Antom, a leading merchant payment and digitisation services provider under Ant International, today announced major upgrades to Antom Copilot, its industry-first AI agent designed for merchant payment and operations management.

Integrated into the Antom Merchant Portal, Antom Copilot now provides enhanced automation and tailored assistance based on learnings from real-world cases, to help merchants handle payment complexity more efficiently. Main features include:

Ripple, a leading financial technology company providing crypto solutions for businesses, today announced that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has approved an expanded scope of payment activities for the Major Payment Institution (MPI) license held by its Singapore subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte. Ltd. (RMA). With this approval, Ripple can broaden its regulated payment offerings and deliver greater value to customers in Singapore.

Anti-money laundering (AML) company Strise announces a strategic partnership with the largest independent wealth manager in the Nordics, Formue , to overhaul its client verification and financial crime risk assessment processes by replacing time-consuming manual KYC workflows with Strise’s automation platform.

HSBC and Mistral AI have announced a strategic partnership to enhance and accelerate the use of generative AI across the bank, improving business processes, saving employees time and helping to better serve millions of customers globally.

This multi-year partnership provides access to Mistral AI’s commercial models, including future developments.

ClearBank, the enabler of real-time clearing and embedded banking, today announced the appointment of Angela Roberts as Group General Counsel. Angela will lead the Group’s legal and governance functions, playing a key role in supporting ClearBank’s growth ambitions.

Broadstone, a leading, independent UK consultancy delivering expert advice to banks, lenders, employers, insurers and pension scheme trustees, announces the appointment of Damien Burke as Head of Regulatory Practice effective as of today.

BlackRock, Inc. and AccessFintech (AFT), a leading data and workflow collaboration network for financial markets, today announced a strategic partnership. Through Aladdin®, BlackRock's technology platform that unifies the investment management process, the firms will aim to deliver bilateral connectivity and real-time post-trade collaboration between the global buy-side Aladdin platform community, and the 250+ capital markets and asset servicing institutions already connected to AccessFintech's Synergy Network.

Juspay, a global payments technology company serving enterprises & banks, and Sabre Direct Pay, a division of Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ SABR), a leading software and technology company powering the global travel industry, today announced a strategic global agreement to transform payments for travel businesses and their customers.

Backbase, the leader in AI-powered banking, announces a strategic partnership with Unblu, a pioneer in conversational engagement for financial institutions. Together, they’re solving a critical challenge: transforming digital banking from a self-service utility into a trusted, human-connected experience.