Archive - Payments Culture

Can Revolut compete with American Express?

Looking at the interchange business model in Europe, how credit card rewards are funded, and why American Express is different

Jun 2, 2025 • Matt Jones

Why Ryanair wants you to Pay by Bank

How to save £3m+ in payments acceptance costs

Sep 24, 2025 • Matt Jones

How Geopolitics Shapes Fintech in 2026

How almost every trend in payments is shaped by geopolitics. An exploration of chokepoints, resilience, and why fintech is getting messier.

Jan 31 • Matt Jones

Resilience and Innovation: Ukraine's Fintech Ecosystem

How did payments infrastructure hold up in the midst of war?

Feb 14 • Matt Jones

Do consumers really want agentic commerce?

Agentic commerce promised AI agents that shop and pay on our behalf. A year in, the gap between hype and consumer demand is greater than anticipated.

Jun 13 • Matt Jones

Did Curve Force Visa and Mastercard to Innovate?

Understanding Curve’s business model, how Visa and Mastercard reacted, and the innovation that followed.

Dec 2, 2025 • Matt Jones

What's going on with the UK's favourite bank?

The state of Monzo in 2026. Giving away football shirts for a penny and automating your savings. Monzo's marketing isn't like other banks.

Jan 20 • Matt Jones

How Apple Disrupts Passports (!), Payment Cards, and Payment Terminals

Eleven Ways That Apple Pay Changed Payments — Part 2

Nov 19, 2025 • Matt Jones

Can American Express do what Visa and Mastercard cannot? (with agentic commerce)

Understanding the advantages of a closed-loop network for new payment paradigms

May 12 • Matt Jones

Stablecoins have had a rocket boost - will merchant payments be next?

Payments will be enhanced with new rails for a new era

Mar 9, 2025 • Matt Jones

Eleven Ways That Apple Pay Changed Payments — Part 1

Core Impacts From Eleven Years of Apple Pay (2014-2025)

Oct 30, 2025 • Matt Jones

Monzo’s fintech marketing genius ✨ (and what we can learn from it)

Marketing that doesn't feel like marketing

Sep 8, 2025 • Matt Jones

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