Author: Akin Naphtal

Network International, a leading fintech company across the Middle East and Africa, has announced a strategic collaboration with Dubai-based airline flydubai to enhance the passenger payment experience at Dubai International Airport (DXB). Under the partnership, Network International has integrated its advanced Push to Pay solution on point-of-sale (POS) terminals across flydubai’s airport service touchpoints. The solution enables fast, secure, and frictionless payments by removing the need for manual card entry, significantly improving transaction speed and convenience for passengers. The Push to Pay technology supports all major international card schemes, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Diners Club, while also expanding…

Worldline has deepened its longstanding collaboration with PSA Payment Services Austria GmbH (PSA), Austria’s leading provider of comprehensive payment solutions, through a major initiative to migrate to a cutting-edge, next-generation payments platform. The upgrade will leverage Worldline’s advanced cloud-based and API-enabled technology, delivering superior scalability, resilience, security, and forward-looking features that fully comply with European regulatory standards. This move positions PSA to modernize its critical infrastructure while preserving uninterrupted service reliability for Austria’s financial sector. PSA serves as a cornerstone of Austria’s payments landscape, handling mission-critical transaction processing for banks and ensuring secure, high-volume payments nationwide. By anchoring the new…

US businesses are losing significant revenue as they struggle to meet rising customer expectations around digital experiences, according to new research from AND Digital. The Winning the intelligent customer report found that 66% of organisations are unable to deliver the level of customer experience consumers now expect, resulting in lost revenue during ongoing economic uncertainty. The study, which surveyed 250 C-suite and data leaders across mid-market and enterprise organisations in the US, highlights an urgent need for CEOs to prioritise customer experience as a core growth and retention strategy. Six in ten respondents reported revenue losses over the past three…

EA Technology, a global leader in grid-edge intelligence, has launched OLIMS, a new online platform designed to streamline the testing, monitoring, and maintenance of high-voltage (HV) electrical assets across the UK. The OLIMS platform gives Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) and industrial site operators a single, centralised view of HV transformer oil test results, enabling real-time insights, easier trend analysis, and more informed maintenance decisions to improve asset reliability. The platform is supported by EA Technology’s oil testing laboratory at its Capenhurst headquarters, which processes over 40,000 oil samples annually. Following a major expansion in autumn 2025, the lab has doubled…

Google has announced a major expansion of its Gemini artificial intelligence features across Gmail, introducing AI-powered tools designed to help users manage emails more efficiently on the world’s most widely used email platform. In a statement released on Thursday, the company said the new Gemini-powered features will be rolled out in phases and, in some cases, enabled by default. Users who prefer not to use the AI tools will need to manually opt out of the features within their inbox settings. Among the most notable upgrades is Gmail’s enhanced ability to summarize lengthy email threads. According to Google, when users…

Meta Platforms Inc. has taken a major step to secure the energy backbone for its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence operations, announcing a series of long-term nuclear power agreements designed to support its next-generation AI infrastructure, including the Prometheus AI supercluster. The company has entered into multiple 20-year power purchase agreements with nuclear energy partners in the United States, ensuring access to reliable, large-scale electricity essential for powering energy-intensive data centers and high-performance computing systems. As part of the deal, Meta will purchase electricity from three nuclear facilities operated by Vistra: the Perry and Davis-Besse plants in Ohio, and the Beaver…

Smart Payment Technologies has announced a strategic partnership with Castles Technology, a global leader in payment hardware, to significantly enhance its flagship G8 payment gateway. The collaboration integrates Castles Technology’s advanced, device-agnostic hardware platforms with Smart Payment Technologies’ sophisticated software ecosystem, creating a more robust and flexible payment processing solution. The combined offering is PCI P2PE-certified, ensuring high security standards while allowing merchants and independent software vendors (ISVs) to deploy scalable systems across diverse environments.Early rollouts will target high-demand sectors such as electric vehicle charging, unattended kiosks, hospitality, entertainment, and retail, industries where reliable, adaptable payment systems are essential. The…

The UK government has launched a major new initiative to enhance the security and resilience of digital public services, backed by more than £210 million in funding. The Government Cyber Action Plan aims to protect citizens’ data and ensure uninterrupted access to essential online services such as applying for benefits, paying taxes, and booking healthcare appointments. Driven by a newly established Government Cyber Unit, the plan seeks to address escalating cyber threats that could disrupt daily life in minutes. Digital Government Minister Ian Murray emphasised the urgency of the measures: “Cyber-attacks can take vital public services offline in minutes –…

Network International, a leading digital payments enabler in the Middle East and Africa, has made history by becoming the first payments platform in the United Arab Emirates to support stablecoin transactions through the acceptance of AE Coin. The milestone follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Al Maryah Community Bank (MBank). Under the partnership, AE Coin – the UAE’s first Central Bank-licensed, fully reserved, and AED-denominated stablecoin – will be integrated into Network’s point-of-sale (POS) terminals and e-commerce platforms. This will allow merchants to accept the stablecoin seamlessly in both physical stores and online channels. The move…

Africa’s leading payments giant, Flutterwave, has acquired Mono, a prominent Nigerian open banking startup often dubbed the “Plaid of Africa,” in an all-stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million. The move unites two key players in Africa’s fintech infrastructure landscape, allowing Flutterwave to expand beyond traditional payments into advanced data access, identity verification, and direct bank transfers. Flutterwave, which processes local and cross-border transactions across more than 30 African countries, will integrate Mono’s APIs into its platform. These tools enable businesses to securely access customer bank data (with consent), verify accounts, initiate payments, and analyze financial patterns—capabilities crucial…