Jason Blackhurst: Leading Visa’s Fraud Prevention and AI-Driven Risk Solutions

Early Life and Education

Jason Blackhurst earned a degree in Business Administration from Warner Pacific University between 1995 and 1997. Before entering the corporate world, he served six years in the United States Navy, which instilled a disciplined, mission-focused leadership style that would define his career.

Professional Career

Blackhurst has spent over a decade at Visa, currently serving as Senior Vice President & Head of Featurespace & Acceptance Risk Solutions. He previously held the role of SVP Innovation and Strategic Partnership. From 2008 to 2015, he was SVP eCommerce Product Executive at Bank of America, and earlier held leadership positions at Vesta, Polestar Communications, and Concentrex, focusing on online banking and global operations. Following Visa’s acquisition of Featurespace in March 2025, Blackhurst succeeded retiring CEO Martina King to lead Featurespace and Acceptance Risk Solutions.

Business Intervention in AI

Featurespace enhances Visa’s global risk infrastructure with AI-based fraud prevention technologies, including:

• Adaptive Behavioral Analytics: A self-learning platform that creates individual behavioral profiles and detects anomalies in real-time.
• TallierLTM™: The world’s first generative Large Transaction Model, pre-trained on billions of transactions to uncover hidden fraud patterns, delivering a 71% improvement over industry standards.
• Automated Deep Behavioral Networks: A deep learning architecture using recurrent neural networks to protect against scams, account takeover, and card fraud.
• Card Fraud: Tailored for the card and payments industry; partners like TSYS reduced fraud losses by 39% and false declines by 70%.
• Scam Detect: Addresses the growing threat of Authorized Push Payments with adaptive capabilities that keep banks ahead of fraudsters.

Business Achievements

Featurespace has become a globally recognized fraud prevention platform, expanding its enterprise footprint through Visa’s ecosystem. It reinforced its Cambridge, UK presence with a six-year office lease and broadened transit payments via Visa Ready for Transit, partnering with multiple technology providers for contactless public transport payments worldwide.

Controversies

No serious public controversies have been associated with Jason Blackhurst. He has built a reputation as a steady, experienced operator across banking, e-commerce, and payment risk technology, culminating in his current leadership of Featurespace within Visa’s global risk and identity solutions portfolio.