FinTech Futures

In this episode of the What the FinTech? podcast, host and FinTech Futures Managing Editor Paul Hindle is joined by Evelien Witlox, director of the digital euro project at the European Central Bank (ECB), to explore how the ECB is working to bring its central bank digital currency (CBDC) from concept to reality.

With the project currently in its pilot phase, Paul and Evelien discuss the latest developments with the digital euro, the key milestones achieved so far, and what this testing phase will reveal about the currency's readiness for widespread adoption.

The conversation also examines the potential use cases for the digital euro and the role it will play in Europe's already advanced payment infrastructure, how it will benefit consumers and businesses across the eurozone, and the ECB's approach to critical issues like privacy, data protection, and interoperability with other global CBDC initiatives.

Finally, the discussion looks beyond the pilot phase to explore the roadmap for full-scale implementation, how the digital euro will co-exist with stablecoins, and what decision points will determine when this transformative project moves from testing to widespread rollout across all EU member states.

Tune in to hear how the European Central Bank is designing the future of digital currency and what the digital euro could mean for payments across Europe and beyond.

In this episode of the What the FinTech? podcast, host and FinTech Futures Managing Editor Paul Hindle is joined by David Crawford, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Pay.UK, to explore how AI is revolutionising payment infrastructure and what this technological shift means for the UK's critical national payment systems.

David discusses the current state of the UK payments ecosystem, examining the most significant developments taking place and the forces driving change across the national payments infrastructure that Pay.UK operates.

The conversation then examines how AI is being integrated into these essential payment systems today, what AI-ready infrastructure means in practice, and the foundational building blocks organisations need to successfully deploy AI while maintaining the reliability and trust that payment systems demand.

Paul and David also explore the emerging challenges that come with AI-driven payments, from accountability and explainability to operational resilience and fraud prevention, particularly as criminals leverage AI for increasingly sophisticated attacks, and how Pay.UK is using AI to help combat these threats.

The episode finishes with a look ahead to the future of the UK payments ecosystem, with David discussing how industry participants can work together to build AI literacy and ensure the UK remains at the forefront of global payments innovation.

Tune in to hear how AI is transforming the backbone of UK payments and what it takes to build trusted, resilient infrastructure for the next generation of digital transactions.

In this episode of the What the FinTech? podcast, host and FinTech Futures Managing Editor Paul Hindle is joined by Debopama Sen, Head of Payments, Services at Citi, to explore the rapidly evolving global payments landscape, examining how emerging technologies and regulatory developments are reshaping the future of institutional payments and cross-border transactions.

With stablecoins gaining significant traction, tokenisation transforming payment infrastructure, and agentic AI beginning to revolutionise the payments ecosystem, Debopama discusses how major financial institutions like Citi are building winning payments strategies that balance innovation with the security, compliance, and reliability that institutional clients demand.

The conversation examines the dominant trends shaping today's payments market from a global perspective, the regulatory challenges and opportunities surrounding cross-border payments across different jurisdictions, and how AI and machine learning are being leveraged within payments operations to combat increasingly sophisticated fraud while maintaining seamless customer experiences.
Finally, Paul and Debopama look ahead to the future of payments, discussing the key initiatives Citi is undertaking around payments innovation and infrastructure modernisation, the main talking points expected at this year's Sibos conference, and the critical steps banks must take today to ensure they're not left behind as the industry transforms.

Tune in to hear how Citi is navigating the convergence of stablecoins, tokenisation, and AI to build the next generation of payments infrastructure for institutional clients worldwide.

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ABOUT FINTECH FUTURES

FinTech Futures is the #1 provider of global fintech news and intelligence. With a mission to empower the financial technology community, we bring you the latest updates and thought leadership from across the industry. From startups to established players, we cover the entire fintech ecosystem.

Stay Connected with FinTech Futures: Visit our website: www.fintechfutures.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fintechfutures/
Sign up to our newsletter: www.fintechfutures.com/newsletter
Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com/@FinTechFutures

In this episode of the What the FinTech? podcast, host and FinTech Futures Managing Editor Paul Hindle is joined by Timothy Flacke, co-founder and CEO of Commonwealth, to explore the critical work of advancing financial inclusion for families and individuals in the US, and how Commonwealth has been at the forefront of testing and scaling innovative solutions to help consumers build financial security.

With Commonwealth celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Timothy discusses how the organisation's approach has evolved since its founding in 2001, its most significant accomplishments over the past quarter century, and why this anniversary is as much about preparing for the future as it is about celebrating past successes.

The conversation also examines the evolving landscape of financial security, including the work Commonwealth is doing in the space to support consumers, what the broader industry needs to do to help further advance financial inclusion, and the opportunities and risks presented by emerging technologies such as agentic and generative AI.

Finally, Timothy and Paul discuss Commonwealth's Vision 2027, exploring the strategic priorities that will guide the organisation's work and its plans for the next generation of inclusive financial products.

Tune in to hear how 25 years of innovation and collaboration are shaping the next generation of financial inclusion for people across the US.

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ABOUT FINTECH FUTURES

FinTech Futures is the #1 provider of global fintech news and intelligence. With a mission to empower the financial technology community, we bring you the latest updates and thought leadership from across the industry. From startups to established players, we cover the entire fintech ecosystem.

Stay Connected with FinTech Futures: Visit our website: www.fintechfutures.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fintechfutures/
Sign up to our newsletter: www.fintechfutures.com/newsletter
Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com/@FinTechFutures

In this episode of the What the FinTech? podcast, host and FinTech Futures Managing Editor Paul Hindle is joined by Margaret Ryan, SVP and Head of Product for Amex Digital Labs, to explore the rapidly developing world of agentic commerce and agentic payments and how American Express is positioning itself at the forefront of this evolution.

Margaret discusses the current state of play with agentic commerce today, unpacking the benefits the technology offers for both consumers and merchants, and takes a deep dive into the ACE Developer Kit that Amex launched earlier this year, explaining the vision behind this framework and how it's designed to help merchants navigate this fundamental shift in how transactions happen.

The conversation also covers the debate around trust and consumer confidence when it comes to agentic commerce—asking whether people will fully trust AI agents to spend their money and what safeguards need to be in place to make that leap possible.

Margaret and Paul also look ahead at how agentic payments will transform the consumer experience over the next few years, what role American Express will play as AI agents become the primary transaction interface, and what other agentic AI innovations are in the pipeline at Amex.

Tune in to hear how one of the world's leading payment networks is building the infrastructure for an AI-agent-driven future of commerce.

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ABOUT FINTECH FUTURES

FinTech Futures is the #1 provider of global fintech news and intelligence. With a mission to empower the financial technology community, we bring you the latest updates and thought leadership from across the industry. From startups to established players, we cover the entire fintech ecosystem.

Stay Connected with FinTech Futures: Visit our website: www.fintechfutures.com
Follow us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/fintechfutures/
Sign up to our newsletter: www.fintechfutures.com/newsletter
Subscribe to our channel: www.youtube.com/@FinTechFutures