Best Card Issuance Podcasts (2026)

1
3 Shifts Edition (Dec 19 2025): Trump’s order reclassifying marijuana, IPOs are surging, Memory-chip shortages & higher prices 32:31

Play Pause

6d ago32:31

32:31

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, President Trump just signed an executive order to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. The move will change the game for medical access, research, and cannabis-business tax deductions, although it stops well short of full legalization. Next, IPOs ar…

1
2025 Rewind: Lessons, Leaders & the Road to 2026 41:57

7d ago41:57

41:57

In this special year-end episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu looks back at the standout moments that defined 2025 for issuers, digital banks, and fintechs. From bold predictions on the end of plastic cards to the rise of agentic AI, this best-of compilation brings together the sharpest insights from leaders at Mastercard, Visa…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Dec 12 2025): Trump's order on national AI regulation, Bans on minors using social media, Geothermal quietly gains more steam 41:56

19d ago41:56

41:56

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Trump just signed an executive order that sets a course for a national AI policy framework (vs. the growing patchwork of state AI laws). Until federal laws are passed that preempt state laws, however, state-level fragmentation will be discouraged using DOJ litigatio…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Dec 5 2025): China’s AI & what it means for mfg costs, Netflix's $83B deal for WBD studios & HBO Max, Energy storage's quiet build-out 30:23

26d ago30:23

30:23

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, China’s AI progress is being deployed in manufacturing systems, with some dramatic cost reductions being reported. Chinese open models’ share of downloads has overtaken US open models, and industry watchers are calling China’s models “palpably close to the frontier.…

1
Why Credit Is the Next Big Battleground for Digital Banks 47:32

25d ago47:32

47:32

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by David B. Shipper, a Strategic Advisor for Retail Banking and Payments at Datos Insights, and Rob Macmillan, the Group Product Manager for Credit at Paymentology. Together, they discuss how digital banks and fintechs are redefining credit, from instant approvals and hyper…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Nov 21 2025): Gemini 3 and Google’s progress, AI is going industrial, Managing agents like employees 41:58

1M ago41:58

41:58

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Gemini 3 marks a real turning point for Google, which is clearly the AI player to beat right now. The new flagship model is strongly topping leaderboards for Text, Vision, and WebDev, rolling out on Day 1 in the Gemini app and Search (at least for subscribers). Next…

1
Inside Snappi, Greece's First Digital-Only Bank 54:22

1M ago54:22

54:22

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Efi Chatziantoniou, Chief Operating Officer of Snappi; Leda Glyptis, a client-first executive, advisor, author, and speaker; and Julie Sutton, Head of Growth for Europe at Paymentology. Together, they break down how Snappi built trust, simplified banking, and leapfrogged…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Nov 14 2025): Are rewards cards going away?, OpenAI's faster GPT-5.1, Teradar's cheaper lidar 33:54

2M ago33:54

33:54

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Visa and Mastercard have proposed a sweeping settlement that could upend credit-card rewards as we know them. The $38B deal would let merchants refuse premium rewards cards and allow them to tack on card-specific surcharges. Next, OpenAI dropped a faster and more co…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Nov 7 2025): What's up with prediction markets, Brokerages offering private shares, Trump's deal on weight-loss drugs 31:55

2M ago31:55

31:55

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, prediction markets are heating up fast, with trading volumes now topping $2B weekly and a dizzying web of brokerages, exchanges, and crypto and sports-betting players jumping in. Kalshi and Polymarket are leading in a race that’s set to reshape more than one market.…

1
Profit Meets Purpose: The New Era of Inclusive Finance 52:58

2M ago52:58

52:58

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Adam Battersby, a Partner at Apis Partners, and Joy Macknight, a Financial Journalist, Editor, and Presenter. Together, they unpack how global investing is reshaping financial inclusion, from Buy-Now-Pay-Later innovations to AI-driven personalization. What You’ll Learn: …

1
3 Shifts Edition (Oct 31 2025): All of these white-collar layoffs, What OpenAI's conversion will mean, Stablecoin payments pick up steam 29:18

