Author: Oliver Torsney

The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah has received in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates to issue a stablecoin backed by the UAE dirham, marking another step in the country’s push to integrate blockchain-based money into its regulated financial system. According to a statement published by Zawya, RAKBANK has secured conditional authorisation to proceed with the project, subject to meeting remaining regulatory and operational requirements set by the central bank. The planned stablecoin will be pegged one-to-one to the dirham and fully backed by AED reserves. The bank said the token will be supported by…

European banks are no longer asking whether artificial intelligence belongs in financial crime and compliance. According to a new industry report, the debate has shifted to how quickly and safely AI can be scaled across fraud prevention, anti-money laundering and regulatory reporting, with clear implications for payments, digital money and future public infrastructure such as the digital euro. The study, published by Chartis Research in collaboration with Hawk, finds that almost all banks now use AI in some form across their financial crime and compliance functions. However, most deployments remain limited to pilots or early production use, highlighting a gap…

The digital ruble is increasingly being viewed as a future competitor to Russia’s Mir card system, according to market analysts, highlighting how central bank digital currencies could disrupt even domestically dominant payment networks. Commenting on the outlook for Russian payments, analysts cited by local financial media argue that once the digital ruble is fully rolled out, it could absorb a growing share of everyday retail transactions that currently flow through bank cards. The digital ruble is being developed by the Bank of Russia as a third form of money alongside cash and non-cash bank deposits. Mir cards rose rapidly after…

The international monetary system is entering a period of structural change, driven by digital innovation and growing geopolitical tension. That was the message from François Villeroy de Galhau, governor of the Banque de France, in a speech delivered this week at a G7 conference in Paris. For Europe, the warning was also an opportunity: the choices made now on digital money could shape monetary sovereignty for decades. Villeroy de Galhau described two overlapping disruptions. The first is technological. Tokenisation, digital settlement and new payment rails promise faster, cheaper cross-border transactions, an area where today’s financial system remains inefficient. Yet the…

Crypto-linked payment cards running on Visa’s global network saw a sharp rise in real-world usage in 2025, with net spending increasing more than fivefold over the year. The figures suggest that crypto cards are no longer just a bridge for enthusiasts, but an increasingly practical way to spend digital assets at the point of sale. According to analysis cited by Cointelegraph, net spend across a group of Visa-linked crypto cards rose by around 525 percent during 2025. Aggregate monthly net spending climbed from roughly $14.6 million at the start of the year to more than $90 million by December, based…

Brazilian fintech PicPay has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in the United States, signalling renewed confidence in fintech listings as market conditions improve. The company is seeking to list on the Nasdaq, according to regulatory filings cited by US media. The move comes after a strong rebound in financial performance. PicPay reported a significant increase in profits over the first nine months of 2025, driven by higher financial income and growing use of its credit and banking products. Revenues also rose sharply, reflecting both user growth and deeper engagement across its expanding product suite. Founded in 2012, PicPay…

The European Central Bank’s digital euro project is entering its most politically sensitive phase, with a decisive vote in the European Parliament expected in the first half of 2026. While EU governments have largely backed the initiative, parliamentary support remains uncertain, turning the coming months into a critical test for Europe’s first attempt at public digital money. The project cleared a key institutional hurdle in late December, when the Council of the European Union agreed its negotiating position on legislation that would allow the ECB to issue a digital version of cash. The proposed digital euro would function alongside physical…

European financial institutions are under growing pressure to adopt artificial intelligence, with senior executives increasingly viewing the technology as a competitive necessity rather than an optional innovation. According to a new survey published by Bloomberg, three-quarters of finance leaders in Europe fear that failure to keep pace with AI could damage profitability or even make their organisations obsolete. The findings underline how quickly AI has moved from experimentation to strategic priority across banking, asset management, and market infrastructure. While early discussions around AI often focused on efficiency gains, the survey suggests competitive pressure is now the dominant driver, with executives…

Concerns raised by US lawmakers about central bank digital currencies evolving into tools of state surveillance are sharpening the contrast between American and European approaches to digital public money. The debate resurfaced this week after renewed warnings from Washington that digital currencies and digital identity systems could erode civil liberties, even as Europe presses ahead with the digital euro project. In a recent interview reported by Cointelegraph, US Congressman Warren Davidson argued that legislative efforts around digital payments risk laying the foundations for a permissioned financial system with built-in monitoring. Davidson framed the issue as one of constitutional principle, warning…

The UK has taken its most decisive step yet toward comprehensive crypto regulation. In December, the Financial Conduct Authority published a trio of major consultation papers that together spell out how cryptoasset markets, firms and products would be regulated once new legislation comes into force. The package, CP25/40, CP25/41 and CP25/42, sits beneath the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025, laid by the government earlier this month. Taken together, they amount to a full regulatory framework covering conduct, market integrity and financial resilience for cryptoasset activity in the UK. From AML to full market regulation Until…