Insights
Thinking at the edge of fintech
Analysis on payments regulation, infrastructure and strategy across GCC, MENA and Europe: written by practitioners for practitioners.
BNPL · GCC
BNPL Regulation in the GCC: SAMA, CBUAE and QCB Frameworks NEW
All three major GCC regulators now have live BNPL frameworks with active licensees. This brief maps the divergent consumer protection approaches across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar.
Card Fees · Europe
PSR Card Scheme Fee Intervention: What Payments Leaders Must Know NEW
A High Court judgment in January 2026 and a new PSR Direction in May have put card scheme fee economics at the centre of UK payments regulation. This article breaks down what changed and why it matters.
Card Fees · Europe
Card Scheme Fees: PSR Intervention and Acquirer Impact 2026 NEW
The PSR and FCA are challenging Visa and Mastercard fee structures. What the 2026 rulings mean for acquirers and payment businesses globally.
Open Banking · GCC
Open Banking Goes Live in the GCC: From Sandbox to Scale NEW
SAMA issues first live open banking licences in 2026. How Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain are moving from sandbox to commercial scale.
Stablecoins · GCC
Stablecoins as Payment Instruments: GCC and Global Frameworks 2026 NEW
Seven major economies now regulate stablecoins as licensed payment instruments. This article covers what the UAE enforcement deadline, the US GENIUS Act, and the first dirham stablecoin mean for GCC payments professionals.
BNPL · GCC
GCC BNPL Regulation: SAMA, CBUAE and QCB Frameworks Explained NEW
Three GCC regulators have introduced live BNPL frameworks in 2026. This article breaks down the SAMA, CBUAE and QCB rules and what they mean for lenders and merchants.
Stablecoins · UAE
UAE Stablecoin Framework Goes Live: What Payments Teams Must Know NEW
The UAE's stablecoin framework is now live and the global regulatory mainstream has caught up. Here is what GCC payments teams need to do next.
Infrastructure · GCC
GCC Instant Payments: SARIE, Aani, QPAY and What Comes Next NEW
SARIE processed over 1.5 billion transactions in 2025. Aani reached 180 million in its first commercial year. The question for payment firms is no longer whether instant rails matter: it is whether your connectivity, compliance and fraud controls are calibrated to each rail's specific characteristics.
Regulation · Qatar
Qatar Payments Regulation: QCB Framework, Open Banking and the Road Ahead NEW
Qatar's Payment Systems Law No. 15 of 2021 established a comprehensive licensing and oversight framework. The QCB's supervisory approach has become progressively more assertive as the framework matures.
Cross-Border · GCC
GCC Remittance Corridors: Economics, Compliance and the Digital Disruption NEW
Saudi Arabia and the UAE together send over $70 billion annually in outbound remittances. Digital platforms have taken share, FATF Travel Rule obligations have tightened, and correspondent banking access has become more constrained.
AML & KYC
AML, KYC and PEP Screening in 2026: What Payment Institutions Must Do Now NEW
AML programmes face structural change in 2026. AMLA, perpetual KYC, AI-driven screening and deepfake identity fraud are reshaping compliance obligations for payment institutions.
Fraud & Consumer Protection
APP Fraud, Synthetic Identity and the New Fraud Liability Landscape NEW
APP fraud reimbursement rules are active in the UK. Synthetic identity fraud and deepfakes are defeating onboarding controls. What payment institutions must implement now.
AI & Payments
AI in Payments: Fraud Detection, Credit Scoring and the EU AI Act NEW
AI is reshaping fraud detection, credit scoring and transaction monitoring in payments. What financial institutions must do under the EU AI Act high-risk provisions from August 2026.
Agentic Commerce
What payment processors need to know in 2026
Visa Trusted, Mastercard Agent Pay and Stripe's Machine Payments Protocol are the first moves in a fundamental restructuring of how authorisation works.
AI & Regulation
EU AI Act: compliance obligations for payments firms
High-risk AI system requirements apply from August 2026. Conformity assessment obligations are more demanding than most compliance teams have planned for.
Infrastructure · Global
Tokenised Settlement: From Pilot to Production
Central bank digital currencies, tokenised deposits and regulated stablecoins are each targeting a slice of the same market: the improvement of wholesale settlement finality, speed and transparency.
Regulation · Europe
PSD3 and the PSR: what changes and what stays the same
Political agreement reached in late 2025. National transposition is now underway, with full application expected mid-to-late 2027.
Infrastructure · Europe / GCC
A2A Payments: The Threat to Card Acceptance That Keeps Not Arriving
Account-to-account payments have been predicted to displace card acceptance at point of sale for a decade. The GCC's instant rail deployments may produce a different outcome.
Strategy · Global
B2B Fintech in 2026: Where the Real Payment Modernisation Is Happening
Consumer payments have been transformed. The larger, harder problem: B2B payments, where manual processes and batch ACH still dominate, is where the next decade of payment modernisation will occur.
Infrastructure · GCC
Card Issuing in the GCC: Processing Modernisation and the Scheme Roadmap
GCC card issuers face a convergence of pressures: scheme mandate timelines, the shift to cloud-native processing, and the need to compete with digital wallet issuers operating at lower unit costs.
Digital Currency · Europe
The Digital Euro: What Payment Institutions Need to Plan For
The ECB's digital euro project has moved into the preparation phase. The design decisions made now will determine whether the digital euro complements or competes with existing payment infrastructure.