Richie Santosdiaz gives an overview of the recent Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) fifth General Assembly that was held in Kuwait. The fifth General Assembly of the DCO was held 4-5th February and attended by its 16 member states with their various ministers and government officials, the over 60 observers (which included organizations both in the […]
Explore More
Lloyds Banking Group expects to derive more than £100million in value from its artificial intelligence initiatives in 2026, doubling the £50million secured during the previous year. The projections signal a major shift towards “Agentic AI”—autonomous agents capable of taking action rather than just generating content—as the bank seeks to cement its leadership position in the […]
Explore More
The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) has marked the UAE’s first financial listing of 2026 with the debut of a new luxury-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), developed by Abu Dhabi-based investment manager Lunate. The Boreas S&P Absolute Luxury UCITS ETF, has become the first luxury-focused ETF in the region and the 21st ETF to list on […]
Explore More
ClearBank, the technology-enabled clearing bank, has entered into a strategic partnership with real-time money movement platform Volt to power a new generation of merchant account capabilities across the UK and Europe. The collaboration will see ClearBank providing the banking infrastructure for Volt’s new GBP and EUR payment accounts. These accounts are designed for enterprise merchants […]
Explore More
Smart Data Group (SDG) has issued a rallying call to the UK’s open banking ecosystem, urging stakeholders to back an independent, industry-led approach for the sector’s next phase. Following the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) call for industry submissions, SDG is advocating for a model it claims will reduce costs, restore momentum, and lay the foundations […]
Explore More
The second day of Web Summit Qatar 2026 signaled a decisive shift in the Middle East’s technological trajectory, moving from the projection of ambitious visions to the tactical operationalization of a sovereign digital economy. At the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, the narrative focused on the localization of critical assets, the institutionalisation of fintech, and […]
Explore More
Real-world asset (RWA) tokenisation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could unlock nearly $500billion in value by the end of the decade, according to a new report from global management consultancy Kearney and tokenisation specialist Ctrl Alt. The research highlights a significant acceleration in the adoption of digital assets across the region, predicting that the […]
Explore More
Singapore Gulf Bank (SGB), the digital wholesale bank regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, has launched a stablecoin interoperability network designed to bridge the gap between traditional fiat banking and the digital asset economy. The service represents a significant upgrade to SGB Net, the bank’s proprietary real-time clearing network. The new capability enables institutional […]
Explore More
Merchant Rentals Limited, a subsidiary of the PayPoint Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with European Information Technology (EIT) to broaden its portfolio of card payment hardware for merchants. The agreement aims to provide businesses with greater flexibility by combining Merchant Rentals’ financing solutions with EIT’s extensive range of hardware options. Expanding the hardware […]
Explore More
Allica Bank, the challenger bank for established businesses, has implemented significant pricing reductions across its commercial mortgage and bridging products, explicitly positioning itself to compete directly with high street lenders on price. The bank confirmed it has cut rates on owner-occupied and commercial investment mortgages by up to 1.3 per cent. The move is part […]
Explore More