Category: Technology

Akeyless Announces General Availability of Agentic Runtime Authority for Real-Time Intent-Based Access Control of AI Agent

NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, 10 September, 2026 — Akeyless, a Runtime Identity Security company protecting enterprise systems and data by securing AI agents, machines, and human identities, today announced the general availability of Akeyless Agentic Runtime Authority, the real-time identity control layer for AI agent actions. It works on top of Akeyless SecretlessAI®, a credential protection layer that keeps credentials out of AI agents and brokers access to enterprise systems. Runtime Authority adds the next layer of control, enforcing intent based access control restricting what agents actually do once they have access.

AI agents today do more than answer questions. They access databases and applications, execute workflows, and make decisions inside live production environments. Traditional access controls can determine whether an agent is allowed into a system, but not whether every action it takes once inside is legitimate. For autonomous agents that can act unexpectedly or be manipulated, the impact can escalate at machine speed, as the July 2026 Hugging Face incident demonstrated. Runtime Authority closes that gap by evaluating agent actions in real time and blocking those that violate policy before they execute.

With general availability, Akeyless is expanding its AI agent ecosystem with new integrations for Claude Enterprise, OpenAI Codex, and Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, alongside new runtime control and investigation capabilities for production deployments. Runtime Authority runs on the same Akeyless Identity Security Platform that already secures over 220 billion machine identity interactions for Fortune 500 organizations, now applied to a new identity class: the AI agent.

“Our customers are the ones defining what security for agentic workflows should actually look like, and we build alongside them as trusted partners in that work.,” said Oded Hareven, CEO and Co-Founder, Akeyless. “Take a coding agent pulling credentials to reach a cloud resource, or a sales executive trusting that an AI assistant will honor a ‘read-only’ permission on a sensitive SaaS application. Both come down to the same question: is there one place issuing, governing, and revoking that authority? Humans and machines will continue interacting with critical systems, so having a  central point of access control and attribution only matters more over time.”

Runtime Authority: Enforce Dynamic Policy at the Moment of Action 

Runtime Authority controls how legitimate access is used once an agent is connected, layering intent enforcement on top of the more traditional role- and attribute-based controls. It evaluates an agent’s objectives and actions in real time and blocks activity that violates policy or exceeds its assigned task before it executes. This is a powerful “kill switch” that revokes the authority of the agent to act in real-time when things go wrong. For example, an agent instructed to summarize sales data would be prevented from deleting a database or exfiltrating large quantities of data, even if its underlying permissions would otherwise allow it. 

Securing AI Agents from Credential to Action

SecretlessAI addresses the credential problem by keeping credentials out of AI agents entirely. Instead of giving an agent a password, token, or key that it can store, expose, or reuse, Akeyless brokers access through the Akeyless Gateway, which provisions a short-lived identity directly on the target system, even legacy and on-prem systems that use traditional identity methods. A compromised or prompt-injected agent has nothing to steal and nothing to leak.

Runtime Authority uses that same brokered access path to add control over what the agent can do once connected and prevents risky actions before they cause damage. Together, SecretlessAI and Runtime Authority protect the full path from credential to action.

Governance & Visibility to Agent Action

Across both the credential and action layers, Akeyless gives security teams the visibility and control needed to monitor, investigate, and respond to agent activity. Every action is logged and traced back to the human, application, or agent that triggered it.

General availability adds new operational controls for production environments. The Agentic Access Dashboard provides a live view of active agent sessions, including the ability to terminate a session immediately, while new investigation capabilities show why a session was blocked. Enriched security events can also be forwarded to Splunk, Datadog, and Microsoft Sentinel for centralized monitoring and investigation.

Expanded AI Agent Ecosystem

The new integrations with Claude Enterprise, OpenAI Codex, and Amazon Bedrock AgentCore join existing support for a broad range of AI models, agent frameworks, and developer environments, including Google Gemini, xAI Grok, Claude Desktop, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, JetBrains IDEs, and n8n. This gives organizations a consistent way to apply SecretlessAI credential protection and Runtime Authority controls across the mix of AI platforms and tools used across the enterprise.

Agentic Runtime Authority works within the Akeyless Identity Security Platform that organizations already use for secrets management, certificate lifecycle management, privileged account security, and password management. 

Akeyless will showcase these capabilities in an upcoming live webinar together with Software Analyst Cyber Research (SACR), including product demonstrations and real-world use cases.

