics that detect suspicious on-chain activity, and Compliance-asa-Service, which provides organisations with a ready-made compliance framework for operating in a heavily regulated sector. In addition, i ts Web3 infrastructure, spanning mining, staking, and blockchain APIs, supports businesses at different stages of growth, while its managed services deliver continuous operational support and technical maintenance. Collectively, these robust
capabilities allow clients to manage the entire digital asset lifecycle through a single, integrated solutions provider
Breakthrough innovations and global momentum
A defining highlight of 2024 was the launch of ChainUp’s real-world asset tokenisation platform, an initiative driven by rising institutional interest in the democratisation of traditional assets. The platform provides a turnkey solution enabling businesses to unlock liquidity and access new capital pools by fractionalising assets through secure, programmable smart contracts.
In parallel, ChainUp also achieved a strategic global expansion by strengthening its presence across Africa and South America, two regions with fastgrowing digital asset adoption and diverse regulatory landscapes.
The company’s success is further defined by a value proposition centred on holistic integration. While many competitors offer isolated tools, ChainUp provides a unified ecosystem with seamless interoperability across trading, custody, compliance, liquidity, and tokenisation. This eliminates the operational friction and vulnerability associated with managing multiple vendors, allowing clients to go from concept to fully operational digital asset business in a matter of weeks. Its battle-tested security
credentials, supported by global certifications, provide assurance to institutions navigating highstakes environments. With more than 1,000 clients and over 500 exchanges launched, ChainUp’s proven expertise demonstrates its ability to deliver resilience, scalability, and long-term reliability.
Proven impact, industry recognition, and measurable performance
The impact of ChainUp’s solutions is evident in measurable outcomes. Clients benefit from reduced time-to-market and sustained user engagement through performance stability, supported by an infrastructure capable of handling $45 billion in annual transaction volume and maintaining 99.99% service uptime. Its AIpowered KYT solution further strengthens the ecosystem’s safety and transparency. Notably, following a cyberattack on Bybit, ChainUp’s tracing technology was integrated into a blacklisted address monitoring workflow, contributing to global recovery efforts.
In addition, the company’s asset tokenisation platform enhances transparency and liquidity by enabling fractional ownership and automating compliance through smart contracts, expanding access to previously capital-intensive investment opportunities. Meanwhile, its MPC wallet delivers advanced protection through distributed key generation and robust authentication layers, supporting institutional-grade asset security.
Looking ahead, ChainUp’s roadmap for 2025–2026 builds on its ambition to reshape the future of digital finance. Its focus includes expanding integrated payments and financial services to enhance realworld utility for digital assets, deepening compliance and licensing efforts across multiple jurisdictions to strengthen trust and regulatory alignment, and broadening its product suite to support the full digital asset ecosystem.
It is this comprehensive approach, combined with a proven record of excellence and innovation, that has led to continuous industry validation and multiple high-profile accolades. In recognition of this sustained leadership, ChainUp was awarded the ‘Best Technology Solution Provider for Digital Assets –APAC’ at the Digital Assets Awards 2025.
“One of the primary barriers to institutional digital asset adoption is fragmentation. Operating at scale requires moving beyond siloed systems for trading, custody, and compliance. That is why ChainUp is built to provide the intrinsic integration necessary for operational confidence and security.
With more than 1,000 clients and over 500 exchanges launched, ChainUp’s proven expertise demonstrates its ability to deliver resilience, scalability, and long-term reliability.
We recognise real-world asset tokenisation as a major paradigm shift, but our focus extends far beyond the immediate. Our solutions suite is strategically designed not just to support clients through this current shift, but also to be futureproof against subsequent digital asset trends and evolving regulatory demands. This commitment to building durable, enterprise-grade infrastructure is consistently validated by our industry’s reception and the breadth of recognition we continue to receive across multiple categories.” - Chung Ho, COO, ChainUp
Al Barid Bank has always been committed to innovating and transforming the banking experience in Morocco. Guided by a clear strategic vision, the Bank focuses on digitalisation, financial inclusion, and modern solutions that empower customers and businesses alike.
Through initiatives such as Barid Payment Mobile (SoftPOS), which turns any NFC-enabled smartphone into a secure contactless payment terminal, Al Barid Bank demonstrates how innovation can simplify daily operations, boost efficiency, and accelerate business growth for merchants. This reflects the Bank’s approach to making financial services accessible, secure, and high-performing, aligning with the country’s broader digital transformation agenda.
Commenting on the Bank’s commitment to innovation, Al Amine Nejjar, Chairman of the Management Board, stated: “These recognitions reflect our continuous dedication to transforming everyday life through modern and impactful solutions. Our teams push technological boundaries to deliver secure and high-performing financial services, shaping the future of banking in Morocco and beyond.”
Al Amine Nejjar Chairman of the Management Board Al Barid Bank
Al Barid Bank continues to invest in digital initiatives and innovative solutions that reinforce its position as a leader in Morocco’s banking sector.
With a forward-looking strategy, Al Barid Bank continues to invest in digital initiatives and innovative solutions that reinforce its position as a leader in Morocco’s banking sector, driving both economic growth and customer empowerment.
For these reasons, Al Barid Bank and its Barid Payment Mobile (SoftPOS) solution received the ‘Best Payments Innovation - Morroco’ and ‘Best Digital Banking Initiative - Morocco’ at The Digital Banker’s Global Retail Innovation Awards 2025.
Disclaimer: Please note that we do all we can to ensure accuracy and timeliness of the information presented herein but errors may still understandably occur in some cases. If you believe that a serious inaccuracy has been made, please email awards@digitalbankeronline.com. This report is provided for information purposes only. The Digital Banker accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any direct or indirect losses arising from the use of this report or its contents.
