FinTech Strategy hit the conference floor at the heart of the action delivering insights from experts across Banking, Insurance, Wealth, and Lending at Financial Transformation Summit (FTS).
Financial Transformation Summit attendees from banking, insurance, wealth, lending, fintech, consultancy, and regulatory sectors convened for two days packed with keynotes, panel talks, immersive demos, and networking among 60+ exhibitors and startups.
Co-located streams – Banking, Insurance, Wealth, and Lending part of themed zones – meant that ticket-holders could explore adjacent sectors fluidly across a guiding theme: culture, collaboration, and customer centricity driving tech adoption and transformation.
Programme Highlights
Keynotes & Panels
1. Data Silos & Cross‑Institutional Collaboration
A panel featuring senior leaders from EVLO, Aon, Schroders, and Brit Insurance tackled how institutions – despite collectively spending over $33 billion annually on data – still struggle to collaborate due to privacy concerns and regulation. Innovative solutions included federated learning, anonymised client IDs and consent-backed APIs.
2. Digital Insurance via Wallets
Anna Bojic (Miss Moneypenny Technologies) unveiled a fresh take on insurance – embedding policy and claim data into Apple/Google Wallets. The idea: dynamic customer interaction directly from smartphone wallets, enhancing real‑time engagement and retention.
3. ESG Economics & Market Reality
Marc Kahn (Investec) challenged ESG orthodoxy, urging firms to emphasise human and planetary wellbeing – beyond purely financial returns – to capture stakeholder trust and sustainable growth.
4. People & Psychological Safety
Kirsty Watson (Aberdeen Group) and Vikki Allgood (Fidelity International) underlined that technological investments are futile without organisational design and psychological safety. Allgood cited a McKinsey study revealing only 26% of leaders build teams with a sense of safety – a critical step toward innovation.
5. Human‑Centred AI
Monica Kalia (Planda AI) championed AI that models individual financial contexts – recognising diversity within demographic cohorts and personalizing services accordingly.
Roundtable Experiences at FTS
At the event’s heart were the TableTalk roundtables – 400+ small-group sessions, each led by a subject-matter expert. These were limited to six participants each, enabling deep, peer-led discussions on themes like:
- AI in risk and compliance
- Open banking integration
- ESG data standards
- Cyber resilience
- Change management and culture adaptation
Attendees consistently praised their interactive nature – far removed from the stage‑focused “listening” format often critiqued at other conferences.
Demonstrations & Exhibitor Showcase
Over 60 exhibitors presented tech-driven innovations: Generative AI, open‑banking APIs, ESG reporting tools, embedded finance solutions, and more. A few standouts were:
- CRIF highlighted AI-powered credit scoring with ESG overlays – promising dynamic risk assessments backed by sustainability data
- Emerging FinTechs demoing AI compliance engines, digital wallet insurance packaging, and data-sharing platforms
- Hyland demonstrated the intuitive end-user experience of its Hyland Content Innovation Cloud™ and showed how easy it is to configure, tailor and deploy solutions that can empower key stakeholders across any business
The demo zone allowed engaging, hands-on exploration and real-time Q&As; it complemented the content with practical insights.
Standout Themes & Strategic Insights
1. Tech is Not Enough Without Culture
Recurrent messaging emphasised that culture, trust, governance, and psychological safety are foundational – not secondary – to digital initiatives. Technology alone won’t deliver transformation without a people-first mindset.
2. Cross‑Sector Data Collaboration
Despite heavy investment, institutions still operate in silos. Shared, secure infrastructure and regulatory-aligned frameworks are being prototyped, but broad adoption remains a work in progress.
3. AI-as-a-Personalisation Backbone
AI is shifting from automation to empathy. Organisations showcased tools to hyper-personalise offers yet maintain privacy and inclusion – moving beyond outdated demographic frameworks into genuine behavioural understanding.
4. Embedded Finance & Digital Wallets
Insurance via wallet applications and embedded finance models point to seamless customer journeys – less app hopping, more value delivered at the point of need.
5. Rebalancing ESG & Profit Metrics
Speakers emphasised integrating ESG factors into performance metrics – not just for compliance, but as an operative advantage anchored in long-term stability and stakeholder trust.
Who Should Attend FTS Next Year?
Ideal for:
- Transformation and change leaders
- CTOs, CIOs, and Heads of Innovation
- Data and AI strategists
- Operational and HR leaders focused on culture
- FinTech innovators and solution providers
If you’re crafting digital transformation strategies, an attuned leader in financial services, or a consultant embedding tech in legacy environments, this summit provides rich, actionable content.
Expect next year’s event to build on this foundation:
- More AI-specific tracks, possibly Generative AI streams
- ESG deep-dives with case studies on implementation
- Expanded regulator involvement around data governance and cross-border compliance
FTS: Final Verdict
Overall, the FTS 2025 delivered on its brand promise:
- Interactive and inclusive: 400 roundtables empowered voices across levels.
- Cross‑sector learning: Banking, Insurance, Wealth, and Lending streams offered both breadth and depth.
- Insightful keynotes: Big ideas on AI, ESG, data-sharing, and culture were well-explored.
- Real-world relevance: Exhibitor demos connected theory with practice.
- Networking with purpose: Opportunities to engage, learn, and collaborate were abundant.
The Financial Transformation Summit struck a compelling balance between big-picture vision and granular, execution-level insight. It emphasised that while technology enables; culture, customer centricity and collaboration drive real progress. The format – with its roundtables, demos, and keynotes – offered a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange.
If you attended, chances are you left with practical next steps. If you didn’t, you missed one of the most interactive, future-focused events shaping financial services transformation today.
- Artificial Intelligence in FinTech
- Digital Payments
- Embedded Finance
- Events
- Host Perspectives
- InsurTech