Power panels, rapid-fire insights and a room buzzing with bankers, fintech founders, and a few AI enthusiasts who might just change the world – or at least the way we open a bank account. Finovate was a reminder that banking transformation isn’t a theoretical exercise: it’s messy, iterative and endlessly fascinating.
Their agenda was full and varied, invoking conversations that left no corner of banking untouched – from financial crime and compliance to the fast-moving world of cryptocurrencies. Among the sessions, a few standouts cut through the noise, offering sharp perspectives and practical insights that felt as though they could actually change how banks operate.
Will Banks Ever Escape 1970s Technology?
The first panel tackled the Bank Modernisation Agenda – what’s often framed as “strategy vs execution,” but in reality, it’s more like juggling flaming swords while riding a unicycle.
Wasim Mushtaq, Michael Cherepnin, Thea Loch, Lea-Jane Baird and Barry Lloyd all made one thing crystal clear: modernising legacy tech isn’t about shiny new toys. It’s about boring, incremental innovation – enterprise fintech, cloud adoption, and AI layered carefully onto systems that were never built for it.
Shawbrook Bank’s Lea-Jane Baird emphasised the importance of breaking down core banking, building solid foundations and ensuring interconnected systems. “You need a clear picture of complexity,” she said, “so you can trade off objectives and document your differentiators.”
Barry reminded us that AI promises efficiencies, but often the payoff is “far in the distance” – the real gains come from digging into your tech stack and creating hybrid, context-aware solutions. Thea Loch stressed governance and ethical clarity: AI may be powerful, but if you can’t explain it to the regulator – or the customer – you’re not modernising, you’re gambling.
Takeaway: modernisation isn’t glamorous, but it’s where durable value is built.
Partnerships: The New Age of “Happy Families”
The second panel tackled platform banking and strategic partnerships. Over 70% of fintech launches now involve a partner, and collaboration has doubled in just three years. But as Matthijs van Voorst, Dominik Schütz, Joel Blake OBE, and Katharina Lueth reminded us, trust isn’t automatic.
Dominik’s advice was simple but hard: document everything, anticipate clashes and invest time in the relationship. Culture clashes, resource commitment and misaligned goals will sink a partnership faster than any tech glitch. Fintechs, he stressed, must demonstrate dedication, have resources in place and deliver what they promise – or don’t expect to be welcomed back.
Matt added the counterpoint: startups are inherently risk-takers. They are willing to fail fast and iterate, which is exactly what incumbents need – but only if the foundations of trust are laid first.
Takeaway: partnerships work only when transparency, reliability and cultural alignment are non-negotiable.
Customer Centricity: The Challenger Bank Advantage
The event closed with a session on challenger banks and customer experience. Bianca Zwart, Rachel Altmann, and Vikas Sengar unpacked what incumbents can learn: dopamine banking, gamification, hyper-personalisation and AI-driven anticipation of customer needs.
The key insight? Customer experience isn’t a feature list. It’s a philosophy. Incumbents often fall into the trap of generic communication, siloed service and copying what others do. Challenger banks succeed because they anticipate needs, blend digital and human touchpoints and maintain a fine balance between engagement and trust.
Rachel Altmann called out dopamine banking: gamification is more than a gimmick – it’s a sharp tool to shape behaviour ethically. Bianca reminded the room: AI should be a decision layer, not a blunt instrument. Automation must enhance relevance, not just streamline a broken process.
Takeaway: the future of CX isn’t just digital – it’s anticipatory, personalised and built on trust.
Three panels. Hundreds of ideas. Countless implications for banks navigating complexity. If there’s one thread tying them together, it’s this: strategy is useless without execution, technology is pointless without governance and innovation is meaningless without trust and human insight.
By the time I left, it was obvious: Finovate isn’t just about AI, cloud, or fintech hype. It’s about people navigating complexity. It’s the people who know the trenches, who wrestle with legacy systems, AI risks, and partnership politics, who are building the banking future one careful, deliberate step at a time.