All articles by Douglas Blakey

Douglas Blakey

European retail bank cost-income ratio drops in 2023, profit per customer rises

The annual European Retail Banking Radar tracks the performance of close to 90 retail banks across 21 European markets

Fintech Galaxy launches open banking credit scoring in partnership with Singapore’s FinbotsAI

Open banking solutions provider aims to redefine credit scoring by leveraging FinbotsAI’s AI-driven credit scoring platform, CreditX, within FINX Connect

UK VC funding down by 31.2% y-o-y in Q1 2024: GlobalData

The UK remains the top European market for VC funding activity and accounted for a 6.9% share of the total number of VC deals announced globally during the first quarter

AU10TIX prevented over $18bn in business fraud since 2021

In the payments sector, AU10TIX’s solutions have prevented over $13bn in fraudulent transactions. Other impacted sectors include cryptocurrency and trading ($2.7bn), banking (over $1bn), and shared economy ($776m)

EMGA secures $15m financing for Banco Improsa in Costa Rica

Line of credit secured from The Japan International Cooperation Agency

Stc pay can drive emerging Saudi digital banking market with new platform

Blandina Hanna Szalay assesses the prospects for stc pay as it ramps up plans to transition into a full-fledged digital bank

UK Finance publishes report to facilitate commercial Variable Recurring Payments

New arrangements are a significant step in the further development of VRPs

US VC funding falls 35.7% y-o-y to $24.2bn in Q1: GlobalData

Despite the first quarter decline, the US maintains its global VC funding dominance

AI could create a turning point for financial inclusion in Africa

AI tools can analyse data from client discussions, producing legal documents in simple language and at a fraction of the cost of what it would typically take to draft a contract, writes Lillian Barnard

Artificial Intelligence – humanity’s sidekick in tackling financial crime

Is AI the new chief detective set to command humans and other tech tools, or simply another crucial team member in the fight against financial crime?