Agentic payments push: EPAA and HSBC launched an APAC working group to define how AI agents can initiate and complete payments, tackling liability, identity checks, and cross-network interoperability. Fintech competition heats up: Chime plans to expand from banking into investing, adding stock and ETF trading plus custodial IRAs, putting it more directly in Robinhood’s lane. Central bank tech rollout: South Korea’s Bank of Korea will expand its Project Hangang CBDC pilot to nine banks in September, moving from seven and raising token transfer limits. Regulatory pressure on fintech charters: Michigan AG Betsey Rhynhart joined a coalition urging US regulators to deny national bank charters to fintechs with predatory or risky histories. Cyber and fraud risk: Zilliqa said an exchange partner’s cold wallet was hit and ZIL was stolen; exchanges paused ZIL transfers while investigations continue. Banking sector signals: India’s private banks saw corporate lending outpace retail, while workforce reductions at lenders like ICICI and HDFC point to cost and productivity shifts. Market backdrop: US-Iran tensions lifted oil above $90, weighing on global risk sentiment and pressuring bank stocks in India. Payments economics: The BSP urged banks and e-wallets to cut reliance on transfer fees and broaden into savings, credit, insurance, and affordable investments. Digital banking awards: TBC Bank Group won Euromoney awards for customer experience and digital banking in Georgia and Uzbekistan, including AI chatbot and risk-management recognition.