Latest news with #TST
Business Wire
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Citi and Ant International Pilot AI-Enabled Forecasting Solution to Enhance FX Risk Management for Airline Customers
SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Citi and Ant International announced today that they are piloting the use of Ant International's Falcon Time-Series Transformer (TST) Model to deliver an enhanced FX risk management solution for their customers. Developed with aviation clients as an initial use case, the solution aims to offer greater payment solutions for the airline industry, which processes billions of payment transactions annually. With airline travel set to continue growing, the joint solution combines Ant International's experience with airline payments and Citi's robust FX solutions to help the bank's clients manage their FX costs more efficiently. Ant International's Falcon TST Model is a transformer architecture-based big data model with close to 2 billion parameters. By integrating the latest time series forecasting algorithms, the TST Model predicts future data points by learning complex patterns from large historical data sets using AI technology, the model helps businesses improve the efficiency and accuracy of their cashflow and FX exposure forecasts, allowing them to reduce hedging and overall FX costs. By pairing the Falcon TST Model with Citi's Fixed FX Rates solution, an award-winning solution that simplifies the FX risk management process for businesses selling online in multiple currencies, the combined solution helps businesses mitigate the risks associated with currency fluctuations by securing FX rates for a defined period. FX rates are locked-in and agreed upon, giving businesses greater predictability in budgeting, pricing and profitability. Citi's Fixed FX Rates solution supports over 70 currencies and is widely used by clients in various sectors including Airlines, Travel and e-Commerce. With Ant International's AI-enabled forecasting capability, businesses may utilise Citi's enhanced solution to improve the accuracy of their sales and FX exposure forecasts. Ant International has already achieved an accuracy rate of more than 90% in the company's own use cases and expects the solution to help the airline industry reduce its overall FX hedging costs as forecast accuracy continues to improve. By combining Ant International's Falcon TST model with Citi's Fixed FX Rates solution, Citi has successfully completed FX transactions for one of the leading carriers in Asia, reducing the carrier's FX hedging costs in initial live transactions. Sam Hewson, Global Head of FX Sales at Citi, said: 'We are constantly evolving our products and solutions to support new use cases built on our clients' priorities. Citi's Fixed FX Rates solution supports some of the world's largest e-Commerce and Travel names and this innovative solution sees us leveraging best-in-class technology capabilities in the broader ecosystem to accelerate go-to-market use cases.' Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, said: 'This is the first industry-tailored solution developed from our Falcon TST Model with a bank partner to serve their customers. It's an important milestone in our journey to leverage AI for FX management for our businesses, partners, and also merchants. The 30% hedging cost savings Ant International has achieved for the pilot airline customer shows the cost efficiency that can be achieved with AI-enabled FX hedging. We are excited to expand the solution with Citi to serve more businesses and industries.' About Citi Citi is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in more than 180 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services. Additional information may be found at | X: @Citi | LinkedIn: | YouTube: | Facebook: About Ant International With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit
Leader Live
10-07-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
WREXHAM AFC: It's a sign of Times Square for the Reds!
Until recently the launch of our kit for the season was fairly low key. This was partly because we were so low down the priorities of our various kit manufacturers that there was no guaranteed date for it to be made available for purchase. Indeed, sometimes we'd play in unbranded shirts or the previous season's outfit in pre-season matches! In contrast, the 2025-26 kit will be launched in our brand new city centre club shop. And Times Square. Yes, Times Square in New York! At last, the inevitable has happened, and we're muscling into the Yankees' territory! It was only a matter of time! It's the latest indication of the remarkable direction we're heading in. We might not have added too many players to the first team squad yet this summer, but we've already been taking massive steps forwards in our preparations for next season. We've already seen two developments which can only extend our international reach. That's our most important goal, as our most recent accounts showed. They reflected the growing role which the global market plays in our finances. Firstly, a fifth season of Welcome to Wrexham was commissioned, which is a crucial factor in our growth. We get nothing directly from the show, despite what many might suggest or assume, but the exposure it provides us is beyond value. Our profile in markets around the world is such that we can be sponsored by a company, SToK Cold Brew Coffee, whose name is on the Racecourse and one of the stands, but whose products aren't even sold in Britain! That's the global reach that we have. 'Welcome to Wrexham' is, I'd argue, the main element underpinning our project. While its benefits might be intangible, they are certainly profound. Secondly, we're currently touring Australia and New Zealand. There are plenty of Antipodean Wrexham fans who have been with us since the takeover: this trip will give them a chance to see us in the flesh and will also add to their numbers. Our global reach continues to expand. Back in the States, the TST continues to be important for Wrexham even though it increasingly doesn't seem to have an awful lot to do with us. The men's team that went out to North Carolina this summer had a couple of old boys and some youth players but also a core of players who had no link with us. The women's team had nobody from the current set-up although, in Del Morgan and Mia Roberts, it featured two of our best representatives over the years. The TST is a tournament held in the United States every year which aspires to be recognised as the seven-a-side World Championship. It attracts high-profile teams: Premier League sides took part this year while Borussia Dortmund and Boca Juniors competed last summer. We've been in it since its second year, and it spreads our name in new markets. I don't just mean it keeps our international profile high. We're positioning ourselves before a new sporting audience which, raised in the era of gaming and sports