To make artificial intelligence smarter, safer and more aligned with human reasoning, neuro-symbolic AI blends data-driven learning with symbolic logic. This hybrid approach combines the pattern recognition power of neural networks with the structured reasoning of symbolic systems. Recognizing its potential, AWS is investing in neuro-symbolic AI by providing the infrastructure, tools and research to scale hybrid systems. The tech giant is combining deep learning advances with formal logic to unlock new frontiers in AI reasoning, according to Byron Cook, vice president and distinguished scientist at AWS. Neural networks excel at learning from raw data, while symbolic AI thrives at logic and reasoning but falters with unstructured inputs. By combining the strengths of both, neuro-symbolic AI enables systems that can learn and reason, paving the way for more intelligent, adaptable AI, Cook pointed out. “For example, you can use it to synthesize more data to train over, you can combine it with reinforcement learning and then you can also sidecar tools out,” he said. “At our inference time or after inference, you can move the statements coming out of a language model, put them into logic and then prove or disprove the correctness of them. Automated reasoning is the symbolic manipulation of, like you move symbols around and you deduce things that are true about the semantics that those formally represent. You can do all kinds of things in combination with machine learning. The tools are practical now, and you can put them together. Customers really needed these tools themselves before doing deployments, and so that led to IAM Access Analyzer and VPC Reachability Analyzer. Now with automated reasoning checks and bedrock guardrails, we’re using the very same tools we’re using now to address incorrectness due to hallucinations.”
Major banks taking divergent approaches ranging from token deposits on public blockchain and token services on private blockchain to partnerships with stablecoin issuers for launching stablecoin-based payments
Among major U.S. banks—JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, U.S. Bank, and PNC—several have launched tokenized deposit systems akin to stablecoins within their own ecosystems. Interoperability remains a challenge, prompting analysts to ask if a stablecoin consortium, like Zelle, would make sense. Citi’s Jane Fraser acknowledged potential for collaboration but asserted that Citi’s own live-token service, now operational in four markets, is a “killer app” for programmable, cross-border payments. JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon didn’t respond to the consortium idea, though JPM is part of the Zelle-owning consortium. BofA’s Brian Moynihan favored both solo and joint approaches, noting client demand hasn’t materialized yet, though the bank holds blockchain patents and partners with stablecoin issuers. Citi is exploring its own stablecoin, while JPMorgan’s JPMD token runs on Coinbase’s Base network for institutional fund transfers. U.S. Bank’s CEO Gunjan Kedia said stablecoins aren’t material yet, though they’re ready to pilot. PNC’s CEO William Demchak predicted an industry-led stablecoin would emerge, though he and Kedia expressed skepticism about its near-term impact, especially in domestic payments where demand and cost advantages remain unclear.
SandboxAQ report shows only 6% of organizations have implemented a comprehensive, AI-native security strategy across both IT and AI systems while 79% are already using AI in production environments
SandboxAQ released its inaugural AI Security Benchmark Report, revealing a significant disconnect between enterprise AI adoption and cybersecurity readiness. While 79% of organizations are already using AI in production environments, only 6% have implemented a comprehensive, AI-native security strategy, leaving the vast majority of enterprises vulnerable to threats they are not yet equipped to detect or mitigate. The report highlights widespread concern about the risks AI introduces, from model manipulation and data leakage to adversarial attacks and the misuse of non-human identities (NHIs). Yet despite growing anxiety among CISOs, only 28% of organizations have conducted a full AI-specific security assessment, and most are still relying on traditional, rule-based tools that were never designed to address dynamic, machine-speed systems. Only 6% of organizations have implemented AI-native security protections across both IT and AI systems. 74% of security leaders are highly concerned about AI-enhanced cyberattacks, and 69% are highly concerned about AI uncovering new vulnerabilities in their environments. Just 10% of companies have a dedicated AI security team; in most organizations, responsibility falls to traditional IT or security teams. Marc Manzano, General Manager of the Cybersecurity Group at SandboxAQ said, ” This report highlights a growing recognition among security leaders that defending against evolving threats requires new assumptions and approaches, not just new layers or patches to current tooling.”
