Category Archives: Technology

Central Bank of Jordan and MENA Fintech Association Launch Quarterly Fintech Dialogue, Point to a Shift From Foundation-Building to Ecosystem Activation

First session details CliQ’s growth to 1.6 million users, an open finance framework due by year-end, and Jordan’s new virtual asset licensing regime

AMMAN, Jordan Aug 19: The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) and the MENA Fintech Association (MFTA) held the first session of a new Quarterly Fintech Update Series on June 25, 2026, bringing banks, fintech companies, investors and regulators together to discuss the next stage of Jordan’s digital finance sector.

The session was led by Abdulrahman Al-ababneh, Assistant Executive Manager at the Central Bank of Jordan, and chaired by Nameer Khan, Chairman of the MENA Fintech Association. It covered digital payments, open finance, virtual assets, the regulatory sandbox and cross-border payment plans, and closed with a moderated question and answer session on tokenization, stablecoins, buy now pay later financing and non-resident access to Jordan’s payment systems.

MFTA framed the session as the start of an ongoing dialogue with CBJ and described Jordan not as an emerging fintech market but as an established and increasingly strategic one for the region.

Key figures shared at the session

CliQ, Jordan’s instant payment system, had reached 1.66 million users through bank accounts and JOD 12.2 billion (US$17.1 billion) in account-based transaction value by 2024, up from a standing start in 2017. Wallet-based instant payments through JoMoPay added a further JOD 5.1 billion (US$7.1 billion) in transaction value across 2.58 million users, up from 216,000 users and JOD 6.5 million (US$9.1 million) in transaction value in 2017.

An updated open finance framework, covering both Account Information Services and Payment Initiation Services, is expected by the end of 2026.

The Virtual Asset Dealing Law (June 2025) and the VASP Licensing By Law (November 2025) now form the legal core of Jordan’s virtual asset framework, with licensing split between the Jordan Securities Commission and CBJ.

CBJ’s regulatory sandbox has received 29 applications to date, with nine currently in testing and four in the express sandbox track, including the country’s first virtual asset, BNPL and insurtech pilots.

CliQ and JoMoPay: growth since 2017

Figures in Jordanian dinars; JOD 1 = US$1.4.

Statements

“Jordan’s fintech progress was never only about new technology. It has been about building the legal certainty, infrastructure and institutional trust that let innovation take hold safely. With CliQ now past 1.6 million users and our open finance framework moving toward implementation, we’re shifting from putting the foundation in place to actively growing the ecosystem, without giving up the oversight that keeps the market stable.” Abdulrahman Al-ababneh, Assistant Executive Manager, Central Bank of Jordan

“Jordan is showing what a regulator-led approach to fintech growth can look like. The instant payment numbers alone make the case: 1.6 million CliQ users and JOD 12.2 billion moving through the system. Add a virtual asset law, an open finance framework due this year and an active sandbox, and you have a market that’s ready for real investment, not just conversation. We’re glad to start this dialogue with the Central Bank of Jordan and expect these sessions to become a fixture for our members.” Nameer Khan, Chairman, MENA Fintech Association

Five stages of development

CBJ presented its fintech progress as a five-stage build: setting an initial vision, strengthening core payment infrastructure, shaping enabling regulation, catalyzing innovation through the sandbox and open finance testing, and now working toward regional leadership as Jordan positions itself as a fintech hub.

What’s next

CBJ confirmed that work is underway on CliQ Plus, a cross-border extension of the instant payment system, developed with the instant payment system operator and payment service providers alongside licensed exchange houses to protect existing market participants. On tokenization, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies, CBJ said these remain under study and are not yet part of a formal regulatory framework.

AAEON to Demonstrate High-Performance Computing for Next-Gen Semiconductor Manufacturing at SEMICON Taiwan

Taipei, Taiwan – Aug 19: AAEON, an industry-leading provider of edge AI solutions, will present new platforms from across the AAEON portfolio alongside an AI vision wafer inspection demonstration at SEMICON Taiwan 2026.