2M ago29:18

29:18

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, there’s been a steady stream of white-collar layoff announcements from companies like Amazon, Meta, YouTube, Goldman Sachs, and Target. If we dig down, however, into why these companies are laying off white-collar workers, the rationales are nuanced. Next, OpenAI ha…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Oct 24 2025): AI web browsers will be the norm, Are Amazon warehouses going mostly robotic?, China's new 5-year economic blueprint 36:53

2M ago36:53

36:53

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, AI web browsers are officially a thing. This week saw the long-awaited debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser, followed quickly by Microsoft’s “Copilot Mode” in Edge. That’s on top of recent launches from Google, Anthropic, Perplexity, Opera, and others. The browse…

1
Why Everyone Is Betting Big on Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Surge 31:35

2M ago31:35

31:35

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Birce Arslan, the VP of Fintech and Business Development for EEMEA at Mastercard, and Jeff Parker, CEO of Paymentology. Together, they explore Saudi Arabia’s emerging fintech ecosystem, the key factors driving its explosive growth, and how Vision 2030 is creating unprece…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Oct 17 2025): The expanding retail-trading boom, OpenAI’s crafty deal-making in chips, DTC menopause treatments are here 34:46

2M ago34:46

34:46

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, retail trading has hit an inflection point – and this time it’s not just meme stocks. For the first time, a majority (54%) of working-class Americans earning $30K-$80K hold taxable investment accounts – with more than half of those entering the market within the pas…

1
Fintech Built for Saudi, Connected to the World 37:48

3M ago37:48

37:48

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Bassam Aleidy, CEO of Enjaz, Ibrahim Farag, Chief Product and Growth Officer at Enjaz, and Jeff Parker, CEO of Paymentology. Together, they dive into how Saudi Arabia is revolutionizing digital payments, with 79% of retail transactions now being cashless, and examine how…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Oct 3 2025): Apps can use Apple’s local AI model, Stripe's stablecoin issuance platform, OpenAI's Sora social app 31:19

3M ago31:19

31:19

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Apple is letting developers use its local AI model for free, and the app updates are rolling in fast. The model may be just 3B parameters but it runs locally, preserves privacy, and, most importantly, costs nothing, which is hard to beat. Next, Stripe just launched …

1
3 Shifts Edition (Sep 26 2025): The $100K H-1B visa, The US deal for TikTok, Amazon will deliver its rivals’ orders 40:46

3M ago40:46

40:46

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Trump’s $100K H-1B visa has companies and workers scrambling. While the $100K fee won’t apply to renewals or existing H-1B holders, the administration is signaling that H-1Bs will be fewer, more expensive, and skewed toward higher-paid roles. Next, the US deal for T…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Sep 19 2025): Google’s Gemini edges ahead, GLP-1 drugs in pill form, TV ads become like digital ads 34:33

3M ago34:33

34:33

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Google’s Gemini elbowed past ChatGPT to become the #1 app in Apple’s App Store globally, boosted by the viral breakout of the Nano Banana image-editing model. Google is lately intent on expanding Gemini’s distribution, with integrations into Chrome, likely Siri, and…

1
Innovation, Inclusion, and Impact: The Future of MENA Finance 50:20

4M ago50:20

50:20

MENA is rapidly becoming one of the most dynamic regions for fintech innovation, overtaking traditional leaders in global rankings. In this episode of The Issuer Academy, host Merusha Naidu speaks with Godfrey Sullivan, SVP of Products & Solutions at Visa CEMEA, and Jeff Parker, CEO of Paymentology, about the forces shaping this transformation. The…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Sep 12 2025): Copy trading & Robinhood Social, An open standard for licensing content, SpaceX buys $17B in spectrum 30:15

4M ago30:15

30:15

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Robinhood is aiming to be a financial superapp with the launch of Robinhood Social. The social network’s idea generation and signal-to-noise ratio will rely on Robinhood’s ability to verify profile identities through KYC and validate traders’ real performance Next, …

