The Nordic region has been at the vanguard of innovation across payments for decades, but is that the case in 2024? NextGen Nordics 2024 - a leading conference led by Finextra Research held in Stockholm on 23 April 2024 - will procure an answer to this question from experts hailing from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Returning to the Münchenbryggeriet, a favourite venue for the Finextra community, NextGen Nordics will start with an exploration of pan European payment collaboration and debate whether 2024 should in fact be the year in which domestic progress should be the focus, instead of regional. The fact of the matter is instant payments systems across the Nordics are not as efficient as they could be, and the event will discuss how the Riksbank’s RIX-INST – based on the Eurosystem's TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform – be a model for other Nordic countries.
Further to this, with the deadline of migration to ISO 20022 approaching, what more do banks and payments services providers need to do to ensure payments are real-time on a cross-border level? Nordic consumers are already utilising retail instant payments through digital wallet solutions, but the exchange of data between the payer and billing organisation also needs to be enhanced with Request to Pay. In regard to ecommerce, it is evident that we are on the brink with BNPL at POS and embedded finance in an era of personalised services - traditional lenders will have to step up to keep pace. This angle will be covered at the event in Stockholm.
To support the incumbents, PSD3 could bring payments and the wider financial sector into the digital age. However, while open banking and open finance will improve innovation, consumer protection must also be considered when sharing data. In addition to this, Confirmation of Payee could help to resolve the complexity of legacy infrastructure to mitigate fraud and ensure interoperability - NextGen Nordics will aim to provide solutions to longstanding problems across the sector.
These problems include the challenges related to faster payments, what it can mean for advancements in behavioural biometrics and how can these be put into practice. Banks and payments services providers have a lot to consider today, particularly if AI, biometrics, financial exclusion, operational resilience, and sustainability can truly be regulated. With an incoming AI Act, BNPL, DORA, and the wide range of ESG regulations that have been established, what should financial institutions be prioritising?
Here's the list of topics to be covered at the event:
- Nordic payment infrastructure - is it time for a domestic focus?
- Instant payments - how to prepare for RIX-INST on TIPS and the benefits of starting with Swish
- Real-time cross border payments - is there a future in platform based corporate business models?
- Request to Pay - the best way to manage cash flow and exchange data?
- BNPL - are we entering a new era of commerce at POS and with embedded finance?
- Data privacy and Consumer Duty - how to improve open banking with API integration
- Confirmation of Payee - how to resolve the complexity of legacy infrastructure to mitigate fraud
- Fraud prevention and AML: the need for behavioural biometrics in this instant age
- Risk and resilience - can we truly regulate the technology of the future?
- The future of AI - crystallising the potential of this technology
Please see the full agenda here and register to attend now.