The dialogue opened with a sense of urgency about the structural changes being driven by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), blockchain and digital currencies. Emmanuel Daniel, founder of TAB Global, set the tone by highlighting the convergence of technologies such as GenAI, tokenisation and crypto. These forces, he suggested, are not separate but converging into a single ecosystem that will profoundly reshape finance. The convergence of AI, blockchain and digital assets Neil Tan, chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Society of Hong Kong (AIHK), underlined this confluence. “I am on the Web3 task force under the financial secretary, Paul Chan. We are pushing inside of that whole space,” he said. Tan explained that AIHK brings together executives from top 100 companies in Hong Kong to explore cross-sector AI commercialisation. He elaborated on how GenAI is evolving from machine learning 1.0 to 2.0, citing increased integration across sectors. “Now we are going into 2.0, which is all the GenAI space... and what new business models will come from it is where we are going to see separately,” he said. Tan also mentioned that he sits on the advisory board of First Digital Trust, a custodian with approximately $1.5 billion to $2 billion in stablecoin assets under management, pointing to the growing institutionalisation of digital asset ecosystems. “There’s a huge push for central bank digital currencies in Hong Kong, including both Hong Kong dollar and renminbi,” he said, tying this into broader government efforts to become a regional crypto hub. Rosie Rios, 43rd treasurer of the United States and chair of America250, observed that “there is a confluence kind of a converging of all of these elements, AI, blockchain, crypto,” echoing Tan’s remarks. From digital banks to AI-native institutions John Januszczak, president and CEO of UBX, the fintech arm of Union Bank of the Philippines, laid out a compelling vision of the future shaped by embedded finance, autonomous agents and AI-native transaction banking. “We spun this company out to pursue what financial services might look like post-digital transformation,” Januszczak said. He noted that UBX developed and operates the only central bank-approved stablecoin in the Philippines and a bridge platform between fiat bank accounts and stablecoin wallets. “The killer use case is real-time clearing and settlement,” he emphasised. Januszczak predicted that traditional transaction banking may disappear altogether, replaced by AI agents conducting autonomous financial operations. “Banks more and more will actually be... the ones that provide the trust and hold the reserves,” he said. He envisioned the future of banking in terms of balance sheet operators and narrow banking models. Sebastien Avot, head of institutional cash and trade for Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank, provided a more tempered view. While noting Deutsche Bank’s investments in blockchain-based atomic settlement and real-time payment systems, he emphasised the enduring need for safe, regulated environments. “Providing the safe environment to operate in is absolutely crucial for clients but also crucial for us as banks,” Avot said. Regulation and trust in the AI era Sithasri Nakasiri, assistant secretary general of the Securities and Exchange Commission Thailand, provided a regulatory perspective. She shared insights from the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), noting that “the regulator is still working on it... we know that AI is very powerful and useful, but we are also aware of the risk.” She indicated that regulatory consensus is being formed through IOSCO’s Fintech Working Group, which Thailand participates in. “It might not go like rules or regulation at the first step, but... you are going to see the draft at the end of this year or maybe next year,” she said, pointing to cautious, collaborative progress. Maja Pantic, recently appointed chief AI research officer at NatWest Group and former director of GenAI research at Meta, delved into the ethics and risks of AI. She introduced the concept of “AI replicas” capable of convincingly mimicking humans using only 30 minutes of data. “You will not notice whether that's me or a replica,” she said. While acknowledging the customer service efficiencies, she warned of deepfakes and the urgent need to build consumer trust. “There is very little research on consumer trust... banks have the users that trust them, so they have a responsibility to deliver trustworthy and explainable services,” Pantic said. She argued that AI implementation in banks cannot follow big tech’s approach and requires domain-specific adaptation. Incumbent transformation and legacy burdens Several participants addressed how incumbent banks should restructure to remain competitive. Lim Chu Chong, president director of DBS Indonesia, noted that DBS no longer isolates digital or AI in standalone units. “AI is going to change every part of the bank... every department, every function is thinking of how to embrace AI in their operations,” he said. DBS started with a digital bank in Indonesia but has since integrated it into the wider consumer franchise. John Howard Medina, chief operating officer at Philippine Bank of Communication similarly emphasised the need for incumbents to disrupt themselves. He cited GCash as a disruptor that lowered remittance fees from $12 to $1, forcing traditional banks to match. “Now all the banks in my country have to follow suit because that is the market maker,” he said. Steve Monaghan, executive chairman of Human AI and fintech pioneer, pointed out that many legacy financial systems are still rooted in ancient constructs. “Almost every transaction we do in an economy today is value destructive,” he said, akin to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) giving credit to multinational corporations. He emphasised the need to rethink from first principles and not just digitise inefficiencies. Global disparities in AI adoption Not all markets are on the same AI trajectory. Ramesh Jayasekara, CEO of Seylan Bank in Sri Lanka, said, “AI is probably at its infancy” in his market. With limited data availability and infrastructure, AI is currently focused on cost-saving measures such as anti-money laundering and operational efficiency. On the regulatory front, Nakasiri noted that while Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore leads in AI policy development in the region, Thailand is still observing modest AI use, mostly for customer communication. The payment paradox and platform divergence The dialogue concluded with a question from Rios: “Why have Apple Pay and Google Wallet not been adopted at scale?” The group offered insights rooted in regional realities. Monaghan argued that global platforms fail to localise. “They try to roll out a generic standard that ignores the context of the country,” he said. Januszczak and Medina echoed this, explaining that the Philippines lacks card infrastructure and is driven by wallet-based systems tailored to local needs. “Cash is still king,” Januszczak said. “You can make it digital for the merchant, but you still need to provide that last mile cash leg.”