SEC’s Atkins says most crypto assets are not securities; plans purpose-fit disclosures for crypto securities including for so-called ‘initial coin offerings,’ ‘airdrops’ and network rewards.”; could allow innovation with ‘super-apps’
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said his agency is launching “Project Crypto” with an aim to make a quick start on the new crypto policies urged by President Donald Trump. Atkins said the effort will be rooted in the recommendations of the President’s Working Group report issued Wednesday by the White House. He described it as “a commission-wide initiative to modernize the securities rules and regulations to enable America’s financial markets to move on-chain.” “I have directed the commission staff to draft clear and simple rules of the road for crypto asset distributions, custody, and trading for public notice and comment,” Atkins said. “While the commission staff works to finalize these regulations, the commission and its staff will in the coming months consider using interpretative, exemptive and other authorities to make sure that archaic rules and regulations do not smother innovation and entrepreneurship in America. Despite what the SEC has said in the past, most crypto assets are not securities,” Atkins said. Atkins suggested his agency will move to begin answering those questions now, working on “clear guidelines that market participants can use to determine whether a crypto asset is a security or subject to an investment contract.” For crypto securities, he said he’s “asked staff to propose purpose-fit disclosures, exemptions, and safe harbors, including for so-called ‘initial coin offerings,’ ‘airdrops’ and network rewards.” Atkins said he means to “allow market participants to innovate with ‘super-apps'” that offer a “broad range of products and services under one roof with a single license.”
AI to reshape coding jobs requiring developers to double up as product managers with solid technical expertise and take on hybrid roles to understand systems, structure problems and shape ideas into working software using AI as a co-creator
AI is vastly changing how the bottom end of that ladder operates, since it can do most junior-level tasks on its own. As a result, beginners entering the industry are increasingly being asked to contribute at a level that used to require years of experience. It is not just about writing code anymore — it is about understanding systems, structuring problems and working alongside AI like a team member. In the near future, the most valuable people in tech won’t be the ones who write perfect code. They will be those who know what should be built, why it matters and how to get an AI system to do most of the work cleanly and efficiently. In other words, the coder of tomorrow looks more like a product manager with solid technical expertise. AI-augmented developers will replace large teams that used to be necessary to move a project forward. In terms of efficiency, there is a lot to celebrate about this change — reduced communication time, faster results and higher bars for what one person can realistically accomplish. We will likely see more hybrid roles — part developer, part designer, part product thinker. As already mentioned, the core part of the job won’t be to write code, but to shape ideas into working software using AI as your main creation tool. Or perhaps, even as a co-creator.
Capital One’s software data security tool replaces sensitive data with tokens, preserving the underlying formatting while enabling security third-party sharing and generative AI ingestion
When Capital One couldn’t find a commercially available tokenization software tool, it tapped its engineering team to build one. The financial firm, which launched its software division in 2022 and deployed data management platform Slingshot the same year, turned to tokenization as a potential security solution two years ago and set about engineering an alternative to traditional encryption. In April, Capital One Software completed the commercial rollout of its second product, Databolt. The platform replaces sensitive data with tokens, preserving the underlying formatting while enabling security third-party sharing and generative AI ingestion. “When you encrypt the data, it changes the format, and you have to decrypt the data every time you run an operation,” Bian said. Tokenization keeps the original format unchanged — a Social Security number remains a nine-digit string — while shielding the sensitive data point. “It’s a cleaner, faster and more secure way for data analysts to work with data,” Bian said. “Internally, we don’t feed any sensitive data into a large language model unless it has been tokenized. If there’s any sensitive data that you don’t want the model directly trained on, you tokenize it.” The software division tapped into its 14,000-plus army of engineering and technology professionals to develop a scalable solution, an initiative that led to the creation of Databolt. In May, the bank integrated Databolt with Snowflake and Databricks to expand the platform’s capabilities and unlock access to larger stores of data for AI and analytics operations in a secure environment.
