Heading to Money20/20 Europe 2025, Bobsguide is zeroing in on what’s truly delivering impact versus just generating buzz in fintech. With “Embedded Intelligence” taking center stage, we’ll scrutinize advancements in AI, payments, and digital identity through a critical cybersecurity lens. For industry leaders, understanding the real security implications of these innovations is key to navigating the future.
As we head into Money20/20 Europe 2025, Bobsguide will be on the ground in Amsterdam with a single question in mind: what’s actually working—and what’s just noise?
Last year’s theme, Human x Machine, was a clear attempt to ground the AI conversation. After a year of GenAI hype, the sentiment in 2024 was pragmatic: AI has to earn its place. Whether it was customer lifecycle management, sanctions screening, or fraud analytics, the message was consistent—AI must be explainable, accountable, and built with real business needs in mind.
Microsoft, Nvidia, and Fenergo led this conversation, underscoring that model accuracy, data governance, and use-case specificity are non-negotiables. From a financial infrastructure lens, this matters. It means the bar for deployment is rising, and so are the expectations for integration with core systems. It’s not just about deploying models—it’s about building data pipelines, decision frameworks, and feedback loops that make them useful.
This year’s Embedded Intelligence agenda is set to push that conversation further. The infrastructure players that win will be those who’ve moved from proof-of-concept to production. Who’s using AI to automate onboarding without compromising KYC? Who’s implementing real-time fraud monitoring at scale? And just as importantly—who’s built the compliance architecture to support it?
In parallel, payment modernization took center stage in 2024—and not just in consumer apps. Real-time settlement, open banking rails, and account-to-account infrastructure all featured heavily. But as Brite Payments and Token.io noted, infrastructure maturity alone doesn’t drive adoption. Culture, regulation, and UX still matter.
For infrastructure players, this is a moment of opportunity. The fragmentation of payment networks and the growing appetite for embedded finance (particularly in B2B contexts) creates demand for platforms that can orchestrate complex flows simply. That’s why names like Marqeta, Enfuce, and Episode Six were gaining traction last year—not just for tech, but for their ability to deliver developer-ready, API-first solutions with enterprise-grade controls.
Open banking also continued its evolution. But the 2024 conversation moved beyond access to impact. Huw Davies (Ozone API) and Marie Walker (Raidiam) spoke of “open everything,” imagining a future where financial data flows into healthcare, transport, and beyond. That’s not abstract. For example, Brite’s complete control of A2A infrastructure—including risk—demonstrates how new value chains are forming, vertically integrated and user-first.
If that sounds like disruption—it is. But it’s also a new phase of maturation. As Fintechnews Switzerland noted, collaboration was the buzzword in Amsterdam. Banks need fintechs for innovation; fintechs need banks for scale. Regulators, meanwhile, are becoming more active participants—not just referees. The infrastructure layer is no longer an afterthought. It’s the platform on which the next decade of financial services will be built.
Which brings us to digital identity and tokenization. At Money20/20 2024, these conversations felt more grounded than in previous years. EIDAS 2.0 in Europe and slow but steady movement on tokenized assets have shifted the narrative from potential to implementation. Whether it was R3’s Alisa DiCaprio or Citi’s Ryan Rugg, the sentiment was similar: progress is real, but messy. The winners will be those who can deliver compliance and user experience at once.
For Bobsguide readers, the through-line here is infrastructure orchestration. Whether you’re a core banking provider, a data aggregator, or a fraud platform, the questions remain:
- Are your tools being embedded into client workflows—or siloed?
- Is your architecture open, explainable, and scalable?
- Are you enabling others to move faster—or still catching up?
At this year’s event, we’ll be watching especially closely for real-world use cases across:
- AI deployed at infrastructure scale
- Real-time payments and smart orchestration
- Tokenization strategies that go beyond pilots
- Cross-industry partnerships driving market entry and speed
If you’re not already subscribed to the Bobsguide newsletter, now’s the time. Our team will be in Amsterdam throughout the week, bringing you sharp analysis, behind-the-scenes commentary, and interviews that cut through the noise.
