Money 2020 Europe in Amsterdam was the first large-scale live event for many since the onset of COVID-19. Roughly 4,000 attendees had the opportunity to learn, ask questions and interact in the RAI Amsterdam conference space and surrounding city.
The conference ran from the 21st – 23rd of September, with discussions, interviews, and plenty of networking opportunities. With the tagline, “be a part of Fintech’s biggest conversation”, Money 2020 Europe made for a truly interactive experience. This piece covers highlights and themes gathered from the event’s speaking engagements.
Money 2020 explored five key points with trust and data usage being interwoven into many conversations:
Can trust create the relationships that lead to growth?
A key ingredient of success today and the future as well, is the trust of your customers. This allows you to drive value and exchange – be it money, data, events, or shared experiences.
Cross-market relationships were discussed, specifically concerning regulating entities across markets and regions, easily and sustainably. This conversation stressed collaboration amongst partners and customers to accelerate development and enhance customer trust. Trust is also linked to risk management as there are several areas within payments tied to an inherent level of risk. Thus, getting disputes resolved quickly can strengthen bonds with customers, aiding company growth.
Using customer relationships to align business outcomes with end-user preferences was another area of exploration. This synchronization can lead to “brand passion,” a powerful consumer-to-brand connection that the payments industry can benefit from. A great way to tap into this concept is to listen to customer interactions to better inform business choices. For example, consumer preferences can be used to guide the decision of where to go with a new market rollout.
How does educating customers on data usage create value?
Conference speakers wrestled with the question, “should consumers have autonomy of their data along with the ability to revoke consent to their data being used?”. Consumers need to be informed on what their rights and options are regarding the usage of their data as well as what kind of data are being collected. It was explained that some organizations educate their users to provide value and create a positive learning environment. Others stated that data education is a part of governance and should belong in the same category as ESG and CSR for companies.
Another question addressed was, “If regulation is a friend or enemy?”. Most speakers agreed that regulation is positive if it helps the end-user. It was then further explained that legislators need the foresight to predict what will come in payments 5 years down the road to achieve effective regulation.
A deeper look into this topic revealed the numerous benefits that can arise from the responsible use of consumer data. The instant access of data from the near ubiquitous use of phones today allows for more opportunities in open banking, open finance and informed decision making. Consumers could benefit from this abundance of data which, in turn, can create expanded services and better products.
Overall, trust powered the conversations at Money 2020, Europe. It is a key component of brand building, go-to-market guidance and creating value added services within and outside of the payments industry. Our team enjoyed the exchanges and lessons taken from the event and we will be sure to return next year.