Salvador Anglada Optasia CEO Salvador Anglada says the very same algorithms that made credit-vetting decisions via mobile wallets can be used in formal banking. Newly listed, technology-driven fintech Optasia sees the formal banking sector as a “massive opportunity” for growth as the company’s microfinancing business continues to overtake its traditional airtime advance offering. Speaking to…
Scaling AI responsibly remains an ongoing challenge for banks. (Image created via ChatGPT) South Africa’s top banks are intensifying their digital arms race, with client acquisition and transaction volumes continuing to increase, driven by mobile-first platforms. This is according to PwC’s Major Banks Analysis, which provides an overview of how local banks are leveraging technology…
A senior Qatari official, who has worked for years in the Gulf state’s ministry of foreign affairs, told CBS News on Wednesday that the Middle East has, “for all intents and purposes,” been engulfed in a regional war that governments in the region warned about for years. Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, an adviser to the Qatari…
In this episode of ITWeb TV on The Road, Capitec CEO Graham Lee and Home Affairs minister Dr Leon Schreiber speak to ITWeb about the smart ID self-service centre launch in Orange Farm, as well as how technology is being deployed to combat fraud and reduce queues at the department. #HomeAffairs #SmartID South Africa’s banks…
Cairo — African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) welcomes GCR Ratings’ (“GCR”) latest Rating action on the Bank, affirming the Bank’s international scale long and short-term issuer ratings of A and A2 respectively. The outlook was revised to “Stable” from “Rating Watch Evolving”. GCR has also affirmed the international scale long term programme rating on the USD…
Standard Bank’s Bill Blackie Standard Bank has rolled out a substantially upgraded business banking platform that shifts greater control to customers, allowing businesses to manage their own electronic payment limits, user entitlements and fraud protections without calling a relationship manager. The R1-billion re-platforming project, built in collaboration with vendor Backbase, represents the bank’s bid to…
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon pushed back on calls by the administration of United States President Donald Trump to cap credit card interest rates, claiming that if Congress follows through, it would result in an “economic disaster”. Dimon made his comments on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Recommended Stories list of…
Justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DJCD) is rolling out a modernisation and digital transformation strategy, prioritising the implementation of several technologies by 2030. The aim, as contained in its Revised Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2030, is to improve service delivery, efficiency, and accessibility while addressing IT infrastructure and…
The banking, financial services and insurance sector is navigating an unprecedented convergence of economic and regulatory pressures. Rising cost-of-living pressures, household cash-flow stress, regulatory expansion and new risks linked to climate, fraud, conduct and geopolitical volatility all converge to create a perfect economic storm. Socio-political shifts mean that customers now expect greater transparency, demonstrable concern…
Lineshree Moodley, country head of Visa South Africa. Visa’s newly launched Johannesburg data centre is gaining strong uptake from South African banks and fintechs, emerging as a core component of the country’s payments ecosystem. Launched in July, the data centre is Visa’s first on the African continent. It forms a major part of a R1…