1
Fraud vs Innovation: The Thin Line in Digital Banking 1:06:59

4M ago1:06:59

1:06:59

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Paul Trueman, Executive Vice President of Cyber and Intelligence at Mastercard, and Stephen Bowe, Chief Product Officer at Paymentology. Together, they unpack the fine line where innovation meets fraud, revealing how scams are becoming hyper-personalised, why tokenisatio…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Sep 5 2025): Google's search antitrust remedies, GEO is the new SEO for AI, Uber & Lyft's deal to let drivers unionize 22:41

4M ago22:41

22:41

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, remedies in the Google search antitrust case have dropped – and Google has come out relatively unscathed. While Google is barred from exclusive distribution agreements and tying its products, it will not have to divest Chrome or Android. Next, businesses are shiftin…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Aug 29 2025): A marked shift in Fed policy, The bifurcation of entry-level jobs, AI players circle the browser 50:20

4M ago50:20

50:20

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, the Fed signaled a policy shift last week, with Powell framing a recalibration of the Fed’s inflation strategy away from prolonged overshoots over 2%, while hinting at a rate cut. Powell is giving with one hand but providing the Fed with cover to take it back if nee…

1
How Word-of-Mouth Built South Africa's First Black-Owned Unicorn Bank 40:27

4M ago40:27

40:27

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Rohit Subramanian, Chief Strategy Officer at TymeBank, and Jeff Parker, CEO of Paymentology. Together, they explore how TymeBank became South Africa's first black-owned digital bank to achieve unicorn status. What You’ll Learn: How TymeBank's hybrid phygital model with r…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Aug 22 2025): Google's AI for the home and on the go, How hackers are now using AI, The up-and-coming Chinese agentic startup Manus 25:30

4M ago25:30

25:30

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Google’s new Gemini-powered hardware is tempting iPhone users to cross over. Gemini for Home is a major smart-home upgrade, and the Pixel 10’s “Magic Cue” proactive surfacing of relevant information is painting a picture of what ambient, pervasive AI will look like.…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Aug 15 2025): Amazon expands same-day grocery delivery, Trump cuts space-industry regulation, The problem with AI connectors 18:20

5M ago18:20

18:20

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Amazon is expanding same-day fresh grocery delivery to 1,000+ cities, with plans to more than double that by end of 2025. With Prime members now able to get groceries delivered within hours for free, Walmart and other rivals’ stock prices have tumbled in the wake. N…

1
Go Global, Think Local: Why Winning in Payments Is a Regional Game 39:49

5M ago39:49

39:49

The payments industry loves to talk about scale. However, what is often overlooked is the real engine behind global success: regional fluency. In this special edition of The Issuer Academy, host Merusha Naidu brings together Paymentology’s regional leaders and Chief Revenue Officer Anna Porra for a rare behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to sc…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Aug 8 2025): OpenAI unveils GPT-5 & open LLMs, ElevenLabs & legal AI-generated music, DeepMind's real-time world model 21:37

5M ago21:37

21:37

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, OpenAI dropped GPT-5 this week, along with its first open-weight models in a long while. While GPT-5 might be the best all-around model (or hybrid “unified” system) today, the open gpt-oss family – which can be downloaded for free, customized, and run on a laptop or…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Aug 1 2025): Enterprises prefer Anthropic vs. OpenAI, EPA begins its repeal of the endangerment finding, Is autonomous trucking almost here? 21:04

5M ago21:04

21:04

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, enterprises now prefer Anthropic’s Claude over OpenAI, according to Menlo Ventures. Anthropic is the new leader in enterprise AI with 32% of the market (in compute), while OpenAI’s share has fallen from 50% to 25% in just over a year and a half. Next, the EPA has fo…

1
The Rise of the Companion Card: Powering Africa’s Mobile-First Economy 23:11

5M ago23:11

23:11

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Julius Abuje is joined by Alfred Mukudu, a Financial Services Go-To-Market Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Naima Yusuf, Head of Business Payments at M-Pesa Africa. Together, they dive into the growing role of companion cards in Africa's mobile money ecosystem. What You’ll Learn: How compa…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Jul 25 2025): Smart jewelry is back in style, Uber and Lyft riders get more choices, Lab-cultured pork fat gets approval 17:47

