Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) has granted Deribit FZE, the Dubai-based arm of the Deribit group, a conditional virtual asset service provider (VASP) licence for VA exchange services. The licence, which covers both spot and derivatives trading, remains non-operational until Deribit meets all remaining conditions and select localisation requirements defined by VARA. Deribit has also revealed it is relocating its global headquarters to Dubai and appoints Luuk Strijers, who joined the firm in 2019 as chief commercial officer, as CEO alongside two non-executive directors (NEDs ..read more

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) has quietly emerged as a significant regulatory force in the financial landscape, demanding attention and action from industry players across Europe. DORA solves an important problem, says the European Commission. As the digital transformation of the financial sector accelerates, it also increases the exposure of companies to the risk of a major disruption if technology fails whether through a deliberate cyber attack or ICT system flaws and disruptions. Highlighting the crucial need for the industry to strengthen its operational resilience and sec ..read more

UK small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) lost a whopping £2.8billion in hidden international banking fees last year, according to Wise, the international money transfer company.  This substantial loss is deterring a significant portion of SMBs from venturing into new markets, with over a quarter citing the exorbitant cost of international banking services as a major obstacle. The complexity and opacity surrounding international payments further exacerbate the situation, says Wise, hindering the expansion plans of 69 per cent of SMBs surveyed. Moreover, existing regulations inadequatel ..read more

Embedded finance has been a game-changer for SMEs who previously struggled to obtain funding from traditional banks. However, fintech companies with embedded finance solutions have a responsibility to become regulation savvy even if they aren’t regulated. Alexis Alexander, chief legal and compliance officer, Liberis explores how to employ a considered and educational approach to data privacy including traditional practices, while also accepting that there are additional considerations when it comes to embedded finance. How to navigate data privacy risks in the embedded finance environment Ale ..read more

Sovos, a provider of tax compliance solutions, has unveiled a platform that integrates compliance, tax, and regulatory reporting software into one unified solution. Representing over eight years of development and significant investment, the Sovos Compliance Cloud aims to transform tax compliance from a mere obligation into a catalyst for business growth. With more than 75 embedded integrations and over 425 connectors in the Sovos App Marketplace, the platform maximises existing investments for CFOs and CIOs while offering greater visibility and scalability across the enterprise. “It’s time t ..read more

NICE Actimize introduces three advanced generative AI-based solutions aimed at combating financial crime and streamlining investigations and reporting processes. The solutions provide significant reductions in investigation time and substantial time savings in suspicious activity report (SAR) filing, improving efficiency in financial crime as well as compliance risk management programmes. Integrated into NICE Actimize’s ActOne enterprise risk case management platform, they include X-Sight AI Assist and X-Sight AI Narrate, which automate manual tasks and expedite workflows, and Xceed FraudDESK ..read more

Napier, the London-based global financial crime compliance regtech, has served up new solutions with advanced analytics and intelligent automation embedded into their configuration. Napier Continuum Live and Napier Continuum Flow were created in response to fintechs in the banking and payments sectors seeking to integrate intelligence into their technology stacks for enhanced screening and monitoring capabilities. Continuum Live This plug-and-play hosted offering brings the benefits of the Napier Continuum platform to organisations looking to go live and achieve regulatory compliance as quick ..read more

The power and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) is no secret. However, for many financial service providers, it can be difficult, or too costly to implement the technology to maximise its effectiveness. One firm looking to ease these issues is Aveni.  Joseph Twigg is the CEO at Aveni, the Edinburgh-based regtech firm specialising in AI-driven risk assurance solutions. As a founder boasting 15 years of experience in the investment industry when he founded the company in 2018, we get his take on his journey into the AI space, as well as Aveni’s past, present and future. Joseph Twig ..read more

Digital ID verification company IDVerse is joining forces with GeoComply, a global leader in geolocation compliance technology, to provide enhanced document identity verification for clients in the gaming and sports betting industry. Onboarding players while balancing fraud and compliance risks presents a significant challenge for many companies. GeoComply offers a streamlined solution, IDComply, that combines the strengths of several top verification providers in one place and eliminates the complexities of jurisdictional coverage. IDVerse’s generative AI-trained technology verifies in real ..read more

Regional open banking and financial innovation firm, Fintech Galaxy, has launched its ‘FINX Comply’ open banking compliance services in the UAE.  Fintech Galaxy explained that its platform will offer cost-friendly and robust open banking and open finance compliance solutions to banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions across the UAE. FINX Comply is a cloud-based SaaS solution that offers an Open API Gateway with ‘out-of-the-box’ compliance – based on regional standards enabling banks and financial institutions to enjoy a fast and secure experience when integrating wit ..read more