Date: September 2^nd – September 4^th, 2026

Booth: #S6000, AI Technology Zone

Venue: Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 2 (TaiNEX 2), 4F, Taipei, Taiwan

The show, which brings together companies from across the semiconductor industry and features a range of forums, partner programs, and exhibitions, will explore how the industry’s key supply chain sectors intersect to form the backbone of the global collaboration ecosystem.

At booth S6000, AAEON will present a live AI vision wafer inspection solution designed in conjunction with leading industrial camera provider The Imaging Source and machine vision specialist Nevis, featuring the BOXER-8651AI-PLUS Embedded AI System, powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX with Super Mode.

Demonstrating how precision robotics can be used in semiconductor manufacturing spaces, AAEON will also host an AI vision-driven pick-and-place robotic arm solution powered by the Intel Core Ultra Processor-based UP Xtreme i14 developer board with GMSL camera technology.

In addition to live demos, Booth S6000 will host a range of new platforms from across AAEON’s portfolio, including Single Board Computers, Computer-on-Modules, Embedded AI Systems, and Industrial Fanless Box PCs.

The most anticipated platforms from this selection are likely to be the upcoming BOXER-8740AI and MAXER-5000, which are set to be AAEON’s first products to feature new NVIDIA Jetson Thor series modules. Meanwhile, products leveraging new, innovative Intel processing architectures will also be present. Notably, the UP WCL, featuring Intel Core processors (Series 3) CPUs (formerly Wildcat Lake), will be showcased ahead of its scheduled release later this month.

For more information on the full program of events, forums, and exhibitions taking place at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, please visit the event’s official website.

AI Improving Job Security and Productivity for Asset Managers, Clearwater Analytics Research Reveals

61% of asset managers say the technology will make their jobs safer

 BOISE, Idaho, NEW YORK, CHICAGO, LONDON and HONG KONG, Aug 19 – Senior executives at asset management firms are overwhelmingly positive about the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) for enhancing their job security, new research from Clearwater Analytics shows.

While there is concern more widely that the technology may be responsible for reducing work for humans, 61% of senior executives at asset managers participating in the research, which covered a broad spectrum of fund managers including insurance asset managers, hedge funds, private markets specialists, and general asset managers, say AI will increase their job security.

However, more than a quarter (28%) of those surveyed concede AI will reduce job security and 1% say it will replace their role completely.

 The Efficiency Dividend

The efficiency gains AI is delivering are tangible and measurable. Six per cent of managers report saving between one and 30 minutes per week, while one in three save between 31 and 59 minutes.

The impact is more significant for the majority: 45% report efficiency gains of one to two hours per week, while 16% are saving as much as three to four hours.

Building for the AI Age

The data suggests that AI is not being viewed as a replacement for human talent. Asset managers are making deliberate investments to ensure their people evolve alongside the technology. Seven in ten firms are providing AI literacy and awareness training, while 63% are investing in internal mobility and redeployment pathways, actively repositioning talent rather than reducing it. Almost half (49%) are redesigning roles specifically to integrate human and AI collaboration, and 47% are hiring talent with AI-complementary skills. Taken together, these findings paint a picture of an industry that sees AI not as a substitute for human judgement, but as a platform for enhancing it.

Souvik Das, CTO at Clearwater Analytics, said: “What I find most telling in this research is where the confidence is coming from. Job security has traditionally come from being hard to replace. Here, it’s coming from a different direction entirely. Firms investing in their people as AI becomes part of the everyday work. That’s a more durable kind of confidence, and it reflects an industry choosing to grow into this moment. The firms doing this well are using AI to make the people doing the job better at it.”

UIDAI Completes Over 2 Crore Mandatory Biometric Updates for School Children

New Delhi, August 18: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has completed more than 2 crore Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBU) for school children as part of its nationwide mission-mode drive, covering around 1.56 lakh schools across the country.

The special drive, launched in September 2025, has been undertaken in coordination with State and Union Territory education departments to make Aadhaar biometric updates more accessible to children. Dedicated camps and school-level outreach programmes have enabled students to complete the mandatory process at their schools.