5M ago17:47

17:47

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, smart jewelry is suddenly one of the hottest fronts in the AI device race. Amazon just acquired Bee’s always-listening bracelet, Meta is working on gesture-control wristbands, Samsung is exploring more smart jewelry, and OpenAI’s hardware team (led by Jony Ive) is w…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Jul 18 2025): AI takes aim at financial analysts, Stablecoins and the GENIUS Act, The problem of rare-earth shortages 25:48

5M ago25:48

25:48

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, AI is taking aim at financial analysts. Anthropic’s Claude for Financial Services can analyze market data, build DCF models, and generate investor decks – complete with on-brand deliverables – while OpenAI’s “ChatGPT agent” can conduct research and build spreadsheet…

1
Beyond Access: Can Tech Raise a Financially Empowered Generation? 45:52

6M ago45:52

45:52

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Theo Kitshoff, CEO and Co-founder of Sticitt, and Drisha Kirkman, Head of Programme Management and Sustainability (MD South Africa) for Paymentology. Together, they explore the intersection of financial literacy and technological innovation. What You’ll Learn: How to des…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Jul 11 2025): Copyrights and AI training data, Robots take hold in warehousing, The US push for more nuclear plants 21:07

6M ago21:07

21:07

Hi everyone – we’re back! Much has happened in the world of market shifts while we were on hiatus, so much that we even considered making this a “17 shifts” catch-up edition. In lieu of that, we have a longer-than-usual “cutting room floor” at the bottom of our edition – make sure to take a look. First up, US courts are beginning to clear the fog a…

1
Smarter Cards, Simpler Stacks: Innovating at the Infrastructure Layer 35:18

6M ago35:18

35:18

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Carl Raven, Head of Issuer Enablers at Visa, and Thomas Benjaminsen Normann, Product Director of Digital Services at Paymentology. Together, they dive into what it really means to innovate in issuing, from AI agents and tokenization to flex cards, cloud-first infrastruct…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Jun 13 2025): Shrinkages in the US labor market, Scale AI and Meta's $15B investment, Deep-sea desalination 34:54

7M ago34:54

34:54

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, the US labor market is shrinking in ways that feel more structural than cyclical, with a declining employment-population ratio and businesses seeking “headcount-less growth.” So far it’s mostly “small cracks” but between immigration policy and automation, we’re look…

1
In the AI Stampede, Who’s Stopping to Ask the Right Questions? [LIVE FROM MONEY 2020] 38:34

7M ago38:34

38:34

In this special live episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, recorded at Money 2020 Europe in Amsterdam, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Theodora Lau, founder of Unconventional Ventures and author of "Banking on Artificial Intelligence," and Tim Joslyn, Chief Technology Officer at Paymentology. Together, they cut through the AI hype dominating finte…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Jun 6 2025): Mary Meeker’s newest trends report, AI’s hunt for distribution partners, Rewriting legacy codebases with AI 44:28

7M ago44:28

44:28

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Mary Meeker is back with another 300+ slide deck, her first Trends report since 2019 – this one focused on AI. We highlight what we consider to be the most interesting themes – and we did it by actually reading the deck and writing the brief (vs. running it through …

1
3 Shifts Edition (May 30 2025): California may lose its emissions waivers, App stores will need to verify ages, “Vibe coding” and personal apps 33:08

7M ago33:08

33:08

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, California’s longtime leadership on climate regulation may be coming to an end. Congress just voted to revoke California’s emissions waivers, in a move set to nullify the state’s authority to enforce stricter-than-federal vehicle standards – a power it’s held since …

1
The Change Beneath the Change: What’s Driving Real Financial Transformation? 1:05:28

7M ago1:05:28

1:05:28

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Leda Glyptis, Author, Advisor, Chair of Bourn AI and Professor at the University of Loughborough, Pauline Molloyi, Acting COO at OM Bank, South Africa's newest digital bank, and Anna Porra, CRO at Paymentology. Together, they navigate redesigning financial systems for tr…

