From the rise of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) to the fall of Silicon Valley Bank, the financial services sector is buzzing with both opportunity and uncertainty. Now, with the resurgence of in-person conferences, thought leaders across all corners of the industry are using these outlets as an opportunity to not only share their solutions for the future of finance but to learn from others about their approach to these unpredictable times.
I had the pleasure of attending the year’s first big industry conference, Fintech Meetup, and the tone was clearly set that fintech conferences are on the precipice of change. Yes, we should continue to network, meet with prospects and have fun like the good ol’ pre-pandemic days, but we should also treat this time together as somewhat of a brainstorm. Fintechs are part of an extremely knowledgeable community, with many members who come from large financial institutions, tech companies and academia, each having different perspectives on how to approach the next obstacle. And we would be extremely remiss if we overlooked the opportunities to information share and make a statement for change, together.
As the content director of Money 20/20 USA, Zach Anderson Pattet, aptly put it “a reckoning is on the horizon.” Before the fintech industry can reach redemption from the strain that has been put on its shoulders, the community must come to terms with reality and discuss what’s happening now and where to turn next.
Let’s take a look back and look ahead at the important conversations that have been and will be discussed at the top fintech conferences of 2023:
Fintech Meetup
Dubbed “The Best Fintech Show of the Year,” Fintech Meetup took place in Las Vegas merely one week after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Murmurings across the Aria Convention Center were filled with questions about what happens next. As a result, each speaker, panelist and moderator took the bull by the horns and addressed the issue head-on, weaving their perspective on the matter into almost every session. This gave attendees an opportunity to speak more openly about a topic that was so taboo the previous week and made for extremely constructive conversations amongst peers.
Fintech Nexus
Recently at the Javits Center in NYC, Fintech Nexus leaned into the “tech” in fintech, focusing many discussions on how generative AI will impact the industry and the next frontier of embedded finance. Even in the wake of recent headwinds in the fintech space, Peter Renton, chairman of Fintech Nexus, was pleased to see a glass-half-full mentality amongst attendees. In a recent article, he stated “…what we found was mostly unbridled optimism and excitement. We know this downturn will be temporary, and the changes fintech brings are permanent.”
Money 20/20 USA
Money’s #1 show will be back in Las Vegas this October and, as Pattet stated, the show will be focused on the industry’s imminent reckoning. Who knows what will happen between now and Money 20/20, but all we know is attendees should be ready to discuss the four agenda chapters the organizers have laid out: Trust & Uncertainty, Creative Destructions & A Technological Renaissance, Age of Fundamentals and It’s Time to Build (Utility). At the beginning of the year, the Money 20/20 team published their take on industry predictions for 2023 and, in attempting to read the tea leaves, the overall consensus was “who in the heck knows!” That is where the experts within the fintech community come in. The idea is that the conference will be set up so the experts will be the heroes of the ever-evolving story, discussing ways we can take steps towards this reckoning.
It is exciting to see that the narrative of these influential conferences has switched to urging industry leaders to tell the untold story rather than the story we want to hear, and I look forward to tuning into these collaborative conversations at the next fintech conference I find myself at.