Visa Spotlights

In this episode, we explore how performance, scale, and partnership are redefining global payments in an era of rapid digital acceleration. Host Dan Baxter, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (CEMEA) at Visa, sits down with Matthieu Barral, Global Head of Partnerships at Checkout.com, during the Visa Payments Forum in Paris.

Together, they unpack Checkout.com&r...

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 East & Africa (CEMEA), sits down wi...

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 models, and emerging technologies acc...

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 one of the world’s most dynam...

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 every stage of the cl...

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, visit: https://km.visamiddleea...

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 of Pismo. Together they u...

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 Head of Products & Solutions for Centra...

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 strategist, and cybersecurity expert.

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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. Through AlfaNow, the objective of the group i...

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 compound annual growth rate ...

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 in the world of money movement, offering in...

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 pivotal programs and initiatives that Visa has im...

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 shares new insights from Visa's...

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 stakeholders to enable access for citizen...

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 of Visa's recent and mo...

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 tourism.

For more podcasts by Visa, visit: https:/...

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 enhancing security, convenience, and f...