Carolin Horst
Money20/20 Europe is set to shape the future of our global money ecosystem.
A significant goal of Money20/20 Europe is to ‘fuel thousands of conversations, catalyse hundreds of business deals and shape the future of Fintech.’
The event, which will be held in Amsterdam between June 7 and 9, is expected to bring in over 4,000 attendees from 1,900+ companies (including leading names like HSBC, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Mastercard) to discuss the future of fintech, banking, payments, and more.
For those working in, or alongside, the financial industry, #M2022EU is a must-attend event.
This year’s focus is on five main themes, ‘back end is out, front end is in’, ‘champions are out, interoperability is in’, ‘acquisition is out, distribution is in’, ‘proprietary is out, standardization is in’, and ‘ownership is out, permission is in’. And during the three days, over 100 presentations will be made ‘from global leaders to new challengers and from tech giants to scrappy startups’.
It’s set to be an exciting, informative, and inspiring event. And Testbirds will be there. So, let’s take a quick look at what to expect over the event’s three days.
Baratte Oriane
Senior Project Manager, Testbirds
“There’s a lot of disruption in the fintech industry. It’s going to be fascinating to see what some of these powerhouse businesses are developing and how they’re working to ensure their digital innovations are ready for market.”
Shaping the future of money
As Europe’s biggest fintech event, Money20/20 Europe brings together innovative organizations and leaders throughout the money ecosystem, including fintech, payments, financial services, and banking. All to discuss a wide range of topics from cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance, and the metaverse. If it relates to the finance industry, it’s bound to be discussed!
“This is the place where the industry moves forward. We power new strategies and partnerships that transform mindsets. We shape the future. We don’t just observe and react. We are the heartbeat of the money ecosystem.”
– Money20/20 Europe
With the overall message that ‘The European game is on’, the event aims to give people the connections and tools they need to succeed and help build ‘the most progressive technological and regulatory environment in the world’. That alone you might be able to run faster but together, everyone can run further.
Testbirds expectations
“One of the important things for me is seeing European-wide businesses getting so involved. Not that it’s just an EU-specific event. For us in the UK, it’s particularly important to still be involved – especially as so many financial services are becoming global in their nature.”
Carl Fryer, Country Manager UK, Testbirds
Theme 1: Back end is out, front end is in
Forget all about the back end’s tech stack – thousands of businesses are built on the same technology layer – today it’s all about the user experience. What then is a best-in-class customer journey? And when products need to be fluid and adaptable to provide a truly customer-first approach, what are the challenges (and benefits) of revolutionizing your product’s development?
Some of the topics explored:
- Channels of interaction
- Customer behavior, engagement, journeys, and needs
- New product categories and development
- Personalization
- User experience and the User Interface
Testbirds expectations
“A core part of our business is helping to ensure the user experience is fully optimized. I’m very much looking forward to the presentation from J.P. Morgan on ‘consumerism and the movement towards mobility and experience expansion’.”
Farah Dilla, International Sales Manager – Benelux & APAC, Testbirds
For the theme, speaker sessions, interviews, and panel discussions will be spread out over the three days and are set to include topics such as ‘How far can you go with Crypto FOMO?’ (Fear of missing out), ‘How do we rebuild current financial products to be climate positive’, ‘What does Ethical AI really mean for financial service?’, and ‘How do you remain sticky as a financial institution in the face of a digital-first consumer, across their lifetime?’.
Testbirds insight
Developers must include hyper-personalization, usability, and the customer journey within their planning. Getting it right is becoming a substantial competitive advantage.
Theme 2: Champions are out, interoperability is in
With technology becoming increasingly standardized across Europe, more competition is entering the market. Innovations and options are increasing as barriers to entry fall. This is seeing silos being demolished in favor of interoperability as the payments engine gains in popularity. The question isn’t if the payments engine will become the most critical piece of infrastructure for retailers, payments organizations, and other online commerce providers, but when.
Some of the topics explored:
- Alternative payment methods
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Value chain
- Software strategy
- Localization
For this theme, topics will include ‘Will there ever be pan-European rules and rails to play?’, ‘Where is the money coming from and where is it going?’, ‘The rise of the orchestration layer’, ‘How verticalization can become a competitive advantage’, and a conversation between Deutsche Bank and Google Cloud on their strategic partnership.
Carolin Horst
Marketing & PR Manager, Testbirds
“We’ve always had an exciting time at similar European-wide events and at last year’s show – and Money20/20 2022 won’t be any different. It’s absolutely amazing to see so many diverse people united in developing innovative products that just may change the world. I can’t wait!”
