Memoirs of Money20/20 Europe: Fintech trends and topics to watch

 

Entrance of Money20/20 Europe at the Rai, Amsterdam

Gemma Lingham, director and head of fintech UK 

To anyone reading this that attended Money20/20 Europe, I’m sure you’ll agree, that it wasn’t short of magical.

The buzz in the Rai, Amsterdam was palpable and you could sense the excitement from everyone in the fintech industry at being back together in full force. And for those that didn’t attend, I’m sure a healthy dose of FOMO from colleagues and peers was felt.  

With talks from the biggest names in fintech, like Stripe and Wise, to more established providers like Visa and Mastercard, and even some unexpected names like OnlyFans and Wayfair, it’s fair to say the content was varied and vibrant. And what’s clear is that Money20/20 Europe most definitely set the stage for the trends that will dictate the coming months, and years, of fintech. So what are these trends?  

The future of finance is open 

An open banking provider proclaiming in their mainstage talk that “no one cares about open banking” might seem slightly odd, yet it’s indicative of the punchy content Money20/20 prides itself on. The sentiment of Tink’s CEO and co-founder, Daniel Kjellen, actually summarised how the biggest topic in fintech is about to play out and mature. Open Banking is a necessity for financial services to truly evolve. Fundamentally, it’s about ensuring people can connect to the financial services they love, get the credit scoring they deserve and the choices they need. The amount of Open Banking companies exhibiting or talking at the show reinforced how core this is to the future of fintech. We’re at a turning point in how providers push forward the underlying technologies, banks embrace the shift, policymakers create the right ecosystem and even how businesses build offerings around it.  

The teenage years 

The fintech space has always been progressive, gritty and fast-paced. This hasn’t changed – we still see businesses creating innovative new products, startups launching and investment flooding in. But we’re seeing the market enter a new phase – the teenage years, you could say: still experiencing some growing pains, continuing to rebel against the status quo but also maturing. We saw this discussion play out in another mainstage talk on what challengers can learn from established brands as they reach this stage. Yorick Naeff, CEO of BUX, pointed to the learning he took from traditional players around having a very clear business model and moving away from just aiming for “blind growth”. This was backed up by Andrew Ellis, CEO of Mettle and Head of Digital Assets at Natwest, also adding that this is the same for having a very clear and solid value proposition.  

A force for good 

Another of the prominent trends that emerged from the show was how fintech continues to be a force for good in many ways. In an inspiring talk from various Ukrainian challenger banks, the audience heard how the advanced fintech industry and digital infrastructure of the country has been able to continue throughout the conflict, supporting citizens financially at this crucial time. And the innovation is not stopping. izibank, the Independent Association of the Banks of Ukraine, Sportbank and Ibos Bank all explained how they continue to advance and improve their offerings. Mark Barnett, Europe President of Mastercard, also spoke of the various support schemes helping Ukrainian fintechs and citizens, reinforcing the help that larger financial services organisations can provide.  

So, whether you’re a business focusing on differentiating yourself in an increasingly competitive subsector, an organisation looking at its messaging as you move from scaleup to grownup, or you want to tell the stories of lifechanging work you are doing, now is the time to think seriously about how you communicate this to your audiences.

Money20/20 Europe set the stage for where the industry is headed, and now is the time to assess how you communicate your value within it.  

Reach out to our fintech team if you’d like to hear more about how we can help with your communications. 

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