Since the birth of Money 20/20 in Europe Ximedes has been in attendance and hosting a booth, being present at one of Europe’s flagship events gives us the chance to speak to many of our customers and partners but also ensures we are at the forefront of developments in this rapidly changing industry. From embedded finance to AI, in this industry, it’s vital you stay in the know and anticipate how you can best serve your customers. While Money 20/20 is a great opportunity to speak to as many relations as you can, the show is so large it’s often difficult to get to meet everyone, let alone attend all the sessions. So to ensure our community can also get a glimpse of the topics being discussed, we’ve compiled some of our key highlights of the content sessions at the event this year.
Starting with Human x Finance, Artificial Intelligence in the concept of technology assisting humans rather than replacing them was one of the main themes of Money20/20 Europe. Although some financial companies have made noise about how AI could eventually replace people in some jobs, the overall consensus during the conference was that AI would increase human productivity. At Money20/20, there were also a lot of announcements about AI. Many SaaS providers claim in one way or another that AI is used in their software. At Ximedes, we recognize the significant productivity gains that AI can deliver, but the real difference becomes apparent when you can leverage internal processes and data, together with AI, for new functionalities, portals, and workflows. Custom software that Ximedes develops ensures this seamless integration and optimal AI utilization. An example: At Ximedes, we think AI can be used to help verifications in merchant onboarding as AI can automate multiple steps in an onboarding flow. Think about verifying multiple client data points within seconds, which optimizes the speed and convenience.
Moving on, one trend that is having an increasing influence on payments, we see retailers and marketplaces moving more towards owning the end-to-end customer relationship. They are less likely to ask payment processors to intervene. They desire to take ownership of the trip and more white-label solutions. Their goal is to retain customers' spending within their network. Additionally, the adoption of the many cutting-edge payment options that have surfaced as substitutes for conventional payment methods (card, cash, and ACH) has been sluggish. A portion of this can be attributed to a patchy and untrustworthy customer experience that doesn't encourage customers to alter their habits. The cultural and routine aspects of payment are always undervalued, which is why a wider adoption of a new payment method seems to take a while before picking up speed.
For example, for many payment issuers/acquirers, supporting embedded finance payments is becoming more and more crucial. For the next generation of embedded finance solutions to be enabled, digital transformation is just as critical at the backend as it is at the front end. Banks and PSPs can enable embedded payments for merchants if they provide tokenization services directly on behalf of their merchants. For example, Ximedes helps its clients become an On Behalf Of Tokenization service and helps their merchants to become more successful. This can be done by providing an API that takes PAN and other card details, which then can be used by merchants as a token. In the end, all sectors have seen a rise in the expectations of their customers, and payments are no exception.
Finally, like AI, open banking is starting to live up to its potential by expanding beyond only profitable business models. Now, it's not about generating revenue; it's about improving customer experience, streamlining operations, and facilitating better access to credit.
As Money20/20 Europe 2024 wraps up, it's clear that the fintech industry is moving forward. At Ximedes, we're proud to design, develop, and manage payment platforms for financial institutions worldwide. Our software helps these institutions offer modern, easy-to-use payment services across terminals, online platforms, and digital onboarding processes.
Looking ahead, we will keep innovating and improving alongside the fintech industry.