Ant Group Releases Ling-2.5-1T and Ring-2.5-1T Open-Source Models

Ling-2.5-1T focuses on general purpose reasoning tasks, while Ring-
2.5-1T incorporates a hybrid linear architecture optimized for mathematical reasoning and structured problem solving.

South Korea is the 3rd nation in AI!

Europe has only one LLM - Mistral - with a 23 ranking by @artificialanlys (based on 10 criteria) compared to Opus 4.6 (top one) ranking of 53.

Even UAE has two LLMs.

#banking #jobs #technology | Dr. Efi Pylarinou 🔴 Banking talent retention: Tale of two extremes New data on where bankers actually want to stay - and where they're planning their exit. A survey of 2,000 financial services professionals reveals...

🔴 Banking talent retention: Tale of two extremes

New data on where bankers actually want to stay - and where they're planning their exit.

Merry Xmas to all!

Enjoy this holiday season, rest, connect and reflect.

X Money was promised for 2024. Then early 2025. Then "later this year."

Now it's late 2025, and they're still hiring the tech lead to "build from the ground up."

The "everything app" vision stays perpetually on the horizon.

Reality check: Bitcoin ETF fees are climbing back UP.
0% promos → now 0.20-0.25% is the new normal.

Land-grab phase complete. Year 2-3 competition is infrastructure depth:

- Options availability
- Custody integration
- Tax optimization tools
- Derivatives liquidity

Compete on features, not fees.

PayPal files for bank charter in lending push

PayPal's ILC ≠ Stripe's MALPB

PayPal: Deposits & lending
Stripe/Checkout.com: Card network access

Fintechs going vertical—different paths to control 🏦
buff.ly/8ymplpz

Klarna questioned on use of AI to cut down workforce Klarna has garnered headlines and controversy with its recent admission of using AI to reduce its corporate headcount.

Klarna`s experiments with AI and its workforce

From W-2 to gig economy: Klarna moving to contractor-based model paired with AI.

Question: Does fintech function better with on-demand talent + autonomous agents vs traditional full-time teams?
paymentexpert.com/2025/05/16/k...

From Boardroom to Code: How AI and Standards Are Collapsing Banking Transformation Timelines

My reflections from the BIAN Summit 2025, Chicago

www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-b...

Top AI Books to Read in 2025 www.ai-supremacy.com/p/top-ai-boo...

Major crypto investor Animoca Brands poised for Nasdaq listing through merger with AI company If the merger is completed, Animoca would own the vast majority of Currenc and assume its listing on the Nasdaq.

Animoca Brands announces Nasdaq listing via reverse merger with Currenc Group (CURR). The Web3 giant with 600+ portfolio companies will own 95% of the merged entity, expected to close in 2026. First publicly-listed diversified digital assets conglomerate.

www.theblock.co/post/377291/...

Yes it is early for Embedded finance in an Agentic world. But hey, we need to future-proof businesses!

`𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐈` on the FS i-Hub led by
@ShaulDavidUK in conversation w/ @griffinbank CEO David Jarvis.

Bring your questions.
Join the conversation. RSVP 👉 buff.ly/56Oul1O

China's DeepSeek Is Beating Out OpenAI and Google in Africa By making AI cheaper and less power-hungry, DeepSeek has put the technology within reach of millions of people.

DeepSeek + Huawei are bundling Chinese LLMs with cloud services for Africa—at a fraction of OpenAI's cost. The pitch: GPT-level capabilities, cheaper hardware, less power.

📰 DeepSeek's Push Into Africa Reveals China's AI Power Grab
🔗 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

`𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐈` on the FS i-Hub led by @ShaulDavidUK
in conversation w/ @griffinbank CEO David Jarvis.

📅 November 3rd, 2025 | 5:00pm CET | 12:00pm EST

Bring your questions.
Join the conversation. RSVP 👉 lnkd.in/daTBYMRR

Check out my latest

AI Uncovers Africa's Hidden Data Revolution: From 'Thin Files' to Rich Insights www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-unc...

2025 Evident AI Index Explore the latest Evident AI Index rankings and the methodology driving the world's most in-depth benchmark of AI maturity in banking. The October 2025 update of the Evident AI Index assesses the AI…

Movers and Shakers: Dramatic shifts in the 2025 AI banking rankings:
📈 Groupe BPCE +15
📈 Charles Schwab +14
📈 Lloyds +12
📈 State Street +12

AI maturity in banking is no longer about experimentation—it's about execution at scale.
buff.ly/EJBKtgY
#AI #banking

Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Mokyr, Aghion and Howitt for explaining ‘innovation-driven’ growth | CNN Business Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the Nobel memorial prize in economics Monday for their research into the impact of innovation on economic growth and how new technologies replace…

Nobel Prize in economics awarded to Mokyr, Aghion and Howitt for explaining ‘innovation-driven’ growth | CNN Business edition.cnn.com/2025/10/13/b...

