United Bank for Africa (UBA) is deepening its pan-African presence through digital innovation and strategic diversification. Shamsideen Fashola, head of retail and digital banking for UBA described how the bank is embedding artificial intelligence, real-time payments, and customer-centric platforms with a view to balance financial inclusion with premium digital experiences.

As Asia Pacific’s trade and payment flows accelerate, leading banks in the region are embedding finance into client ecosystems, orchestrating modular platforms and scaling AI for resilient, sustainable growth.

UOB’s FDI Advisory Unit aims to become a partner for corporates expanding across ASEAN, and today, the focus has deepened from countries into economic corridors. Jimmy Koh, managing director and head of network partnerships and strategic marketing explains how the bank is helping corporates navigate new project pipelines in the region.

As global supply chains shift, ASEAN is emerging as a key hub for trade. UOB's Wee Ee Cheong and Frederick Chin discusss how investment and innovation, shaped by cooperation, technology and sustainability, will define the region’s next phase of integration and growth.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Franck Dubois, head of Asia Pacific for Securities Services at BNP Paribas, highlighted how globalisation, private capital growth and technology shift are reshaping custody and settlement. He explained how the bank is helping clients’ transition to shorter settlement cycles, automate private markets and maintain trust and operational resilience.

David Katz, vice president of strategy and policy for Asia Pacific at Circle, discussed how emerging regulations and public–private collaboration are defining the role of USDC in regulated finance and driving the development of institutional stablecoin infrastructure.

At a closed-door briefing hosted by TAB Global and Red Hat in Singapore, industry leaders examined how artificial intelligence is redefining the architecture of operational resilience and the foundations of trust in an always-on financial ecosystem.

Through a digital-first strategy focused on SMEs and agriculture, the Bank of Punjab (BOP) is reshaping access to finance in Pakistan’s underserved markets. Its next phase of growth hinges on disciplined risk management, operational resilience and a customer-centric balance between innovation and inclusion.

Across Asia’s rapidly evolving digital-banking landscape, embedded finance is emerging as a structural advantage. Smriti Gupta, chief financial officer of audax, explains how this model lowers cost-to-serve and drives profitable, compliant scale for banks.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Manish Joshi, managing director for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at Finastra’s lending business, explained how the firm’s new Trade Innovation Nexus layer addresses interoperability challenges, reduces paper and fraud risk, and embeds AI and cloud readiness into trade finance platforms.

Zodia Custody, backed by Standard Chartered and Northern Trust, is embedding bank-grade governance and compliance into digital-asset infrastructure. At TOKEN2049 Singapore, Deborah Algeo outlines how regulation and market confidence are driving institutional adoption.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Fabian Khoshbakht, Head of Treasury Services for Asia Pacific at BNY, discussed how the bank is enabling faster and richer cross-border payments, approaching stablecoins and distributed ledgers, and using artificial intelligence to transform service delivery in Asia Pacific.

Juan Bianchi, Executive VP and CEO of Euronet’s Money Transfer Segment, told Sibos Frankfurt 2025 how Dandelion augments existing networks rather than replacing them, offering banks access to emerging markets, exotic currencies and alternative payment methods while preparing for stablecoins and DLT.

Bank Mandiri has been named Indonesia’s Best Corporate, Investment and Wholesale Bank in TAB Global’s 2025 ranking, recognised for its leadership in digital transaction banking, regional institutional coverage and Basel III-aligned risk management that underpin its resilient, ESG-integrated corporate banking franchise.

At CGTN’s Dialogue on the Future of Multilateralism, Emmanuel Daniel, Erik Solheim and Zhu Xian examined how financial innovation, political reform and practical cooperation can revive a multilateral system under strain — one that shares power, risk and responsibility.