Banking News

Sibos London four day wrap-up

(28 September 2019 – United Kingdom) The Sibos 2019 conference concluded four days of financial services advancements, detailed panel discussions, roundtables and new payments product releases hosted in London for the first time at the London ExCeL International Exhibition Centre.

It was officially the biggest Sibos ever, with more than 11,000 delegates from over 150 countries. The annual banking and financial conference continues to grow in size and scope each year as an exciting mix of thought leaders, innovators and the next generation of fintech professionals focusing on reinventing payments.

The Sibos 2019 conference agenda centered on the theme “Thriving in a hyper-connected world,” recognising the growth opportunities available from digital technologies to initiate new platforms, value propositions and business models. Speakers will focus on the ability of financial services providers to identify, develop and strengthen the right connections and what is required to succeed in a hyper-connected world.

This year Sibos also incorporated five sub-themes, including enhancing digital ecosystems, examining how banks and market infrastructures can leverage new technologies such as APIs, DLT and AI to offer better banking services to meet customer demands. How can they use external fintech partners to overcome legacy business models while minimising risks?

Previously known as the SWIFT International Banking Operations Seminar, Sibos is the annual conference, exhibition and networking event organised by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) for the financial industry that started out as a banking operations seminar in 1978. The event has grown into the premier business forum for the global financial community to debate and collaborate in the areas of payments, securities, cash management and trade.

Sibos 2019 explored the latest developments in AI, emerging technologies and legacy system updates. Credit Enable CEO Nadia Sood highlighted how AI has benefitted financial services but it could also do with an update on its bias. Zac Gazit, business development direct at Cogress, believes it could use a human touch.

Carl Slesser and Hanaa Bengtsson at Nasdaq emphasise the importance of embracing emerging technologies, as it leads to advanced applications in areas that can uphold market integrity. Banks need to improve the handling of their data before they attempt to apply AI or machine learning systems to anti-money laundering (AML) and financial crime, according to a panel at Sibos.

Banks and financial services providers are transforming as legacy systems are finally discarded to make way for new tools that accommodate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to make processes more efficient.

“We don’t get rid of anything in this industry” stated Fiserv director of product Trevor LeFleche on the evolution of payments and the current uses of cash, card and digital channels at Sibos London.

Belgium-based financial services company Euroclear says “blockchain is not a magic wand” on a panel discussion at Sibos about the vulnerabilities of blockchain. "There are very few things that actually need a Blockchain” stated JPMorgan Head of Digital Treasury Services & Blockchain, Umar Farooq. Blockchain was the focus of East & Partners latest research note – is Blockchain a ‘solution looking for a problem' 

The second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) has irretrievably altered the way banks approach technology and accelerated the discussion about application programming interfaces (APIs) from an IT consideration to the forefront of the industry according to panel members at Sibos.

Banks are misjudging competitive risk in the payments market and are facing an existential threat if they don’t match up to fintechs willing to lose money to snatch up customer relationships and deal with payments friction stated Pega Systems CEO Alan Trefler speaking at Sibos.

Visa is attempting to avoid ‘immediate displacement’ of cash in its digitisation process so as not to disrupt the US population which is still heavily cash-based, says Visa Business SVP Global Head, Kevin Phalen, at a SIBOS round table.

MUFG is ready to work with fintechs, revealing at Sibos it already has several targets on the agenda and wants to open up the conversation as much as possible according to MUFG Head of Cash and Liquidity Management EMEA, Alan Verschoyle-King.

The 2020 Sibos conference is set to be held in Boston.