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Coventry Building Society Group and Admiral among UK's Best Workplaces in Financial Services for 2026. Coventry Building Society, Admiral and Mastercard have been named on Great Place to Work UK's Best Workplaces in Financial Services list for 2026. The ranking celebrates organisations that consistently create positive workplace experiences, invest in staff wellbeing and development, and foster high levels of trust and engagement across their workforce. Employers must meet Great Place to Work's minimum trust index threshold of 65%. Coventry Building Society Group was recognised for its significant progress as employees across the building society and The Co-operative Bank came together following the acquisition. The list is split into large and super large, and small and medium organisations. Some of the other large and super-large organisations recognised included Allianz, Markel and Hastings Direct. Meanwhile, some of the small and medium organisations recognised included HomeServe, Goodman Jones and Agria Pet Insurance. A Great Place to Work spokesperson said: "Employees responded to 60 survey questions, with 85% of the evaluation based on what employees say about their experiences of trust and reaching their full human potential as part of their organisation, no matter who they are or what they do. We analysed these experiences relative to each organisation's size, workforce makeup, and what's typical relative to industry peers. "The remaining 15% is based on an assessment of all employees' daily experiences of innovation, values, and effectiveness of leaders, to ensure a consistent employee experience across departments and seniority levels." Lucy Becque, group chief people officer at Coventry Building Society, added: "Creating a great workplace takes time and dedication. It comes from listening, learning and continually investing in our people. We're committed to building a shared culture across the organisation where employees can be themselves, feel connected to our purpose and have the support they need to succeed. "To be recognised in the UK's Best Workplaces in Financial Services and Insurance for the fourth year running is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the culture our staff help create every day."

9th Annual Bankers Conference set for September 18 in Kampala. The conference was announced during a press briefing held on Tuesday at the Housing Finance Bank head office in Kampala. Simon Kabayo Last Updated: September 2, 2026 3 minutes read KAMPALA, September 2, 2026 - The 9th Annual Bankers Conference [ABC 2026] will take place on September 18, 2026, at the Kampala Marriott Hotel under the theme, "The Role of Uganda's Financial Institutions in Facilitating Tenfold GDP Growth." The conference was announced during a press briefing held on Tuesday in Kampala. Addressing journalists about the upcoming event, Uganda Bankers Association [UBA] Chairman Michael Mugabi outlined the banking sector's commitments towards supporting Uganda's long-term economic growth agenda. Mugabi said the industry has designed a response strategy aimed at mobilising long-term funding and expanding private sector credit to Shs 490 trillion by 2040, in support of the government's ambition to grow Uganda's economy from US$50 billion to US$ 500 billion by 2040. However, he noted that commercial banks alone cannot meet the full capital and funding requirements needed to achieve the ambitious growth plan. "Recognising that commercial banks alone cannot meet the full capital and funding requirements of the growth plan, the conference will also focus on leveraging capital markets and the required legal, policy and regulatory reforms needed to mobilise private domestic, regional and international patient and structured capital," Mugabi said. He said this approach will shape the conference's four sub-themes. Delegates will examine the role of Uganda's financial and capital markets in achieving the tenfold growth strategy, patient capital for the minerals sector, including oil and gas, financing for science, technology and innovation, and de-risking investments in tourism, agro-industrialisation and export development. "The discussions will draw on lessons from other geographies, including South Africa on mineral development, the Tiger economies on how development banks anchored their transformation, and Europe on agro-industrialisation and sustainability frameworks," he said. "Attention will also go to home-grown innovation and financing solutions suited to Uganda's young and agile population." Mugabi said the conference will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to align ideas and resources towards unlocking the financing required to drive Uganda's development agenda. "By uniting our insights and aligning our capital, we can unlock the patient financing necessary to power the ATMS agenda, transform our economy, and uplift the lives of all Ugandans," he said. The 2026 conference coincides with a transformative moment in national policy as the Government of Uganda rolls out its Tenfold Economic Growth Strategy under the Fourth National Development Plan [NDP IV] framework. The strategy targets expanding Uganda's GDP through high-impact investments across four primary pillars: Agro-Industrialization, Tourism Development, Mineral-Based Industrial Development (including Oil and Gas), and Advancements in Science, Technology, and Innovation [ATMS]. Wilbrod Owor, Executive Director of the Uganda Bankers' Association, added: "The Annual Bankers Conference remains the primary platform