entertainment like WWE, finds new ways to consume sport. The way we are marketed by the TST is revealing. Confirmation of our participation is annually given plenty of fanfare by the organisers, We essentially get top billing, above the Premier League sides who take part. Why? Because, wonderfully, in the States our name is bigger than West Ham's. We are taking advantage of the global market in a manner which even the likes of Man United must look at with admiration. We generate money at a terrific rate considering our size and have penetrated international markets with remarkable speed. Last week Kieran Maguire, the leading academic authority on British football finance, put our growth into context by suggesting that we are currently operating on a similar financial level to QPR. He conceded that the comparison was based on our most recent set of accounts, which means he's looking at our finances when we were in League Two. We've grown considerably since then. Even if that wasn't the case, it's still a mind-blowing suggestion. QPR have been in the top two tiers for 39 of the last 42 seasons. To look at it another way, they've been in The Championship or above for the last 21 years, taking full advantage of the post-ITV Digital TV deals. Three of those seasons were spent in the Premier League, taking their share of the EPL's bloated broadcasting rights, and they have twice been in receipt of a series of parachute payments. The last tranche, received between 2014 and 2018, amounted to £90.6million! Furthermore, they were given a seven-figure solidarity payment from the Premier League for 16 of the last 19 seasons. And according to Maguire, we've risen to their financial level in the course of four years! It's an exciting situation to be in and it's a remarkable business feat by Rob and Ryan. It's enough to give me high hopes for the next season… of the football and of Welcome to Wrexham.
New York Times
10-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Angel City bets on future, signing Evelyn Shores: ‘When we break through, it's going to be spectacular'
Midfielder Evelyn Shores made headlines with her million-dollar goal at The Soccer Tournament (TST) this year in Cary, North Carolina, and her last-minute winner for the under-23 U.S. women's national team in Germany two weeks earlier. Now, the 20-year-old is choosing to leave the University of North Carolina early to join Angel City FC in Los Angeles. After speaking with several NWSL teams, the young midfielder visited Angel City three weeks ago, toured the facilities, attended a match at the club's BMO Stadium and knew LA was where she wanted to begin her professional career. 'Everyone was super welcoming,' Shores tells The Athletic. 'It felt like home away from home. It just made me really want to be a part of what's going on here.' Shores joins a club in transition. Since arriving in January, sporting director Mark Parsons has laid out a three-year roadmap for the evolution of a team that's only in its fourth season of NWSL play: excitement and promise by the end of 2025, trophy contention by 2026 and titles in hand by 2027 — in perpetuity, of course. Advertisement 'Evelyn had a lot of options,' Parsons tells The Athletic. 'But she saw what we're building here, what's still underground, and decided to start her career with us. And not in January, like we expected, but six months earlier.' Her choice to join the club this summer rather than wait until after the 2025 NCAA season concludes in December was unexpected but not surprising. 'I had a great conversation with (Angel City head coach) Alex (Straus),' she explained. 'He's super-knowledgeable, and he seems like he is going in a great direction with the club, so I'm really excited to get on the field and play for him.' Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Shores played both midfield and full-back at youth national team level and impressed coaches with her game-reading ability, positional awareness and confidence in high-pressure moments. Her standout performance in last year's NCAA tournament, which culminated in the 23rd College Cup title for the North Carolina program, caught the attention of long-time USWNT midfielder Heather O'Reilly, who invited her to join the U.S. women's team at this summer's TST. 'Her ability to receive the ball and know where she wants to go, to be able to link play with passes, be able to break lines with passes, to be able to break lines on the dribble and get into areas too, where she's gone from building the attack to creating opportunities,' Parsons says of Shores' strengths. 'And most importantly, she plays with purpose.' Leaving college early was not an easy decision. 'But at the end of the day, I wanted to be a part of what they have going on here in LA, and that was the best decision for me at the time,' Shores says. She is planning to finish her degree by taking online classes. Shores is the latest addition to Angel City's youth-focused rebuild. This year, the club has also brought in standout rookie forward Riley Tiernan, Brazilian midfielder Maiara Niehues and defender Savy King — all are 22 or under. Angel City leads the 2025 NWSL in minutes given to players in that age bracket. The young core is led by sisters Gisele (aged 19) and Alyssa Thompson (20), both LA natives. Advertisement Shores doesn't hide her excitement about joining Angel City. Her former North Carolina teammate Savvy King and fellow under-23 national team players in the Thompson sisters and Tiernan all add a sense of familiarity to the move. She's also excited to share a locker room with one of her longtime idols, Christen Press. 'It's not just about getting younger for the sake of it,' Parsons says. 'We need balance — veterans who've seen everything and kids who don't even notice pressure. But we've cut our average roster age down to around 25, and we're giving our young players real, meaningful minutes.' Parsons sees every appearance by Tiernan or King as an investment not just in their own development as players, but in the club's long-term value creation strategy: 'If we're doing this right, when a player does eventually move on, it's not for less than we brought them in for. That's how smart clubs operate globally.' At the midway point of the regular season, Angel City's growing pains have been visible, especially after losing key players King and Claire Emslie to injuries. Though the team currently sits 11th (of 14) in the table, three points outside of the eight playoff spots, Parsons is unfazed. 'Yeah, we've taken some hits, but that's the cost of building something real,' he says. If that sounds like someone playing a long game, it's because he is: 'I told the staff that we're in the tunnel, digging. Not much oxygen, no sunlight, but we're getting close. And when we break through, it's going to be spectacular.' Shores agrees. Her early arrival signals not just her ambition, but a belief that Angel City's future is worth betting on.