The initiative has been strengthened through UIDAI’s technological integration with the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), allowing schools to access information on the MBU status of children and facilitate timely updates.

Aadhaar enrolment for children below five years captures demographic details and a photograph, while fingerprints and iris biometrics are not recorded because these biometric features are still developing. Mandatory biometric updates ensure that the Aadhaar record is updated with the child’s latest biometric information as they grow.

MBU is required when a child reaches the age of five and again at 15. Timely completion of these updates helps ensure a smoother Aadhaar authentication experience as children move through school, higher education and other services where Aadhaar authentication may be required.

To encourage parents and guardians to complete the updates on time, UIDAI has waived MBU charges for children aged 7 to 15 years from October 1, 2025, for one year. MBU for children in the 5–7 and 15–17 age groups is already free. As a result, Mandatory Biometric Updates are currently free for children aged 5 to 17 years until September 30, 2026.

UIDAI has cautioned that failure to complete mandatory biometric updates could create difficulties in Aadhaar authentication while accessing benefits under various government schemes. It may also affect processes involving Aadhaar authentication, including registration for competitive and university examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET.

UIDAI has urged parents and guardians to check the Aadhaar biometric update status of their children and complete the mandatory updates within the stipulated period.

NORDAC FUSION: combines motor and inverter into a compact high-performance unit

NORDAC FUSION – the compact drive solution with the decentralised NORDAC ON inverter for dynamic applications

 With NORDAC FUSION, NORD DRIVESYSTEMS launches a powerful drive system that combines motor and inverter into a compact unit.

Aug 18: Thanks to the optimal electrical and mechanical adjustment of both components, NORDAC FUSION achieves high power density, while particular attention was given to keeping the installation space as small as possible. Users benefit from a ready-to-use system that operates reliably once connected. This eliminates extensive parameterisation or time-consuming selection of components. NORDAC FUSION is the answer for everyone, who looks for maximum drive power in a very small space – simple, quick and efficient.

For logistics projects with a high level of automation, this means: less engineering efforts per drive axle, faster commissioning and consistently high drive quality – from the first conveying point to the last transfer station. NORDAC FUSION’s decentralised design furthermore allows for direct mounting on the respective unit. Centralised control cabinets are thus no longer required and wiring efforts are considerably reduced.

NORDAC FUSION – Various combinations

NORDAC FUSION combines asynchronous motors (IE3) and permanent magnet synchronous motors (IE5+) in ventilated and unventilated versions with a decentralised NORDAC ON frequency inverter. The optimised motor/inverter combinations cover a power range from 0.31 to 3.7 kW. They feature consistent safety and communication properties, are suitable for worldwide use, and can be ideally complemented with a gear unit from the manufacturer’s modular product range.

The decentralised frequency inverters are characterised by their compact design, full plug-in capability and high reliability. Special features include the integrated PLC and their multi-protocol Ethernet interface. PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and EtherCAT can be easily set via parameters. Integrated safety functions enable safe operation of almost all motion sequences in automated production.

Advanced communication and safety functions

Apart from STO and SS1, the NORDAC ON series will also feature the motion monitoring function SLS, SMS or SSM for fail-safe control of the rotary movement. They can be integrated via PROFIsafe or FSoE into a fail-safe application within an existing Industrial Ethernet network. Stand-alone use is also possible. The safe digital inputs and outputs can be used to incorporate fail-safe peripheral components or functions. Emergency stop buttons, safety door switches, photoelectric sensors, etc. can thus be connected directly. Two safe single-channel digital inputs can be combined into one safe two-channel digital input, and two safe outputs can be combined into one safe two-channel output. The level of functional safety can thus be individually set with NORDAC FUSION as well.

Encoderless control in dynamic applications

Another advantage is the encoderless control of NORDAC FUSION with the manufacturer’s highly efficient IE5+ synchronous motors (PMSM). Using the CFC open-loop injection method, the motor’s rotor position and speed can be captured without additional sensors. With this, NORD offers a robust, streamlined and economical drive solution that is also suitable for dynamic applications.

