The Weekly Wrap: all you need to know by Friday COB | Sept 4th

By Puja Sharma

The Weekly Wrap is published every Friday and recaps the week’s main stories and deals, as well as upcoming events and announcements for Prime subscribers only.

The Big Story

Citi Group completes live transactions in SWIFT’s blockchain-based ledger, collaborating with Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and the United Arab Emirates’ First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

The transactions demonstrated how distributed ledger technology (DLT) can support real-time, multi-bank, and cross-border payments while also enabling securities and collateral management for corporate and institutional clients.

The transactions highlight the potential for blockchain-based infrastructure to deliver continuous payment and settlement services beyond conventional banking operating hours, eliminating restrictions associated with cut-off times, weekends, and holidays. Citi plans to expand the pilot through additional transactions with other major banking partners, including DBS and United Overseas Bank (UOB), later this month. The proof-of-concept programme is running in a controlled environment from July through December 2026.

The initiative also aims to demonstrate how tokenised deposits and tokenised securities can move seamlessly across a shared blockchain infrastructure. Industry participants believe this could improve the efficiency of cross-border payments, securities settlement and collateral mobility while reducing operational friction.

Swift’s ledger project combines blockchain technology with existing financial market infrastructure. Under the model, tokenised deposits are used to provide instant payment commitments, while final settlement continues to rely on established mechanisms such as real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems. The approach seeks to preserve the trust and security of traditional banking networks while introducing the benefits of digital asset technology.

Deals of the week

• ID Finance secures €21m funding led by German asset manager nordIX
• Beams Fintech Fund secures $22m for NextGen Finance
• Queensland Country Bank picks VeriPark to power digital banking transformation
• Apex Fintech Solutions partners Rippling to launch integrated treasury management
• Japanese Resona Bank invests $20m in Tata Capital Fund, Deepens India ties
• Imprint lands $2bn debt boost as investor demand surges
• Airwallex announces $43m Investment in UAE to support regional expansion
• M2P collaborates with Federal Bank to power digital loan onboarding
• TerraPay, Deutsche Bank team up to strengthen cross-border payments

Be on the lookout for

India is moving towards a framework that could allow AI agents to initiate and complete transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates UPI, is reportedly developing standards that would allow AI-powered assistants to transact on behalf of users within a secure and regulated payments environment.

The development could significantly change how consumers and businesses use financial services. Rather than manually initiating and approving each payment, users could authorise AI agents to handle tasks such as utility bills, travel bookings, subscriptions, recurring expenses and other routine payments based on predefined parameters. For businesses, the technology could automate vendor payments, expense management, treasury activities and procurement workflows, reducing manual processes and operational costs.

The move is notable given UPI’s scale as one of the world’s largest real-time payments networks. Integrating agentic AI with UPI could position India among the first major economies to deploy autonomous payments at scale, reflecting a broader shift in fintech towards AI systems capable of taking financial actions rather than simply providing recommendations.

For FinTechs and investors, the development points to a future where payments are increasingly embedded within AI-driven workflows rather than traditional banking applications. If implemented successfully, NPCI’s framework could create opportunities across payment infrastructure, financial services and AI-enabled commerce, while further strengthening India’s position as a digital payments innovator.