Anchored on the PCAF framework, Evercomm’s AI-powered transition finance engine turns global standards like PCAF and IFRS S2 into measurable action, empowering banks and their clients to lower emissions faster

SINGAPORE, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Evercomm, a leading provider of digital sustainability solutions, and CTBC Bank, Taiwan’s largest privately-owned bank, today unveiled the full operational deployment of their jointly developed AI-powered transition finance engine, PATHMATCH. This represents a major step from proof of concept to enterprise-scale implementation, helping banks assess the decarbonisation impact of loans, manage Scope 3 financed emissions, and track portfolio transition performance in real time.

As banks take on a central role in financing the sustainability transition, they face increasing pressure to base decisions on data that is consistent, verifiable, and aligned with evolving global standards. Traditional approaches to transition financing have long faced two persistent challenges: first, a mismatch between how banks assess financed emissions and how businesses measure operational emissions; and second, the manual, resource-heavy process of aggregating Scope 3 data across supply chains.

By creating a consistent, methodology-aligned across view both sides, PATHMATCH establishes a digital foundation for credible, comparable carbon accounting. It seamlessly links capital allocation from financial institutions to the sustainability performance of their clients. It enables banks to move beyond static compliance reporting, using real-time data and AI to identify bankable projects, improve portfolio quality, and design financial products that reward credible transition performance.

At the heart of PATHMATCH is Evercomm’s proprietary AI simulation engine, built on a thermodynamics model that simulates how energy flows across industrial systems to predict emissions with scientific accuracy. Developed through an S$18.7 million, six-year R&D initiative backed by the Singapore government and validated by 29 international journal publications, the engine runs simulations to provide rolling forecasts and generate tailored decarbonisation roadmaps for clients. This enables banks such as CTBC to automate portfolio-wide Scope 3 reporting, reduce manual data processing by up to 1,500 man-hours annually, and more accurately assess transition risks and progress.

Says Ted Chen, CEO of Evercomm, “The next chapter of transition finance is about direction and adaptability, especially in a region like ours where industrialisation continues to drive growth. Banks are at the heart of this transformation, and they need practical tools that accelerate measurable emissions reduction. We designed our engine to evolve with the market, integrating new data and technologies as they emerge. This adaptability ensures it remains relevant, scalable, and impactful, empowering banks like CTBC and many more to come, to move faster, lower emissions, and finance the transition with confidence.”

As Southeast Asia navigates the duality between industrial ambition and climate responsibility, Evercomm sees digital infrastructure as the bridge. With Singapore serving as a hub for green-fintech innovation and sustainable finance, the company is leveraging its strategic base to extend PATHMATCH’s framework to banks and corporates across the region. The aim is to help them adopt globally recognised standards such as PCAF and IFRS S2, while tailoring implementation to local market realities.

Rachael Kao, President of CTBC Financial Holding and Chair of PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting and Financials) Asia-Pacific, remarked, “As a financial institution, CTBC stands at the frontline of the sustainability transition, but our confidence is often tested by fragmented data, unverified information and constantly evolving methodologies. Since 2020, CTBC has been among the few early adopters to disclose financed emissions using PCAF methodology. Because of adopting PCAF, we can identify high-carbon exposures in our lending and investment portfolio, set achievable science-based targets in mid and long term, and shape our decarbonisation strategy that enables us to manage the progress and to make necessary adjustments along the way.”

“Beyond developing our own strategy, we are committed to driving and supporting the adoption of PCAF standards across the financial industry in the region. Together with Evercomm, we jointly developed PATHMATCH which simplified PCAF implementation, harnessing AI and advanced digitisation to manage Scope 3 financed emission and portfolio transition performance. We will be able to strengthen compliance, manage risks and accelerate sustainable financing with confidence,” she added.

By embedding scientific rigour into financial decision-making, Evercomm and CTBC Bank are setting a new benchmark for credible, scalable transition finance. PATHMATCH empowers businesses to align with global climate standards while enabling banks to operationalise transition finance with transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

About Evercomm

Evercomm is a multiple-award winning, AI-enabled climate technology company helping organisations to manage, plan and reduce carbon emissions across the world. With a strong presence in Europe and Asia-Pacific, Evercomm’s decarbonisation solutions are lowering carbon emissions from the UK to Italy, from Bulgaria to Thailand. Evercomm’s technologies are in-built with alignment to multiple global and regional frameworks, including the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), ISSB, GRI, GHG Protocol, ISO 14064 (Organisation), ISO 14067 (Product), TGO, SGX, Bursa Malaysia and others. Evercomm is a PCAF Accredited Partner, a Certified B Corporation, and its NXMap platform is accredited with Thailand government’s TGO sustainability agency. The company has garnered multiple awards including the Apex Award 2025, Global Finance 2025, COP28 Techsprint award, and Microsoft’s Greentech Challenge award.

