The Global Finance and Technology Network (GFTN) has launched Alfin, an artificial intelligence-powered research engine designed for banking executives, FinTech leaders, and financial professionals navigating the increasing complexity of regulatory and technological challenges.
Described as a "central brain for financial intelligence," Alfin combines speed, transparency and practitioner insight to help users manage growing data volumes and regulatory demands. It is designed for research analysts, fintech executives and banking leaders who need verified intelligence across areas such as tokenisation, embedded finance and sustainability-linked assets — fields that increasingly require rapid, data-driven decision-making.
The platform draws on a decade of knowledge from GFTN's global network of fintech founders, central bankers and regulators, consolidating proprietary insights, trusted public sources and user-supplied materials into a single analytical framework.
Underpinning the system are six specialised AI agents trained in disciplines such as regulation, digital assets, sustainability and market intelligence. Each AI agent analyses data through its field expertise before synthesising findings into a single verifiable report, giving users analyst-grade clarity without the manual legwork.
"[Alfin provides] analyst research quality at your fingertips, verifiable and decision-ready," says Dr Axel Weber, GFTN’s international advisory board member, and president of GFTN’s Center for Financial Studies. Speaking at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 this morning, he describes Alfin as infrastructure for an industry shifting from disruption to collaboration with regulators.
Currently in beta, GFTN is inviting early users to join a waitlist. The first 500 participants will receive complimentary access before the platform transitions to a paid subscription model. Beta users will be notified in advance about pricing and migration details.
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Unlike generic AI tools, Alfin shows its reasoning and sources, displaying confidence levels when uncertainty arises. GFTN built the platform on explainable AI principles, allowing users to audit the logic behind outputs. This is a feature the organisation sees as increasingly vital for compliance, risk management and sustainability reporting.
AI meets regulation
Alfin's launch comes as policymakers and financial institutions race to adapt to new regulatory frameworks for digital assets and AI oversight. Measures such as US's Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation are providing long-awaited clarity on how banks and FinTechs can engage with tokenised markets.
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Weber notes these developments show regulators are no longer on the sidelines. He cites the Bank for International Settlements' Project Agorá as evidence of how oversight bodies are experimenting with distributed-ledger systems and digital currencies.
"Digital currencies and tokenisation will change the nature of finance much more fundamentally than anything [we've] seen in the last decade. You could soon own 0.01% of a skyscraper here in Singapore, or a square inch of a Picasso painting."
He credits the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for pioneering regulatory sandboxes that allow supervised experimentation. "[They are] a safe space to experiment under supervision, and if needed, with intervention by the regulator," says Weber, calling the approach "a model that has so far not been adopted far enough in every part of the financial world."
From rebellion to partnership
Weber places Alfin's launch within a broader transformation in fintech's relationship with traditional finance. "FinTech has started a rebellion, clearly needed to shake up finance, but it's ending as a partnership. Banks are learning to innovate. Start-ups are learning to comply, and regulators are finally starting to relax."
He predicts the next phase of digital finance will be defined by collaboration rather than disruption. "In the future, it's not man versus machine. It's man with machine."
Alfin embodies that principle by bridging technology, regulation and human expertise. As AI becomes embedded in financial decision-making, transparency and accountability will be critical. "If AI in the future is going to decide about credit allocation, [we] better make sure that it is not secretly judging your gaming, gambling, dating and health steps. It needs to explain its decisions,” says Weber.
Looking ahead, Weber predicted a sector defined by partnership rather than disruption. "After a decade of disruption, [we can] expect the next decade to be one of compliance and collaboration, and AI will further help innovate, and it will help regulation to be on top. The next chapter of FinTech isn't about replacing the system, it's about reinventing the system together."