Akeyless Agentic Runtime Authority is generally available today for all Akeyless customers. To request a demo or learn more, visit www.akeyless.io/secure-ai-agents/runtime-authority/.

Elmo Motion Control Titanium Line Completes Functional Safety Certification

PETACH TIKVA, Israel – September 9, 2026 – Elmo Motion Control, a global technology leader in high-performance motion control solutions, today announced the completion of Functional Safety certification for its Titanium line of servo drives, marking a significant milestone in the company’s next-generation motion control technology.

“Completing Functional Safety certification across our Titanium servo-drive line reinforces Elmo’s position at the forefront of advanced motion safety,” said Ronen Boneh, CEO of Elmo Motion Control. “For more than six years, Elmo’s certified safety technology has been proven in the field, providing the experience and expertise to take integrated Functional Safety to the next level. Safety is no longer an add-on to high-performance motion; it has become a core element of the servo-drive architecture. By combining this proven safety expertise with Titanium’s exceptional power density, intelligence, and compact design, we enable machine builders to create smaller, smarter, safer, and higher-performing machines.”

The certification covers Elmo’s Titanium servo drives for both industrial and harsh-environment applications, providing machine builders and system designers with advanced Functional Safety integrated directly into compact, high-performance servo technology. The certified Functional Safety architecture includes 20 Safety Functions and supports safety levels up to SIL 3 (EN 61508), PL e, CAT4 (EN ISO 13849), and FSoE (IEC 61784-3), addressing the stringent safety requirements of advanced industrial machinery and motion applications. 

Elmo’s Titanium products extend certified Functional Safety across Elmo’s Titanium servo-drive portfolio, from miniature industrial designs to ruggedized solutions engineered for demanding operating environments.

The certified Titanium servo-drive portfolio includes:

Industrial Environment

The Industrial Servo drive product line fully complies with global industry standards, delivering unparalleled performance, capabilities, and flexibility.

• Titanium Castanet / Titanium Solo Castanet – compact dual-axis servo drive delivering up to 1.2 kW per axis, 2.4 kW total, 2 x 15A (Cont), 30A (Peak), up to 100V.
• Titanium Harmonica – high-performance dual-axis servo drive delivering up to 2.5 kW per axis, 5 kW total, 2 x 25A (Cont), 50A (Peak), up to 100V or 2 x 15A (Cont), 20A (Peak), up to 200V.

Special Technology (Harsh) Environment

Designed for extreme operating conditions, Elmo’s Titanium harsh-environment servo drives use specialized components engineered to maintain reliable, high-performance motion control under environmental extremes, including extreme temperatures and other challenging operating conditions.

• Titanium Lizard / Titanium Solo Lizard – compact servo drive engineered for harsh and demanding environments, delivering up to 1.2 kW per axis, 2.4 kW total, 2 x 15A (Cont), 30A (Peak), up to 100V.  
• Titanium Falcon – high-performance harsh-environment servo drive engineered to deliver up to 2.5 kW per axis, 5 kW total, 2 x 25A (Cont), 50A (Peak), up to 100V or 2 x 15A (Cont), 20A (Peak), up to 200V.

Together, these products extend certified Functional Safety across Elmo’s Titanium servo-drive portfolio, from miniature industrial designs to ruggedized solutions engineered for demanding operating environments.

The Titanium line represents Elmo’s next-generation servo-drive with embedded Functional Safety technology, combining exceptional power density, a high-performance multi-core processor, advanced networking, and compact single- and dual-axis architectures. The line incorporates GaN (Gallium Nitride) power switching technology, enabling ultra-fast switching, high efficiency, and exceptional performance from significantly smaller servo-drive packages.

Elmo offers one of the industry’s broadest Functional Safety connectivity options, including hardwired STO, configurable Safe I/O, FSoE communication, and hybrid architectures combining local and networked safety.

Integrating these capabilities directly at the servo-drive level helps machine designers simplify system architecture, reduce external safety components and cabling, and build smaller, more efficient machines.

With the completion of Functional Safety certification, Elmo further strengthens its commitment to providing machine builders with advanced motion control technology that combines performance, compactness, intelligence, and safety in a single platform.

The Titanium line is designed to help OEMs meet the growing demands of robotics, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial automation, autonomous systems, and other high-performance applications where machine size, productivity, reliability, and safety are critical.