Testbirds insight
As we’re talking about Europe, and potentially the world, ensuring your solution is properly localized is essential. But this doesn’t just mean translation! Always keep in mind local customs, preferences, and regional dialects for your localizations.
Theme 3: Acquisition is out, distribution is in
Taking a look at the largest end-user platforms – including banks, e-commerce, and social media – this theme looks at who may end up with the most customers, and how financial components can ‘significantly improve’ the customer experience. It’ll also discuss how the smart way to go is to keep your marketing money and turn your end-user platforms into distribution channels!
Some of the topics explored:
- Business models
- Engaging customers where they are
- Financial inclusion and access
- Integrations
- Network effects
For this theme, topics will include ‘How can marketplaces enable consumerism and experience innovation?’, ‘Why Payments-as-a-strategy should be your new business model’, ‘Retail integrations: Can embedded finance deliver for e-commerce and retailers?’, ‘Where can fintech companies do something substantially different in the metaverse?’, and ‘How is the rise of fintech transforming the next generation of banking (and bankers?)’.
Testbirds insight
Never underestimate the importance of a good customer experience! Not only does it cost less to retain customers, but a loyal customer will also tell their friends about you on social media. But getting it right requires a comprehensive, business-wide approach – your product or service is only one part of their journey with your business.
Theme 4: Proprietary is out, standardization is in
Say goodbye to proprietary technology! The future is all about open and shared technical standards that ‘prioritize best interests of individuals over interests of entities’. With the standardization of payments throughout Europe, interoperability will be key, and this will see the rise of the orchestration layer. Tomorrow’s innovations will include open-source solutions that focus on infrastructure neutrality.
Some of the topics explored:
- Digital money
- Open banking
- PSD2 and PSD3
- Open finance
- Technological standards
For this theme, topics will include ‘How do we get the start of the relationship right?’, ‘If nobody likes data silos, why is it so hard to share it?’, ‘Is mass standardization the solution to the issues with API quality?’, ‘Public vs private: Who will win the digital money race?’, and ‘What is the vision for digital identity in Europe?’.
Testbirds insight
Testing an open-source solution comes with its own special set of challenges. By its very own nature, open-source software code can be changed as required. While there may be an overall standardization within your industry, it doesn’t mean products and services from other providers will effectively communicate with one another. It’s essential that testing processes, test cases, and the right testing environment – for all contingencies – are established alongside development, not at the end.
Theme 5: Ownership is out, permission is in
The concept of ownership is changing. Today, it’s more in the hands of individuals, not entities. That the use of information is increasingly permission-based, and it’s the individual who gives that permission. This is all happening as pan-European standards are being built around information flow, the design of currency, and data ownership. Tomorrow, the industry will be built around the merger of different worlds, including virtual and real, and centralized and decentralized finance.
“At Testbirds, we’ve started seeing more organizations build digital solutions that are incredibly customer-focused. I’m genuinely interested in what innovative, customer-first solutions we’ll see at Money20/20.”
– Andrew Maat, Vice President International Markets, Testbirds
Some of the topics explored:
- Decentralization
- Emerging technologies
- DLT
- Trust
- Regulation of advanced technologies
For this theme, topics will include ‘Solving for consent and access: Is SSI the way to break today’s feudal data system?’, ‘How do we move the regulated market to distributed ledger technology?’, ‘What do we need to build and enable the economy of the Metaverse?’, ‘What’s next for NFTs?’, and ‘What can we learn from DeFi and technologies that cannot be regulated?’.
Tot ziens in Amsterdam
See you in Amsterdam!
Not only do we have a wonderful office in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, but we’re also flying in members of our international team to see what’s happening in the world of finance – and to discuss our comprehensive Payments Testing.
And there’s a lot to talk about. Whether you’re developing a point-of-sale solution, looking at online payments and authentications, or need to check your AIS, PIS, and open banking connections, we’ve got you covered.
Our payments tests utilize our crowdtesters to help you efficiently and cost-effectively evaluate and validate your digital solutions by:
- Testing payment flows and processes to uncover any issues that may cause lost sales or loss of trust.
- Delivering customer experience feedback on your digital banking app or website.
- Ensuring transactions are successful in the location and manner that your customers prefer.
- Helping you to secure and validate your payment flows and ensure they are done promptly and without outside interference.
We can even tailor our… no, wait a second! There are so many unique details involved with your product, that it’d be best to meet up and talk about them in person.
So, feel free to drop by Hall 5, stand B30, and let’s have a chat about your specific payments testing needs.