where strategic industry ideas transition into execution. In 2026, our focus is squarely on how to de-risk extension of much more credit to the key ATMS sectors, and related enabler sectors, as well as support the required machinery for attracting patient capital. Getting the financing model right for ATMS unlocks jobs, boosts export revenues, and delivers sustainable prosperity across the country." Highlighting the critical role of digital technology and inclusion, Shehryar Ali, Senior Vice President and Country Manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at Mastercard, title sponsor for ABC 2026, noted: "Mastercard is proud to collaborate with the Uganda Bankers' Association and the Bank of Uganda as the title sponsor of the Annual Bankers Conference for the ninth consecutive year. This longstanding collaboration reflects our shared commitment to advancing Uganda's financial sector and supporting the country's economic growth. As Uganda pursues its tenfold growth ambition, secure, inclusive and scalable digital financial infrastructure will be critical. By combining innovative technology with strong industry collaboration, we can help build a more connected and resilient financial ecosystem that delivers sustainable and inclusive growth." Key Programme focus areas and structure ABC 2026 will feature an opening ceremony and keynote address, followed by four dedicated panel discussions and a closing ceremony: 1. The Role of Uganda's Financial and Capital Markets in supporting the Tenfold GDP Growth Strategy. 2. Patient Capital for the Minerals Sector [including oil & gas]: Moving beyond traditional commercial loans to long-term structured finance. 3. Science, Technology & Innovation Financing: Driving Innovation-Led Growth. 4. De-risking & Financing Tourism Development, Agro-Industrialisation & Export Development: Unlocking the brown, green and blue economy. The conference is expected to attract a diverse mix of local and international stakeholders as Uganda positions its financial sector as a key enabler of the country's Tenfold Growth Strategy. Uganda Bankers' Association is an umbrella organisation for financial institutions licensed and supervised by Bank of Uganda. It was established in 1981 and is currently made up of 34 members comprising 22 commercial banks, 3 development banks [Uganda Development Bank, East African Development Bank and Afreximbank] and 9 Tier 2 and Tier 3 [MDIs and MFIs]. Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of its countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The AI paradox: automate the work, not the human experience. 02 September 2026 - Jacqui Jones - AI Management Way We Do is entering an era where organizations can automate more work than ever before. AI can analyze information, generate content, answer questions, make recommendations and increasingly take actions on its behalf. Agentic AI is taking this even further - moving AI from something Way We Do ask for information to something capable of completing transactions and executing work. But just because Way We Do can automate something doesn't necessarily mean Way We Do should. That was one of the strongest messages from Julie Nestor, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, during her presentation "Priceless in an Age of Distraction" at Something Digital 2026. The conference described this emerging period as a "paradox era" - where technologies such as AI and quantum are advancing rapidly but are not yet fully mature, creating both an opportunity and a responsibility to keep humans at the center of how technology is designed and deployed. For business leaders, this raises an increasingly important question: Where should AI take over - and where should humans remain firmly in the process? Knowing isn't the same as understanding. One of Mastercard's first observations was deceptively simple: Knowing is not the same as understanding. Businesses now have extraordinary amounts of customer data. Way We Do know what people search for, what they click, what they buy, what they abandon and increasingly what they might do next. But behavioral data doesn't necessarily tell Way We Do why someone behaved that way. Nestor used the example of an abandoned shopping cart. The typical response is more automation - retarget the customer, offer a discount, send another message. But perhaps the real question isn't: What can Way We Do predict about this person? What haven't Way We Do understood about them yet? Mastercard cited research showing that 81% of consumers ignore messages they perceive as irrelevant - despite years of increasingly sophisticated personalization. AI can help organizations analyze more information, but empathy, curiosity and judgement still matter. That distinction is going to become increasingly important as organizations redesign their processes around AI. Smarter technology doesn't automatically create better experiences. Another paradox Mastercard highlighted is that while technology has become smarter, people have become lonelier. Digital connection and human connection are not necessarily the same thing. Nestor argued that the opportunity for organizations isn't simply to use AI to communicate with more people. Technology can instead operate behind the scenes to help create meaningful human connection. Her example was wonderfully simple: rather than a brand pushing another promotional offer, AI could help identify people interested in participating in a local running group, cooking class or community event - using technology as the matching engine, while the actual value comes from humans connecting