Editorial Standards
CloudFintech publishes analysis and reporting on financial technology, banking infrastructure, payments, regulation, and crypto. This page sets out how we work — our sourcing standards, our use of AI tools in drafting, our fact-checking and review process, and how to request a correction. We treat these standards as binding on every article we publish.
1. Mission and editorial independence
CloudFintech exists to help finance and technology professionals understand the systems and decisions reshaping their industry. Our coverage is independent: we are not affiliated with any bank, fintech vendor, exchange, or regulator. No company has paid for editorial coverage, and no advertiser has been promised favourable treatment in exchange for ad spend. Sponsored content, if it ever runs, will be clearly labelled and visually distinct from editorial.
2. Sourcing standards
Every article aims to draw on at least one of the following:
- Primary documents — regulatory filings, central bank communications, court records, company financial reports, and published research papers.
- On-the-record statements from named individuals at named organisations.
- Established trade press and financial media, with the original source clearly identified.
- Public technical documentation, where the article addresses how a system works.
Anonymous sourcing is used sparingly and only where the information cannot reasonably be obtained on the record. Where a claim cannot be substantiated, we either do not publish it or label it explicitly as speculation.
Documentary links are placed directly after the claim they support and appear as numbered footnotes; a generic methodology note is not a substitute for claim-level evidence. We prefer the underlying regulation, filing, dataset, technical standard, research paper, or company disclosure over a secondary summary. Where only secondary reporting is available, the source type is made clear.
Our core coverage is organised around four topic hubs: payments, RegTech and compliance, banking infrastructure, and AI in finance. We favour one defensible, original article over several generic explainers and normally prepare no more than one scheduled research draft each week.
Original analysis and downloadable assets
Substantive features should add an original analytical contribution such as a regulatory timeline, market or capability map, cost model, benchmark table, or decision framework. Charts and diagrams carry a caption, a reproducible methodology, source attribution, and—where the format permits—a downloadable CSV, JSON, XLSX, or TSV dataset. Illustrative models are labelled as such; their assumptions must be visible so readers can adapt rather than mistake them for observed market data.
3. Use of AI tools in editorial workflow
Disclosure: CloudFintech is an AI-assisted publication. Articles may be drafted by large language models (specifically Anthropic's Claude family) working from an editorial brief defined by the editor — topic selection, target audience, sourcing standards, and house style. Model output is not treated as a factual source. The scheduled workflow creates one web-verified research packet a week but cannot publish it. Before a new or materially revised article is published, founding editor Alex Bacsa checks its factual claims, calculations and cited sources, reviews the original analysis and explicitly publishes it. Alex's professional background is in digital media, SEO and operating independent publications, not regulated financial services. Final editorial responsibility rests with the editor.
We disclose this practice openly because readers deserve to know how the content they consume is produced. The model we operate under is increasingly common among independent publications: the editor sets direction and standards, AI assists in producing copy at scale, and the editor remains accountable for everything published on the site.
Our use of AI does not replace editorial judgement, sourcing discipline, or accountability. Where we get something wrong, we correct it under the policy set out below.
4. Review and fact-checking
Scheduled AI-generated drafts pass an inline, web-grounded fact-check before a research packet is saved; a failed, errored, or unverifiable draft is dropped. Passing still does not publish the article. Scheduled, admin-created and hand-written drafts remain unpublished until Alex checks their factual claims, calculations and cited sources, attaches primary evidence to material claims, reviews the original analysis and explicitly publishes them. The applicable checks include:
- Statistics and figures are traceable to a cited primary source.
- Names, titles, company affiliations, and product names are verified against current public records or official websites.
- Direct quotations are sourced from the original speaker or a verifiable transcript.
- Regulatory references cite the specific rule, statute, or guidance document.
- Dates and timelines are checked against the relevant primary record and, where material, an independent source.
5. Conflicts of interest
The editor discloses any financial position in companies covered. We do not knowingly publish coverage of any company in which the editor holds an undisclosed equity position, advisory role, or paid engagement. Where any material relationship exists with a company under coverage, it is disclosed at the foot of the article.
6. Corrections policy
We aim to correct material factual errors quickly and transparently. If you believe an article contains an error, please email alex@cloudfintech.ai with the article URL and a clear description of the issue. Where possible, please include a link to a primary source supporting your correction.
How corrections are handled
- Material errors (factual mistakes that change the meaning of an article) are corrected in place, with a dated correction note appended at the foot of the article identifying what was changed.
- Minor errors (typos, broken links, formatting issues) are fixed silently without a correction note.
- Significant errors (errors of fact that affect a named individual or organisation) are corrected within 48 hours of being verified, with the correction note prominently placed.
- Retractions normally apply where an article's central premise is shown to be incorrect; the original text is replaced with a retraction notice and the URL is preserved where doing so would not perpetuate harm.
- Removal or redirection may be used for fabricated content, privacy or safety risks, unlawful material, or a page whose continued publication would compound harm. We preserve a transparent correction or retraction record where appropriate.
Every substantive change—new evidence, revised analysis, a replacement dataset, or a correction—is recorded in the dated update history at the end of the article. Purely cosmetic formatting and spelling fixes may remain unlisted.
We aim to acknowledge correction requests within 2 business days. We do not silently edit articles merely to remove accurate but unflattering coverage. Removal decisions are based on accuracy, privacy, safety, legal obligations, and the public interest — not commercial pressure.
7. Right of reply
Where an article contains specific criticism of a named company or individual, we will, where time and circumstances permit, seek comment before publication. Subjects of coverage who wish to respond after publication may contact alex@cloudfintech.ai; we consider responses for publication on a case-by-case basis.
8. Funding and revenue
CloudFintech intends to use display advertising through Google AdSense, but the site is not currently approved to serve ads. It may, in the future, accept affiliate commissions on links to financial products and services. Affiliate relationships, where they exist, are disclosed inline at the relevant link. Advertising revenue does not influence editorial selection or angle.
9. Privacy and reader data
Our handling of reader data is set out in full in the Privacy Policy. We minimise the personal data we collect, do not sell reader data, and require active consent before loading analytics or advertising cookies.
10. Contacting the editor
For editorial questions, tips, or feedback that does not fall under corrections or press, please email alex@cloudfintech.ai. We read everything; we cannot promise to respond to every message, but substantive correspondence will receive a reply.