Money20/20 Europe is back in town

After a challenging two years of virtual substitutes and a partial return in 2021, Money20/20 Europe (M20/20EU) came back in force to Amsterdam to provide Europe’s biggest stage for fintech, bringing together more than 350 rock star speakers across 6 stages who delivered 170 content sessions to the more than 7,500 attendees from 89 countries.

This year’s M20/20EU expertly reinterpreted its handling of the commerce universe’s hot topics – open banking, banking-as-a-service and embedded finance – by taking a step back and presenting them in a way that made them less steeped in industry jargon and more accessible to everyone.

This was done by bringing together high‑profile executives, often from quite different types of institutions, to themed stages that each had a distinct look and feel. The Big Picture stage explored “What is in and what is out”, hypothesising for example that back end is out, front end is in and bringing the likes of HSBC , Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Pacemaker.io together to discuss what is needed to excel in omni‑channel banking. Meanwhile, more intimate space was provided at venues such as the Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll Club, where less orthodox conversations were had.

Open banking – what’s in it for me?

Day one of M20/20EU kicked off on the Big Picture stage with Charlotte Hogg , CEO Visa Europe, and Daniel Kjellén , CEO Tink , at what might be their first joint in‑person public engagement following the €2 billion acquisition that completed in March 2022. In addition to elaborating on the motivation behind the acquisition and the shared journey ahead, the speakers also discussed the view of the average Joe on open banking. Mr Kjellen stated that nobody cares about open banking, to which Ms Hogg added that there was therefore much work to be done in getting the word out about what consumers can now do with open banking.

In a session entitled ‘Faster, higher and into orbit’, racing driver Susie Wolff , rock climber Alain Robert and British astronaut Tim Peake reflected on their achievements, shared their unique perspectives and discussed how these can enrich people’s daily lives and industry collaborations. It was a lively and motivating discussion about understanding and managing risk, and how to believe in yourself and dare to be different.

Ukraine fintech – alive and kicking

It was great to see M20/20EU give prominence to Ukraine’s fintech industry through a dedicated panel session bringing together a fantastic group of trailblazers from neobanks who provided unique insights on running a fintech during a war. Anna Tigipko , owner and CEO of izibank , noted, “The war started, but we never stopped. We continue to innovate, to develop new products.” Maria Kolganova , executive director of banking association NABU, added that the COVID‑19 pandemic had equipped bank users with transferable digital banking skills enabling them to bank remotely without too much of a learning curve. Alyona Shevtsova , owner and CEO of IBOX BANK , added her bank’s story, in which the firm relocated to Poland to continue to run. “We are the economic front – while the economy works, the military stands for us back in Ukraine.”

Deutsche Bank and Google – embracing the cloud

The Bulletin keenly follows bank and tech partnerships, and a very interesting one was on display during one of the panels. Bernd Leukert of Deutsche Bank ’s membership board and Dr. Daniel Holz of Google Cloud sat down to discuss their firms’ partnership journey which started in 2021 and the migration and modernisation of applications which began in earnest in 2022. Dr Holz commented, “We already have more than 30 solutions brought from on‑premise to the cloud. The aim for this year is going to be to reach 100 or more applications running on a cloud native environment.” Mr Leukert, answering questions on how differences in company cultures were addressed, noted that for big banks such as Deutsche Bank, partnerships are still quite a new experience: “It had previously been more of a customer and supplier relationship, and building a strategic partnership is new in the DNA of Deutsche Bank. I would say it’s new in the DNA of the financial service industry.”

Speaking to what’s in it for Google, Dr Holz noted that partnerships such as this enable the firm to continue to builds its market position: “Google Cloud was number twelve worldwide three years ago. Right now, we are at number five.”

CBDC – digital sterling on the horizon

Central bank issued digital currencies (CBDC) have been growing in number, with pilots in progress in close to 90 countries. European activity is advanced with the e‑krona of Sweden being in phase 3, however the UK’s Project New Era pilot took the front seat. It stands out owing to substantial private sector involvement, including leading high street banks and the fintech Paywith.glass. Panellist Dr Lisa Cameron , chair of the House of Commons Crypto and Digital Assets group, identified one of the key opportunities offered by CBDC: “We need to be ensuring that digital transformation and innovation have at its heart inclusion, because there are so many sectors of our society who are marginalised in the traditional finance industry.” She continued: “I don’t think this is going to be something that entirely replaces cash, I think it would be a complementary system. But what I would like to see are test cases where we can have inclusion of marginalised and minority groups at the centre.”

Money20/20 Europe was a great success, once again bringing executives from across commerce together in person to do business, build partnerships and catch up on the latest valuation gossip. As always, the Bulletin looks forward to its return next year, to take stock of the direction of travel and meet the assembled luminaries.