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Malaysians are getting broader access to cross-border digital payments today, as PayNet launches outbound DuitNow QR connectivity through Ant International's Alipay Plus network. Users of supported mobile banking apps can now pay at participating merchants across five destinations, including mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Philippines — a quiet but meaningful expansion of Southeast Asia's interoperable payments infrastructure.
Shifting north, Canada's largest bank is drawing a hard line against AI agents. RBC has announced it will block third-party personal artificial intelligence agents from directly accessing its digital banking properties. The move reflects a growing tension in financial services between the promise of AI automation and the very real questions around consent, liability, and security that banks aren't yet comfortable answering.
And on a different kind of fabrication — researchers are examining how social media, and TikTok in particular, can be used to manufacture the appearance of civil unrest. A new analysis of events in Barcelona explores how algorithmically amplified content can blur the line between genuine protest and coordinated disinformation, raising uncomfortable questions about what we think we're seeing when we scroll.
Those are the stories shaping today's tech landscape. Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