Business Upturn
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Upturn
Deutsche Bank and Ant International Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide Integrated Cross-Border Payment Solutions to Global Merchants
Singapore: Deutsche Bank and Ant International have announced their strategic partnership to provide more comprehensive payment solutions for businesses of all sizes in Europe and Asia, by combining their expertise and leveraging Ant International's proprietary tokenisation and AI-based FX technology. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: From Left to Right: Sabih Behzad, Head of Digital Assets & Currencies Transformation for Deutsche Bank, Chintan Shah, Head of Corporate Coverage for APAC & MEA at Deutsche Bank, Kriti Jain, Head of New Economy Coverage APAC and Head of New Economy Cash Solutions Sales APAC & MEA at Deutsche Bank, Leiming Chen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ant International, Yi Zhou, Chief Financial Officer at Ant International, Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International and Yanyi Liang, Head of Whale Treasury Platform at Ant International The bank will collaborate with Ant International's Embedded Finance unit on a series of global treasury management and cross-border payment innovations, including tokenised deposits, stablecoin, and its Time-Series Transformer (TST) FX Model. Deutsche Bank will be the first German bank to facilitate Ant International's blockchain-based real-time treasury management platform to enable real-time fund transfers between Ant International's intragroup entities. This will enable more efficient and transparent global treasury management for Ant. In addition, the two sides will also explore cross-border payment innovations, including tokenised bank deposits, stablecoin and Ant International's Falcon TST FX Model, to help Ant International and its clients reduce FX-related cost and risks. Both companies will also further look into the applications of stablecoins for global payments, including real-time cross-border treasury management for Ant's entities, reserve management and on-ramp and off-ramp services. Deutsche Bank will also work with Antom, a merchant payment and digitisation services provider, to scale up their collaboration to extend Antom's acquiring solutions for merchants in EMEA, enabling them to be seamlessly integrated with more payment solutions. The bank will also support WorldFirst's suite of payments-related solutions for SMEs in e-commerce and cross-border trade, including but not limited to account collections, payments and FX services. It will also enable the account and financial service provider to access its global network to serve its clients. Ole Matthiessen, Head of Corporate Bank APAC & MEA and Global Head of Cash Management for Deutsche Bank, said: 'We are delighted to strategically cooperate with Ant International. We will leverage our broad product capabilities and strong global network to deliver seamless and secure payment solutions to Ant International and its customers in Europe and Asia. Given the dynamic landscape of financial services, we see great potential to collaborate with Ant International, as one of the world's leading financial technology providers, to develop innovative payment solutions and transform the future of treasury management.' Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, said: 'With a dynamic fintech landscape, Europe is fast-becoming a key hub for global digital payment innovation. We are pleased to deepen our commitment to the region through this collaboration with Deutsche Bank, supporting the development of more seamless, secure and inclusive cross border payment solutions. By combining our digital and payment capabilities with a global leading financial institution, we aim to deliver enhanced payment experiences that meet the evolving needs of global businesses and consumers.' Expanding on a client relationship that has been in place since 2019, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 8 in Munich, Germany to deepen the strategic collaboration. About Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank provides retail and private banking, corporate and transaction banking, lending, asset and wealth management products and services as well as focused investment banking to private individuals, small and medium-sized companies, corporations, governments and institutional investors. Deutsche Bank is the leading bank in Germany with strong European roots and a global network. About Ant International With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit About Antom Ant International's Antom is the leading payment and digitisation services provider for merchants around the world. It offers unified merchant payment solutions to serve businesses of all sizes. Antom supports merchants to integrate over 300 payment methods, enabling them to connect with consumers in more than 200 markets, with the flexibility to accept payments in more than 100 currencies. Beyond payments, it provides digital marketing solutions and merchant digitisation services to help merchant streamline operations and enhance customer engagement. To learn more, please visit About WorldFirst WorldFirst offers cross-border payments and treasury services through its global business account, empowering growth for SMEs in e-commerce, trade, and the broad platform economy. WorldFirst simplifies key financial operations, including international payments, collections, currency conversions, and treasury management, all in a one-stop account. Leveraging the technological strengths of its parent company Ant International, WorldFirst delivers industry-leading transaction security and reliability. WorldFirst has supported over one million customers, enabling payments in 100+ currencies across more than 200 countries and regions. Learn more about WorldFirst at View source version on Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same.
