Author: Chris Anu
Binance South Africa GM Hannes Wessels The crypto world moves much more quickly than most people realise. At this speed, there’s plenty of opportunity, but plenty of danger, too. For Binance, the way forward is simple: education before action, because nothing in crypto works, not trading, adoption or safety, unless users understand what they are doing. Binance Academy is not an add-on or a marketing tool. For the company, it is treated as the foundation. It is where users learn about blockchain, how it works and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. They also learn what drives markets, why cryptocurrency prices fluctuate and…
SMEs are leading South Africa’s digital commerce revolution. Digital payments are increasingly underpinning merchant growth in SA, with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using them to unlock new revenue streams, expand their reach and build more resilient businesses. These are among key findings highlighted in the fifth edition of Payfast by Network’s State of Pay report, which examines how evolving payment technologies are reshaping the country’s digital commerce landscape.Launched under the theme “Powering Economic Growth Through Evolving Payments”, the 2025 report draws on anonymised Payfast platform data, as well as insights from its annual merchant and consumer surveys. While Payfast…
Oracle chairman Larry Ellison. Robert Galbraith/Reuters Oracle was sued on Wednesday by bondholders who say they suffered losses because the company chaired by billionaire Larry Ellison concealed its need to sell significant additional debt to build out its artificial intelligence infrastructure. The proposed class action was filed in a New York state court in Manhattan on behalf of investors who said they bought $18-billion of senior notes and bonds that Oracle issued on 25 September, shortly after the software and cloud computing company signed a US$300-billion, five-year contract to supply Sam Altman’s OpenAI with computing power. These investors said they…
TUT has warned of a spike in fraud and scam attempts targeting students and parents. As thousands of newly-qualified matriculants begin navigating university applications and registration process, the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) has raised the alarm over a sharp increase in fraud and scam activity aimed at exploiting students.TUT says the January to February registration window consistently attracts both online and in-person scams, with fraudsters exploiting anxiety around late applications, accommodation shortages and admission outcomes.“Every year the university sees a spike in fraud and scam complaints submitted via the ethics hotline,” says Dr Emily Mabote, acting deputy vice-chancellor for…
Visa is working to integrate stablecoins into existing payment systems, seeing an opportunity to maintain its market leadership as these tokens gain traction, Visa’s head of crypto, Cuy Sheffield, said in an interview. Stablecoins, cryptocurrencies typically pegged to the US dollar, allow funds to be moved outside traditional banking systems. While their circulation has surged, led by El Salvador-based Tether’s USDT with around US$187-billion tokens in circulation, mainstream merchant acceptance remains limited. Even if new payments systems are built using the technology behind stablecoins, “you still have to come back and connect to the existing merchant acceptance ecosystem if you…
A former IT operator is accused of exploiting bank systems, causing Standard Bank losses exceeding R1.9 million. A former IT operator at Standard Bank has been released on bail after appearing in court on fraud and theft charges linked to alleged internal system abuse.According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), Vivian Brink, 60, was brought before the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, a day after his arrest. Prosecutors allege that during his employment at the bank, Brink improperly altered digital account settings to benefit himself financially.“The alleged misconduct took place over nearly four years, from January 2014 to November…
Iran’s crackdown on dissidents is shaping up as one of the toughest security tests yet for Elon Musk’s Starlink, which has served as a lifeline against state-imposed internet blackouts since its deployment during the war in Ukraine. SpaceX, which owns Starlink, made the satellite service free for Iranians earlier this week, placing Musk’s space company at the centre of another geopolitical hotspot and pitting a team of US-based engineers against a regional power armed with satellite jammers and signal-spoofing tactics, according to activists, analysts and researchers. How SpaceX withstands Iranian attacks on its most lucrative line of business is expected…
Richard Ford, group CTO, Integrity360. AI-driven identity fraud is not a futuristic sci-fi plot – it is a current risk management issue that belongs in mainstream compliance discussions alongside POPIA and FICA, says Richard Ford, group CTO at Integrity360.Ford says fraud is no longer just about financial theft; it’s about identity theft in the most visceral sense.“Emergency scams are not new. Criminals have phoned victims for decades, usually targeting older individuals, pretending to be a grandchild in trouble. They rely on fear and urgency to bypass critical thinking. The difference now is realism. Scammers no longer need to be vague.…
MTN SA Foundation donates digital devices to schools in under-resourced communities. MTN South Africa, through the MTN SA Foundation, has provided digital devices to selected schools nationwide as part of the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) Back-to-School Campaign, aimed at improving access to digital learning.The devices are being provided to schools as support for e-learning and access to digital education resources. The initiative coincides with the beginning of the academic year and signals the launch of MTN’s education programmes for 2026.“Our commitment to education is not confined to moments of celebration – it is embedded in the start of every…
Wikipedia on Thursday unveiled partnerships with several big tech companies including Microsoft, Meta and Amazon, marking a major step up in the non-profit’s ability to monetise tech firms’ reliance on its content. Wikimedia Foundation, the operator of the online encyclopaedia, said it also signed on AI start-up Perplexity and France’s Mistral AI, among other firms, over the past year, having enlisted Meta and Amazon as partners previously. It already has an arrangement with Google, which was announced in 2022. Wikipedia’s 65 million articles are a key part of training data for generative AI chatbots Wikipedia content is crucial to training…