Global Finance Magazine names Bank of America World’s Best Bank for cash management; Citi for long-term liquidity management and Wells Fargo for collections
World’s Best Bank for Transaction Banking: Societe Generale: Societe Generale excels as an instant payments innovator, offering rigorous testing and dedicated IT support, including client training. While clients expect similar functionalities for domestic and cross-border payments, Jean-François Mazure, head of cash clearing services, notes that customers struggle to differentiate. Converging both payment types, which hinges on interlinking financial market infrastructures, is critical, he stresses. To interconnect real-time payment systems, Mazure says, the most likely way forward is to adopt the “one leg out” (OLO) principle already in operation for transactions involving one bank inside the European Economic Area and one bank outside. But all parties will need to continue to align for interconnectivity to be achieved. OLO’s success hinges on compliance with ISO 20022 standards as well as resolving commercial and liability challenges across various schemes.
- World’s Best Bank for Cash Management | Bank of America. Bank of America saw the app version of its CashPro platform surpass $1 trillion in payment approvals in 2024. CashPro allows clients to manage treasury operations across multiple channels: online, app, APIs, and file-based interfaces. “One thing that distinguishes CashPro is its global consistency,” says Tom Durkin, head of CashPro in BofA’s Global Payments Solutions, “so that when a company’s finance team has team members in different countries, they’ll all have access to the same tools, views, and processes. The advantages are obvious: better visibility and control and no additional financial outlays.” The bank’s strategic vision for CashPro “will always be to provide a best-in-class platform that is personalized, predictive, and proactive,” Durkin says. “One recent demonstration is how we’ve embedded CashPro into our clients’ own systems through the CashPro Network, a collaboration with third-party providers allowing quick, easy connection to the bank with little to no investment.”
- World’s Best Bank for Long-Term Liquidity Management | Citi. Citi, is leveraging its extensive network to provide sophisticated solutions. “The transition to a 24/7 real-time economy presents both challenges and opportunities,” says Debopama Sen, head of Payments at Citi Services. “Balancing speed with robust security is crucial. Firms need to adapt their liquidity management strategies for around-the-clock operations, which demands new approaches and capabilities.”
- World’s Best Bank for Payments, World’s Best White Label System Provider – Bank & World’s Best Bank for Financial Institutions | BNY. Recognizing the accelerating demand for 24/7 operations and instant payments, BNY is implementing a payments infrastructure modernization that enables all-hours multi-currency access delivery, automation, and scalable solutions through its Payments Enablement Platform. The service promises 24/7 US-dollar payments, real-time data delivery, and improved liquidity management. BNY also facilitates instant cross-border payments through global relationships, such as with Commonwealth Bank of Australia, for real-time cross-border transfers and is advancing domestic real-time payments by supporting high-value real-time payment transactions. Early last year, BNY completed the largest instant payment in US history on its RTP network, exceeding $1 million. The bank also offers trade outsourcing and its Trade Network Access Service, which helps banks with compliance and reducing KYC costs. And its collaborations with Mizuho Bank enhances international trade connectivity.
- World’s Best Bank for Collections | Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo has enhanced its Integrated Receivables service with improved FXWire functionality and straight-through internal onboarding, cutting client implementation times. `xUsing AI, machine learning (ML), and robotic processing, Integrated Receivables replaces manual cash application, reassociating payments with remittances and matching them to open invoices, in turn reducing days sales outstanding (DSO) by up to 30%, automating electronic cash application, and freeing up staff time. The technology processes thousands of transactions in seconds, continuously learning and improving; one client has reported a 95% straight-through processing result.
- World’s Best Corporate Cross-Border Payments Solution | Fides Treasury Services. For corporates grappling with the intricacies of global payment flow management, Fides Treasury Services launched its intuitive ONEHub platform early last year. Having achieved ISO 20022 readiness in 2024, ONEHub simplifies payments to both major and regional banks. Fides offers a dual-BIC “hybrid” service for banks outside the Swift CORE network, processing over $6 trillion annually. It connects over 4,000 clients to 13,000-plus banks globally with 3,000 direct connections and processes payments in over 200 countries. Fides provides tools for global payments, financial compliance, sanctions screening, fraud prevention, and security, and in March launched ONEPool, a cash pooling solution.
