All articles by Douglas Blakey
Douglas Blakey
How banks can find growth in the next phase of cross-border payments
While the global payments system is being rebuilt from the edges inward, real progress will come from the quiet work of connecting systems so that value can move as easily as information, explains David Backshall
Forget panic financing – it’s time to panic-proof with a new payments strategy
Payments are no longer just back-office infrastructure or operational plumbing – they are a strategic lever. And when overlooked, they can quietly erode revenue and undermine growth plans, explains Brian Gaynor
Trust as a target: The parallels between application and romance fraud
Reflecting on the parallels between romance and application fraud, Dave Rossi explains why comparing these mechanisms and learning from them is essential if individuals, lenders and banks are to combat these threats effectively
Entries close 16 February for Mena retail and digital banking awards
The Mena Banking Excellence Awards: Retail, Digital & SME take place as part of Dubai Future Finance Week, positioning shortlisted banks alongside the region’s most senior finance and fintech leaders
Why trust will decide the next era of payments
Trust is no longer a soft concept or a brand attribute. It has become the hardest operational requirement in payments, explains Thomas Warsop
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
When payments systems make judgements, not transactions
Dr Gulzar Singh explores how modern payments infrastructures increasingly embed judgement – through automated declines, holds, reversals, and controls and how this shift reshapes customer experience, operational accountability, and institutional trust
FX: The $10bn opportunity airlines leave on the table
Travellers’ banks typically run the currency conversion despite nearly half of passengers being unaware of banks’ hidden cross-currency fees. It’s a poor customer experience and a major lost revenue opportunity for airlines, says Damian Alonso
2026: The year BFSI shifts from modernisation ambition to governed intelligence
Pablo Cella explains why 2026 represents a pivotal year for the banking, financial services and insurance sector
The E&I advantage: Why Swift’s 2027 requirements could be a turning point for banks
Cian Fernando explains why banks that adopt native processing early will gain faster, more resilient operations, while those waiting until the 2027 deadline risk falling behind
Rebuilding payments around the merchant: A new standard for payments
Robert Kraal draws on over 20 years of experience building global acquiring and processing services at Adyen and Worldpay, and now co-founding Silverflow, a cloud-native payments platform designed to reduce cost and complexity while enabling innovation