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Deutsche Bank and Ant International Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide Integrated Cross-Border Payment Solutions to Global Merchants
SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Deutsche Bank and Ant International have announced their strategic partnership to provide more comprehensive payment solutions for businesses of all sizes in Europe and Asia, by combining their expertise and leveraging Ant International's proprietary tokenisation and AI-based FX technology. The bank will collaborate with Ant International's Embedded Finance unit on a series of global treasury management and cross-border payment innovations, including tokenised deposits, stablecoin, and its Time-Series Transformer (TST) FX Model. Deutsche Bank will be the first German bank to facilitate Ant International's blockchain-based real-time treasury management platform to enable real-time fund transfers between Ant International's intragroup entities. This will enable more efficient and transparent global treasury management for Ant. In addition, the two sides will also explore cross-border payment innovations, including tokenised bank deposits, stablecoin and Ant International's Falcon TST FX Model, to help Ant International and its clients reduce FX-related cost and risks. Both companies will also further look into the applications of stablecoins for global payments, including real-time cross-border treasury management for Ant's entities, reserve management and on-ramp and off-ramp services. Deutsche Bank will also work with Antom, a merchant payment and digitisation services provider, to scale up their collaboration to extend Antom's acquiring solutions for merchants in EMEA, enabling them to be seamlessly integrated with more payment solutions. The bank will also support WorldFirst's suite of payments-related solutions for SMEs in e-commerce and cross-border trade, including but not limited to account collections, payments and FX services. It will also enable the account and financial service provider to access its global network to serve its clients. Ole Matthiessen, Head of Corporate Bank APAC & MEA and Global Head of Cash Management for Deutsche Bank, said: 'We are delighted to strategically cooperate with Ant International. We will leverage our broad product capabilities and strong global network to deliver seamless and secure payment solutions to Ant International and its customers in Europe and Asia. Given the dynamic landscape of financial services, we see great potential to collaborate with Ant International, as one of the world's leading financial technology providers, to develop innovative payment solutions and transform the future of treasury management.' Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International, said: 'With a dynamic fintech landscape, Europe is fast-becoming a key hub for global digital payment innovation. We are pleased to deepen our commitment to the region through this collaboration with Deutsche Bank, supporting the development of more seamless, secure and inclusive cross border payment solutions. By combining our digital and payment capabilities with a global leading financial institution, we aim to deliver enhanced payment experiences that meet the evolving needs of global businesses and consumers.' Expanding on a client relationship that has been in place since 2019, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 8 in Munich, Germany to deepen the strategic collaboration. About Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank provides retail and private banking, corporate and transaction banking, lending, asset and wealth management products and services as well as focused investment banking to private individuals, small and medium-sized companies, corporations, governments and institutional investors. Deutsche Bank is the leading bank in Germany with strong European roots and a global network. About Ant International With headquarters in Singapore and main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit About Antom Ant International's Antom is the leading payment and digitisation services provider for merchants around the world. It offers unified merchant payment solutions to serve businesses of all sizes. Antom supports merchants to integrate over 300 payment methods, enabling them to connect with consumers in more than 200 markets, with the flexibility to accept payments in more than 100 currencies. Beyond payments, it provides digital marketing solutions and merchant digitisation services to help merchant streamline operations and enhance customer engagement. To learn more, please visit About WorldFirst WorldFirst offers cross-border payments and treasury services through its global business account, empowering growth for SMEs in e-commerce, trade, and the broad platform economy. WorldFirst simplifies key financial operations, including international payments, collections, currency conversions, and treasury management, all in a one-stop account. Leveraging the technological strengths of its parent company Ant International, WorldFirst delivers industry-leading transaction security and reliability. WorldFirst has supported over one million customers, enabling payments in 100+ currencies across more than 200 countries and regions. Learn more about WorldFirst at