Elmo continues to develop and expand the Titanium Line, which will eventually include a robust portfolio of AC and DC drives, with a wide range of voltages, currents, and powers for single-axis and multi-axis servo drives. Elmo’s next products are already in development and are planned for launch in 2027. 

Scality delivers Maestro to meet growing operational demand for backup-as-a-service

SAN FRANCISCO, September 9, 2026 – As cloud and managed service providers race to deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS) at scale, a critical operational challenge has emerged: managing tens to hundreds of individual object storage deployments spread across customer sites, each requiring monitoring, maintenance, and billing reconciliation. 

Scality, a global leader in data infrastructure software for AI-era storage at scale, today announced general availability of Scality Maestro, a fleet management platform purpose-built for service providers operating large numbers of Scality ARTESCA object storage deployments on behalf of their customers.

Managing distributed object storage infrastructure at scale is fundamentally different from managing a single deployment. Service providers need a single pane of glass to monitor health, push firmware and software updates, track capacity utilization across all customer sites, and do so without requiring VPN tunnels into every customer environment. As BaaS offerings grow from dozens to hundreds of sites, this operational gap becomes a hard constraint on scalability.

Co-developed with cloud and service provider partners (SCSP), Scality Maestro is now in production use across customer deployments and provides service providers with:

• Centralized health monitoring and alerting across the entire Scality ARTESCA fleet
• End-to-end management down to the hardware layer, including ARTESCA software upgrades and server firmware updates
• Aggregated capacity utilization data across all customer deployments, enabling automated pay-as-you-go billing
• Out-of-band connectivity architecture that eliminates VPN requirements, as all traffic flows from ARTESCA to Maestro, never the reverse
• Support for enterprises managing ARTESCA across branch offices or distributed edge locations

“We manage multiple Scality ARTESCA deployments across our key customer sites in the UK and Ireland as part of our backup-as-a-service offering, and until Maestro, every one of them was independently managed — separate logins, VPN tunnels, manual update cycles, and monthly capacity reports assembled by hand. Instead, Maestro gives us a single view of the entire fleet. Software updates that consume hours of staff time can now be monitored centrally, and we can grow the fleet without adding operational headcount. We can already foresee a significant difference in running our service.”

— Dominic McLouglin, CEO, Autodata 

While Maestro was designed primarily for the SCSP and MSP market, the platform is equally well suited to enterprise organizations running ARTESCA across multiple locations, whether at the edge, in branch offices, or as part of a distributed data protection architecture. 

Once deployments expand beyond a handful of sites, organizations reach an operational inflection point: tools that work well for a single site cannot efficiently manage tens or hundreds. Maestro provides the centralized management needed to operate at that scale. 

“Service providers building BaaS businesses on Scality ARTESCA are managing infrastructure at a scale that demands enterprise-grade operational tooling. Maestro was built with our SCSP partners to solve the real operational problems they face every day with centralized visibility, automated management, and the billing infrastructure to run a sustainable managed service. The fact that it requires no VPN and no network reconfiguration on the customer side was a hard requirement from day one.”

—Thomas Danan, Sr. Product Director, Scality

Availability

Scality Maestro 1.1 is generally available and supports all Scality ARTESCA deployments running version 4.0.3 or later. It is currently available as an on-premises deployment, with a SaaS delivery model planned for future release. For Scality service providers, full documentation is available at documentation.scality.com.

Negative Impacts From Growing Use of AI Set to Worsen, Say Professional Investors

Robocap research finds the technology will be detrimental to ESG issues and cost jobs over the next three years

Sept 09: New global research1 with institutional investors and wealth managers managing assets of $513 billion from leading fund manager Robocap, finds almost all (97%) believe the negative impact from AI on major ESG issues – such as energy consumption and weakening of democratic rights – will worsen over the next three years.

More than two-fifths (44%) of respondents say these negative impacts will dramatically increase, while 53% they will worsen slightly.

Further, while 71% of investors say there is enough transparency around the potential impact on ESG issues from certain AI technology and programmes, 29% say the level of clarity is poor.

The study – which covered global senior executives at insurance asset managers, pension funds, family offices and wealth managers – also reveals widespread concern about the erosion of job security by AI in the financial sector.

More than two-fifths (43%) of investors say AI will impact all finance roles to some extent; 38% say it will fundamentally redefine every role, while creating reconstructing some roles; and 5% expect all finance roles will ultimately be replaced by AI.

