KIAN JACKSON

For a long time, payments were viewed as the "plumbing" of a business: essential, usually hidden, and only noticed when something leaked. If you were a fintech founder or a digital merchant, your goal was simple: find a provider that was cheap, reliable, and stayed out of the way. You looked at processing fees, negotiated your basis points, and moved on to the "real" product work. But in 2026, the landscape has shifted. We are currently witnessing what industry experts call T

For years, the narrative in fintech was "disruption." It was the agile, crypto-native startups versus the "legacy" giants. But if 2026 has taught us anything, it’s that the giants aren't just watching from the sidelines: they’re buying the field. Mastercard’s recent acquisition of BVNK , a powerhouse in stablecoin infrastructure, for a staggering $1.8 billion ($1.5 billion upfront with $300 million in performance-based contingencies), is more than just a headline. It is a de

Australia’s payment landscape just got a massive jolt. If you’ve spent any time in a local cafe lately, you’ve likely felt the sting of the "tap and go" tax, that pesky 1.5% or 50-cent surcharge added to your morning flat white. Well, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has finally called time on the surcharge culture. But while the headlines are screaming about cheaper coffee, the real story for fintech founders and executives is buried much deeper in the RBA’s recent policy

Before we dive into the massive legislative shifts coming out of Washington, we need to talk about something happening right in your pocket. Dwayne Gefferie recently dropped some truth bombs on LinkedIn about the slow demise of the traditional co-branded credit card. You know the ones: the airline card that gives you miles you never use, or the department store card that offers 10% off a pair of jeans once a year. The reality? These legacy models are losing their edge, and th

For decades, the co-branded credit card was the undisputed king of the wallet. Whether it was the shiny Qantas Frequent Flyer plastic, a Marriott Bonvoy card for the jet-setters, or the classic fuel card that saved you 4 cents a litre at the pump, these partnerships were the ultimate "win-win." Banks got loyal spenders, brands got data and customer "stickiness," and consumers got a free flight to Bali every few years. But fast forward to 2026, and the landscape looks fundamen

In the world of global payments, there is a fundamental structural flaw that keeps merchant treasurers and fintech founders up at night. It’s a phenomenon we call the "Issuer Paradox." The paradox is simple, yet devastating: The party with the ultimate authority to approve or decline a transaction: the issuing bank: is simultaneously the party with the least amount of context about that transaction. Imagine a high-stakes court case where the judge is locked in a soundproof ro

For decades, the European payments landscape has been a paradox. It is one of the most sophisticated financial markets in the world, yet it remains almost entirely dependent on two American giants: Visa and Mastercard. Every time a consumer in Berlin buys a bratwurst or a shopper in Paris picks up a handbag, a small slice of that transaction makes its way across the Atlantic. This isn't just a matter of lost revenue; it's a matter of "strategic sovereignty." And in 2026, that

For over a decade, the merchant acquiring industry was defined by a race to the bottom. It was a game of basis points, high-volume processing, and commoditised services where the lowest price usually won the mandate. But as we navigate the landscape of 2026, that era is officially dead. Today, the "Big 8": JPMorgan, Adyen, Global Payments, Worldpay, Fiserv, Nexi, Worldline, and Getnet: are no longer just processors. They have transformed into ecosystem orchestrators. Drawing

If you have spent any time in the back offices of a Tier-1 bank or a scaling fintech lately, you have likely heard the term "ISO 20022" whispered with the kind of dread usually reserved for tax audits or surprise regulatory probes. For most, it is framed as a massive IT headache: a mandatory compliance hurdle that forces legacy systems to speak a new language before the old ones are sunsetted. But here is the reality: if you view ISO 20022 as just a compliance box to tick, yo

For decades, the global payments landscape has been less of a competitive market and more of a settled duopoly. If you’re tapping your phone at a cafe in Melbourne or swiping a piece of plastic in Paris, chances are the transaction is being routed through the rails of two American giants: Visa or Mastercard. But in Europe, a new challenger is finally moving from the "theoretical PowerPoint" stage into the "real-world execution" phase. It’s called the European Payments Initiat

For decades, we’ve thought of Visa as the giant behind the plastic in our wallets. They were the "pipes" of the financial world: the invisible infrastructure that made sure when you tapped your card for a flat white in Sydney or a souvenir in Paris, the money moved from point A to point B. But the world of payments is changing, and the "toll booth" model of taking a tiny slice of every transaction is under threat. Regulation is tightening, competition from real-time payment r

There's a quiet revolution happening in fintech boardrooms across Australia and beyond. The traditional C-suite model: where every executive role demands a full-time, fully-committed hire: is getting a serious rethink. In 2026, we're seeing a growing number of fintechs opting for fractional leaders instead of full-time execs, and it's not just a cost-cutting exercise. It's a strategic shift that's fundamentally changing how fintech companies build their leadership teams. If y

The payments landscape is experiencing a seismic shift as merchant acquirers embrace stablecoin settlement infrastructure. With the global stablecoin market reaching close to $250 billion as of May 2025, traditional payment rails are being reimagined through blockchain technology. But which acquirers are actually leading this transformation, and what does it mean for the future of commerce? The Payment Giants Setting the Pace Mastercard's Comprehensive Ecosystem Approach M

In an era where data breaches cost businesses an average of $4.88 million and payment fraud continues to evolve at breakneck speed, tokenisation has emerged as the security backbone that's quietly revolutionising fintech payments. While many leaders understand tokenisation conceptually, few grasp how profoundly it's reshaping not just security protocols, but entire business models and competitive advantages in the fintech space. Tokenisation replaces sensitive payment data wi

The payments landscape is about to experience its biggest transformation since the introduction of contactless cards. As we head into 2026, startups and fintechs need to understand the seismic shifts reshaping how money moves, how consumers pay, and where the biggest opportunities lie. After analysing market data, regulatory developments, and emerging technologies, here are the key trends that will define the next wave of payment innovation – and what they mean for your busin

The AI hype train has been running full steam ahead in fintech for the past few years, but cracks are already starting to show. With 42% of companies having scrapped the majority of their AI projects by early 2025: up from just 17% a year earlier: we're witnessing the early signs of what could become a full-blown bubble burst. So what happens when the music stops? The answer isn't pretty, but it's not the apocalypse either. Let's dive into the real-world implications for fint

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