In this episode of Policy Sandbox, Todd Fox sits down with Dr. Kati Suominen, Founder and CEO of Nextrade Group and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, to discuss how technology is expanding opportunities for small businesses to participate in global commerce.

Drawing on her research and experience working with firms across global markets, Dr. Suominen explains how e-commerce, AI, digital platforms, and cross-border payments are helping businesses reach customers around the world. She also examines challenges businesses continue to navigate, including regulatory complexity, evolving digital rules, data governance requirements, and market access considerations.

Together, Todd and Kati explore what may be needed to support a more connected, resilient, and inclusive global trading environment.

In this episode of Policy Sandbox, VEEI President Todd Fox sits down with Demetrios Marantis, former Acting U.S. Trade Representative, to discuss how global trade is entering a period of realignment driven by geopolitical shifts, evolving policy priorities, and economic uncertainty.The conversation explores how governments and institutions are balancing resilience with openness, and how supply chains, trade flows, and investment patterns are adapting in response.To ground the conversation in real-world impact, Dr. Kati Suominen, Founder and CEO of Nextrade Group, shares insights on how small and medium-sized businesses experience these shifts firsthand. From regulatory fragmentation to barriers in cross-border commerce, she highlights the importance of digital tools and policy design in enabling “micro-multinationals” to compete globally.Together, the discussion underscores the critical role of trade policy, digital infrastructure, and cross-border payments in shaping a more resilient and inclusive global economy.

On Episode 6 of Policy Sandbox, Trust in a Fragmented World:Technology & Global Finance, host Todd Fox sits down with Dr. Axel Weber and Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka, two members of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) Advisory Council. During their conversation, Todd and his guests discuss the importance of building strong relationships between keyconnectors—across finance, payments, and the public sector—for managing emerging risks amid growing fragmentation.

Check out more form the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute at visa.com/veei.

In Episode 5, Balancing Growth & Stability in a Fragmented World, VEEI President  Fox, Todd sits down with Dr. Loretta Mester and Lord Jonathan Hill, two members of the VEEI Advisory Council, to discuss how central bankers and policymakers need to balance financial stability and economic growth in an era of constant change. 

In this episode of Policy Sandbox, Todd Fox, President of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, sits down with Visa Chief Economist Wayne Best and VEEI Council Chair Axel Weber to discuss the geopolitical shifts and macroeconomic uncertainty that are reshaping global finance.

The episode discusses how differences across regions and industries are changing the economy as generative AI influences business practices. Todd and his guests talk about how, in an increasingly fragmented and disrupted world, connectivity is a scare resource and trust is the ultimate driver of value. Yet despite growing global divides, technology—especially AI and open digital payment networks like Visa—continues to enhance the ways we connect and generate value.

In this episode of Policy Sandbox, Todd Fox, President of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, sits down Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa. Cuy is also the co-host of Tokenized, a leading podcast on stablecoins, tokenization, and real-world assets. Their conversation covers the ways that stablecoins and other digital assets are changing the financial landscape.

The episode also features remarks by Sophia Lopez, Founder and President of Kaleido, an enterprise-grade blockchain and digital asset platform; Candace Kelly, Chief Legal and Policy Officer at Stellar Development Foundation, a nonprofit focused on expanding financial access through blockchain technology; and Alisha Chhangani, Associate Director at the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center where she focuses on the future of money, including payments systems and digital assets.

Across all three conversations, a point of consensus emerges: the lines between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) are becoming increasingly blurred.

In this episode of Policy Sandbox, Todd Fox, President of the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute, sits down with Professor Peter Conti‑Brown, one of the world’s leading thinkers on central banking and financial regulation. Together, they explore how emerging technologies are challenging long‑standing assumptions about independence, accountability, and expertise, and why human judgment remains essential in an increasingly automated world.

Join us for a special Davos edition of Policy Sandbox as VEEI President Todd Fox goes behind the scenes at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting to hear from top thinkers on trends shaping the future of money and markets. From real-time debates on financial fragmentation to fresh insights on digital assets and cross‑border payments, this episode captures the energy on the ground, and what today’s debates mean for tomorrow’s global economy.

A wave of technological innovation is reshaping global finance — and the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute (VEEI) is stepping into the conversation with Policy Sandbox, a new podcast exploring payments, commerce, and public policy. Join Todd Fox, President of VEEI, as he brings together big questions and bold thinkers to decode the latest tech and policy shifts. In Policy Sandbox, you’ll hear from global banking leaders, innovators, policymakers, and Visa fellows and advisors — experts who translate complexity into clarity. From what’s coming next to what’s possible now, this is your guide to navigating the future of global payments.