3 months ago
Money 20/20 Europe: Scalefocus Caught Up with Industry Leaders and Fellow Innovators in Amsterdam
As this year’s European edition of Money 20/20 took place in Amsterdam, 6-8 June 2023, Scalefocus was there to take part in the 3-day conversation of what’s now and next for money. Once again, some of the industry’s boldest voices came together to share their insights on the latest trends and challenges ahead. The show’s numbers were quite impressive: eight stages, 300-plus speakers, and 8,000 attendees from almost 90 countries.
Without wasting time, we all got right to the heart of 2023’s hottest topics, such as the changes AI is bringing along, the use of face biometric authentication, the latest strategies for optimizing customer experience, the role of SaaS providers in building financial services applications and, of course, crypto and blockchain.
The event began with a discussion that is undoubtedly front of mind, ‘Open banking: The quest for harmony.’ The panelists talked about the future of open banking and open finance, the role of regulators in providing clarity and the importance of the system for the general user.
Since the question of how traditional banks and FinTechs can collaborate through a common focus on the customer is gaining momentum, attendees got to witness a masterclass on the topic from GoCardless CEO Hiroki Takeuchi and Mark Brant, Chief Payments Officer at NatWest. They discussed the crucial part banks’ open-mindedness plays in such joint efforts and how new players must continue ‘nagging’ them to challenge their perceptions of what is possible.
Our team had interesting conversations around the recurring topic of integrations and more specifically cases of insufficient capacity to integrate proprietary products in local ecosystems across a number of domains. Other great discussions we had focused on security, AI and the latest authentication trends using biometrics. We also went over the different challenges and opportunities for companies across various Payments sub-verticals.
As always, Money 20/20 focused on innovation, both in terms of industry trends and in how the organizers approached the event. A 12ft state-of-the-art AI-powered MoneyBot was there to entertain the crowd with games, pitching and even hosted networking opportunities. The 3-day forum gave us a wonderful in-person chance to catch up with industry thought leaders, say ‘hi’ to some of our clients and meet prospective ones, but ultimately, to learn and exchange know-how with the brightest minds in financial services today. See you next time!
