The global payments landscape is changing rapidly, driven by technology, regulations, and shifting consumer expectations.

For financial institutions to adapt, agility, innovation, and compliance are more important than ever. In this interview, Samee Zafar, CEO of Edgar, Dunn & Company, shares his insights on the future of payments - covering emerging networks, fintech, regulations, and blockchain.

He will be in Yerevan on April 3 at Doing Digital Forum 2025, where he will discuss the vital role of international payments in global commerce and financial services.

- With your extensive experience in financial services, what changes do you see in the global payments landscape in the coming next five years?

- I hope to see new and better networks emerging that bring not just consumers but businesses together and make it easier for consumers to access innovative payment services. This means that the role of banks will change and they will have to adapt more quickly and must view innovations with open mindsets and not what they have done in the past which was to adopt a wait-and-see approach. The international payments space will see a repositioning of the correspondent banking system and for some use cases, the use of entirely new “payment rails.”

- While fintech continues to push the boundaries of financial services, regulatory challenges remain a key concern. How can companies ensure the right balance between innovation and compliance?

- Compliance is there for a reason and fintech companies ignore it at their peril. But sometimes regulators can be over-careful in their approach which slows down innovation. It is not just start-ups who can face this attitude but also large incumbents. Regulators can also be over-punitive. For example, in international payments, banks have sometimes been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for weaknesses in their systems and processes even where there was no evidence of fraud.

- As consumer behavior shifts towards cashless transactions, what role do alternative payment solutions play in shaping the future of finance? Which emerging technologies or trends are most promising in this space?

- I think the payment space has been undergoing continuous change through innovation not just by new entrants but also, to some extent, by traditional financial institutions and central banks. In developing markets, efficient payment facilitation is helping small businesses and consumers improve lives and reduce poverty. In the more mature markets where electronic payments are already mainstream, there is a clear emphasis on speed and efficiency – hence, we are seeing adoption of instant payments and investments in automation in both domestic and international payments.

- The financial industry is undergoing a major transformation with Web3, blockchain, and digital currencies. How do you see these innovations reshaping traditional banking and payment systems?

- Traditional banking systems, despite what the “futurists” keep telling us, have served us well for many years. But there has been a lot of innovation. What banks can do is to embrace innovations (such as Stablecoins for cross-border payments) instead of guarding their space and excluding new players.

New players, on the other end, with interesting and often radical ideas should also recognise that developing new technologies and ideas is only one part of the game, often a small part. What is important is how to commercialise innovations and bring them to market successfully. “Build it and they will come” does not work well in the digital financial services space․

- What key themes will you be covering in your keynote at Doing Digital Forum 2025? Why should industry professionals make it a priority to attend?

- I will focus on international payments which I believe represents the “lifeblood” of commerce and the world of financial services. I will discuss the innovations in payments including AI and Cryptoassets and the challenges the world is facing where there is a growing threat of uncertainty caused by unprecedented political realignments in some parts of the world particularly the United States will change the course of innovation and priorities going forward.

Since its launch in 2023, the Doing Digital Forum has brought together over 40 distinguished speakers and more than 2,000 participants from Armenia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the UAE, Germany, Australia, and CIS countries. This year, the forum returns for its third edition under the title “The Money of the Future: Economic Impact.”       

The organizer of the Doing Digital forum is SPRING PR. Amazon Web Services is the forum’s Technology partner. For the third consecutive year, Visa is the forum’s Innovation Partner, and Apricot Capital is the Investment Partner. As in DDF24, Arca continues to be the National Partner of the forum this year. The Technology Partner for DDF25 is Amazon.