FTT Fintech Festival 2024: Day 1 Highlights – Embedded Finance, AI, and the Next Wave of Payments

Day 1 of FTT Fintech Festival 2024 brought together finance and tech innovators for a series of thought-provoking discussions on the future of embedded finance, AI’s evolving role in banking, regulation, open banking, and new ways to pay. Bobsguide attended key sessions that highlighted some of the most pressing opportunities and challenges in the sector, including the careful integration of AI in customer service, innovative partnerships in embedded finance, and the regulatory shifts needed to support sustainable growth.

Here’s a look at the insights shaping financial services today.

GenAI in finance: A realistic overview

One of the first keynotes of the day explored the practical applications of AI in finance. In his speech, GenAI in Finance: A realistic overview, Dimitrios Emmanoulopoulos, Director at Barclays, underscored the importance of governance and risk assessment, highlighting that, while AI opens exciting new avenues, effective deployment demands a commitment to control and transparency. Emmanoulopoulos’s realistic perspective on AI set a measured tone, emphasising the need to balance innovation with responsibility—a theme that would resonate throughout the day.

Embedded finance: Expanding possibilities

The morning continued with two insightful panels examining the growing impact of embedded finance. In At Your Service: Embedded Finance Technology, speakers including Brindley White (Barclays), Joss Tasker (Sync Savings), and James Cooper (HSBC) explored how embedded finance can streamline customer experiences.

Highlights included innovations like HSBC’s new small business financing solutions and Sync Savings’ unique cash-saving tools and “save now, buy later” models. The panel agreed that scaling embedded finance hinges on robust partnerships, enabling financial services to integrate seamlessly into diverse customer journeys.

The conversation evolved in Right on Trend: Developments in Embedded Finance, where Brendan Gilmore (BPG Strategy), Joshua Fabian-Miller (Currys), and Rajiv Appana (Booking.com) discussed strategic advancements in embedded finance.

Appana shared Booking.com’s transformation from a lead-generation platform to a comprehensive payments provider, now handling complex cross-border payments with ease. Marcin Glogowski of Marqeta spoke to the adaptability of embedded finance infrastructure, allowing real-time responses to varied financial needs. Personalisation and flexibility, the panellists noted, are central to unlocking the full potential of embedded finance.

AI in banking: A strategic approach

The second half of the day continued strong. In the keynote AI in Banking, Martin Sladecek, Chapter Lead – Enterprise Architecture at Komerční banka, urged financial institutions to adopt a measured and strategic approach to AI. Sladecek highlighted the importance of deploying AI thoughtfully, sharing a memorable example: Chevrolet’s chatbot inadvertently recommended a Tesla in response to a customer’s inquiry—a telling reminder of AI’s limitations in customer interactions.

Sladecek advocated for prioritising AI applications that add genuine value, not just novelty. He also offered a glimpse into future possibilities, suggesting innovations such as virtual reality (VR) integrations and even AI-driven chips that could interface directly with the human mind. His perspective provided a valuable caution against AI for AI’s sake, pushing for implementations that serve real banking needs.

New ways to pay: The evolution of open banking

In New Ways to Pay, a panel led by Chris Higham (Secure Trust Bank), Jit Ng (Transport for London), Jon Greenall (Wise), and Zak Lambert (Plaid) explored the transformative impact of open banking on payment systems. The discussion centred on how open banking could revolutionise both the cost-efficiency and security of payments, particularly as it scales to accommodate broader adoption.

The panellists agreed that open banking’s potential to disrupt traditional payments is vast but highlighted the ongoing challenge of building customer trust. As Higham noted, “Scaling open banking is about balancing seamless, low-cost transactions with robust protections.” Lambert and Greenall stressed that open banking is increasingly vital for reducing costs and enhancing user experience, while Ng shared insights from Transport for London’s approach to adopting secure, efficient payment innovations,

The conversation underscored the opportunity for open banking to redefine the customer experience in financial services, offering a glimpse into a future where payments are increasingly frictionless, secure, and integrated into everyday life.

Making AI pay: Real returns on AI investment

In the Making AI Pay panel, Inès Rigaud (HSBC), Donatien Chedom Fotso (Deutsche Bank), Christian Hull (Experienced Edge Associates), and Claudia Nicholls-Magielsen (Simplyhealth) discussed the challenges and strategies for ensuring AI delivers measurable financial returns. The panellists examined the balance between leveraging AI for operational efficiency and enhancing customer experience, with Rigaud emphasising HSBC’s commitment to targeted, impactful AI applications.

Hull highlighted that, while AI can streamline processes and reduce costs, it must be deployed thoughtfully to truly enhance the customer journey. Chedom Fotso and Nicholls-Magielsen underscored the role of AI in driving growth without losing the human insight that supports meaningful innovation. The panel left the audience with a resonant message: AI investments need to deliver value not just in data, but in tangible outcomes that benefit both businesses and their clients.

Regulating change: Balancing innovation and safety

The Regulating Change panel featured insights from Emily Gillett from The Future Society, David More, Senior Data Science Product Manager at Lloyds Banking Group, and Stephane Malrait, Head of Market Structure and Innovation at ING. Moderated by Kateryna Shcheglova-Goldfinch, Programme Director at the Cambridge Centre for Finance, Technology & Regulationthe discussion examined the complex regulatory landscape surrounding AI in finance.

Gillett highlighted the EU’s upcoming “Code of Practice” on AI, noting that it aims to create a flexible but robust framework to guide the responsible development of AI technologies. Malrait explained how the UK’s more agile approach, facilitated by post-Brexit autonomy, enables quicker adjustments to regulation—though the complexity of navigating both UK and EU standards is becoming evident for many firms.

David More addressed the importance of creating regulations that not only secure transparency but also encourage innovation, underscoring that regulation needs to provide “trust-building” mechanisms without stifling AI’s potential. This balanced approach to regulation, they argued, is critical as AI’s role expands across financial services, impacting everything from operational efficiency to customer experience.

Conclusion: A day of vision and insights

Day one of the FTT Fintech Festival showcased how AI, embedded finance, open banking, regulation, and payment innovation are shaping the future of financial services. Speakers highlighted the importance of balancing cutting-edge technology with clear governance to keep trust at the centre of growth. As fintech transforms finance, today’s discussions provided valuable direction for both innovation and responsibility.

Don’t miss the highlights from Day 2.

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