Highly efficient IE5+ motor technology

NORD’s highly efficient IE5+ permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) are characterised by a constantly high efficiency of up to 95% over a wide torque range. In partial load and partial speed ranges, they therefore achieve optimum energy consumption performance and allow for a reduction of variants for more streamlined production, logistics, warehousing and service processes.

Ideal for demanding environments

The NORDAC FUSION drive solution can be used up to a temperature of -30 °C. The combination of IE5+ synchronous motors and NORDAC ON PURE with NXD tupH® is, for example, suitable for wash-down applications in the food sector. Ethernet on board, hybrid cables and daisy chain technology enable efficient and hygienic topologies that are more streamlined and easier to clean than conventional decentralised wiring.

Technology-Driven Pension Services Improve Efficiency, Save Resources: Jitendra Singh

New Delhi, August 18: Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh said technology-driven pension services have improved efficiency while reducing manpower and financial costs. Addressing the 9th National ANUBHAV Awards Ceremony 2026 and the 60th Pre-Retirement Counselling Workshop at Vigyan Bhawan, he described retiring and retired government employees as a “national asset” and called for continued use of technology and pensioner feedback to make the system simpler and more responsive.

Dr Singh said pension reforms are aimed not only at providing ease of living to pensioners but also at improving administrative efficiency. He highlighted initiatives such as Digital Life Certificate, Face Authentication, Pension Adalats, Bhavishya and the Integrated Pensioners’ Portal, which have simplified pension processing, reduced physical verification requirements and helped resolve grievances. He said pension procedures are being continuously reviewed, with unnecessary provisions removed and family pension rules strengthened in line with changing social realities.

The minister also conferred National ANUBHAV Awards on five awardees and presented Jury Awards. He said the ANUBHAV initiative, launched in 2015, helps preserve the experience of government employees and provides valuable feedback for improving policies and administrative practices. The 60th Pre-Retirement Counselling Workshop was attended by around 800 officials due to retire in March 2027, covering pension benefits, healthcare, digital life certificates, cyber security, investment options, family pension and grievance redressal. DoPPW Secretary Nivedita Shukla Verma said more than 14,000 experiences have been shared on the ANUBHAV portal, while the 2026 awards received over 2,000 nominations, the highest so far.

MongoDB Atlas Now Delivers Industry-Leading Context Retrieval with Precision Accuracy

New Delhi, Aug. 17: Retrieval accuracy determines what an AI application or Agent decides and what it costs to host. Today, MongoDB, Inc. announced at MongoDB.local Build Fest a set of capabilities that add benchmark-leading retrieval directly into MongoDB’s intelligent data platform to solve this exact challenge. Today’s capabilities start with a new model in voyage-code-4, purpose-built for agentic code retrieval. That model, along with the full set of Voyage AI embedding and reranking models, is now available through a standalone API to power any application. MongoDB’s Voyage AI embedding models hold the top spot on the Retrieval Embedding Benchmark.

Historically, developers powering advanced retrieval use cases have had to pull data out of operational systems, manage complex and brittle embedding pipelines, and keep vector stores in sync. With Automated Embedding in MongoDB Atlas, powered by Voyage AI models, developers easily insert and retrieve data. Atlas handles embedding and indexing automatically behind the scenes, with no synchronization or embedding pipelines to manage.

The Financial Times was dealing with this exact complexity as they worked to make its journalism easy to find for readers. Search had splintered across the FT’s teams and products, so it consolidated onto the MongoDB platform. With Automated Embeddings in MongoDB Atlas powered by Voyage AI, the FT is improving the accuracy of its AI-powered semantic search while holding down retrieval costs.

“Our job is to make the FT’s journalism fast and easy to reach, however our readers come to it. With Automated Embedding and Voyage AI models on Atlas, we’ve improved retrieval accuracy while keeping costs in check across more than 100,000 searches a day, and being able to test and balance models lets us tune quality against cost as we go. With less infrastructure to run, the team can spend more of its time on the reading experience our subscribers rely on,” said Elitsa Pavlova, Principal Engineer CM Platform, at Financial Times.