Klarna 2Q25 says expanding merchant ecosystem drives 20% Revenue growth; growth was especially strong in the United States, where its revenue grew 38% year over year
Klarna, the global digital bank and flexible payments provider, today reported its financial results for the second quarter of 2025. Klarna delivered its fifth consecutive quarter of operational profitability and reached major milestones, including $823m in revenue, 111 million active Klarna consumers, 790,000 merchant partners, and $1 million in revenue per employee, nearly triple the figure from two years ago ($369,000). Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder, said: “As we celebrate 20 years of Klarna, we’re hitting milestones I once only dreamt of; $823m in revenue, 111 million active Klarna consumers, 790,000 merchants, and $1 million in revenue per employee. The Klarna Card is becoming a preferred payment method across our most mature European markets, and we’re now rolling out an enhanced version in the U.S. Strategic integrations with leading PSPs and our partnerships with some of the world’s largest merchants are expanding Klarna’s reach and accelerating our growth. At the same time, our growing consumer base remains healthy, with more customers paying on time than ever before.” Q2 2025 marked Klarna’s fifth consecutive quarter of operational profitability, with adjusted operating income reaching $29 million, up more than $26 million from the previous quarter. Group GMV rose 19% year over year in the quarter and 24% year over year in June, while revenue growth accelerated to 20% like-for-like, up from 15% in Q1. In the U.S., Klarna saw particularly strong performance, with revenue increasing by 38% YoY. Klarna’s momentum is fueled by its expanding merchant ecosystem and growing relevance in everyday financial lives. In the past 12 months, 202,000 new merchant partners have joined Klarna’s network, including strategic integrations through Stripe, now ramping up globally. As was announced earlier this year, Klarna is now powering OnePay Later at Walmart, which went live this quarter to bring Fair Financing options to millions of consumers. OnePay Later Powered by Klarna is set to become the exclusive provider of term financing at Walmart once the rollout is complete. Meanwhile, eBay expanded its partnership with Klarna to millions of U.S. consumers following multiple successful European rollouts—with the launch already outperforming early expectations, according to eBay. With additional launches expected in the coming quarters with Worldpay, Nexi, and JPMorgan Payments—whose combined networks process over $5 trillion annually—Klarna is well-positioned for further long-term growth. A record number of transactions were paid on time or early in Q2, and overall provision for credit losses remain low (0.56% of GMV), as realized losses fell from 0.48% in Q2 2024 to 0.45% in Q2 2025. Klarna’s delinquency rate also dropped in the period, highlighting the healthy, stable behavior of Klarna’s global consumer base. Pay Later (BNPL): Klarna’s global delinquency rate on BNPL loans dropped to 0.89% in Q2 2025, a 14 basis point improvement from 1.03% in Q2 2024—underscoring the continued strength and responsible usage of short-term credit by its customers. Fair Financing: Delinquencies on Klarna’s fixed-term product fell slightly to 2.23% in Q2 2025, down from 2.34% a year prior. This product, used for higher-value purchases over 6–12 months, continues to show stable performance as Klarna scales it across additional categories like homeware and appliances. In Q2, Klarna launched the U.S. pilot of the enhanced Klarna Card, bringing Klarna’s flexible functionality into consumers’ pockets, without the revolving debt and interest fees of traditional credit cards. Accepted at over 150 million merchants worldwide, the card is already becoming a primary payment method for consumers across Klarna’s mature European markets, both online and in-store. The Klarna Card also builds naturally on the foundation laid by our Balance accounts launched last year and our growing suite of savings products in Europe.