When asked to identify the biggest threats from the burgeoning technology, 87% of research participants say the biggest threat from technology is autonomous AI systems making decisions without human intervention, while 71% point to technological vulnerabilities and the potential for AI to be hacked or manipulated.

Seventy percent are concerned about the potential for AI to be used for surveillance or control purposes; almost two thirds (64%) note the ethical implications and potential misuse of AI; and 62% identify issues with privacy and data security.

However, despite concerns about the growing impact from AI, survey participants also highlight multiple positive outcomes from the technology.

When asked to rank the benefits from AI, the majority (59%) of investors say it will increase production output rates, followed by improving manufacturing flexibility and bettering product quality and consistency.

Jonathan Cohen, Founder and CIO at Robocap, said: “There is a growing recognition among institutional investors that the opportunities presented by AI are accompanied by significant responsibilities. While investors remain highly optimistic about AI’s potential to improve productivity, efficiency and innovation across industries, they are equally aware of the challenges relating to energy consumption, governance, privacy, security and the future of work.

“Our research findings suggest that investors expect companies developing and deploying AI technologies to demonstrate strong governance frameworks, transparency and accountability. As AI adoption accelerates, success will not be measured solely by technological capability, but also by how effectively organisations manage the societal and environmental implications of these powerful tools.

“Importantly, investors do not see these concerns as a reason to step back from AI. Rather, they view responsible innovation as essential to unlocking the technology’s long-term value. The companies best positioned for sustainable growth will be those that combine cutting-edge AI capabilities with robust risk management and a clear commitment to ethical development.”

The Robocap UCITS Fund, which is a thematic equity fund focusing on pure-play robotics, automation and AI listed stocks globally, was launched in January 2016 and is managed by a London based specialist team. It has delivered compound annualised net returns (CAGR) of 15.38% and a net return of  359.95% since its inception.

FPT Brings the Art of Marine Propulsion to the Cannes Yachting Festival

Sept 09: FPT, the Iveco Group company dedicated to the design, production, and sale of powertrains and solutions for on- and off-road vehicles, as well as marine and power generation applications, is ready to cause a sensation once again at the Cannes Yachting Festival alongside its official distributor Bimotor. The event is scheduled for September 8-13, 2026, in the beautiful city of the French Riviera.
 

Spread between Vieux Port and Port Canto, the Cannes Yachting Festival brings together the world’s most prestigious yachts and beautiful sailing vessels from one end of the legendary Croisette to the other, and it is an unmissable event for the most renowned operators, as well as being the ideal setting to present marine engines dedicated to the recreational segment.

FPT is indeed experiencing exponential growth in interest and customers in this very market area, thanks to the remarkable and world-renowned characteristics of its products: reliability, efficiency, torque density, and high power-to-weight ratio.

One of the emblems of this commercial success is the star of the stand (Palais 079, 32 NU): the N67 570 EVO presented for the first time with the exclusive top cover by Van Orton, the renowned Italian creative duo whose vibrant, impactful pop style is globally recognized. Launched at Agritechnica 2025, the partnership between FPT and Van Orton is now expanding to marine engines as well.

N67 570 EVO – Van Orton top cover limited edition
The new fruit of FPT’s collaboration with Van Orton is a striking engine cover, made by employing their peculiar, kaleidoscopic perspective to create a unique visual narrative, inspired by the groundbreaking Pop Art movement of artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. The result masterfully blends precision engineering with artistic vision, giving the usually “undercover” FPT engines one more reason to be admired.

N67 570 EVO – Best-in-class performance in its power range
With its 6.7-liter displacement, the N67 570 EVO marine engine generates up to 419 kW, delivering maximum torque at low RPMs and rapid load response, setting performance benchmarks in its category. Purpose-built for marine applications, its architecture features engine and turbocharging cooling systems tailored specifically for maritime operations. To simplify installation, key components – including the oil cooler, oil pump, water pump, and blow-by system – are fully integrated into the engine design. Maintenance is made straightforward via advanced diagnostics, while extended oil and filter service intervals of up to 300 hours significantly reduce downtime.

N67 570 EVO – Technical Specifications
Cylinder layout: 6L
Turbocharger: TCA
Displacement [liters]: 6.7
Injection system: Common Rail
Max power [hp @ rpm]: 570 @ 3000
Dry weight [kg]: 721

Full specifications are available
on the FPT website.

