The Tokenisation Tipping Point & AI’s Regulated Reality
June 21, 2026
1. Top Headlines
1. HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest Back UK’s First Sovereign AI Model London-based AI start-up Cosine has aligned with a coalition of UK financial institutions, including HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest, to co-design Lumen Sovereign, billed as Britain’s first sovereign frontier AI model. The project aims to build a model fully trained on UK soil for air-gapped environments, promising a more cost-efficient alternative to OpenAI and Anthropic when it goes live later this year . (Source: FinTech Futures)
2. Intesa Sanpaolo Launches Historic €30bn Bid for Banca Monte dei Paschi Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo has launched a bid to acquire domestic rival Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) in a deal valued at approximately €30 billion ($35 billion), marking the largest transaction in Italian banking history. The combined institution would boast approximately €1.7 trillion in assets, serving over 27 million clients, as Intesa seeks to further strengthen its European leadership in wealth management . (Source: FinTech Futures)
3. Digital Asset Lands $355m in a16z-Led Funding Round Software company Digital Asset has secured $355 million in a new funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund (a16z crypto) to drive growth for its public Layer-1 blockchain, Canton Network. Major financial institutions like HSBC, BNP Paribas, and S&P Global also backed the raise, signaling strong institutional confidence in blockchain infrastructure for regulated finance . (Source: FinTech Futures)
4. Temenos Acquires Additiv to Build Out Wealth Offering Swiss core banking vendor Temenos has acquired local SaaS fintech Additiv to bolster its Temenos Wealth platform. The acquisition, which includes Additiv’s technology for launching digital banking, credit, and wealth products, will see Additiv operate as a standalone business under its current leadership . (Source: FinTech Futures)
5. Mollie Seals 30-Country EEA Footprint with €350m Growth Commitment Payments provider Mollie has committed €350 million over the next five years to expand its product offering and infrastructure, completing its European Economic Area (EEA) presence with launches in Croatia and Iceland. The company’s hyperlocalised model now offers native language support and local payment methods across all 30 EEA states . (Source: FinTech Futures / The Paypers)
6. Banking Tech Veteran Dr Haroun Dharsey Launches Dharsi.ai in Dubai Dr Haroun Dharsey, a 30-year banking technology veteran, has launched Dharsi.ai from stealth, offering a suite of low-code solutions targeting financial institutions and SMEs across the UAE, GCC, and Africa. The platforms include a transaction matching system (Dharsi Recon), a risk and AI governance solution (Dharsi Warden), and a multilingual customer engagement platform (Dharsi Hive), emphasizing a “human-in-the-loop” approach to AI . (Source: FinTech Futures)
7. Wise Acquires Expat Information Platform Expatica Wise has acquired Expatica, a leading online resource for people living and working abroad that attracted over 7 million visits in 2025. The acquisition aims to deepen Wise’s support for its expat customer base by pairing its international money management products with trusted guidance on housing, healthcare, and relocation . (Source: FinTech Futures)
8. Louisiana’s First American Bank and Trust Taps Jack Henry for Core Upgrade First American Bank and Trust has selected Jack Henry’s core banking platform, Banno Digital Platform, and small business payments solution Tap2Local to modernise its operations. The move is part of a strategy to support growth ambitions and improve operational resilience in a region vulnerable to severe weather, while gaining access to Jack Henry’s open ecosystem of over 1,000 third-party fintech providers . (Source: FinTech Futures / The Paypers)
9. Project Nemo and CFIT Form Coalition to Advance Financial Inclusion The non-profit Project Nemo and the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) have formed a new coalition, backed by HM Treasury, to explore how people can receive support with financial decision-making while maintaining independence. The initiative aims to design and pilot a product to help adults with learning disabilities, with the goal of demonstrating practical solutions to policymakers . (Source: FinTech Futures)
10. Can Regulation Move at the Speed of AI? A key piece on FinTech Futures asks a critical question: how can regulators keep up with the pace of evolution of AI models and be proactive with their rule-making? This comes as the industry grapples with the challenges of governing increasingly autonomous “agentic” AI systems, a topic that dominated discussions at Money20/20 Europe . (Source: FinTech Futures)
2. In-Depth Highlight: Spain’s Big Three Banks Unite to Launch Industry-Wide Anti-Fraud Platform
In a landmark move for collaborative financial crime prevention, CaixaBank, Banco Santander, and BBVA have officially launched FrauDfense Check, the first operational service from their joint venture, FrauDfense. After a year-long pilot that demonstrated the service’s ability to prevent millions of euros in fraud, the platform is now being opened to the entire Spanish financial sector .
The service operates on an advanced, high-performance technology platform designed to prevent fraud before it happens through the secure exchange of information between financial institutions. During its trial, FrauDfense Check was applied to a wide range of banking use cases, including customer onboarding, product contracting, credit transfers, Bizum payments, and card transactions . The collaborative model is built on a robust ecosystem where fraud experts from major Spanish banks exchange information, analyze common patterns, and design joint actions against emerging threats .
This collaboration is significant not just for its immediate impact on fraud prevention but also for its strategic foresight. The initiative positions the Spanish financial industry as an international reference in the fight against financial crime and is a proactive step towards aligning with upcoming regulatory requirements in the European Payment Services Regulation (PSR), which will mandate greater information sharing between payment service providers . By building a shared intelligence framework, the banks are creating a formidable barrier against sophisticated fraudsters that individual institutions would struggle to match.
