How fintechs can stay ahead in payments.

Card infrastructure is now powering far more than traditional credit and debit experiences. Use cases range from: 

• Digital banking and challenger banks 

• Youth and parent-child money apps 

• SME finance 

• Cross-border spend and virtual card payouts 

With virtual cards seeing exponential growth, particularly in B2B payouts. The definition of a "card" is being stretched. It’s now a programmable, on-demand payment instrument embedded into broader platforms and propositions. 

The opportunity for fintechs? Focus on use case differentiation, not just speed to market. 

While contactless laid the foundation, mobile wallets have taken over as the central command hub for consumers, especially younger ones. Tokenisation has unlocked more than just secure transactions; it’s paved the way for dynamic credentials, ID verification, and real-time controls. 

“My 23-year-old daughter won’t leave the house with a plastic card — just her phone,” says Vaux. 

This shift demands that fintechs prioritise wallet-native design by enabling one-click token provisioning, robust permission management, in-wallet authentication, and seamless compatibility across different wallet environments. These capabilities are no longer optional; they define the user experience. This isn’t just about payments — it’s about controlling the full customer interaction layer through the wallet interface. 

As payments become more embedded and more global, fraud is becoming more sophisticated. In markets that once had minimal fraud, such as Singapore, scams are now on the rise. 

Legacy fraud models are no longer sufficient. Fintechs must adopt: 

• Real-time fraud detection 

• AI-powered transaction monitoring 

• Scam prevention tools at the point of transaction 

• Ongoing behavioural analytics 

“Fraudsters look for the weakest link and they move faster than regulators,” warns Vaux. 

At Thredd, we treat fraud protection as foundational, not optional. 
 

Fintechs are increasingly setting their sights on multi-region growth, aiming to launch payment programmes that span continents. But the reality is that payments remain deeply regionalised. Despite the drive toward global solutions, every market brings its own regulatory nuances, domestic infrastructure, and scheme-specific requirements that can complicate cross-border issuing. 

Scaling internationally requires more than ambition. It demands a clear understanding of local licensing and compliance obligations, alignment with national payment systems, and a detailed grasp of how global card scheme rules play out in practice across jurisdictions. The difference between scaling seamlessly and hitting regulatory roadblocks often comes down to one thing: having the right partner who knows the territory — and is already on the ground. 

Five years ago, compliance was seen as a back-office obligation. Today, it’s a make-or-break differentiator. Regulators are raising the bar, and so are partners, investors, and enterprise clients. 

The new wave of BIN sponsors and issuer processors must offer: 

• Full regulatory reporting 

• Data and audit trails 

• Integrated fraud tooling 

• Real-time compliance visibility 

“What used to be optional is now core,” says Vaux.