Euromonitor International will be attending Money 20/20 Europe during 4-6 June 2024 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This large-scale conference will accommodate 8,500+ attendees from the continent’s financial institutions, regulators, government agencies, and fintechs.
AI: Fad or real deal?
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the most used tech buzzwords lately, and the fintech sector is no exception.
64% of business leaders globally ranked AI as the top technology impacting business in the next five years, increasing from 58% in 2021
Source: Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Industry: Digital Survey, fielded in November 2023 (n=843)
The payments and lending industry features a plethora of use cases for AI implementation. Front-end AI applications include personalisation of financial products, automation of customer service, and combating fraud. Hundreds of AI start-ups have been appearing on the scene, all competing for a share in the highly competitive market which has seen many failures. Will the expectations for AI applications in fintech live up to the hype? Undoubtedly, navigating the AI landscape will be one of the key overarching themes in several panel discussions and speeches at Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam.
The finest hour of embedded finance
Embedded finance will be another key topic permeating across several sessions at Money 20/20 Europe. Digital embedded finance has enjoyed healthy growth in the past few years, largely due to supportive regulations in the EU. Implementation of the PSD2 directive together with advances in high-speed communications have been the main components of success. Now that 5G networking solutions are to become dominant and PSD3 framework development is on the way, embedded finance will secure its place among key strategic directions in fintech.
CBDCs: Designing the concept
The concept of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has been gaining momentum in Europe recently. Several European countries, such as France and Sweden, have begun to investigate the potential of CBDCs.
The European Central Bank has also launched the Digital Euro project with the goal of creating a digital version of cash on a blockchain platform
Source: Euromonitor International
Designing and implementing CBDCs comes with several obstacles. A major hurdle is guaranteeing the security, confidentiality, and robustness of these digital forms of currency. Money 20/20 Europe will feature several sessions during which the key principles of CBDC design will be decided by stakeholders from both public and private sectors.
Retail and fintech: Reimagining integration
The retail sector faces a strategic transformation, with traditional brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce players alike adopting digital innovations in payments. Amid this shift, the fintech solutions are playing a crucial role in improving the customer journey, optimising operations, and driving loyalty.
Fintech services enable retailers to conduct analysis of customer behaviour, preferences, and purchase history to create personalised experiences. Retailers can tailor promotions and product recommendations and optimise inventory management based on real-time data. Fintech companies are also supporting AR-powered shopping experiences that allow customers to virtually try on clothes or visualise furniture in their homes. These immersive technologies increase engagement and drive sales. Creating a perfect recipe for an ever-deeper integration of fintech and retail will be another major theme discussed at Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam.
Read our series of strategic briefings on embedded finance which discuss the driving factors, key products, as well as cross-border transaction applications, providing insights for financial institutions and non-financial businesses to explore strategic partnerships in this space.