Fintech Inn 2021, the largest fintech conference in the Baltics, has just concluded its first day of exciting discussions on the hottest industry topics. The virtual event saw fintech leaders, policymakers, and top industry experts address the financial sector’s current and upcoming trends, challenges, and opportunities, ranging from green finance to cybersecurity.
Fintech Inn 2021 started off with a discussion on the future of open banking. In a panel titled “Moving from Open Banking to Open Finance. What does the future look like?” fintech leaders shared their insights into the possibilities of mainstream adoption of open finance practices. To unlock their full potential and offer superior financial services to consumers, nimble fintechs rather than large incumbents should play with open data, take risks, and create new, innovative business models.
Sustainability is on everyone’s lips these days, but is green finance the next big thing in the fintech world? The panel “Empowering Green Finance: Big Chance for Fintechs?” tackled this question, with the panelist discussing, among other topics, the definition of green finance, the impact of emerging legislation, and the chances of green fintechs entering the retail investment space.
Marrying anti-money laundering activity and strict adherence to data protection regulations is a challenge for financial institutions, big and small. During discussion titled “Data Privacy vs. AML/KYC”, panelists discussed the contradictions that AML officers face in their daily work, the cutting edge technologies that help in the fight against ML/TF, and the sector’s future trends, including behavioural monitoring.
While financial startups usually target the mass market or focus on the younger generation, there are other sections of the population that are also potential customers of advanced technology. The discussion called “120M Audience That Fintech Ecosystem Has Overlooked” addressed the burgeoning relationship between older people and fintech. These consumers have the resources to engage with the latest financial technology, but we need to find ways to enable them to use it.
Decentralised Finance is not just a fancy term for blockchain but rather an emerging alternative to finance as we know it. In the panel “DeFi and the Future of Finance”, fintech experts talked all things DeFi, including the impact of the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies, the mass adoption of NFTs, and the DeFi role in Metaverse-like spaces.
Neobanks are now the face of modern banking, promising better customer experience, greater transparency, and more services to previously under-served markets. The “Neobanking’s Next Trick: Getting Big, Staying Nimble” panel highlighted the trends and struggles of neobanking, with panelists discussing the importance of partnerships, changing consumer habits, and the potential of crypto.
With the pace of digital transformation across the financial landscape increasing, the cyber threat proposition evolves rapidly, making it essential to maintain the highest standards of technology and preparedness. Cybersecurity experts working in the fintech industry discussed the importance of keeping up with cyber threats during the “Cyber Security: Best Practices to Optimize Incident Handling” panel. Experts also touched on the roles of different stakeholders in handling cyber incidents and the process of developing effective SOPs.
The intersection of Artificial Intelligence and financial technologies was also on the agenda. The “Fintech & AI: Breaking Down Finance Verticals and In Search For New Horizontals” panel saw fintech leaders discussing the issue of data sovereignty, the upcoming European AI regulations and their potential impact, and how AI can power the search for new fintech markets.
Finally, Day 1 of Fintech Inn 2021 concluded with a discussion on non-fungible assets and the potential of the crypto economy. Crypto experts discussed the developments of NFTs during the “NFT and What‘s Next for DeFi?” panel, which focused on blockchain’s non-linear impact on different industries, the right UI for DeFi, and the necessary steps to DeFi’s mainstream use.
Day 2 of Fintech Inn will feature more fintech action with panels on alternative financing, crypto investments, and other burning industry trends. The “Startups, PR and the Media in 2021” workshop with TechCrunch’s Editor-at-Large Mike Butcher is also among the highlights of Day 2 agenda. Tune in tomorrow – registration is still open on myOnvent platform.
The Fintech Inn conference is jointly organised by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, and the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA), with support from compliance platform Ondato, API management platform Sensedia, and Vilnius-based ROCKIT – Home of FinTech and Sustainable Innovation.
