

Angola's Largest Investment Bank Bets on Core Banking Overhaul to Close Africa's Digital Gap
A ngola's Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI) is replacing its legacy core banking infrastructure with Finastra Essence , a cloud-first, open-API platform, in one of the most significant banking modernisation moves in sub-Saharan Africa this year. The upgrade extends a partnership between the two institutions that stretches back more than 15 years, and signals a broader acceleration of digital transformation across Angola's banking sector. BAI, one of Angola's largest fin


Wise UK Current Account Takes Aim at High Street Banks, With £8bn Already on Platform and a 3.26% Return
Wise has launched a full UK current account, directly challenging traditional retail banks with a product that combines multi-currency functionality, a 3.26% variable return on GBP balances, and zero hidden fees. The move is backed by substantial existing scale: the London-listed company already serves over 3 million active UK customers, who collectively hold more than £8 billion in Wise accounts. The product launch is a strategic escalation. Wise built its reputation on int


Tokenized Cash Enters Institutional Finance: BMO, CME Group, and Google Cloud Set to Reshape 24/7 Settlement
Institutional settlement is about to stop sleeping. BMO , in partnership with CME Group and Google Cloud , has announced plans to deploy tokenized cash infrastructure that will allow financial institutions to move collateral, meet margin calls, and settle positions around the clock, without waiting for traditional banking windows to open. The platform, expected to launch in the second half of 2026 pending regulatory approval, will run on Google Cloud Universal Ledger (G CUL


Swift's Blockchain Ledger Reaches MVP: What Tokenised Deposits Mean for Cross-Border Payments
Swift ha s moved from design to active construction of a blockchain-based shared interbank ledger, targeting live transactions with tokenised deposits this year, a development that could reshape the architecture of cross-border settlement for its 11,500+ connected institutions across more than 200 countries. What Is Swift Actually Building? The minimum viable product (MVP) is a shared digital orchestration layer sitting atop existing bank payment infrastructure. Bu ilt on an
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