Eve, a legal AI platform, was also running into complexity and cost issues. They are now using the Atlas Embedding and Reranking API to surface the most relevant material as it works across the life of a case.

“In legal AI, retrieval quality is foundational—the right evidence has to surface at the right moment. MongoDB’s Atlas Embedding and Reranking API gives us a promising way to improve relevance directly in the RAG layer, while simplifying the infrastructure needed to build and evolve these experiences,” said Urvesh Patel, Staff AI Engineer at Eve.

MongoDB is the memory and context layer that agents are built on

On MongoDB, high-precision retrieval runs in the same platform as real-time operational data, not bolted on as a separate system that adds cost and synchronization overhead. An agent searches live data for context, including records written seconds earlier, so what it retrieves reflects the current state of the business rather than a stale copy.

Four new capabilities give teams accuracy in production while reducing complexity and cost:

·Fresh and accurate context for agents: AI applications and agents can only make good decisions with accurate, reliable, up-to-date context. Automated Embeddings in MongoDB Atlas powered by Voyage AI keep that context current. Users set a Voyage AI embedding model for their search index, and Atlas embeds new documents as they are written and re-embeds existing ones when they change, with nothing to run or schedule.

·One endpoint for benchmark-leading embeddings: The Atlas Embedding and Reranking API gives any application, even ones running outside MongoDB, direct access to MongoDB’s top-ranked embedding and reranking models through Atlas.

·Accurate code retrieval with lower cost: General-purpose embedding models were not built for codebases, and it shows in retrieval accuracy. voyage-code-4 is a retrieval model tuned specifically for coding agents, matching information to code with higher precision and lower cost than previous models.

·Retrieval for streaming data: Agents acting on live events should not work from worse context than agents reading from data at rest. Vector search in Atlas Stream Processing brings that same retrieval accuracy to data in motion.

“Too many organizations are running AI in production with an operational database, a vector store, a search engine, and embedding and reranking models, all from different vendors, bolted together instead of built for it,” said Jim Scharf, Chief Technology Officer, at MongoDB. “That’s where stale data and errors creep in, and it’s usually where teams spend their time babysitting instead of building. Agents raise the bar. They need to retrieve live context continuously and cannot wait on overnight batch jobs. MongoDB was built as an operational platform from the start, so retrieval and memory run on the same live data, nothing to sync, and agents act on what’s happening instantly.”

These new capabilities are generally available today; get started for free at mongodb.com/atlas.

MongoDB also announced at Build Fest new integrations that put MongoDB inside the AI tools developers build with—across Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Grok Build, and Devin—along with the MongoDB Atlas Managed MCP Server: Link

Vodia Phone 2 Turns Android Phones into Vodia Extensions

BOSTON: August 17 – Vodia Networks, Inc., a provider of unified cloud communications solutions to enterprises, contact centers, and service providers, is pleased to announce Vodia Phone 2, an app that brings the Vodia PBX experience to Android users. Vodia Phone 2 is a companion app to the new Vodia iOS app, which the company announced in July of this year.   

Vodia Phone 2 turns any Android device into a full-featured extension of the Vodia phone system. It integrates with the native Android calling experience, so users can make and receive calls from anywhere via a business phone system.

Incoming business calls ring like regular calls, even when the app is in the background or the phone is locked – calls can be placed from the Vodia app or directly from the Android dialer.

Vodia Phone 2 makes it easier to manage calls, voicemail, chat, extensions, call history, and active call controls in one place. Users can hold and resume calls, perform blind or attended transfers, park calls for colleagues, access company contacts, and manage how business calls reach them. Integration with Android Telecom Manager also enables support for Bluetooth devices and Android Auto, giving users a familiar mobile calling experience wherever they work.

For installation instructions and more information about calling, transfers, contacts, extension activity, and settings, visit the Vodia Android app documentation page.