FPT has had a presence in the marine propulsion market since 1965, offering a complete range of class-leading engines with displacements from 3 to 15.9 liters, and rated engine power of between 85 and 1,000 hp, while the specific yacht lineup ranges from 230 to 1,000 hp. Designed to power vessels from 8 to 24 meters, FPT’s range of marine engines meets the requirements of a wide range of boat types, from pleasure boats to light-, medium- and heavy-duty vessels.

Every day in Italy, two new boats powered by FPT marine engines are launched. The presence of over 200 service points in the Mediterranean area is a strong guarantee of continuous support and a prompt response to any issues.

 
FPT is a brand of Iveco Group N.V. (EXM: IVG), dedicated to the design, production, and sale of powertrains and solutions for on- and off-road vehicles, as well as marine and power generation applications. Over 8,000 people across ten production sites and ten R&D centers work for FPT all around the world. Active in nearly 100 different countries, its global sales and its Customer Service department supports all Brand customers. The extensive product offering includes six engine ranges with power outputs from 30 hp to over 1,000 hp, transmissions with torque up to 500 Nm, and front and rear axles from 2.45 to 32 tonne GAW (Gross Axle Weight). FPT offers the most complete line-up of natural gas engines for industrial applications on the market, with power outputs ranging from 50 to 520 hp. A dedicated ePowertrain division is accelerating the path towards net zero-emissions mobility, with electric drivelines, battery packs, and battery management systems. This extensive offering, and its strong focus on R&D, makes FPT a world leader in industrial powertrains and solutions. For more information, visit www.fptindustrial.com.

AAEON Release Micro-ATX Duo with Intel Core Ultra Desktop Processors

The MAX-Q870A and MAX-H810A showcase AAEON’s agile approach to supporting diverse market needs.

Taipei, Taiwan – Sept 9:  AAEON (Stock Code: 6579),  announced the release of two new Micro-ATX industrial motherboards featuring Intel® Core™ Ultra 200S Series Processors (formerly Arrow Lake-S), the MAX-Q870A and MAX-H810A.

The two boards are compatible with a range of Arrow Lake-S CPUs, with the MAX-Q870A supporting up to 125W SKUs and the MAX-H810A supporting up to 65W SKUs. This difference reflects the market positioning of the two boards, with the former marketed for advanced AI and machine vision use and the latter for more cost-efficient industrial automation and HMI applications.

The MAX-Q870A provides four CU/U-DIMM slots for up to 256GB DDR5, with storage options including two M.2 M-Key slots with NVMe support and two SATA 6Gb/s ports with RAID 0, 1, 5 support. The board also provides simultaneous support for four PCIe devices through one PCIe Gen 5 x16, two PCIe Gen 4 x4, and one PCIe Gen 4 x1 slot. For both Wi-Fi and 5G module support, the board offers an M.2 E-Key slot with CNVi support and M.2 B-Key slot.

The board’s rear I/O features three LAN ports, two of which run at 2.5GbE speed, six USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A) ports, and one DB-9 port for RS-232/422/485. Joining these are four physical display outputs, two HDMI 2.1 and two DP 1.4a, all of which grant 4K resolution at 60 Hz. On top of this, the MAX-Q870A’s internal connectors grant access to a co-lay 40-pin LVDS/eDP connector. Additional internal I/Os include pin headers for an additional eight USB, a box header for five RS-232 interfaces, and a DIO 8-bit.

The MAX-H810A, meanwhile, is designed to deliver the essential features required for modern industrial automation and HMI applications at a cost-efficient price point. In addition to its Arrow Lake processor support, the board can host up to 128GB DDR5 via two CU/U-DIMM slots, with storage available through dual SATA 6Gb/s ports with RAID 0, 1 support and an M.2 M-Key slot. For expansion, the board comes with PCIe Gen 5 x16, PCIe Gen 4 x4, and PCIe Gen 4 x1 slots, as well as an M.2 E-Key for wireless module support.

The MAX-H810A’s rear I/O features two USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 (10Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 (5Gbps), and two USB 2.0 ports. Alongside these are dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, both HDMI 2.1 and DP 1.4a, and a DB-9 port for RS-232/422/485. The board also offers the same LVDS/eDP connector, DIO 8-bit, and box header for five RS-232 interfaces as its counterpart, with six USB 2.0 interfaces also available through pin headers.