with humans. It changes the role of technology. Instead of asking: How can AI replace this interaction? Way We Do can ask: How can AI make this interaction more valuable? Sometimes friction is valuable. Perhaps one of the most interesting ideas in the presentation was that sometimes friction is good. Businesses have spent decades trying to remove friction. Fewer clicks. Faster transactions. More automation. More self-service. Usually that makes sense. But sometimes the thing Way We Do label as "friction" is actually part of the experience people value. Nestor described visiting a premium restaurant where the human service experience had been replaced at the table by a QR-code ordering system. Technically, it was efficient. Experientially, it wasn't. What disappeared was the conversation with the waiter: What do you recommend? How is this cooked? What is everyone ordering? The automation removed work - but it also removed value. That is an important lesson for organizations adopting AI. Efficiency cannot be the only design objective. Way We Do also need to consider trust, experience, judgement, relationships and accountability. Keep AI backstage where it makes sense. Mastercard's Australian research presented another particularly interesting insight. According to the presentation, 58% of Australians fear AI automation will prevent them from connecting with a human, while only 4% believe AI companies are worthy of their trust. Yet Australians already interact with AI constantly through services such as Netflix and Spotify. Nestor called this "silent AI." Her point was that consumers aren't necessarily anti-technology. They are often pro-authenticity. Technology can work brilliantly backstage - predicting demand, reducing waste, recommending information, automating administration or identifying patterns. But organizations should be transparent about where technology stops and humans begin. Mastercard's research also indicated that 74% of consumers still value in-person assistance in store and 66% value human assistance when making a purchase decision. The challenge therefore isn't choosing between humans and AI. It is determining: Which one belongs in which moment? This is an operational governance question. This is where the conversation becomes particularly relevant to Way Way We Do Do. As organizations introduce AI agents into their operations, Way We Do believe they need to move beyond simply asking: "What can we automate?" Instead, they need to understand the objective of the process, break the work into its component activities and determine the appropriate participant for each task. That participant might be: * A human - where judgement, empathy, accountability or relationships matter. * An AI agent - where information needs to be retrieved, analyzed, classified, compared or prepared. * Traditional automation - where deterministic rules can reliably execute the task and reduce the costs (no AI tokens required!). And frequently, the answer will be a combination of all three. Consider something as straightforward as verifying whether a supplier has adequate insurance. The workflow might involve: Retrieve certificate | Extract coverage | Compare against requirements | Assess exceptions | Decide compliance | Record evidence | Escalate if inadequate. AI may be excellent at extracting information and performing the initial comparison. But depending on the risk involved, a human may still need to make the final decision. That is the emerging role of operational governance: establishing who - or what - is authorized to perform each part of the work, under what conditions, using what information, with what evidence and with what level of human oversight. Trust becomes even more important when AI can act. Mastercard's presentation ended with perhaps the most important issue of all: trust. Mastercard demonstrated Agent Pay, where an AI agent doesn't simply provide information - it can complete a transaction on someone's behalf. Mastercard framed trust in this agentic environment around three questions: * Intent - Did it understand what I actually wanted? * Consent - Did I authorize it? * Control - Do I retain agency throughout the process? Those three questions extend far beyond payments. They are equally relevant when an AI agent: * approves a supplier; * generates a customer response; * changes a business record; * assesses a compliance requirement; * schedules work; * recommends a decision; or * takes an action within a business process. The more authority Way We Do delegate to AI, the more important governance becomes. Organizations will need to be able to demonstrate not simply what the AI did, but why it was authorized to do it, what rules governed its behavior, what information it relied upon and where human oversight occurred. Designing human-ai workflows. The future of work isn't likely to be humans OR AI. It will be humans AND AI - operating together inside carefully designed processes. And the organizations that succeed may not necessarily be those using the most AI. They may be those that are clearest about where AI belongs. Automate the administration. Use AI to retrieve, analyze and assist. Keep humans involved where judgement, accountability, empathy and relationships matter. And make the boundaries visible. Because as Mastercard concluded, people rarely remember the technology itself. They remember the experience: the moment they felt understood, included or trusted. That may ultimately be one of the most important principles for the age of AI: The best technology doesn't remove the human experience. It creates more room for it.