All articles by Douglas Blakey

Douglas Blakey

Will cryptocurrency cross-border transfers increase?

Cross-border transfers are rising, with increasing demand for efficiency. Is crypto the answer? Alexander Sun writes

Why a working online checkout can still cost merchants sales

An inflexible payments experience leaves customers with the wrong options and merchants slow to respond, says Jacob Spencer

The payments lock-In problem: Why 98% of software platforms want to switch providers and why most never do

Kevin Kidd discusses the disparity between intent to switch and actual switching and why the gap is not due to preference or vendor dissatisfaction, but is instead down to infrastructure

The next challenge for Europe’s EV charging networks is not energy…It’s payments

Jean-Philippe Niedergang explains why a successful European transition to EVs depends on more than just the tech and energy challenges and why optimising the payments experience is key to the overall driver user experience

The hidden cost of exceptions: How agentic AI transforms lockbox economics

Steve Markle explains why modern lockbox operations need no longer be viewed as mere processing utilities. Instead, they are becoming strategic tools that help banks improve margins and differentiate treasury offerings

Embedded payments have an adoption problem: The fix isn’t more integration

Embedding payments alone doesn’t guarantee customer adoption. Pete Uselman explains what successful software platforms do differently to drive real payments adoption

Instant payments: technology imperatives for banking leaders

Achieving success in the instant payments era is not just about processing transactions faster. Radha Suvarna explains why it should be about designing for real-time value

Why the UK’s scam strategy must move beyond reimbursement

Jonathan Frost argues that the UK must consider making the step from compensating victims to preventing scams and their proceeds reaching criminal networks and why Australia’s framework offers a practical blueprint

Buying volume or scope: Which M&A strategy will deliver most customer value in acquiring?

Following upon recent significant sector M&A activity, Chris Jones examines the two competing M&A strategies currently reshaping the payments industry

Real-time cross-border payments enters a new phase with UPI-NPI integration

UPI–NPI link enables instant India–Nepal P2P remittances via mobile/UPI ID, boosting inclusion and bilateral ties, writes Bhavya Patel