BNPL Splitit targets digital wallets starting with Samsung Pay to gives it access to millions of consumers and thousands of merchants that have NFC terminals
As it pushes to expand installment lending inside brick-and-mortar stores, Splitit is turning to digital wallets, hoping to pick up scale with a combination of contactless payments and the vast reach of the big technology companies that operate the apps. The company’s first move is to link to Samsung Pay, which is adding a feature that enables consumers to pay over time using existing credit at the point of sale. Splitit did not release the exact number of merchants that would be added, saying it would be “most stores” where Samsung Pay is available. Splitit, which told American Banker it plans to announce another large mobile wallet integration in the coming months, is seeking to reach more merchants as more payment technology companies and banks join the fintechs that have dominated the BNPL industry. “An NFC wallet gives us access to millions of consumers and [thousands] of merchants that have NFC terminals,” Splitit CEO Nandan Sheth told American Banker.
Sheth was referring to near-field communication, the technology that enables mobile phones to “talk to” point of sale terminals that accept contactless payments in stores. Eleven years after the launch of Apple Pay, which uses NFC as a core technology, there are more than 230 million NFC terminals globally, according to Research and Markets, adding that 99% of POS terminals shipped in North America and Europe are NFC enabled, with near saturation in Latin America and Asia. Samsung Pay is on pace to process more than 1.6 billion payments globally, and has 35 million active users in the U.S., according to Coin Law, which reports Samsung Pay’s compound annual transaction growth rate in the U.S. is 9%. Apple Pay has 69 million users in the U.S. and 659 million globally, according to Coin Law, which adds Google Pay has 165 million U.S. and 820 million global users. NFC payments are 85% of Samsung Pay transactions, and the app is available in 31 countries. “We’re starting in the U.S. but Samsung Pay is globally large and will move into the large Samsung Wallet markets, primarily in Europe and Asia,” Sheth said. Samsung did not return a request for comment. Like Apple and Google, Samsung has added financial products to its mobile technology over time, giving Samsung incentive to add features that enable flexible payments. For example, Samsung Pay in late July became a payment method and deposit option for trading user accounts in the Coinbase app, boosting Samsung’s reach into digital assets. As Samsung Pay and other mobile wallets grow, Splitit can boost usage by creating payment flexibility, Sheth said. “We can engage those consumers inside the wallet and drive foot traffic for merchants that accept NFC terminals,” Sheth said, adding Splitit would aggressively market to consumers ahead of the holidays in December.
Citi and Ant International pilot AI-enhanced FX risk management solution integrating the latest time series forecasting algorithms, to predict future data points by learning complex patterns
Citi and Ant International are piloting the use of Ant International’s Falcon Time-Series Transformer (TST) Model to deliver an enhanced FX risk management solution for their customers. Developed with aviation clients as an initial use case, the solution aims to offer greater payment solutions for the airline industry, which processes billions of payment transactions annually. The joint solution combines Ant International’s experience with airline payments and Citi’s robust FX solutions to help the bank’s clients manage their FX costs more efficiently. Ant International’s Falcon TST Model is a transformer architecture-based big data model with close to 2 billion parameters. By integrating the latest time series forecasting algorithms, the TST Model predicts future data points by learning complex patterns from large historical data sets using AI technology, the model helps businesses improve the efficiency and accuracy of their cashflow and FX exposure forecasts, allowing them to reduce hedging and overall FX costs. By pairing the Falcon TST Model with Citi’s Fixed FX Rates solution, an award-winning solution that simplifies the FX risk management process for businesses selling online in multiple currencies, the combined solution helps businesses mitigate the risks associated with currency fluctuations by securing FX rates for a defined period. FX rates are locked-in and agreed upon, giving businesses greater predictability in budgeting, pricing and profitability. With Ant International’s AI-enabled forecasting capability, businesses may utilise Citi’s enhanced solution to improve the accuracy of their sales and FX exposure forecasts. Ant International has already achieved an accuracy rate of more than 90% in the company’s own use cases and expects the solution to help the airline industry reduce its overall FX hedging costs as forecast accuracy continues to improve. By combining Ant International’s Falcon TST model with Citi’s Fixed FX Rates solution, Citi has successfully completed FX transactions for one of the leading carriers in Asia, reducing the carrier’s FX hedging costs in initial live transactions.