# Cathay FHC Enters "Agent First" Phase: 2026 Cathay Technology Conference Draws Nearly 7,000 Registrants, Unveils "AI Digital Colleague" Pilots, and Focuses on Autonomous Finance, Stablecoins and Responsible AI

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/cathay-fhc-enters-agent-first-phase-2026-cathay-technology-conference-draws-nearly-7000-registrants-unveils-ai-digital-colleague-pilots-and-focuses-on-autonomous-finance-s
- Published: 2026-10-14T14:20:00+07:00
- Author: PR Newswire

Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai Joins Fireside Chat, Maps Strategy for the Next Decade
in the AI Era

TAIPEI, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cathay Financial Holdings (Cathay FHC) recently
hosted its 2026 Cathay Technology Conference, one of Taiwan’s flagship fintech events,
as the company marked the 10th anniversary of its digital transformation. Cathay
FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai participated in a fireside chat, reflecting on a decade
of transformation and outlining the Group’s strategic roadmap for the years ahead.

This year’s Cathay Technology Conference focused on three key areas: Agentic AI 
and Digital Colleagues, AI-driven IT modernization, and digital assets and Web3.
Cathay FHC unveiled, for the first time, trials of "digital colleagues" built with
AI agents, while examining cybersecurity governance, access controls and audit practices
as AI enters enterprise workflows, as well as emerging financial use cases including
stablecoins, AI-agent payments and autonomous finance. The event brought together
leaders from OpenAI, Google Cloud, Microsoft Taiwan, KPMG, National Chengchi University,
National Taiwan University and the Taiwan Virtual Asset Service Provider Association.
Nearly 7,000 people registered and combined online and in-person concurrent viewership
exceeded 3,500.

Cathay FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai said Cathay FHC’s transformation since 2016
was not about "digitizing for the sake of digitization," but about recognizing the
need for greater collaboration across business units and a more customer-centric
approach. He said digital technologies were used to address practical business challenges
and customer pain points.

Cathay FHC has remained guided by its core values of integrity, accountability and
innovation, Tsai said. Cathay FHC has also sought to build trust among management,
employees and customers through stronger horizontal and vertical communication, 
making this a key cultural transformation throughout its digital transformation.

Tsai cited Cathay United Bank’s CUBE credit card as an example. As an industry first
at the time, the CUBE credit card consolidated multiple cards into a single card,
empowering customers to choose and switch benefits according to their individual
needs. The strategic shift reflected a customer-centric digital approach that uses
technology to empower customers with greater choice and flexibility.

Looking ahead, Tsai said Cathay FHC will continue to explore opportunities in areas
including asset management and wealth management. He called on businesses to use
AI to rethink how work is done and how value is created, while building on their
respective strengths to deliver more and better results for customers. AI could 
give Cathay FHC and businesses an opportunity to leapfrog, he added.

Taiwan has benefited from robust economic growth in recent years, Tsai said. As 
a major financial institution, Cathay FHC will continue to seize opportunities while
addressing the challenges facing industry and society, growing alongside Taiwanese
businesses and communities and living up to the expectations and trust of the public.

Building on GAIA 2.0, Cathay FHC’s generative AI technology framework introduced
in 2025, Cathay FHC unveiled AI-Agent-powered "digital colleagues" for the first
time, including pilots for project management, technology governance and legal contract
review. Designed with defined roles and operating boundaries, the digital colleagues
can autonomously use enterprise knowledge and tools to carry out tasks, while critical
decisions and exceptions remain subject to human review. Controls covering identity
and access rights, enterprise knowledge, system integration, cybersecurity monitoring
and audit trails support Cathay FHC’s responsible-AI approach.

Building on its "Cloud First" infrastructure strategy, Cathay FHC is moving toward"
Agent First" by applying governed AI workflows and an agent platform to develop 
scalable Group-wide IT capabilities. Through the BMad Framework, Cathay FHC has 
developed an Agent for SDLC requirements management, shortening the requirements
analysis cycle. Cathay United Bank has also established AI Scrum and AI SDLC teams
to support requirements organization, development and testing, as well as document
preparation.

This year’s conference also featured Oliver Jay, Managing Director, International
at OpenAI, and Harry Lin, Technical General Manager of Google Cloud Taiwan, who 
shared insights on enterprise AI adoption, secure deployment and multi-agent governance
in financial institutions.

In digital assets, the conference explored virtual-asset custody, stablecoins, AI
Agent payments and autonomous finance. Industry and academic experts discussed how
financial institutions and VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) can balance innovation
with anti-money laundering, asset security and regulatory compliance.

Since launching its digital transformation in 2016 under the leadership of Vice 
Chairman Joseph Tsai, Cathay FHC, has continued to build capabilities in digital
technology, data and cloud, extending into generative AI, Agentic AI and digital
assets as technology evolves. Looking ahead, Cathay FHC will continue to strengthen
its capabilities in AI, cybersecurity governance and financial technology talent
development, while connecting industry, government and academic partners in Taiwan
and overseas under its "BETTER TOGETHER" brand spirit and advancing toward its goal
of becoming "a technology company with finance at its core."

