Money 20/20 USA 2025: Key themes to look out for

It’s that time of year again! Money20/20 USA is returning and promises to be bigger, bolder and more future-focused than ever. 

From October 26-29, over 11,000 from the money community are set to descend on Las Vegas’s Venetian Hotel to build influential partnerships, accelerate deals and explore the key trends driving innovation in fintech. 

This year’s theme, “Create the Future,” sets the stage for an ambitious agenda built around four content pillars exploring the evolution of fintech.

• Fintech Spring: Is this finally the moment ‘fintech’ becomes ‘financial services’?
• Age of Infrastructure: Will fintech’s next wave of innovation be ‘invisible’?
• Global Payments Race: Is the potential of money movement limitless AND borderless?
• Securing Trust: How does our financial system secure trust in uncertain times with increasing fraud?

With these talking points in mind, we’ve taken a closer look at the core themes we think will dominate this year’s event. 

AI takes centre stage

Already a buzzword in finance and tech, AI is set to get even more attention at this year’s event.Unsurprisingly, there are several panels at this year’s conference dedicated to exploring the impact of AI on finance.

Specifically, significant attention is being given to the role of AI in payment systems. Monday morning kicks off with the session ‘Act to Transact: Empowering AI Agents to Pay.’ In this panel, Hilary Packer of American Express, Jacqueline O’Flanagan of Microsoft, Mackenzie Sigalos of CNBC and Marco Mahrus of OpenAI, will explore the future of AI payment systems and the logistics of connecting AI models with payment rails while keeping data safe. 

The practicality of integrating AI into systems is also a key focus. Another session, ‘Fintechs Using AI to Cut Costs and Gain Market Share’ will examine how automation helps fintechs reduce costs, enhance accessibility, and compete with larger incumbents.

The rise of stablecoins 

Stablecoins have been one of the standout trends of 2025, with adoption gaining real momentum across payments and financial services. Banks and PSPs are increasingly launching their own stablecoins, such as PayPal’s PYUSD or JPMorgan Chase’s JPM Coin.

Supportive regulations like the U.S. Genius Act and the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) have helped stablecoins move from niche crypto tools to mainstream commerce solutions. By pegging value to fiat currencies, stablecoins avoid volatility, enabling faster, cheaper, and more reliable cross-border payments.

The 'Crypto Payment Barriers Burning Down' panel, which will comprise of May Zabaneh of PayPal, Melissa Netram of Block and Keith A. Grossman of MoonPay, will deliver an actionable 6-12-month roadmap for using digital assets, such as stablecoins, in payments by analysing integration strategies, consumer adoption triggers and infrastructure scalability. 

The aptly titled panel discussion ‘Have Stablecoins Found Their True Purpose?’ will feature Michael Shaulov, Co-founder and CEO, Fireblocks, and Gilles Gade, CEO at Cross River, exploring real applications of stablecoins, the current regulatory landscape assessment and practical realities of implementation. 

Instant payments as standard

Instant payments are transforming finance, simplifying reconciliation, enhancing user experiences and reducing costs. 

In the EU, the full implementation of the Instant Payments Regulation means all banks and PSPs in the Eurozone to send and receive money within 10 seconds, with additional controls on pricing parity and Verification of Payee. 

In the U.S., real-time payments are gaining traction via FedNow and the Clearing Houses’ RTP Network, even as adoption volumes remain modest.

As such, instant payments continue to dominate financial services discussions, and this is the case at Money20/20 USA this year. In the panel discussion ‘The Power of Instant Payments,’ Nick Stanescu, Chief FedNow Executive at the Federal Reserve, Glenn Wheeler, VP at Catalyst Corporate Union, and Neetu Bhagat, CFO at Origence, will discuss how the payment industry is addressing the challenges of instant payments and capitalising on opportunities for innovation. 

Another interesting panel discussion will be ‘Global Payments Race: Redefining B2B and Fintech Strategies in a Borderless Era.’ This session will explore how the global payments landscape is being reshaped by the increasing importance of interoperability across borders, the rapid adoption of instant payments and the impacts of regulation on cross-border flows.  

As changing expectations and technological developments continue to drive progress in the financial industry, Money2020 continues to serve as a vital barometer for the pace and status of financial innovation, and the drive to make processes cheaper, faster and more secure. 

We look forward to being amongst the conversations at Money 20/20 and hearing about the future of money, exploring the evolution of AI, stablecoins and instant payments.