The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s banking watchdog, has signalled a new and much more positive attitude to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the fight against crime.

It has long been the policy of the FCA to demand maximum transparency from banks in their use of AI and machine learning algorithms. Its position has been to demand that banks justify the use of all kinds of automated decision making, clearly fearing that the interests of customers are at risk from poorly deployed automated solutions.

Profile Software, an international FinTech solutions provider, announced today that during the past quarter it has been recognised by internationally well-established publications and research firms for its outstanding performance in delivering robust and client-centric FinTech solutions to the modern Wealth Management and Banking sectors that offer added value to both professionals and their clients.

A survey by Compass Plus, an international provider of retail banking and electronic payments software to processors and financial institutions, has revealed that more millennials than ever before are seeing mobile as the future of payments.

Investors often lack the tools necessary to finance green growth initiatives in developing countries. International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with Amundi, has addressed this issue with its successful green bond fund.

Softbank’s Vision Fund is to make a $100m investment to expand the technology business of Chinese online insurer ZhongAn. The $100bn investment fund, which has shaken up the world of technology investing over the past three years, will own a majority stake in the business, with plans to use ZhongAn’s technology in a number of its global investments, such as in Uber and its Chinese rival Didi Chuxing.

Since the launch of the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s regulatory sandbox in 2016, several other global regulators have followed suit in a bid to address some of the key issues around regulatory technology. And with the influx of new regulations continuing unabated, the need for innovative solutions to the challenges facing financial institutions has also never been more pressing.

The payments industry has arguably been the focus of equally significant amounts of investment and speculation over the last few years.

Even just a few years back, most people’s experiences of sending money overseas would be the low-value/high-cost remittance services available on the High Street or facing endless queues at their bank to fill in a slew of forms to move their cash.

Asset intelligence

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) was launched to help investors face the future with increased confidence by helping them identify where growth is happening, understand key insights from large swathes of data, and better assess which functions are better outsourced.

Biometric technology company Zwipe and Silone CardTech, a VISA, Mastercard, China UnionPay and JCB certified card manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China have announced a partnership to launch battery-less dual-interface biometric payment cards with banks and loyalty programs in China.

Zurich-based RegTech startup Apiax’ new product allows banks and asset managers to factor the tax impact of financial instruments into their investment recommendations.