With Helsinki and another successful EBAday behind us, it is time to reflect on the conversations and themes from the show. With 800 attendees this year, this was the biggest EBAday yet and the Finlandia Hall was buzzing with discussions between industry
leaders in transaction banking. One word on everyone’s lips from the start was ‘innovation’.
The message that hit home was that payment services providers can only succeed if they truly listen and cater to customer needs.
Amid growing customer demand, banks are ramping up their technology and forging new partnerships with the goal of creating a seamless, ‘one-click’ payment experience.
It also became clear that the issue of trust will remain paramount and firms will continue to ensure that their systems keep customers and their money safe from fraudulent activity. And it is not just with customers that the banks will have to prove themselves.
The challenges for our industry are manifold: pressure from customers, regulators and newcomers to the payments space mean that we can no longer rest on our laurels.
The secret to success? I share the view that this is about full transformation, not just incremental change. Let’s see together how far we can get by next year’s EBAday in Amsterdam.