Sanctions failures rarely start with a suspicious transaction. More often, the damage is done at onboarding, when a weak rule, a missed alias, or incomplete beneficial ownership data lets risk slip through—or blocks the wrong customer and drives them away. That pressure is intensifying as compliance teams battle high alert volumes and growth teams push for faster account opening, claims...

Defaqto, the UK’s leading provider of financial product ratings, has acquired Pearson Ham Group’s Market Pricing Business for £11m. The move is set to significantly enhance its portfolio of data and technology solutions for the UK retail financial services and insurance industries, according to FF News.  The deal was completed through Defaqto’s parent company, Fintel plc, a UK-based financial technology and...

Armilla AI, a US-based InsurTech specialising in AI liability coverage, has raised $25m to expand its insurance offerings amid growing demand for protection against generative AI risks. The company intends to use the $25m to further scale and distribute its expanded AI Liability Policy, according to FF News.  The upgraded coverage now includes traditional general liability while offering protection for AI...

Helium Ventures, an AI-native holding company that acquires and stewards software businesses, has acquired InsurGrid, a leading InsurTech platform for insurance policy data collection and verification, used by over 2,500 property and casualty insurance agents nationwide. The acquisition aims to accelerate InsurGrid’s growth and product development under Helium Ventures’ ownership. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in...

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published Phase 2A of the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, marking a further step in the city’s efforts to channel capital towards green and sustainable economic activities and support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Released on 22 January, the updated taxonomy builds on earlier work by the HKMA to create a...

Financial institutions know that regulators rarely judge an AML programme on policy documents alone. When examiners test whether controls work in practice, they often start with the hardest files: high-risk customers, complex structures and relationships that demand Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD). In those cases, a clear documentation trail can make the difference between a defensible, risk-based decision and one...

ThetaRay, a global cognitive AI financial crime compliance provider, has appointed financial markets technology leader Brad Levy as its new chief executive officer. The company, recognised for its advanced AI-driven transaction monitoring and due diligence capabilities, said Levy will guide its next phase of international expansion. ThetaRay develops Cognitive AI technology that helps banks and FinTech firms detect emerging financial crime...

Root Platform, Admiral Pioneer and Octopus Electric Vehicles have joined forces to embed motor insurance directly into the electric vehicle leasing journey. The partnership has been designed to address long-standing inefficiencies in how insurance is delivered within salary sacrifice schemes. Cover has traditionally been arranged through fleet-based policies that rely on broad risk averages, often failing to reflect individual driver behaviour...

ZBD, a payments innovator powering real-money transactions for games and apps, has announced a new funding round of $40m. The company has secured $40m in Series C financing, with the round backed by Blockstream Capital Partners (BCP), which will support ZBD’s ambition to become a core payments infrastructure provider for game developers and digital platforms. ZBD uses the Bitcoin Lightning...

Zoom has become a core communications channel for regulated industries, but capturing complete, accurate and audit-ready records is far from straightforward. Regulators expect firms to maintain verifiable archives of every meeting, message and collaboration artefact. As Zoom continues to evolve, the durability of any integration depends on how well it adapts to new APIs, workflows and content types. Certification, therefore,...