Vodia has been committed since its inception to helping enterprises and SMBs work from anywhere. For more information about our iOS and Android apps, Vodia representatives can be reached at sales@vodia.com or +1 (617) 861-3490.

NIELIT Unveils CYBER KUSHTI 2026 to Sharpen Cybersecurity Decision-Making Skills

New Delhi, August 16: The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) has launched ‘CYBER KUSHTI 2026’, a cybersecurity assessment initiative designed to test how effectively individuals can apply human judgment while identifying, analysing and responding to cyber threats.

The initiative focuses on a critical aspect of cybersecurity that extends beyond technical knowledge — the ability to make sound decisions when confronted with complex and evolving digital threats.

CYBER KUSHTI 2026 is designed around the premise that cybersecurity professionals must do more than identify vulnerabilities or recognise known attack patterns. They must also evaluate situations, assess risks and make timely decisions when information may be incomplete or ambiguous.

Through the initiative, participants will be exposed to assessment scenarios intended to examine their ability to interpret cybersecurity situations and distinguish between genuine threats, potential risks and routine events.

The programme is expected to provide a platform for assessing practical cybersecurity capabilities in an environment that places emphasis on reasoning and decision-making.

As organisations increasingly deploy artificial intelligence, automation and advanced security tools, the role of human expertise in cybersecurity continues to remain important.

Automated systems can identify anomalies and flag potential threats, but security professionals are often required to determine the significance of an alert, establish priorities and decide what action should be taken.

CYBER KUSHTI 2026 seeks to bring this human element into sharper focus by examining how participants respond to cybersecurity challenges rather than relying solely on theoretical or textbook knowledge.

The launch comes at a time when India is expanding its digital infrastructure and strengthening cybersecurity capabilities across government, industry and other sectors.

A growing digital economy has also increased the potential attack surface for organisations, creating demand for professionals who understand both technology and cyber-risk management.

NIELIT’s initiative can contribute to this ecosystem by encouraging cybersecurity learners and professionals to develop stronger analytical and decision-making capabilities alongside technical skills.

Traditional cybersecurity assessments often concentrate on technical concepts, tools, vulnerabilities and predefined answers. CYBER KUSHTI 2026 takes a different approach by placing greater emphasis on judgment, interpretation and situational awareness.

This approach could prove particularly relevant for cybersecurity roles where professionals have to respond to rapidly changing circumstances and make decisions that can affect the security and continuity of an organisation.

The initiative also highlights the evolving nature of cybersecurity education, where practical problem-solving and human reasoning are becoming increasingly important components of professional preparedness.

With artificial intelligence, cloud computing, connected devices and digital services becoming increasingly embedded in everyday business and public infrastructure, cybersecurity challenges are becoming more complex.

Against this backdrop, initiatives such as CYBER KUSHTI 2026 underline the need to develop cybersecurity professionals who can combine technical expertise with critical thinking and responsible decision-making.

The NIELIT initiative is expected to provide participants with an opportunity to evaluate their preparedness for real-world cybersecurity situations while contributing to a broader conversation around the skills required for India’s evolving digital security ecosystem.

STPI Units Cross Rs.7.73 Lakh Crore in Software Exports in FY26

New Delhi, August 15, 2026: Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)-registered units recorded exports worth more than ₹7.73 lakh crore during FY26, highlighting the continued strength of India’s software and technology services industry.

The export performance underscores the growing contribution of technology-driven businesses to India’s overall trade and the country’s expanding role in the global digital economy. STPI has played an important role in supporting software exporters, particularly through infrastructure, regulatory facilitation and technology-focused ecosystems.

The strong export numbers also reflect rising global demand for IT services, software solutions, digital products and technology-enabled business services originating from India.

With businesses worldwide accelerating investments in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data services and digital transformation, India’s technology sector is expected to remain an important engine of export growth.

The latest performance further strengthens the case for expanding India’s digital infrastructure and nurturing technology talent, particularly as the country seeks to increase its share of high-value global technology and services markets.