Against this backdrop, the rise of real-time payments and the movement towards open banking, underpinned by open APIs, are two further trends shaping banks’ thinking about how to approach the payments business of the future.

There is plenty of technology out there for banks to use on their payments transformation journeys. Some of these impact at the customer interface, like chatbots and wearables, and others at the core, like blockchain.

But how to go beyond the hype and really get the best out of these innovations is not always clear – and to make use of them at all, most banks must still do something to tackle their legacy system challenges. They must also balance all innovation against the need to continually ensure security and customer protection.

And the story does not end with technology. The payments business has already seen disruption and will see more. To continue to operate successfully and profitably in the space, banks will need to reshape not only their technology approaches but also their business model approaches. As payments become invisible, how do the banks make sure they do not disappear as well?

In short, payments transformation is a major and necessary focus for banks. A great deal of progress has been made, but the moving target of industry change and disruption means that there is still work to do.

This event will bring together a number of expert speakers from banks, neobanks, fintechs and analyst firms to explore in-depth the challenges and opportunities of payments transformation. Through keynote speeches and an interactive panel session, the agenda will address a number of critical questions in the context of payments transformation, including:

• How should banks be leveraging leading edge technologies such as biometrics, virtual teller machines, wearables, m-wallets and chatbots at the customer interface?
• What impact will major technology trends such as the adoption of blockchain and the move to open APIs have on the payments industry and how should banks be responding to these developments?
• What business opportunities and challenges do instant payments create for banks around the world, and what are the technological implications of immediate payments for banks?
• Are the changes under way in the payments industry enough to force banks to re-engineer their legacy, and what are the options for them to achieve this in a timely, cost-effective way?
• As the role of banks in the e-commerce ecosystem evolves, how should they be interacting with players in other industries, and how can they exploit a world class payments capability to remain relevant going forward?

Speakers include:

• Alistair Brown, Global Head of Payments, EPAM
• Leo Lipis, MD, Lipis Advisors
• Christian Schaefer, Head of Payments, Cash Management Corporates, Deutsche Bank
• Arne Pache, Vice President, Global Products & Solutions, Frankfurt, Germany, Mastercard International

Join us for a lively and informative discussion on how banks can avoid the pitfalls and exploit the opportunities of payments transformation.

Please note, priority will be given to employees of regulated financial services institutions.