Evercomm’s AI-enabled NX Engine powers digitization of financed emissions to automate, streamline and transform transition finance – elevating the precision and transparency of decarbonisation projects for financial institutions to provide financing with confidence. Evercomm’s technology solutions are impacting financial and manufacturing organisations everywhere and helping them forge a low-carbon future with immense opportunities.

For media queries, please contact:

Saeloun Asia (for and on behalf of Evercomm)
Nicholas Lim / Nicole Ng 
saeloun-evercomm@saelounasia.com
+65 9799 0715 / +65 9610 6332

Evercomm
Toh Lee Chee
ltoh@evercomm.io

Celebrating exceptional, community-wide excellence, based on rigorous evaluation and selection

LONDON, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a leading global provider of transformative intelligence, today released the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list. This annual list recognizes researchers whose contributions have demonstrated broad and significant influence in their fields.

Analysts from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) at Clarivate recognized 6,868 individuals with 7,131 awards* from more than 1,300 institutions in 60 countries and regions. The rigorous evaluation and selection process draws on data from the Web of Science Core Collection, and uses quantitative metrics and qualitative analysis to identify individuals whose work has had a genuine, global influence on their fields.

The list offers valuable insights into the global landscape of top research talent and identifies trends across countries, regions and institutions. The United States is the world leader, while Mainland China and the United Kingdom maintain their respective second and third positions on the list.

Bar Veinstein, President of Academia & Government at Clarivate, said: “We celebrate the Highly Cited Researchers 2025 for advancing innovation and inspiring the global research community to tackle society’s greatest challenges with creativity and ingenuity. As research environments become more complex, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity by continuing to strengthen the foundations of our Highly Cited Researchers program.”

A snapshot of the global research landscape in 2025 shows:

• The U.S. leads globally with 2,670 awards, making up 37% of the global total—a modest increase from last year that reverses a previous downward trend.
• One in five awards is designated to researchers based in Mainland China. It holds second place with 1,406 awards (20%), showing growth in absolute numbers but a slight decrease in world share. Among all institutions globally, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) is the top institution with 258 awards.
• The U.K. ranks third with 570 awards (8%), followed by Germany (363), Australia (312), and Canada (227).
• Switzerland returns to the top 10, while Hong Kong SAR continues to grow its number of awards, rising from 134 in 2024 to 145 this year, claiming a 2% share of the global total.
• This year’s Highly Cited Researchers work in 60 countries and regions, yet 86% of awards are concentrated in just 10 of them − and 75% in the first five. This highlights a remarkable concentration of top global research talent.
• Among the 3,562 researcher awards* in the 21 Essential Science Indicators (ESI) fields, 227 individuals appear in two or more ESI fields and 31 appear in three or more fields. This year, there are 3,569 recipients of cross-field awards.

Figure 1: Top 10 countries/regions by number of Highly Cited Researcher awards

Figure 2: Top 10 homes to Highly Cited Researcher awards

In an era when the credibility of scientific literature faces growing scrutiny, the Highly Cited Researchers program has continuously evolved to integrate robust checks. In 2025, the program added additional layers of scrutiny, ensuring that the list meets the needs of the community by honoring individual achievement for broad and significant influence while reinforcing the values that underpin meaningful and responsible research.

The full Highly Cited Researchers 2025 list, analysis and evaluation and selection policy are available here.

Follow us on social media: @ClarivateAG / Clarivate for Academia & Government / #HighlyCited2025.

* The number of awards exceeds the number of unique individuals because some researchers are recognized in more than one Essential Science Indicators (ESI) field of research. Our analysis of countries/regions and institutions counts designated awards and is thus based on the total of 7,131.