2025 Evident AI Index Explore the latest Evident AI Index rankings and the methodology driving the world's most in-depth benchmark of AI maturity in banking. The October 2025 update of the Evident AI Index assesses the AI…

New AI maturity benchmark of 50 global banks reveals a surprise: Ally Financial ranks top 20 despite being a fraction of the size of mega-banks.

Agility + focus can trump scale when it comes to AI.

Full report: buff.ly/EJBKtgY
#AI #Banking

‘Stablecoin duopoly ending’ as USDT, USDC dominance falls to 84% Tether’s USDt and Circle’s USDC have been losing market share over the past year, despite their steadily increasing market capitalization.

USDT and USDC dominance has fallen from 91.6% (March 2024) to 83.6%

📉 Nic Carter says yield-bearing stablecoins like Ethena's USDe and bank consortia will continue eating into their market share.

'Stablecoin duopoly ending' as USDT, USDC dominance falls to 84%
cointelegraph.com/news/stablec...

The Battle for Agent Payments: Who Can Challenge Google's AP2? sifintechpulse.substack.com/p/the-battle...

The Battle for Agent Payments: Who Can Challenge Google's AP2? The moment Google announced its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), an ambitious framework for autonomous commerce, it sent ripples through the payments industry.

🔵 Hot off the press! Our second part looks into Google`s AP2 protocol. We view this as the new standard set by Google. What does it take to challenge it?

Read our in-depth analysis. Leave your comments. Subscribe and Share if you liked it.

open.substack.com/pub/sifintec...

BANK & FINTECH PARTNERSHIPS - AN INSIDER’S VIEW futures-financial-forum.mn.co/events/bank-...

From Talking Agents to Paying Agents: Inside Google’s AP2 & A2A Protocols How Google’s Agent2Agent and Agent Payments Protocols are reshaping trust, interoperability, and payments in the age of autonomous commerce.

📌 Google's AP2 protocol just set the standard for autonomous commerce - and you can't afford to miss this shift.

Multi-rail payments + cryptographic mandates = the new infrastructure.

"From Talking Agents to Paying Agents: Inside Google's AP2 & A2A Protocols"
open.substack.com/pub/sifintec...

🔥 October's just getting started at FS i-Hub

🔹 Bank-Fintech Partnerships (Oct 1)
🔹 Variable Recurring Payments (Oct 7)
🔹 AI in Banking Reality (Oct 8)

Real experts. Real problems. Real solutions.
👇 Details & RSVP
www.linkedin.com/pulse/beyond...
#FinTech #OpenBanking

🔵 Join us - The Fintech Book Club- on Linkedin live as we discuss Theo Lau`s new book ``Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence.

w/ @mi_jim @stessacohen

RSVP 👉 www.linkedin.com/events/finte...

Branch Tomorrow by Brett king | Future of banking 2025 Branch Tomorrow by Brett King reveals why bank branches are fading fast and digital-first is the future of finance. A must-read for banking leaders.

💥 I am honored to contribute to the first book documenting the global "Peak Branch" phenomenon!

🔴 Branch Tomorrow by @brettking launched as a Kindle bestseller at #Money2020ME

Order your copy 📖 BranchTomorrow.com

Includes contributions @richardturrin @thepsironi @JimMarous @brunoevdiniz @efipm

🔴 The global "Peak Branch" phenomenon is reshaping banking worldwide – 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 is the ONLY Book documenting this.

@brettking launched it at #Money2020ME as a Kindle bestseller! 🚀

Honored to contribute w/ @richardturrin @thepsironi @JimMarous @brunoevdiniz

Order now 📖 BranchTomorrow.com

🏦➡️🧠The "single brain" concept could transform banking forever

Fascinating discussion with @DharmeshMistry about breaking down barriers between AI natives and traditional banking thinking.
Full video: "𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 '𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧'"
youtu.be/U2bHxPAvTW8?...

#fintech #Banking #AI

Challenges and Ethical Considerations of Deploying Agentic AI in Banking - ACA International www.acainternational.org/news/challen...

🔵 My Analysis of Digital Black Markets!

Stablecoin Access Premiums up to 30% & How Digital Technology Caps Government Control

open.substack.com/pub/sifintec...