All articles by Douglas Blakey

Douglas Blakey

Are banking customer expectations moving faster than retail banks can keep up with?

Banks are misreading how quickly customer expectations are shifting towards AI customer support, explains Robbie Tilleard

The translation trap: Why AI won’t solve the COBOL crisis

Although many banks are still running decades-old platforms, Claudio González argues that this is where AI can make a bigger difference than most realise, by using it to finally decode these legacy systems

Perpetual KYC implementation: How banks are managing risk now

Perpetual Know Your Customer has become table stakes, but how can banks implement continuous monitoring without eroding the trust and loyalty of good customers? Mark Rubin writes

When customers move between channels, banks and credit unions must move with them

Dr Gulzar Singh reflects on the growing importance of continuity across physical and digital channels, and why customer journeys are becoming increasingly important for banks and credit unions alike

Pay by Bank is fragmenting: That’s a sign it’s working — but there’s a catch

As Pay by Bank moves into the mainstream, different industry and regulatory-led schemes are starting to emerge, creating fragmentation but with it comes flexibility and greater payment choices for consumers and businesses, writes Todd Clyde

New Celent Report Alert: AI Change Agents in Corporate and Transaction Banking

The front office – reimagined. A steady stream of significant announcements and notable advancements that touch corporate and transaction banking inspire the new Celent report, authored by senior analyst, Alenka Grealish

Rethinking communications surveillance in banking for 2026

Rob Mason explores how the shift in the way banks are communicating exposes the limits of traditional surveillance approaches, including the growing use of internal “fire drills” to test employee behaviour, and argues that banks need to move towards embedded, technology-driven compliance models that allow staff to use modern channels without creating regulatory risk

Step up or step aside

Brandon Nussey, CFO at JAGGAER, sets out the CFO’s guide to leading with AI

Consumers feel double-edged impact of interest rate hikes

Geopolitics boosts inflation fears, lifting mortgage rates, squeezing affordability, raising concerns over risks and funding costs grow, writes Bhavya Patel

The false signal in today’s embedded banking regulatory environment

Chris Black explains why experienced banks see changing regulation as a reason to double down on risk management, not back away from it