Our key highlights and insights from Money20/20 Europe

Between 4 – 6 June, industry professionals flocked to Amsterdam to connect at this year’s Money20/20 Europe. Volt had a strong team on the ground to showcase our real-time payment capabilities, while our CEO and Co-founder, Tom Greenwood, shared his knowledge and insights as part of a panel session on open banking. 

After an action-packed three days, we’ve taken a breather to reflect on the success of the event and share some of the key highlights from the week. 

2024 is the year of open banking 

Open banking was a hot topic on everyone’s lips this year. As our Chief Marketing Officer, Irina Chuchkina, put it: “A notable focus was placed on A2A and open banking, exploring a plethora of practical applications of the technology. Overall, real-time payments are poised to emerge as the new ‘main theme’ in the fintech arena, with their potential for widespread adoption and transformative impact on payments.”

And it was clear to Business Development Director, Niina Golikova, that one sector in particular is becoming more of a hot topic in the fintech realm: “Money20/20 was alive with crypto buzz, despite its traditional web2 focus. It’s clear that web2 and web3 payment technologies are rapidly converging. There are exciting times ahead, and I’m thrilled to see how Volt’s A2A real-time infrastructure has become an invaluable asset for crypto exchanges.”

The optimism and enthusiasm around account-to-account payments across verticals was rife; 27% of attendees named instant payments as the key driver of revenue growth in the payment sector. However, there were also discussions around particular challenges when it comes to them reaching their full potential – notably around regulation and legislation.

Our CEO Tom spoke about open banking adoption and the challenges it faces as part of the panel: ‘Open Banking Success Stories: Turning Data into Business Value’. He was joined by EMEA Head of Open Banking Product at J.P. Morgan Payments, Karen Wall, and Head of Open Banking at BBVA, Carmela Gomez Castelao. CEO of Fintech Wales, Sarah Kocianski, moderated. 

Merchants being open around challenges is invaluable

We had hundreds of meetings over the course of the event, giving us numerous opportunities to speak directly with a range of contacts across different industries, from e-commerce to crypto. This proved to be particularly insightful for our Payment Systems Head of Product, Jakub Patoleta, who found himself immersed in conversations around what challenges fintech leaders are facing in today’s landscape:

“The energy is great; there are so many open-minded people to talk with about the problems that consumers and businesses face. This makes it extremely valuable for a product person like me, helping me understand what really matters and what businesses are looking for.” 

Irina too praised the importance of events as she sat down with the hosts of podcast ‘In Growth We Trust’ – Yoann Pavy and Jake Mayell – to discuss marketing return at fintech events, the importance of face-to-face interactions, and multi-touch marketing strategies. 

With such a busy schedule and so many 1:1s organised, our team had to improvise by turning any location into a meeting spot, as demonstrated by our VP Partnerships, Richard Drury, who still found a way to network even before he touched down in Amsterdam. 

Bringing industry experts together strengthens relationships

Arguably one of our favourite highlights (and from what we’ve seen on social, others attendees’ too) was our rooftop party at W Hotel on the Wednesday night. It was so popular, in fact, that we were over capacity, creating an electric atmosphere as guests enjoyed drinks and canapés while mingling above the city. 

“Getting to connect with existing and new partners outside of the conference was great, and watching the sun set on Amsterdam topped the night off,” our VP Expansion, Matthew Jones, recalls.

Global capabilities create excitement

It’s been a busy H1 here at Volt, and Money20/20 was where all of our achievements caught up with us – in the best way possible. From being granted our EMI licence in the UK to launching one-click payments in Australia (where we also recently welcomed our new Country Manager), we’ve had a steady stream of exciting announcements so far this year.

“This was my first year attending M20/20 and it did not disappoint,” Matthew notes. “What’s clear is the interest in real-time payments is global, and Volt’s growing international coverage outside of the UK/EU is something merchants and partners value as they look to tap into the benefits of A2A payments.”

Kat Marangos, our VP Strategic Accounts, comments, “The awareness of our brand is so evident. It’s amazing to keep hearing the words: Volt is doing so well,” while our Partner Manager Matthew Rickard adds, “It was really good to meet with a host of new and current partners to discuss the power of A2A and real-time payments. The interest in Volt is huge – it’s exciting to be recognised as a global player by the likes of Worldpay, Nuvei and many more.”

Our Co-founder and Chief Growth Officer, Jordan Lawrence, was in high demand too as he featured in Money20/20’s ‘Free Advice’ series, taking to the phones to answer questions around being a fintech leader, future predictions and payment trends.

Between now and next year a lot is expected to evolve and transform – both at Volt and across the fintech industry. But what is certain is that we’ll be back in Amsterdam in 2025 to make a splash once more.