About Karen Joy
Karen Joy Bacudo
Finance Editor
Karen wears two hats at TechDay, balancing her role as an editor while assisting with finance tasks. She bridges writing content and reconciling numbers to support the team, with the same level of accuracy and precision.
Stories by Karen Joy - Page 3
Revolut launches AI assistant as banks shift to chat
5 days ago
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data protection
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digital transformation
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fintech
Revolut has launched an in-app AI assistant as banks and fintechs race to replace menu-driven apps with chat-based tools for everyday money tasks.
Mid-sized fintech firms squeezed out as funding tightens
5 days ago
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fintech
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risk & compliance
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api
Fintech's middle tier is under strain as tighter funding, heavier regulation and AI-driven competition favour big platforms and fresh startups.
Xero launches AI-native operating system for small firms
5 days ago
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digital transformation
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fintech
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financial systems
Xero unveils AI-native finance platform and JAX assistant to cut admin for small firms, with accountants and bookkeepers also in line for gains.
Mastercard & Lobster.cash team up for AI agent payments
Last week
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crypto
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fintech
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risk & compliance
Mastercard and Lobster.cash to let OpenClaw users authorise AI agents to spend on existing cards, backed by Verifiable Intent.
Companies change incentive plans faster, report finds
Last week
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data analytics
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digital transformation
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planning
CaptivateIQ survey finds 91% of firms changed incentive strategy in the past year as AI, budget pressure and wider plan use speed up redesigns.
CIQ launches Linux compliance platform ahead of deadlines
Last week
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hybrid cloud
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digital transformation
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application security
CIQ rolls out Enterprise Linux compliance stack as federal cryptography, defence contractor and post-quantum rules tighten from 2026.
Anthropic's Mythos AI sparks UK bank cyber stability alarm
Last week
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firewalls
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dr
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devops
Banks and regulators race to assess Anthropic's controlled Mythos access, as AI cyber testing raises fears over payments, trading and wider financial stability.
payabl. launches Visa Click to Pay for European merchants
Last week
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fintech
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cx
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martech
payabl. adds Visa Click to Pay across Europe, aiming to cut checkout friction, lift authorisations and reduce fraud for merchants.
UK CFOs say manual spend management lags modernisation
Last week
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digital transformation
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fintech
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risk & compliance
Most UK Chief Financial Officers say manual spend processes are slowing change, as new research flags lingering reliance on paper-heavy payments and invoices.
spektr raises USD $20 million to expand AI compliance
Last week
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digital transformation
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fintech
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rpa
Spektr lands USD $20 million Series A from NEA as Copenhagen AI compliance platform targets manual checks at banks and fintechs.
Lua raises USD $5.8 million seed round led by Norrsken22
Last week
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digital transformation
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fintech
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partner programmes
London's Lua secures USD $5.8 million seed backing from Norrsken22 as it expands its platform for businesses to manage AI agents.
British Business Bank backs Apposite with GBP £100m
Last week
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healthtech
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it industry
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smb
British Business Bank makes GBP £100 million first close commitment to Apposite Healthcare Growth I, aiming to fill the UK's life sciences scale-up gap.
Raindrop reunites GBP £447 million in lost pensions
Last week
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fintech
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cx
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martech
Raindrop says a surge in demand helped it trace GBP £447 million in forgotten pensions in the first quarter, with use still skewed towards men.
Tether backs Drift Protocol relaunch with GBP £150m
Last week
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crypto
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blockchain
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risk & compliance
Tether leads USD $150 million recovery plan as Drift Protocol seeks to restore user balances and restart trading after April exploit.
Blackhawk launches digital wallet for unified stored value
Last week
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crypto
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fintech
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cx
Blackhawk Network has unveiled a Digital Wallet API that lets brands pool gift cards, refunds, loyalty rewards and promo credit into one spendable balance.
Global study finds 78% use AI for investment insights
Last week
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digital transformation
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fintech
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genai
Study finds AI now shapes investment research for 78.3% of users, with strongest enthusiasm in the Middle East and Latin America.
Gr4vy launches toolkit for ChatGPT agentic payments
Last week
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crypto
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fintech
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cx
Gr4vy unveils Agentic Development Kit to help merchants sell inside ChatGPT and other AI platforms without overhauling their payment systems.
ControlUp tops USD $100 million ARR & becomes unicorn
Last week
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digital transformation
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hcm
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it automation
ControlUp crosses USD $100 million ARR as enterprise demand, channel growth and AI-driven endpoint management push the London firm into unicorn territory.
Aryza acquires Umbrella Tech in AI collections push
Last week
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saas
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uc
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devops
Aryza buys Toronto-based Umbrella Tech to add voice AI, speech analytics and autonomous agents to its collections and recoveries software.
WealthArc launches AI agent to structure portfolio data
Last week
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digital transformation
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fintech
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it automation
WealthArc unveils AI Agent to turn messy custodian records into structured portfolio data for wealth managers, backed by human review.