1
3 Shifts Edition (May 23 2025): AI slop and its farmers, CRISPR therapies for individuals, Xiaomi's 3nm mobile chip 26:22

7M ago26:22

26:22

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, AI slop is spreading like kudzu and it’s more than just annoying spam – it’s a threat to online ecosystems as we know them. From YouTube channels to Pinterest recipes to Spotify playlists, slop farmers are exploiting AI’s ability to generate content cheaply and en m…

1
3 Shifts Edition (May 16 2025): The rise of APIs for AI web search, Crypto's regulatory barriers come down, The Airbnb of services 21:33

8M ago21:33

21:33

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, we delve into the rise of APIs for AI web search, with Anthropic recently joining Google, Perplexity, OpenAI, and others in releasing a product. It’s looking like AI search will soon be broadly distributed across 3rd-party applications and websites. Next, crypto’s r…

1
Wallets Are Being Rewritten: Tokenization, Embedded Finance & the Future of Payments 47:28

8M ago47:28

47:28

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Michael Galvin, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Toqio, and Ignacio Gironella Merino, Head of Sales Europe at Paymentology and Global Sales Director at MeaWallet. Together, they navigate the true potential of embedded finance through cards and tokenization. Wha…

1
3 Shifts Edition (May 9 2025): What Apple's payments ruling means, Card networks open up to AI agents, Multi-agent AI systems are live 33:48

8M ago33:48

33:48

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, a federal judge laid down the hammer on Apple last week for “willful violation” of her 2021 injunction. Developers like Spotify, Amazon, and Patreon are now moving quickly to cut Apple out of transactions, now that Apple can’t charge commissions on off-app purchases…

1
3 Shifts Edition (May 2 2025): The flurry around robotaxis, AI players inch towards ads, Interpretability & how AI models think 38:56

8M ago38:56

38:56

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. We’re opening this one up to everyone because of the importance of some of these topics. Feel free to forward and share. First, Waymo is pulling away in the robotaxi race with now 250K+ paid robotaxi rides per week, amid a flurry of industry activity and Tesla in hot pursu…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Apr 25 2025): Restarting student loan collections, Protein snacks and everything, The problem with AI benchmarks 22:30

8M ago22:30

22:30

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, the US government is restarting student loan collections, with garnishment of wages, social-security benefits, and tax refunds all back on the table starting May 5. Borrowers avoiding their loan balances might want to check their mail – and maybe their blood pressur…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Apr 18 2025): The growth of AI big tech, What’s coming back to the US, DHgate & factory-direct shopping 32:42

9M ago32:42

32:42

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, OpenAI is on its way to becoming the next consumer big tech giant, with ChatGPT surging to 800M+ weekly users. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are chasing power users with $200/month tiers but the real story might be what’s happening on the free end of freemium. Next, man…

1
3 Shifts Edition (Apr 11 2025): The tariff rollercoaster and China, Navigating the de minimis closure, Google Workspace’s automation flows 24:31

9M ago24:31

24:31

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Trump’s tariff rollercoaster is giving the markets whiplash, with a surprise 90-day pause on most “reciprocal” tariffs alongside a major hike on China. The S&P 500 bounced, the dollar sank, and 10-year Treasury yields surged, leaving some wondering if bond traders (…

1
Forget Cards—Here's What You'll Be Using to Pay in 2030 37:31

9M ago37:31

37:31

In this episode of The Issuer Academy podcast, host Merusha Naidu is joined by Jeff Parker, CEO of Paymentology, and Christian Rau, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships, Digital Assets, Blockchain, and Fintech Enablement at Mastercard. Together, they explore the evolving payments landscape, from the future of cash and plastic cards to the t…

1
The Issuer Academy Podcast is going live on Wednesday! 0:55

9M ago0:55

0:55

From next-gen card issuance to tokenisation, digital wallets, and Cards-as-a-Service, we dive deep into the strategies that are shaping the future. Featuring payment pros, fintech visionaries, and tech experts, this is where payments innovation comes to life. Watch the trailer now and get ready for game-changing conversations! #TheIssuerAcademy #Pa…