This interview is with Rahulkumar Chawda, Product Manager.

Rahulkumar Chawda, Product Manager

Can you introduce yourself and share your expertise in the field of digital payments and fintech?

Thank you for having me. My name is Rahul Chawda, and I bring over 18 years of experience in the fintech and digital payments industry, where I specialize in developing secure, scalable, and high-impact payment technologies that power digital commerce around the world. My expertise spans across product management, digital standards, tokenization, and transactions. I’ve led the development and global rollout of critical digital payment products which are widely used by financial institutions, merchants, and consumers across multiple regions. Beyond my core responsibilities, I actively contribute to the broader fintech ecosystem through industry publications, speaking engagements, mentorship, and advisory roles, driving innovation and sharing best practices that shape the future of payments.

What inspired you to pursue a career in digital payments, and how has your journey in this field evolved over time?

From the early days of my career, I’ve been driven by a simple question: How can technology make everyday financial experiences more secure, seamless, and accessible? That curiosity naturally led me to the world of digital payments—a space where innovation directly impacts billions of people.

My journey started as a software engineer working on mobile applications when smartphones were just beginning to take off. I was involved in early-stage application development for devices, and that hands-on experience with mobile technology sparked a deep interest in how payments could evolve beyond physical cards and cash.

As digital commerce grew, so did my passion for building products that not only improve user convenience but also enhance security and trust. Over the years, I transitioned into product management roles where I could blend technical depth with business strategy, helping lead the development of tokenization services, digital systems, and real-time transaction platforms.

What has kept me in this space is the constant pace of innovation, the global scale of impact, and the opportunity to contribute to a more inclusive, secure financial ecosystem and sense of completeness to see products being used in market. From simplifying public transit payments to securing e-commerce with advanced AI and biometrics, each project has been a step toward creating more meaningful, user-centric financial experiences.

Today, I find fulfillment not only in building these solutions but also in mentoring others, sharing insights, and helping shape the next generation of fintech innovation.

Based on your experience, how has tokenization revolutionized the security of digital transactions, and can you provide a real-world example of its impact?

Tokenization has redefined digital payment security by replacing sensitive card data with dynamic, context-specific tokens. Instead of protecting data, it removes the risk entirely—because there’s nothing valuable to steal. This shift has enabled safer, scalable transactions across mobile wallets, apps, and e-commerce. A great example is mobile payments like Apple Pay, where the real card number is never exposed—every tap uses a token and a cryptogram unique to that moment. With the usage of network payment tokenization, I’ve seen fraud rates drop significantly while improving user trust and experience. Ultimately, tokenization is more than just a security tool—it’s a foundational enabler of seamless, secure, and future-ready commerce.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges facing the widespread adoption of digital wallets, and how have you seen companies successfully overcome these hurdles?

Honestly, one of the biggest challenges with digital wallet adoption is earning user trust and showing people why it’s actually better than what they’re already using. A lot of consumers still worry about security or don’t really see the added value. On the merchant side, it’s often about legacy systems, integration complexity, and wondering if it’s worth the investment.

Another big hurdle is fragmentation—what works well in one country or platform doesn’t always translate easily elsewhere, especially with different regulations and infrastructure.

That said, I’ve seen companies overcome these challenges by focusing on real, everyday utility. When digital wallets are fast, secure, and add value—like linking rewards, offering biometric login, or working across devices seamlessly—adoption tends to follow. I’ve worked on use cases where people could tap their phone to pay for transit, skip the ticket lines, and even earn loyalty rewards. That’s when it clicks—when the wallet isn’t just a payment method, but a better experience.

At the end of the day, it’s about building confidence and convenience. Once users experience that, adoption becomes natural.

How do you see the intersection of blockchain technology and traditional digital payment systems evolving in the near future? Can you provide insights from any projects you’ve worked on in this area?

I think we’re at a really interesting turning point where blockchain and traditional payment systems are starting to converge—not compete. There’s been a lot of hype around replacing the old with the new, but in reality, the most practical and scalable path forward is integration.

From what I’ve seen, blockchain has clear advantages when it comes to transparency, traceability, and multi-party coordination, especially in areas like cross-border payments or token lifecycle management. Use cases where blockchain could help track tokenized transactions across multiple parties with a shared view of settlement and compliance—without needing to disrupt existing payment rails.

