Iran faces ‘greatest financial offensive ever’, says US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

Iran faces ‘greatest financial offensive ever’, says US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

The US announced a host of sanctions against Iran and threatened its supporters in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was “the single greatest financial offensive ever”. Labelling it an “economic D-Day” for Iran, Bessent said the US would sever all economic ties with the country and added that any nation financially partnering with Iran…

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Smart money: Defining the role of enterprise PCs in financial services

Smart money: Defining the role of enterprise PCs in financial services

The amount of money that South Africa’s financial services sector spends on technology every year is nothing short of impressive. In 2025, South African businesses invested tens of billions of rands in IT, with major organisations directing spending towards digital infrastructure, cloud computing, data capabilities and cybersecurity. In some cases, technology accounts for double-digit percentages…

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Africa: PAC Research Identifies Digital Innovation, Financial Reforms As Key to Closing Africa’s 0bn Trade Finance Gap

Africa: PAC Research Identifies Digital Innovation, Financial Reforms As Key to Closing Africa’s $100bn Trade Finance Gap

Chris Oshiafi PAC Research, one of Nigeria’s leading research outfits, has identified financial architecture, digital innovation, regulatory reforms and political commitment as critical to addressing Africa’s more than $100 billion unmet trade finance gap. The research outfit said digital payment systems, blockchain-enabled trade infrastructure, factoring and supply chain finance could significantly widen access to trade…

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Major financial management opportunity for SA SMEs

Major financial management opportunity for SA SMEs

Bottomline IT is a Sage Accounting Firm. South African SMEs operate in an increasingly competitive environment where financial visibility, compliance and operational efficiency are critical to long-term success.  Yet many businesses continue to rely on disconnected systems, manual processes and time-consuming administrative tasks that can slow growth and increase compliance risks. In response to these…

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Connected, continuous, cognitive: AI transforms financial planning

Connected, continuous, cognitive: AI transforms financial planning

Asgarali Mia, principal consultant and data strategy advisor at iOCO. Historically, financial planning processes were fragmented across departments, reliant on past data and led almost exclusively by the finance function. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is driving a fundamental reimagining of financial planning as an enterprise-wide capability that is integrated, forward-looking and continuously adaptive. AI advances,…

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Africa: PAC Research Identifies Digital Innovation, Financial Reforms As Key to Closing Africa’s 0bn Trade Finance Gap

Africa: From Capital to Prosperity – Can Africa build the financial engine for its industrialisation?

Executive Summary Africa’s industrialisation challenge is not primarily a shortage of ideas, policy intent, or entrepreneurial energy, but a constraint in financial architecture and capital deployment. The continent’s ability to build factories, infrastructure, and value-added industries is limited by the cost, structure, and accessibility of long-term finance. Until capital markets are deepened and better aligned…

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FSCA targets deepfakes in financial scams crackdown

FSCA targets deepfakes in financial scams crackdown

Artificial intelligence deepfakes have become a major financial crime threat. (Image source: iStock) The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is stepping up enforcement against artificial intelligence (AI)-powered financial scams, as deepfakes become one of SA’s fastest-growing regulatory challenges. The regulator’s newly-released Regulatory Actions Report for the 2025/26 financial year identifies online financial harm as one…

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