The Summit opened with a jolt when a convincing deepfake of Co-founder & Chief Technique Officer Peter Sever took the stage, earlier than the actual Peter stepped in to close it down.
Peter and Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer Jacob Sever outlined how APAC has turn out to be the epicentre of each digital transformation and digital crime, with 2.9 billion on-line customers, 1000’s of fintechs, and an explosion in real-time funds.
Deepfake fraud is surging, main fraud networks function within the area, and one in 4 individuals are focused as potential cash mules.
The founders famous the heavy human toll as rigid verification requirements at the moment lock 627 million people out of the digital economic system.
Sumsub’s response—from versatile workflows to initiatives like Greenflag and Non-Doc Verification—are geared toward constructing smarter bridges as an alternative of upper partitions.
A World “Fraudemic” and The Want For Coordinated Defence
In his keynote, T Raja Kumar, President of the Monetary Motion Activity Power (FATF) for 2022-2024, described the world as being in a real “fraudemic period,” the place cyber-enabled crime is scaling sooner than defences might be applied.
Fraud losses now exceed a whole bunch of billions of {dollars} yearly, together with heavy losses in Singapore and throughout East and Southeast Asia.
He spotlighted industrialised Fraud-as-a-Service, powered by AI-driven deception, money-mule networks, and cross-border rip-off syndicates.
He known as for stronger authorized frameworks, cross-border cooperation, and the speedy adoption of superior analytics and AI.
Cash In Movement, AI Brokers, and Disappearing Funds
Hearth chats explored how real-time transfers, cell wallets, embedded finance, and CBDCs are reshaping cash motion, and whether or not digital wallets have gotten the brand new “major checking account” for thousands and thousands.
Panellists agreed that the way forward for funds will probably be outlined by prompt worth, international attain, and belief.
One other dialogue examined AI brokers as each assistants and threats.
Criminals already use self-learning bots and AI-enabled spoofing to scale scams, however the identical instruments can energy defence when paired with behavioural biometrics and adaptive ML.
The panel agreed that organisations have to quickly safe AI brokers since they don’t seem to be inherently good or evil.
Hemanshu Parekh of Commonplace Chartered then walked the viewers by means of two actual investigations: a company fraud net utilizing shell firms and worldwide hubs, and a money-mule “hive” with a queen, leaders, and employee mules.
His method for defeating these invisible networks depends on IMP, which stands for Investigations, smarter Fashions, and deep cross-sector Partnerships.
Breakouts: Crypto, AI, and The Future Of Compliance
Breakout panels introduced collectively trade leaders to debate how the sector is weaving crypto into banking, funds, and treasury.
The message was clear.
Mainstream adoption is not about “if” however “how briskly and the way safely,” with compliance, custody, and operational resilience as crucial enablers.
A live-voting session explored AI’s twin position in monetary companies, analyzing bias, privateness dangers, and automatic fraud, in addition to new alternatives in compliance and danger modelling.
Viewers sentiment shifted as audio system harassed that the actual problem is just not whether or not to undertake AI, however methods to stop misuse whereas accelerating accountable innovation.
A Main Analysis Milestone and A New Fan Favorite
The Summit additionally marked a serious milestone: a Analysis Collaboration Settlement between Sumsub and Nanyang Technological College Singapore, the primary APAC college associate underneath the Sumsub AI Educational Program.
The joint work focuses on human-imperceptible watermarks for private photographs that stop the worldwide repurposing of likenesses into deepfakes and artificial identities.
On a lighter observe, Sumsub unveiled the plush model of its bulldog mascot, Summy, who shortly turned the “crush of 2025–2026.”
The queue to win a Summy plush stretched even longer than the one for espresso.
Important-Stage Compliance Discussions: 2026 and Past
Throughout the main-stage panels, compliance leaders from fintechs and monetary establishments shared how they scale quick whereas staying forward of regulators.
Centralised groups to identify international fraud patterns early, empowered native groups for nuance, and powerful international frameworks with native flexibility emerged as key success elements.
Panels on regulatory challenges and APAC’s compliance imaginative and prescient for 2026 emphasised the significance of early and ongoing engagement with regulators, in addition to a shift from reactive to data-driven, design-led compliance.
With regulators sharpening their deal with crypto, VASPs, and real-time monitoring, the message from the stage was constant: in an AI-accelerated panorama, corporations that harness analytics and put money into belief will outline the way forward for protected digital finance, the place the one actual risk you face is your twin.
Featured picture by Sumsub.
