Visa Spotlights

In this episode, we explore how fraud and cyber risk are evolving across the payments ecosystem as commerce becomes more digital, automated, and AI‑enabled. Threat actors are adapting in parallel, using automation, social engineering, deepfakes, and ransomware to move faster and at greater scale. Host Dan Baxter , Vice President of Corporate Communications for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle Ea...

In this episode we explore how policy, technology, and public‑private partnerships are reshaping financial inclusion as we move deeper into 2026. Host Dan Baxter , Vice President of Corporate Communications for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (CEMEA) , sits down with Joanne Kubba , Visa’s SVP & Head of Government Affairs for CEMEA , to unpack the frameworks, regulatory mod...

Visa Spotlights returns with a deep dive into the fast‑evolving world of payments as we enter 2026. In this episode, host Dan Baxter , Vice President of Corporate Communications for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (CEMEA) , sits down with Tareq Muhmood , Visa’s Regional President for CEMEA , to unpack the forces reshaping how people pay, shop, and interact with money across on...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Reem Asaad , Visa’s SVP & Head of Client Services for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) , joins host Dan Baxter , Visa’s Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications for CEMEA , for a deep dive into how Visa is redefining client partnership in a fast-moving digital payments ecosystem. Reem shares how Client Services supports e...

In the latest episode of Visa Spotlights, Walter Lironi , Visa’s Head of Value-Added Services for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) , sits down with James Mirfin , Global Head of Risk and Identity Solutions at Visa , to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the fraud landscape — and what it means for the future of trust in payments. For more podcasts by Visa, vi...

As digital transformation accelerates across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA), financial institutions face increasing pressure to modernize—reshaping their operations to become more agile, customer-centric, and innovation-ready. In the latest episode of Visa Spotlights , Walter Lironi, Head of Value-Added Services for Visa in CEMEA , was joined by Vishal Dalal, CEO o...

In the latest episode of Visa Spotlights podcast, we're taking a closer look at the innovations unveiled at Visa's recent Global Product Drop on April 30 in San Francisco. This landmark event showcased a series of transformative solutions designed to reshape the future of payments. A key theme emerging from the event was the growing influence of Agentic AI. Godfrey Sullivan, Visa's...

In an era where cyber threats are constantly evolving and AI-driven deception is becoming increasingly sophisticated, staying ahead of these challenges is more critical than ever. In a special episode of Visa Spotlights Charles Lobo, Regional Risk Officer for CEMEA at Visa , engages in a thought-provoking discussion with Theresa Payton, first female White House CIO, technology thought leader, AI s...

Join Visa's Ivan Ponomarov , Head of Money Movement Solutions for CEMEA and Hasan Jaber , CEO, AlfaNow , as they discuss the evolving landscape of the global payments and remittance industry, key trends, emerging challenges, and future opportunities.  About AlfaNow AlfaNow is the global cross-border payment solution arm of the Al Fardan Group, now setting the stage for global expansion. Throu...

In our latest episode of the Visa Spotlights podcast, Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa , delves into the pivotal trends poised to redefine digital payments in 2025. In 2024, the region surpassed over 370 million Visa credentials, highlighting a significant shift toward digital transactions—a trend that's been growing at an impressive...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights , join Visa's Ivan Ponomarov , Head of Money Movement Solutions for CEMEA and Maksym Kubrovskiy , Director, ProFix , as they discuss the dynamic world of money movement, how ProFix is empowering financial institutions to seamlessly move money, and how Visa + ProFix combined efforts are delivering best-in-class solutions. About ProFix ProFix is a key player i...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights , Dan Baxter, Visa's Head of Corporate Communications for CEMEA , engages in a forward-looking conversation with Godfrey Sullivan , Visa's Head of Products & Solutions for CEMEA , to explore Visa's strategic efforts in driving fintech innovation across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. Godfrey Sullivan delves into the pivo...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights , Dan Baxter, Visa's Head of Corporate Communications for CEMEA , speaks with Charles Lobo, Visa's Regional Risk Officer for CEMEA , to explore Visa’s efforts to protect over 4.5 billion cards and $15 trillion in annual transactions through cutting-edge cybersecurity measures. Charles Lobo reinforces findings from Visa’s 2023 Stay Secure campaign and sh...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Leila Serhan, SVP & Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant and Pakistan (NALP), at Visa. Together, they explore the latest payment trends in the NALP region, the challenges and opportunities in advancing financial inclusion, and how Visa is working with government s...

Join Visa's Head of Visa Advisory for CEMEA Nicolas Khoury, and Simply's CEO Serhii Holovan, for an insightful discussion on the potential for banks and tech firms to enter the digital wallet industry. They will also dive deep into the dynamics and highlight some of the best practices in this space. For more podcasts by Visa, visit: https://km.visamiddleeast.com/en_KM/about-visa/cemea-po...

In this special episode of Visa Spotlights, Walter Lironi, Head of Visa Value Added Services for CEMEA, is joined by James Mirfin, Global Head of Risk and Identity Solutions, Visa. James Mirfin highlights key emerging themes in payments security, provides insights on security dynamics in the ecommerce space –  and outlines the most in demand Visa Risk and Identity Solutions. He also discusses some...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Mohamed Bardastani, Economist for CEMEA, Visa. Together they discuss the current state of the global travel and tourism industry, highlight post-pandemic travel trends such as the rise of 'slow travel,' and how they are set to shape the future trajectory of travel and...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Godfrey Sullivan, Head of CEMEA Product, Solutions and Digital Partnerships. Together they highlight Visa's latest product innovations, including Payment Passkeys, Click to Pay, and Visa Flex Credentials – and how these innovations are transforming the payment landscape by...

Join Visa's Michael Berner and littlefish's Founder & CEO Brandon Roberts for an insightful discussion on the fintech landscape in SouthAfrica.  Key highlights in the episode: How littlefish is revolutionizing commerce for smallbusinesses. Challenges and opportunities of digitalpayments adoption for SMBs. The pivotal role of fintechs in advancing financialinclusion and #economic empo...

Digital payments are often associated with the physical card in our wallet or the digital credential on our phones. This seamless experience is made possible by an expansive acceptance network that spans the globe. Visa has more than a 150M merchant locations worldwide. Whether it’s a large airline or a small store, more and more merchants are finding the benefits of digital payments in their busi...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Cristina Doros, Group Country Manager CISSEE, Visa. Together, they explore the latest payment trends in the CISSEE region, the role of public and private sector in enhancing cross-border remittances, and how Visa is working with government stakeholders to enable access for citi...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Tarek Abdalla, Chief Marketing Officer, CEMEA, Visa . Together, they explore the evolution of the Visa brand and outline consumer expectations reshaping how brands are built today. They also discuss Visa’s efforts to maintain relevance among younger generations.  For more podca...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, our host, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Shahebaz Khan, Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, CEMEA, Visa . Together, they explore the latest trends shaping the SME sector in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa. SMEs are the backbone of the economy, contributing to more than half of...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, our host, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Walter Lironi, Visa's Head of Advisory & Value-Added Services, CEMEA. Together, they explore the evolving landscape of digital commerce and payments which expand beyond transactions, delving into the growing trend of Value-Added Services and examine how they...

In this episode of Visa Spotlights, host, Dan Baxter, Visa's Vice President, Corporate Communications, CEMEA, is joined by Godfrey Sullivan, Visa's Head of Strategy & Product, Partnerships and Digital Solutions, CEMEA. Together they share insights and perspectives on the trends shaping the future of commerce, the implications for our clients and partners, and how Visa is supporting t...