Money20/20 Europe continues to be a vital part of the events calendar for banks, fintechs and the wider payments space alike – and our team were on hand meeting with many of you, as well as taking the pulse of the industry.

In recognition of the report, our VP of Content and Editor-in-Chief Lucy Ingham was joined by Rachel Whelan, Head Corporate Cash Management – APACMEA, Deutsche Bank; Benyam Hagos, Chief Financial Officer, Form3; Samantha Emery, Payments Executive & NED, LBG; and Danny Levy, Managing Director Asia & ANZ, Money20/20 in a panel discussing the future of European payments, with some strong insights across regulation, differentiation and technology.

Beyond this, the event was the usual vibrant mix of industry trends and announcements, with a strong focus on networking. Here are some of our key takeaways:

• This year saw a much stronger presence from Asian players, with Sunrate and XTransfer among those with stands, which in turn drove an increased focus on cross-border payments across the show floor.
• There was a notable downturn in the discussion of artificial intelligence, following intense discussion both a year ago and in the USA edition of the event at the end of last year. Where it is being discussed still, the focus is almost exclusively around fraud and compliance-related topics.
• Stablecoins, meanwhile, have been the hot topic this year. There were significant numbers of players with stablecoin offerings in attendance, as well as much discussion in panels. However, there are signs of it being over-hyped, as well as also growing concerns about the dollarisation risk it poses in the European market.

Away from trends, the show also saw a significant number of announcements. Here are some of the ones that were on our radar:

• Revolut is integrating Wero, the digital payment wallet developed by the European Payments Initiative. From July, customers in France, Belgium and Germany will be able to make instant, free transfers to other Wero users.
• LianLian Global has partnered with BVNK to allow international merchants across more than 100+ countries to fund cross-border transactions with stablecoins.
• Deutsche Bank has partnered with Transfermate, expanding the B2B provider’s ability to facilitate cross-border payments and in-country collections. Separately, the bank made an agreement with Mastercard to power open banking solutions for European merchants.
• Klarna and Visa have launched a new debit card. Currently being trialled in the US, the ‘Klarna Card’ will allow consumers to pay immediately or pay later when needed at more than 150 million Visa-accepting merchants globally. 
• NomuPay has secured $40m investment from Japan-based SB Payment Service Corp. (SPBS) in a partnership that will allow the former to expand into Japan and the latter’s merchant clients to scale globally.
• FIS has launched its International Issuing Hub — a new platform designed to help banks and issuers modernise their payments infrastructure and bring new products to market.

How can I develop my strategy with Europe in mind?

Lucy Ingham

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Lucy is Head of Content & Editor-in-Chief at FXC Intelligence, overseeing all content and taking deep dives into the trends and data driving changes in payments. Before joining FXC Intelligence, Lucy worked as a technology journalist and editor, interviewing CEOs and major names across enterprise technology, including fintech. She has an MSc in Development Anthropology from Durham University.