Highly Cited Researchers 2025 evaluation, selection and publication process

The Highly Cited Researchers program continues to evolve, with enhanced screening processes to address issues such as hyper-prolific authorship, excessive self-citation, and anomalous citation patterns. This year, 432 potential awards were excluded due to hyper-prolific publication. The evaluation process applies robust algorithmic analysis and qualitative expert review, ensuring that only those whose work meets the highest standards of impact and integrity are recognized. The additional layers of scrutiny added this year enabled the reintroduction of the Mathematics category. For more information about our evaluation and selection process, please see here.

About Clarivate
Clarivate is a leading global provider of transformative intelligence. We offer enriched data, insights & analytics, workflow solutions and expert services in the areas of Academia & Government, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences & Healthcare. For more information, please visit www.clarivate.com

Media contact:
Helen Chung-Kesl, Manager, External Communications, Academia & Government
newsroom@clarivate.com 

New Visa Direct pilot sends USD-backed stablecoin payouts directly to stablecoin wallets, giving creators and gig workers faster access to their funds.

SINGAPORE, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — At Singapore Fintech Festival today, Visa Inc. (V) announced a breakthrough pilot allowing businesses and platforms to send payouts directly to recipients’ stablecoin wallets. For businesses using Visa Direct, payouts can be funded in fiat currency, while recipients can choose to receive their funds in USD-backed stablecoins like USDC, transforming the speed and accessibility of global payouts. This innovation expands the reach of Visa Direct by providing creators, freelancers, and marketplaces with a stable store of value and faster access to funds – even in markets facing currency volatility or limited banking infrastructure.

“Launching stablecoin payouts is about enabling truly universal access to money in minutes – not days – for anyone, anywhere in the world,” said Chris Newkirk, President, Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, Visa. “Whether it’s a creator building a digital brand, a business reaching new global markets or a freelancer working across borders, everyone benefits from faster, more flexible money movement.”

According to new research from Monetized: Visa 2025 Creator Report, faster access to funds is ranked as the top reason digital content creators prefer using digital payment methods. Fifty-seven percent (57%) cited instant access as their leading motivation for choosing digital payment methods to get paid for content creation work.

This latest pilot advances Visa’s innovation in stablecoin-powered payments. At Sibos 2025 in September, Visa Direct announced a pilot program enabling businesses to pre-fund payouts using stablecoins, together, these pilots unlock access and greater financial flexibility for Visa’s clients and for millions of consumers around the world.

Visa Direct Stablecoin Payout Highlights:

•  Continuous convenience: Consumers, creators and freelancers will be able to access payouts in stablecoins with near-instant speed.
• Borderless currency for the digital age: Stablecoins can unlock access for those in underbanked regions, or where USD bank accounts are not available.
• Increased transparency: Every transaction is permanently logged on the blockchain, supporting auditability, compliance, and receipt confirmation.
• Expanding access: The pilot launches with select partners, with broader rollout planned for the second half of 2026 as client demand grows and regulatory frameworks advance.

FAQ

Q: What is the Visa Direct stablecoin payout pilot?

• Visa Direct’s latest pilot will allow platforms and businesses in the U.S. to send payouts directly to users’ or workers’ or employees’ stablecoin wallets, instead of sending to a card or bank account.
• Funds are delivered in USD-backed stablecoins, such as USDC.

Q: What are the advantages of stablecoin payouts?

• Near-instant, cross-border payouts, eliminating banking hours and cross-border lags.
• Consistent, USD-pegged value helps establish predictability.
• Every transfer is transparently recorded on blockchain.
• Flexible access for consumers to: hold, spend, or convert their stablecoins.

Q: Who is this for?

• Ideal for international businesses, marketplaces, creator/gig economy platforms, fintechs, and recipients with a compatible stablecoin wallet and who meet KYC/AML checks.

Q: How is this different from Visa’s September announcement?

• In September, Visa Direct announced its stablecoin pre-funding pilot: letting businesses fund Visa Direct payouts using stablecoins instead of only fiat, a back-end treasury innovation.
• Today’s pilot enables payouts to end recipients, like consumers, in stablecoins -putting digital dollars directly in recipients’ wallets.

Q: Do FIs and companies funding these payouts fund in stablecoin or fiat?

• Clients fund payouts in fiat currency.

Q: When will more partners have access?

• Visa is in the process of onboarding select partners. Wider access is projected for 2026, with Visa encouraging clients to express interest as global rollout ramps up.
• Visa continues to lead the evolution of digital payments – bridging the power of blockchain with the reliability and reach of the world’s leading digital payments network.

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About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.