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
Mastercard & Lobster.cash team up for AI agent payments
Today
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fintech
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risk & compliance
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open source
Mastercard and Lobster.cash to let OpenClaw users authorise AI agents to spend on existing cards, backed by Verifiable Intent.
CIQ launches Linux compliance platform ahead of deadlines
Today
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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.
Companies change incentive plans faster, report finds
Today
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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.
HCS to invest EUR €13.2m & create 125 jobs in Dublin
Yesterday
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digital transformation
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partner programmes
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risk & compliance
HCS plans EUR €13.2m expansion with new Dublin office and 125 hires as AI-led managed services drive revenue growth.
spektr raises USD $20 million to expand AI compliance
Yesterday
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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.
Tether backs Drift Protocol relaunch with GBP £150m
Yesterday
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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
Yesterday
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fintech
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cx
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martech
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
Yesterday
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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
Yesterday
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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.
Aryza acquires Umbrella Tech in AI collections push
2 days ago
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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.
Banks test stablecoins for faster cross-border payments
2 days ago
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crypto
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fintech
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supply chain
Banks and multinationals trial tokens to slash cross-border settlement times, as clearer rules and backing bolster wider business use.
Tether backs USD $134 million Stablecoin Development
2 days ago
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crypto
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fintech
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blockchain
Tether invests USD $134 million in listed stablecoin platform as stablecoin use surges past USD $300 billion and eyes public market access.
Visa launches Tempo validator node in blockchain push
3 days ago
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firewalls
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network security
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crypto
Visa takes a direct stake in Tempo's blockchain operations, joining an early group of outside validators as it deepens its stablecoin and payments push.
Backbase, Ninth Wave unlock ERP banking connections
3 days ago
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dr
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digital transformation
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fintech
Backbase and Ninth Wave have teamed up to let banks plug corporate clients' ERP and accounting systems straight into account data and payments.
Scotiabank launches Scotia Intelligence for bank-wide AI
3 days ago
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uc
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digital transformation
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fintech
Scotiabank puts AI under one roof as new enterprise platform rolls out for staff, with commercial email routing and client tools already delivering gains.
US AI megadeals drive global VC to USD $331 billion
3 days ago
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semiconductors
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hyperscale
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dc
US AI megadeals push global venture capital to a record USD $330.9 billion as OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI dominate first-quarter funding.
L&G Asset Management launches tokenised liquidity funds
3 days ago
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crypto
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fintech
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blockchain
L&G Asset Management puts £50 billion liquidity fund range on Calastone's tokenised network for blockchain-based access on Ethereum and other EVM chains.
Payhawk flags AI governance gap in finance leaders
3 days ago
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manufacturing
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data analytics
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digital transformation
Payhawk survey finds 45% of self-described AI leaders in finance lack minimum use rules, exposing a wider gap between ambition and control.
Tax Systems launches AI Assistant for cross-border tax
3 days ago
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document management
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digital transformation
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ecm
Tax Systems rolls out AI assistant blending company data and IBFD research to speed cross-border tax analysis for multinational in-house teams.
StorMagic posts 36% growth as VMware rivals gain ground
3 days ago
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virtualisation
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hyperscale
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converged infrastructure
StorMagic says customers fleeing VMware and rising hardware costs helped drive 36% annual recurring revenue growth as it expands partners.