The key insight is: blockchain shines when you need trust across organizations that don’t inherently trust each other. Traditional systems are incredibly efficient at processing payments at scale, but they’re often siloed. When you bring blockchain in as a layer of shared truth, it opens up possibilities—whether that’s for real-time regulatory visibility, programmable payment triggers, or new forms of tokenized value exchange.

That said, the challenge isn’t technology—it’s alignment. You need performance, privacy, regulatory compliance, and network incentives all in place. But I do believe we’re going to see blockchain quietly embedded into the backend of payment systems, enhancing—not replacing—the way money moves.

What’s the most innovative fintech solution you’ve encountered or developed recently, and how do you think it will shape the future of digital transactions?

One of the more forward-thinking solutions I am recently involved in is Payment Account Reference, or PAR. It’s not flashy on the surface, but it’s incredibly powerful in how it quietly solves some of the biggest challenges in digital payments.

What makes PAR innovative is its ability to link all tokenized transactions back to a single underlying account—regardless of what device, wallet, or token a consumer is using. That sounds simple, but it’s a game-changer when it comes to things like fraud detection, loyalty tracking, or handling post-transaction services like refunds or disputes.

Before PAR, every token was like a separate identity. That made it hard for merchants and issuers to recognize the same customer across different channels without relying on sensitive card data. In the bigger picture, I see PAR as a building block for the next generation of seamless, secure, and intelligent digital transactions. It’s helping payments feel less like isolated events and more like part of a connected financial journey—which is where I believe the future is headed.

In your experience, how are regulatory changes impacting the digital payment landscape, and what advice would you give to companies navigating these evolving compliance requirements?

Regulatory shifts have become one of the biggest forces shaping the digital payments landscape. It’s not just about staying compliant anymore—it’s about being able to adapt at speed as new rules come into play, often with very little lead time.

In my experience, the real challenge isn’t just understanding regulations—it’s building payment systems that can adjust quickly across different markets. Whether it’s data localization, token lifecycle management, or region-specific security mandates, we’re seeing regulators play a much more active role in how payments are designed and delivered.

One of the key lessons I’ve learned is that compliance can’t be an afterthought. The smartest companies treat their regulatory teams like product partners. I’ve worked on projects where we had to quickly re-architect a digital payment service to meet a new regional compliance rule. Because we involved legal and risk teams early, we not only met the deadline—we actually ended up making the platform more scalable for future markets.

So my advice is simple: embed compliance into your product DNA. Don’t wait for a regulation to hit—anticipate it. Build flexible systems, stay close to your legal experts, and treat regulatory readiness as a strategic edge, not just a safeguard. In today’s environment, that’s what sets resilient companies apart.

Looking ahead, what emerging trend in digital payments or fintech excites you the most, and how are you preparing to leverage or address it in your work?

One of the most exciting trends in digital payments right now is the move toward intelligent and contextual payments—where the transaction adapts to the user, not the other way around. We’re entering a phase where payments will become more invisible, intuitive, and predictive—blending into the background of everyday experiences.

What excites me is the idea that payments are no longer just about speed or convenience—they’re becoming smarter. Imagine a world where your payment method adjusts based on what you’re buying, where you are, or your past behaviors—without requiring manual input. AI and biometrics are enabling real-time decisioning that feels natural and secure, not intrusive.

We’re also seeing this trend in areas like transit, subscription services, and connected commerce, where the goal is to remove friction altogether. When done right, it doesn’t even feel like a transaction—it feels like the service just works. That’s the level of simplicity and intelligence that consumers are starting to expect.

What’s important is that the industry is moving from building payment solutions to designing payment experiences—and that shift is going to define the next decade of innovation in fintech.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

You’re very welcome! And if I had to add one final thought—it would be this: Payments aren’t just about tech or transactions—they’re about trust, experience, and everyday life. Some of the most impactful innovations in this space aren’t the ones that make headlines—they’re the ones that quietly remove friction, protect people behind the scenes, and make something complex feel effortless. As the industry evolves, I think the real challenge—and opportunity—is to keep that human element at the center. Because when payments work well, people don’t notice them. And honestly, that’s when we know we’ve done our job right.