3. Market & Industry Insight: The Convergence of Digital Assets and Traditional Finance
The past week has underscored a major trend: the convergence of traditional finance (TradFi) and digital assets is accelerating, moving from theoretical discussions to concrete, regulated implementations.
This is most evident in the evolution of tokenised deposits. The collaboration between Banking Circle and Ant International serves as a prime example. A year on from launching their Euro-denominated tokenised deposit, they have demonstrated its effectiveness in revolutionising cross-border treasury and liquidity management. Ant International reports that a significant portion of its treasury activities have transitioned to this blockchain-driven solution, delivering 24/7 instant settlement, real-time fund tracking, and reduced transaction fees .
The partnership has also introduced a privacy-preserving token using zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs within a permissioned blockchain ecosystem, a critical feature for compliance in regions with strict data protection laws like Europe’s GDPR . Meanwhile, Banking Circle, which recently secured a Major Payment Institution licence in Singapore and expanded into Australia, is positioning itself as a key regulated bridge between fiat and digital asset settlement . Its CEO, Kirit Bhatia, notes that while tokenised deposits are still in exploratory stages globally, the bank is building infrastructure to support them alongside central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, all accessible via a single API . This signals a future where digital and traditional payment rails operate in parallel, offering significant efficiency gains for institutional clients.
4. Company & Startup Spotlight
1. Banking Circle A Luxembourg-regulated bank that provides institutional payment infrastructure, Banking Circle connects financial institutions directly to domestic and international clearing systems via a single API .
- Recent Development: The bank is actively expanding its Asia Pacific footprint, having secured a Major Payment Institution licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and acquiring Australian Settlements Limited (ASL) to gain direct access to Australia’s real-time payments infrastructure . It is also expanding its infrastructure to support tokenised deposits and stablecoins like its MiCA-compliant euro stablecoin, EURI.
- Why Care: Banking Circle is a prime example of a regulated entity successfully building the technical and regulatory bridges for a multi-currency, multi-asset future. Its expansion into APAC and leadership in tokenised settlement make it a key player to watch for banks and fintechs looking to streamline cross-border payments and treasury management.
2. Dharsi.ai A Dubai-based fintech start-up founded by banking tech veteran Dr Haroun Dharsey that has emerged from stealth to offer low-code solutions for financial institutions and SMEs .
- Recent Development: The company launched with a suite of three platforms: Dharsi Recon (transaction matching), Dharsi Warden (GRC, financial risk management, and AI governance), and Dharsi Hive (a multilingual customer engagement platform). It operates a unique “Entrepreneurs in Residence” distribution model and is conducting proof-of-concept engagements with regional organisations .
- Why Care: Dharsi.ai is a direct response to the problems of enterprise software bloat and underutilisation, targeting non-bank financial institutions and SMEs that need sophisticated, manageable, and cost-effective solutions. Its founder’s deep industry expertise and the “human-in-the-loop” philosophy for AI governance are particularly noteworthy for organisations navigating the complex regulatory landscape around AI adoption.
5. Regulatory & Policy Watch
- EU Payment Services Regulation (PSR) Drives Collaboration: The imminent regulatory requirement to share fraud-related information between payment service providers is a key driver behind initiatives like the FrauDfense Check platform launched by Spanish banks. The legislation, which aims to create a modern framework for payments, will hold providers liable for fraud obligations if unmet, making collaborative platforms a strategic imperative .
- UK’s Sovereign AI Gets Institutional Backing: The UK government’s push for a sovereign AI model is gaining momentum, with major financial institutions like HSBC, Lloyds, and NatWest signing on to co-design Lumen Sovereign. This reflects a growing policy focus on national AI capabilities and data sovereignty for critical sectors, including finance .
- Singapore and Australia as Key Hubs: The regulatory environment in APAC, particularly in Singapore and Australia, is actively attracting global payment firms. Banking Circle’s acquisition of a MAS licence and access to Australian payment schemes highlights these jurisdictions’ role in shaping a regulated infrastructure for new payment models and digital assets .
6. Quote of the Day (if available)
“We do not believe organisations should hand over critical decision-making entirely to machines. Our solutions use intelligent automation to improve efficiency and reduce operational burdens, but a human-in-the-loop remains essential. Technology should augment human capability while preserving trust and accountability.”
— Dr Haroun Dharsey, Founder of Dharsi.ai, on the company’s AI philosophy.
7. What’s Next
- Banking Tech Awards 2026: The deadline for nominations is fast approaching on July 10th, offering a prime opportunity to showcase industry-leading innovation .
- Webinar on Intelligent Finance: A live webinar titled “Optimising liquidity in uncertain times” and a session on “What makes a Banking Tech Award winner?” are scheduled for this week, offering practical strategies and insights for finance professionals .
- UKPI Pay-by-Bank Rollout: Following the announcement at Money20/20 Europe, stakeholders are working to finalise rules for the e-commerce phase of the UK Payments Initiative, aiming to go live in early 2027 and significantly expand the role of Pay-by-Bank .