Both the MAX-Q870A and MAX-H810A support Windows® 11 and Linux Ubuntu 24.04.2, and hold the unusual distinction of -20°C to 60°C operating temperature ranges, an upgrade on the 0°C to 60°C for AAEON’s previous Micro-ATX offerings.

Both platforms are now in mass production, with samples available via the AAEON eShop. 

transcosmos launches trans-AI Chat, a generative AI chatbot, in Indonesia

OGP Introduces SmartScope E18 High-Capacity Benchtop Video Measurement System

Compact, fully automatic 3-axis system delivers expanded XY measuring range for manufacturers with limited floor space

Sept 08: Optical Gaging Products (OGP®), a leading manufacturer of precision optical and multisensor metrology systems, has introduced SmartScope® E18, a high-capacity benchtop video measurement system that delivers fully automatic 3-axis measurement performance in a compact footprint.

SmartScope E18 combines a generous XY measuring range with a space-efficient benchtop design for manufacturers that need automated dimensional inspection without dedicating significant floor space to a measurement system. Its compact design makes it well suited for production environments, quality laboratories, and other applications where available space is at a premium.

At the heart of the SmartScope E18 is OGP’s IntelliCentric™-E fixed-lens optical system, which provides high-resolution imaging for precise video measurement. VIRTUAL ZOOM™ technology further enhances image detail and measurement capability, helping operators efficiently inspect a wide range of part features.

“With its 300 x 300 mm stage in a benchtop format, SmartScope E18 brings the capabilities manufacturers need for automated video measurement into a compact and cost-effective platform,” said Shreyansh B Hippargi, Managing Director, QVI India. “By maximizing the available XY measuring range while minimizing the system footprint, the E18 gives manufacturers a practical way to increase measurement automation without compromising valuable production space.”

Advanced Illumination Comes Standard
SmartScope E18 includes a comprehensive LED lighting system as standard equipment. Coaxial, substage profile, and SmartRing™ illumination provide flexible lighting options for highlighting different part features and optimizing image contrast during measurement.

Built for Measurement Stability
A new, compact fixed-bridge design combined with a heavy-duty base provides a rigid, stable structure engineered to support accurate, repeatable measurements. The system’s orthogonal construction helps maintain measurement stability while keeping the overall footprint compact.

Multisensor Capability
For applications requiring more than video measurement, SmartScope E18 can be equipped with an optional touch probe, extending the system’s capabilities to provide multisensor measurement coverage. This allows manufacturers to combine optical and tactile measurement within a single automated platform.

With its combination of high XY capacity, automated 3-axis video measurement, advanced LED illumination, rigid construction and optional multisensor capability, SmartScope E18 provides manufacturers with a versatile inspection solution when measurement performance and floor space are equally important.

Metrology Software Capability
As with all E-Series systems, the SmartScope E18 comes standard with easy-to-use Measure-X software. For applications requiring full 3D capability and other advanced software functionality, ZONE3 software is now also available on SmartScope E-Series systems.

SmartScope E18 is available through OGP Authorized Representatives worldwide. To find your local OGP Representative, visit ogp.com/find-a-rep

MENA Fintech Association Welcomes Wise as a Corporate Member to Advance Cross-Border Payments and Global Financial Connectivity Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abu Dhabi, UAE – Sept 08 – The MENA Fintech Association (MFTA), the region’s leading not-for-profit fintech industry body and globally ranked among the top fintech associations, has welcomed Wise, the global technology company building the best way to move and manage the world’s money, as a new corporate member. The partnership brings together Wise’s global payments infrastructure and MFTA’s regional network to support the continued evolution of cross-border payments and financial connectivity across MENA.

Wise joins MFTA as international money movement becomes increasingly central to the region’s digital economy. Growing trade, digital commerce, workforce mobility, and cross-border business activity are driving demand for payment infrastructure that is faster, more transparent, and more cost-effective.

Serving around 19 million customers globally, Wise processed more than $240 billion in cross-border transactions during the last financial year, helping customers save more than $3 billion in fees. Its infrastructure connects directly to domestic payment systems across multiple markets, enabling faster international transfers while reducing complexity and improving transparency.

Beyond its consumer and business offering, Wise Platform enables banks and financial institutions to embed international payment capabilities into their own products and services. This allows financial institutions to provide faster, more transparent cross-border experiences while leveraging Wise’s global payments infrastructure.

