Journeys Unpacked

In the past two years, global fintech has experienced a surge of activity, bringing to life innovative use cases and payment solutions – boosting the digital payment ecosystem and driving financial inclusion.
In this fireside chat, Hasan Kazmi, Vice President and Head of Strategic Partnerships and Ventures at Visa CEMEA, and Vaanathi Mohanakrishnan, Head of Business at M2P MENA, join host David Austin to discuss Visa's partnership with M2P and how the VRTL program has helped several fintechs in the Middle East and Africa launch their card programs within days.

Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have the potential to revolutionize the way countries transact their currency. In this episode of Visa Navigate CEMEA podcast, Salvador Perez Galindo, Senior Advisor, Global Government Engagement at Visa, and Binur Zhalenov, CEO of National Payments Corporation (NPC) of Kazakhstan, discuss the launch of Kazakhstan's CBDC, the Digital Tenge.

In this episode of Fast Company Middle East's Journeys Unpacked, powered by Visa, Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for the GCC at Visa, joins Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Together they explore how Dubai has become one of the world’s leading travel destinations and continues to enhance its position as a global hub for retail, experiences, hospitality and trade.

At Visa, we recognize the urgency of climate change and are committed to a new era of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Together with our fintech partner ecolytiq, we launched the Visa Eco Benefits in CEMEA – a Sustainability-as-a-Service solution, enabling Visa cardholders to understand the impact of their spending on the environment and encourage sustainable consumption.

Hear from Otto Williams, SVP, Head of Product, Partnerships, and Digital Solutions CEMEA at Visa and Ulrich Pietsch, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ecolytiq, on how Visa Eco Benefits is empowering financial institutions to meet climate-conscious consumer demand.

In the UAE, a staggering 94% of consumers utilized at least one digital feature in their most recent purchase. These facts and more are revealed by the 2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: UAE Edition by PYMNTS and Cybersource.

Michael Berner, Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring at Visa CEMEA, dives into the study to find out. He shares his insights on consumer behaviors trends and what does this mean for merchants, marketers and the payments industry.