Money20/20 Europe: AI, stablecoins and regulation take centre stage

For years, the financial industry has relied on the concept of ‘transformation’. Banks discussed it, fintechs built their brands around it, and regulators acknowledged it. However, in 2026, the industry’s narrative is being rewritten, and this shift is clear in the newly released Money20/20 Europe agenda.

The event, happening from 2 to 4 June in Amsterdam, has always been a good indicator of where the industry is going. This year, though, the programme reads less like a conference schedule and more like a reality check. AI is taking over decisions which humans once made. Stablecoins are becoming the settlement rails banks never built. Regulation is accelerating faster than the institutions it governs. The industry is being forced to confront truths it has avoided for too long.

Money20/20 Europe’s four themes: AI and the Agentic Age, The Great Rebundling, Money Stack Rewired, and Regulation in the Fast Lane are not predictions, but clear acknowledgements that the industry’s centre of gravity is moving from incumbents to the technologies and regulatory frameworks shaping the next decade.

Within organisations, leaders are now focused on understanding current developments. AI pilots are advancing to production systems, and stablecoins are progressing from whitepapers to real settlement flows. And Europe’s regulatory engine, once criticised for its pace, is now moving faster than many institutions can keep up with.

The Intersection Stage reveals the convergence

One of the most provocative signals this year is the introduction of the Intersection Stage, acknowledging that the wall between traditional finance and decentralised finance has disappeared.

For years, banks dismissed DeFi as a speculative playground. Today, many of those same institutions have started to integrate the infrastructure they once criticised. Fireblocks, Ripple, Gemini, Elliptic, Flutterwave, the leaders appearing on this stage aren’t debating whether blockchain matters. They’re discussing how to operationalise it at scale.

The industry’s unspoken truth is that TradFi increasingly needs DeFi’s infrastructure more than DeFi needs TradFi’s brand. Stablecoins settle faster than correspondent banks. Tokenised assets offer a level of transparency that legacy systems cannot match. And blockchain-native compliance tools are now more advanced than many banks’ internal systems. The convergence isn’t theoretical anymore; it’s operational. 

Europe’s payments crossroads isn’t just a debate; it’s a power struggle

For decades, Europe’s financial system has relied on external infrastructure and a currency that dominates global trade. However, with the rise of the Agentic Era and the growth of alternative payment methods, the key question is no longer whether disruption will occur, but who will shape the future of Europe’s financial architecture.

In ‘Europe’s Payments Crossroads’, two of the industry’s most influential leaders, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna, and Takis Georgakopoulos, Co-President at Fiserv, will address this strategic challenge. The session will examine whether Europe can turn its fragmentation into an advantage, building a globally competitive payments infrastructure while preserving local sovereignty.

AI is becoming a power shift.

The session 'AI Takes the Wheel' is expected to be one of the most debated of the show. Its title emphasises a shift that many executives hesitate to acknowledge: AI has moved from being a tool to becoming a decision-maker.  

Maik Taro Wehmeyer, Co-Founder & CEO of Taktile will explore what it means to scale agentic AI; systems that don’t just analyse data but act on it. AI is already making credit decisions, detecting fraud, and assessing risk at speeds and with consistency that human teams can’t match. The question is no longer whether AI should take control. It’s about governing systems that are already operating with a degree of autonomy.

Fintechs are rebuilding business banking  

The session How Fintechs Are Rewriting the Business Banking Playbook highlights a trend that many incumbents have been slow to recognise: SMEs and corporates are choosing platforms that address their needs rather than those that only digitise existing processes.

Visa’s SVP Head of Visa Commercial Solutions, Europe, Lucy Demery and Revolut Business Head James Gibson will explore how Embedded Finance, consolidation, and new partnerships are reshaping commercial payments. The message is clear: fintechs aren’t tweaking business banking. They’re rebuilding it from the ground up.

The Geopolitics of Money: payments as instruments of power  

‘The Geopolitics of Money’ demonstrates how payments, identity, and digital infrastructure have become geopolitical tools. Control over these systems increasingly shapes national competitiveness.

Sovan Shatpathy, SVP of Product Management & Development at Oracle, Ailish Campbell, Global Head of Public Sector at Mastercard, and Januš Kizenevič, Vice‑Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, will discuss how digital infrastructure shapes national competitiveness. Control over these systems determines economic influence. In an era of shifting alliances and rising digital threats, resilience has become a strategic necessity.

Europe’s crypto advantage: regulation as strategy  

Europe’s emerging advantage in institutional crypto is notable. While other regions continue to debate regulatory systems, Europe has already implemented them. MiCA and AMLA act not only as compliance regulations but also as competitive differentiators.

In the session Europe’s Institutional Crypto Advantage with Elliptic’s CEO Simone Maini and Fireblocks’ CEO Michael Shaulov, the emphasis moves from hype to utility. Institutions are no longer asking whether digital assets matter. They’re asking how to integrate them to stay competitive.

A hub for startups proving real value

Money20/20 Europe’s expanded Startup Hub and new Investor Area reflect a market seeking innovation, although being more discerning about capital allocation. The focus has shifted from ‘growth at all costs’ to building real infrastructure, utility, and measurable outcomes.

The provocative Truth

The financial industry is not simply evolving; it is being rebuilt technologically, structurally, and geopolitically. Money20/20 Europe 2026 does more than document this transformation. It brings these changes to the forefront, gives a platform to the leaders shaping them, and challenges the industry to address what lies ahead.

About Money20/20

Launched by industry insiders in 2012, Money20/20 has rapidly become the heartbeat of the global fintech ecosystem. Over the last decade, the most innovative, fast-moving ideas and companies have driven their growth on our platform. Money20/20 attracts leaders from the world’s greatest banks, payments companies, VC firms, regulators, and media platforms — convening to cut industry shaping deals, build world changing partnerships, and unlock future defining opportunities in Las Vegas (October 18–21, 2026), Amsterdam (June 2–4, 2026), Riyadh (September 14–16, 2026), and Bangkok (April 27–29, 2026).

About Bryony Naylor

Bryony Naylor is Vice President of Money20/20 Europe, recognised for clear communication, collaborative leadership, and a solutions-driven approach. Based in the UK, she leads the European show, bringing together content, operations, marketing, and commercial teams to deliver a market-leading event that drives the global conversation in financial services.

With a strong background in managing commercial teams, Bryony plays a central role in shaping the growth and strategic positioning of the European show. She works closely with industry leaders, partners, and government agencies to ensure alignment with key market priorities, while advancing the Money20/20 agenda across the region. Her role balances both internal leadership and external influence, ensuring the show continues to lead the market and achieve sustained year-on-year growth.