The partnership comes at an important time for MENA, where financial institutions, fintechs, regulators, and businesses are working to modernize payment infrastructure and strengthen the region’s connection to global financial markets. As part of its engagement with MFTA, Wise will contribute its expertise to initiatives focused on payments, financial infrastructure, cross-border commerce, and digital financial inclusion.

Mohamed Mansour, CEO of Wise UAE, commented:

“Joining the MENA Fintech Association marks a key step in Wise’s continued engagement in the UAE and across the wider region. As more people and businesses live, work and trade across borders, the need for international payments that are fast, transparent and low-cost has never been clearer. We look forward to working with MFTA, regulators, policymakers and industry partners to support an open, connected and more transparent ecosystem, and to help make moving money internationally more convenient for customers across the region.”

Nameer Khan, Chairman of the MENA Fintech Association and Founder of Fils, added:

“The way money moves across borders is becoming increasingly important to the competitiveness of modern economies. As trade, talent, and capital move more seamlessly between markets, the infrastructure supporting these flows must evolve with them. Wise has demonstrated at significant global scale what faster, more transparent international payments can look like, and we look forward to bringing that expertise into our network and supporting the continued development of more connected payment ecosystems across MENA.”

As part of the MFTA network, Wise will collaborate with banks, fintechs, financial institutions, regulators, and technology providers across the region. The collaboration will support dialogue around cross-border payments, payment infrastructure, digital inclusion, and the technologies enabling more efficient global money movement.

Together, MFTA and Wise aim to contribute to a more connected financial ecosystem where businesses and individuals can move money across borders with greater speed, transparency, and accessibility.

Global dialogue shapes unified digital policy priorities

Opinions on key telecom and tech issues help set the stage for ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference 

Nassau, The Bahamas, 4 September 2026 – Representatives of governments, industry, academia, civil society and the technical community at the World Telecommunication/ICT Policy Forum 2026 (WTPF-26) today adopted a set of Opinions on critical issues shaping the digital future.

ITU – the UN agency for digital technologies – organized the three-day Forum in Nassau, The Bahamas, as an opportunity for a global policy dialogue addressing the digital divide, sustainability, resilience, space connectivity and innovation.

The non-binding Opinions come two months before ITU’s Plenipotentiary Conference 2026 (PP-26), helping to build consensus approaches on major global information and communication technology (ICT) issues ahead of ITU’s highest decision-making meeting.

“We came to Nassau determined to move from vision to action to accelerate an inclusive, sustainable, resilient and innovative digital future,” said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, ITU Secretary-General. “The five Opinions adopted at WTPF sharpen our focus to do just that, while keeping people at the centre of digital transformation as we head to PP-26.”

As artificial intelligence (AI), space-based connectivity and rapidly changing digital infrastructure reshape the global digital landscape, the Opinions offer guidance to ITU membership on key challenges, including:

• Bridging digital divides, particularly on gender and age as well as skills and connectivity
• Green digital transformation: climate change and environmental sustainability
• Resilience of telecommunication and ICT systems
• Space connectivity
• Strengthening ICT-centric innovation ecosystems and entrepreneurship

“Small island developing states must not simply be affected by global digital policy, but be at the table helping to shape it,” said Sebastian Bastian, Bahamas Minister of Innovation and National Development. “For The Bahamas, the opportunity before us is to move from access to capability to opportunity, building the skills and conditions that allow our people to benefit meaningfully from emerging technologies.”

The Forum, which brought together a multistakeholder community of over 500 participants in person and online from 2 to 4 September, was the seventh in the WTPF event series. ITU convenes WTPF periodically to ensure policy discussions keep up with rapid technological change.

Previous Forums have helped the international community navigate other major shifts – from the emergence of new telecommunications services and Internet telephony to broadband, Internet-related public policy issues and on new and emerging technologies such as AI.

“The issues before us are shaping the future of societies and economies around the world,” said Randol Dorsett, Chair of WTPF and the Bahamas Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA). “The work we have done in Nassau has produced practical, forward-looking outcomes that should influence global telecommunications and ICT policy for years to come.”

A high-level Strategic Dialogue WTPF-26 preceded WTPF on 1 September with a discussion on the choices needed to shape the digital future.

The Strategic Dialogue highlighted the perspectives of small island developing states and other vulnerable economies to explore how policy, investment, innovation and international cooperation can turn technological progress into meaningful benefits for people everywhere.