Dina-Perla Portnaar
Another edition of the leading finance event has gone by. Between 7th and 9th June 2022, Money2020 was vibrant like always. In fact, the 2022 edition seemed even more vibrant than ever. Post-pandemic, it felt like a true gift to meet all those familiar and new faces in one venue. There is something special about meeting up with like-minded people in real-life.
Doing the right thing, also classified as integrity, was a nice underlining theme that I found in each and every company represented at Money2020, as well as in each and every key-takeaway of the event. Also, Money2020 was designed to match everyone’s need, from the different stages to listen to some top leaders in the field, to different venues in which the variety of brands were represented. I didn’t find the main hall the most inspiring one. The usual suspects in the field were there for a reason and were doing an excellent job in terms of connecting, relationship management and knowledge-sharing. The smaller halls however, were a true delight, because the up-and-coming champions with different ideas, mindsets and tooling were there. Always, always support the underdog is my current motto in the sector. I know what it is like to work for the market leaders in the field, including large enterprise, but those underdogs have a special place in my professional heart. Besides, it is fascinating to see how startups in fintech, regtech, edtech and much more manage the downturn in funding in a creative manner.
Open data economics is a fact
Doing the right thing could be found in the way e-identity, real-time value exchange and cross-border seamlessness could be designed with safety and security at the forefront. Or in how banking apps could be secured professionally. Or in how the different up-and-coming business models could operate and open new doors to even more enhanced offerings. Or in how Banking-as-a-Service (also cloud-native maturity in banking), open banking and actual banks in town could actually be balanced. Although we are moving towards a cashless society with a massive rise of electronic payments in the past years, I actually talked to an African player who explained why banks in town are so important and why grip on payments still work by using a sim-card – yes, a sim-card. Yet, in large parts of the world, the open data economics is a fact. It is all about building capabilities and infrastructure for the future, because the future is now. PSD2 means that parties such as telecom, automotive, commerce and so on, so the non-financial players are entering the space like never before in history. Again, embedded finance and open data. Yet, it is not about data only. It is about the capabilities to use that data that is the secret to successful data monetisation.
Go past the horizon of the overall conversation
Doing the right thing could be found in those larger scale trends and developments, with major impact on the sector. Think of the possible recession, global instability including war and of course bizarrely high inflation. ESG, how the sector can support human rights at board level and through its stakeholder landscape and what to do in terms of financial crime, AML, control, risk mitigation and broader, whistleblowing were all topics that were being discussed. Of course, not in the same manner as we do here and at our gatherings. This is logical – we zoom in on certain topics and go past the horizon of the overall conversation. When it comes to actual matters of morals, ethics, integrity and inclusivity, I think we should say what needs to be said: let’s say out loud when it is all about supporting imaging instead of actual progression by doing the right thing. Last, crypto trading and tokenisation are also up for a massive case of doing the right thing. It was interesting to see how many parties of ‘the new world’ were actually attending Money2020 and talking about their expansion into fiat, also with the mica-regulation in the background of the horizon.
Money2020, the 2022 edition was a true celebration of all those bright and hard-working professionals in the field. A celebration is a fertile soil for doing the right thing as a sector. Because we have to do it together in order to move in the right direction, don’t do think?
