Innovation Stage
| Day One – 25th March |
09:30 | Registration Opens: Breakfast Banter – Coffee & Pastries Enjoy a coffee and network with fellow attendees and industry professionals. MCs: |
10:00 | Breakfast Brainfood: “Payments Innovation News Roundup” Start your day with sharp insights from Simon Taylor, creator of Fintech Brainfood and one of the leading fintech influencers on LinkedIn. Together with fintech insiders and leading journalists they will unpack the latest news from the show, trends, and predictions shaping payments. Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy, Sardine Gina Clarke, Events Correspondent, The Fintech Times |
10:35 | Brand & Build: How Customer Experience Fuels Growth in Payments Brand and business strategy go hand in hand—especially in payments. This session explores how brand identity and customer experience fuel loyalty and growth. A visionary marketer and a strategic business architect unpack the intersection of brand and payments. They’ll discuss how customer experience drives loyalty, repeat purchases, and long-term business success. What you’ll takeaway: Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy, Sardine (Moderator) |
11:00 | Regulation backed Innovation: “Enabling New Technologies to Flourish” Regulatory sandboxes like the FCA’s AI Sandbox are fostering fintech growth by enabling innovation in a controlled environment. Hear from fintechs that have successfully used regulatory frameworks to innovate, grow, and scale faster. What you’ll takeaway: Practical ways to turn compliance into a competitive advantage. Claire Conby, Director, Finnovation UK Dr Louise Beaumont, Senior Vice President Open Data Global Engagement, Mastercard |
11:35 | The Scamdemic: Fighting Fraud at Scale Fraud is evolving faster than ever, with $1.03 trillion lost globally in 2023. This session brings together top experts to explore how fintechs, regulators, and innovators are fighting back. What you’ll takeaway: Dive into ground-breaking fraud prevention technologies, global reimbursement frameworks, and strategies to detect and combat scams at scale. Ekaterina Safonova, Managing Director, CS Consulting & Advisory Ltd Alison Donnelly, Head of Payments, fscom |
12:10 | Super Wallets: “The Next Frontier in Digital Payments” Digital wallets are evolving into AI-powered super apps with features like spending analysis and chatbots. Explore the technologies driving the next wave of digital wallets and what fintechs can learn from this innovation. What you’ll takeaway: Practical applications for developing AI-driven wallet solutions. Elizabeth Lumley, Journalist (Moderator) Martin Masser, Head of Growth, TON Foundation Lynn Lagan, Head of Merchant Services Lab, Lloyds Bank Edoardo Volta, SVP Partner Marketing and Business Development, Curve |
13:00 | Fintech’s Pitch LIVE 2025: In association with Mastercard Cheer on the most promising fintechs as they pitch groundbreaking ideas. Judges grill, founders shine, and you get a front-row seat to the next big thing. This high-energy session is where bold ideas meet real-world impact, offering a glimpse into the next big disruptors in fintech. What you’ll takeaway: A sneak peek at the most exciting fintech innovations—and maybe even your next partnership. David Parker, Lead Ambassador, The Payments Association Alexandra Edmonds, Vice President Emerging FinTech, Mastercard |
14:40 | Embedded Payments: “The Secret Growth Engine” Embedded finance is revolutionising payments by creating seamless customer experiences and unlocking new revenue streams. Explore real-world examples of embedded payments driving customer loyalty and fintech growth. What you’ll takeaway: Steps to integrate embedded payments into your fintech offering for scalability. Dan Lowther, Head of Fintech, CCGroup |
15:15 | Mobilising Ecosystems: “How Big Brands Are Driving Payments Innovation” Big brands like retail giants, telecoms, and mobile operators are leading payments innovation by mobilising their ecosystems. Explore how leading companies are using fintech partnerships to reshape their payment ecosystems and drive customer engagement. What you’ll takeaway: Insights into collaborating with big brands to scale faster and more effectively. |
15:50 | Retail Reinvented: “Payments at the Heart of Customer Experience” Retail brands are using payments innovation to create seamless experiences and boost customer loyalty. Explore examples of how retailers are integrating advanced payment solutions to enhance customer journeys and retention strategies. What you’ll takeaway: Practical strategies for integrating payment innovations into retail operations. Gina Clarke, Events Correspondent, The Fintech Times Samina Hussain Letch, Exec Director, Square UK |
