KIAN JACKSON

It’s May 2026, and if you’re a fintech founder or executive, the "plumbing" of the global financial system just became the most exciting thing in your boardroom. For decades, the way money moved across borders was a bit like sending a postcard: you dropped it in the mail, hoped the intermediaries didn't lose it, and waited three to five days for a "delivered" status. But right now, we are witnessing a "Great Settlement Showdown." The lines between legacy finance (TradFi) and

If you’ve been following the fintech space for a while, you’ve probably developed a healthy amount of "crypto fatigue." For years, we were promised a revolution that felt more like a rollercoaster of speculative bubbles and "to the moon" tweets. But while the hype-machine was busy elsewhere, the actual plumbing of global finance was being quietly rebuilt. It’s now May 2026, and the conversation has shifted. We’re no longer talking about whether digital assets have value; we’r

If you’d told a payments executive five years ago that the world’s biggest card networks would be fighting over blockchain infrastructure, they probably would’ve laughed you out of the boardroom. Fast forward to May 2026, and the laughter has stopped. It’s been replaced by the sound of billion-dollar wire transfers. The headline act? Mastercard’s massive $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK. But this isn't just one company making a speculative play. We are witnessing a fundamenta

Hey Kian! Here is the deep dive into the RBA’s new "Draft Vision" for A2A payments. This is a massive shift for the Australian landscape: it’s essentially the roadmap for how we move from the "real-time" era of the NPP into the "programmable" era of tokenized assets. It’s perfect for the expert positioning we’re going for. The Australian payments landscape is standing at a historical crossroads. For the last decade, the narrative has been dominated by the rollout and success

We have reached the endgame for the most significant piece of financial legislation in the digital age. As of May 2, 2026, the Australian and global fintech sectors are holding their collective breath. The CLARITY Act (Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act) is no longer just a draft gathering dust on a Senate desk; it is the centrepiece of a high-stakes "Yield War" that will determine how money moves for the next decade. The next fortnight is critical. With the Senate Banking C

For over a decade, the gig economy has operated on a fundamental paradox. You can order a hot meal across a city and have it delivered to your door in thirty minutes, yet the person who delivered it and the merchant who cooked it often have to wait up to seven days to see that money hit their bank account. In a world of instant gratification, the "pipes" of global finance have remained stubbornly slow. Traditional banking rails: built on decades-old technology: are plagued by

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

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the global payments landscape lately, you’ll know that the goalposts aren't just moving: they’re being completely redesigned. As we charge through 2026, the strategy shifts we’re seeing from the giants are no longer about incremental gains. They are about fundamental survival in a world that has finally, irreversibly, gone digital-first. Dwayne Gefferie recently dropped a masterclass breakdown of the Mastercard 2026 Strategy, and if you’re a f

If you’ve been paying attention to the global payments landscape lately, you’ll know that the old guard of "dumb pipe" processing is effectively dead. As we navigate the complexities of 2026, the gap between simple transaction handlers and strategic growth partners has become a chasm. In his recent breakdown, "The Payments Strategy 2026," industry veteran Dwayne Gefferie highlighted a shift that every fintech founder and executive needs to bake into their roadmap: the transit

If you're running a fintech in 2026, chances are stablecoins have come up in at least one treasury conversation. Maybe it was about cross-border settlements taking five days when they should take five minutes. Or perhaps you're watching competitors unlock capital efficiency gains that seem almost unfair. The reality? Stablecoins aren't just a crypto curiosity anymore: they're becoming a legitimate treasury tool for forward-thinking finance teams. But jumping in without a stra

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

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 cross-border payments landscape just shifted dramatically. On September 30, 2025, Visa Direct unveiled a game-changing stablecoin...

Picture this: You're a payment service provider watching $40 trillion in cross-border payments happen annually, but you're only capturing...

The B2B crypto payment revolution is here, and it's moving faster than most businesses realise. While everyone's been debating whether...

If you’ve been following the latest fintech headlines, you’ve probably heard about the groundbreaking partnership between JPMorgan Chase...