[⌊Cathay Financial Holdings’ 2026 Cathay Technology Conference opened on September
15. As the company marked the 10th anniversary of its digital transformation, Vice
Chairman Joseph Tsai joined the morning fireside chat and reflected on the company’s
decade-long transformation journey. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉⌊
Cathay Financial Holdings’ 2026 Cathay Technology Conference opened on September
15. As the company marked the 10th anniversary of its digital transformation, Vice
Chairman Joseph Tsai joined the morning fireside chat and reflected on the company’s
decade-long transformation journey. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings
)⌉[
Cathay Financial Holdings’ 2026 Cathay Technology Conference opened on September
15. As the company marked the 10th anniversary of its digital transformation, Vice
Chairman Joseph Tsai joined the morning fireside chat and reflected on the company’s
decade-long transformation journey. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)

[⌊Cathay FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai said the company did not begin its transformation
simply “for the sake of going digital.” Instead, it recognized the need for business
units to better collaborate with one another, think more from the customer’s perspective,
and use digital tools and technology to solve problems and address pain points. (
Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉⌊Cathay FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai
said the company did not begin its transformation simply “for the sake of going 
digital.” Instead, it recognized the need for business units to better collaborate
with one another, think more from the customer’s perspective, and use digital tools
and technology to solve problems and address pain points. (Photo courtesy of Cathay
Financial Holdings)⌉[
Cathay FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai said the company did 
not begin its transformation simply “for the sake of going digital.” Instead, it
recognized the need for business units to better collaborate with one another, think
more from the customer’s perspective, and use digital tools and technology to solve
problems and address pain points. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)

[⌊Cathay FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, center, joined the fireside chat at the 
2026 Cathay Technology Conference. From left: Cathay FHC Executive Vice Presidents
Richard Chen, Quincy Chen and Joe Liang; Chief Technology Officer Marcus Yao; Senior
Executive Vice President David Sun; Chief Information Officer James Wu; Executive
Vice President Lana Shih; and Senior Executive Vice President Chris Wang. (Photo
courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉⌊Cathay FHC Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, center,
joined the fireside chat at the 2026 Cathay Technology Conference. From left: Cathay
FHC Executive Vice Presidents Richard Chen, Quincy Chen and Joe Liang; Chief Technology
Officer Marcus Yao; Senior Executive Vice President David Sun; Chief Information
Officer James Wu; Executive Vice President Lana Shih; and Senior Executive Vice 
President Chris Wang. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉[
Cathay FHC
Vice Chairman Joseph Tsai, center, joined the fireside chat at the 2026 Cathay Technology
Conference. From left: Cathay FHC Executive Vice Presidents Richard Chen, Quincy
Chen and Joe Liang; Chief Technology Officer Marcus Yao; Senior Executive Vice President
David Sun; Chief Information Officer James Wu; Executive Vice President Lana Shih;
and Senior Executive Vice President Chris Wang. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial
Holdings)

[⌊The 2026 Cathay Technology Conference was held on September 15, marking the arrival
of the “Agent First” phase. The event drew nearly 7,000 registrants and combined
online and in-person concurrent viewership exceeded 3,500, making it one of Taiwan’s
flagship fintech events for the financial sector.  (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial
Holdings)⌉⌊The 2026 Cathay Technology Conference was held on September 15, marking
the arrival of the “Agent First” phase. The event drew nearly 7,000 registrants 
and combined online and in-person concurrent viewership exceeded 3,500, making it
one of Taiwan’s flagship fintech events for the financial sector.  (Photo courtesy
of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉[
The 2026 Cathay Technology Conference was held on
September 15, marking the arrival of the “Agent First” phase. The event drew nearly
7,000 registrants and combined online and in-person concurrent viewership exceeded
3,500, making it one of Taiwan’s flagship fintech events for the financial sector.(
Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)

[⌊Cathay Financial Holdings this year unveiled pilots of AI-agent-powered “digital
colleagues” for the first time. The “digital colleagues” are assigned specific roles
and operating boundaries and can independently use enterprise knowledge and tools
to carry out tasks. Human oversight remains in place for major decisions, rule validation
and exceptional cases, with people responsible for judgment and final decisions.
Cathay FHC is building a comprehensive line of defense spanning identity and access
rights, enterprise knowledge, system integration, cybersecurity monitoring and audit
trails to implement “responsible AI.” From left: Cathay FHC Executive Vice Presidents
Joe Liang and Jeremy Liu. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉⌊Cathay 
Financial Holdings this year unveiled pilots of AI-agent-powered “digital colleagues”
for the first time. The “digital colleagues” are assigned specific roles and operating
boundaries and can independently use enterprise knowledge and tools to carry out
tasks. Human oversight remains in place for major decisions, rule validation and
exceptional cases, with people responsible for judgment and final decisions. Cathay
FHC is building a comprehensive line of defense spanning identity and access rights,
enterprise knowledge, system integration, cybersecurity monitoring and audit trails
to implement “responsible AI.” From left: Cathay FHC Executive Vice Presidents Joe
Liang and Jeremy Liu. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)⌉[
Cathay Financial
Holdings this year unveiled pilots of AI-agent-powered “digital colleagues” for 
the first time. The “digital colleagues” are assigned specific roles and operating
boundaries and can independently use enterprise knowledge and tools to carry out
tasks. Human oversight remains in place for major decisions, rule validation and
exceptional cases, with people responsible for judgment and final decisions. Cathay
FHC is building a comprehensive line of defense spanning identity and access rights,
enterprise knowledge, system integration, cybersecurity monitoring and audit trails
to implement “responsible AI.” From left: Cathay FHC Executive Vice Presidents Joe
Liang and Jeremy Liu. (Photo courtesy of Cathay Financial Holdings)

 

 

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