16:25 | Unplugged: “Behind the Scenes” Wrap up the day with a light-hearted and lively session designed to entertain and inspire. Think Graham Norton meets fintech as an industry personality leads a relaxed discussion with key speakers, sharing fun stories, behind-the-scenes moments, and fresh takes on the day’s highlights. What you’ll takeaway: A relaxed way to connect, unwind, and reflect on the day’s big ideas. David Barton-Grimley, Chief Strategy Officer, 11:FS Laura McCracken, Board Director – Fintech, Payments & Platforms |
| Day Two – 26th March |
09:30 | Registration Opens: Coffee & Pastries Enjoy a coffee and network with fellow attendees and industry professionals. MC: Emily Baum, Payments Adviser, Project Nemo Delivery Lead |
10:00 | Breakfast Brainfood – “Payments Innovation News Roundup” Start your day with sharp insights from Simon Taylor, creator of Fintech Brainfood and one of the leading fintech influencers on LinkedIn. Together with fintech insiders and leading journalists they will unpack the latest news from the show, trends, and predictions shaping payments. Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy, Sardine Gina Clarke, Events Correspondent, The Fintech Times |
10:30 | Fast-Tracking Fintech Innovation: How Banks & Startups Are Changing the Game Banks and fintechs are joining forces to drive innovation, leveraging payments data, AI, and compliance to unlock new opportunities in financial services. This session explores how fintech-bank partnerships are accelerating change in payments and beyond. From scaling AI-driven solutions to navigating compliance, learn how collaboration is shaping the future of financial services and financial inclusion. What you’ll take away Simon Taylor, Head of Strategy, Sardine Pinar Ozcan, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Business School, University of Oxford Ishtiaq Ahmed, Global Project Lead – Emerging Tech, Innovation & Ventures |
11:00 | Innovation Challenge Showcase: A collaboration with Project Nemo The Innovation Challenge Series is a new programme from Fintech Fringe driving innovation partnerships between corporates and startups. This session showcases the winners from our first challenge working with Project Nemo to tackle financial exclusion of adults with learning disabilities. Calypso Harland, Founder, FinTech Fringe Breaking Barriers – Why Accessible Payments Matter The £1.8 trillion accessible payments market remains untapped. Joanne Dewar of Project Nemo dives into how inclusive payment designs not only drive growth but also create transformative impacts for underserved communities. Joanne Dewar, CEO, Project Nemo Innovation Challenge Showcase: Winners present What You’ll Take Away: The Innovation Challenge Winners are:
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12:30 | Generative AI’s Ripple Effect: “Payments Beyond Automation” Generative AI is revolutionising payments through hyper-personalisation, smarter fraud detection, and enhanced operations. See real-world practical AI applications driving efficiency in fraud detection, personalisation, and customer retention. What you’ll takeaway Practical examples demonstrated of how fintechs can leverage generative AI for competitive advantage. Joy Macknight, Journalist, Joy Macknight Editorial Georgios Kolovos, Head of Payments & Fintech EMEA, Nvidia |
13:25 | Rethinking BNPL: Credit Innovations for Tomorrow BNPL is evolving into embedded credit models for both B2C and B2B audiences. What you’ll takeaway Practical examples demonstrated of how fintechs can leverage generative AI for competitive advantage. Melinda Roylett, Managing Director, Merchant Services, Lloyds Banking Group Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly, Head of Business Development EMEA Enterprise, Worldpay & Advisory Board Member, The Payments Association |
14:00 | Tokens and Stablecoins Rule: “Payments Without Borders” Explore how tokenised payment model’s (eg Stripe’s blockchain adoption) and stablecoins are reshaping treasury and trade finance. Tokenisation and Stablecoins are driving transformation in cross-border and real-time payments, unlocking cost efficiencies and improving security. What you’ll takeaway Actionable steps to adopt tokenisation to reduce friction in payments. Natalie Lewis, Partner – Financial Services and Markets, Travers Smith |
14:35 | Unplugged Finale: fresh takes on the day’s highlights Wrap up the day with a light-hearted and lively session designed to entertain and inspire. Think Graham Norton meets fintech as an industry personality leads a relaxed discussion with key speakers, sharing fun stories, behind-the-scenes moments, and fresh takes on the day’s highlights. What you’ll takeaway A relaxed way to connect, unwind, and reflect on the day’s big ideas David Barton-Grimley, Chief Strategy Officer, 11:FS Laura McCracken, Board Director – Fintech, Payments & Platforms |
