All articles by Douglas Blakey

Douglas Blakey

Visa Infinite relaunched for affluent customers

Moving from a fixed premium card tier, Infinite is now a programmable, adaptive platform that allows issuers to continuously configure and refine their premium proposition as customer expectations evolve

Cashless payments gain momentum across Asia 

SE Asia goes cashless fast: card/digital payments surge in Taiwan, Thailand, HK & Vietnam, driven by incentives and regulation, writes Bhavya Patel

What BNPL regulation means for retailers and how to prepare for July 2026

George Toumbev explores the upcoming regulatory changes to DPC. What does it mean for retailers; might it reshape the checkout experience and what practical steps should brands take now to adopt?

How Layer 2 technology will enhance blockchain solutions for financial systems

Ibraheem Kabir explores why Layer 2 represents a significant step forward for payment providers, banks and fintechs, and why it could become a core component of the next generation of payment infrastructure

MENA Banking Excellence Awards reveals retail, digital and SME winners

Banks from 11 countries recognised for excellence across retail, digital and SME banking

Interview: Stax Payments CMO Jenn Reichenbacher on building trust

AI can help boost business productivity, but it can’t replace authenticity, transparency, and trust. Once the foundation of trust is built, it needs to be reinforced through each customer interaction, says Jenn Reichenbacher

Why payments infrastructure matters more as finance becomes embedded

Nadish Lad discusses how embedded finance is reshaping the economics of banking rather than displacing it and explains how modern payments architecture is becoming a strategic asset for banks 

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