This is a guest contribution by Thomas Byrne of Digitain. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

There’s a popular expression in Armenia – The sun won’t stay behind the cloud. As in most parts of the world now, Armenia is experiencing a national shutdown, with all but essential businesses closed. From my position on the ground, I think Armenians are approaching this crisis with calmness and co-operation, while maintaining their optimism for the country’s future.

Our approach, like many other companies in the industry, reflects these priorities – putting the health of employees first by instituting a remote working policy within 24 hours of the outbreak. Since the change, we have been delighted with the focus and dedication from our staff in pulling together. We’ve also seen a surge in collaborative dialogue, which has ensured our ability to seamlessly adapt our services to our 70+ partners worldwide.

This event will surely be the biggest challenge of our time. Never before has our industry seen the perfect storm of a global pandemic, financial crash, social distancing and the shutting down of numerous retail networks – all while fearing for the safety of our loved ones. It also goes without saying that our industry has been affected the postponement of popular sports – professional, amateur and recreational. Add to the mix an increasing scrutiny from regulators and media commentators, and we’re also likely to see tighter controls on deposits and marketing activities.