Day two of “The Greatest FinTech Show on Earth” had even more energy than the first. From a milestone birthday of one of the world’s most established payments systems to predictions from one of the most disruptive and new names in the sector, here’s our rundown of the day’s events.
Visa turns 60
If “customer experience” bubbled around the halls on day one, on day two it was the star. Whether FinTech start-ups, tech giants, or financial incumbents, the entire financial services ecosystem is fully aware that today customer is king. Enterprises that have competed in the past have realised that by working together, they can provide the best customer experience.
As Visa celebrated its 60th birthday, Jonathan Vaux, Executive Director, Innovation and Partnerships was joined on stage by three FinTech start-up partners Yoyo, Sphonic and Token. While all three start-ups admitted that challenges naturally arise when the old guard meets an emerging enterprise, all agreed that the benefits outweigh the challenges.
They concluded that they are united by a common goal: creating a fully connected experience for the user across a single platform, removing the friction from transactions and authentication and bringing together services like loyalty points, all the while building a true understanding of the customer’s needs.
Women in Payments: Dealing with Unconscious Bias
“An ingrained belief that lurks beneath the surface”. This was the definition of unconscious bias as presented at the panel debate during the Women in Payments luncheon. A panel, formed of Christine Bailey, CMO Valitor, Tram Anh Nguyen, co-founder CFTE, and Connie Dorrestijn, Bankifi, shared first-hand accounts of unconscious bias in the FinTech sector, from being asked when their boss was going to arrive to a meeting to dealing with misogyny on the trading floor.
The tool to overcoming this “lurking” bias? Education. This should include both educating others about their unintentional discrimination, as well as continuing to educate ourselves. As put by Tram Anh Nguyen: “Acquiring knowledge is the best way to be judged for your work alone.”
The Payments Race
In the quest to best demonstrate the real-world challenges of everyday transactions, five participants had been tasked with making their way across Europe using just one form of payment – from cash to card to crypto to mobile payments and wearables.
Starting in Istanbul on 31 May with the destination being Money20/20’s Big Top stage on day two, the intrepid contenders had one goal: to be crowned the Payments Race Champion. Each racer was only allowed to use a single form of payment for the duration of the race to pay for their travel and expenses.
It turns out in Europe, cash is still king, with some areas of the continent still only accepting physical notes and coins. But in a payments race first, Team Cash drew with Team Card, being jointly crowned this year’s winners arriving at the main stage at exactly the same time.
While a bit of fun, the race does show that crypto, wearables and mobile still have some way to go before they can claim the payments crown.
Join us tomorrow for the final day of the action here in Amsterdam.
