Why fintech is in its ‘Golden era of collaboration’ – In conversation with Scarlett Sieber at Money 20/20 - Trade Treasury Payments

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Why fintech is in its ‘Golden era of collaboration’ – In conversation with Scarlett Sieber at Money 20/20

Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Money20/20, has had a diverse career spanning banks, fintechs, tech start-ups, and includes a stint at US civil space agency NASA. At BBVA, for example, she was Senior Vice-President of Global Business Development, playing a key role in securing partnerships and accelerating the Spanish bank’s global innovation strategy in the US. She has recently published “Embedded Finance: When Payments Become an Experience”.

Trade Treasury Payments caught up with Sieber ahead of Money 20/20 Europe (June 3-5) to hear her views on the potential hot topics in Amsterdam, tips for successful fintech and bank partnerships, and why dialogue between regulators and industry players is critical in the payments space.

Collaboration is the name of the game 

Q: What are the big themes being discussed at Money 20/20 Europe this year?

A: Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) is high on everyone’s agenda. In addition, crypto, compliance and fraud, and embedded finance are generating a lot of interest, both in the content sessions as well as in searches for those types of companies and people on our app.

In the past few years, we’ve been using our platform as the place where policy and regulation conversations happen. In Amsterdam, we are partnering with the Bank for International Settlements on a policy summit, bringing together around 60 private and public sector organisations. We did a similar summit in Asia recently with 23 regulators, but this is the first time at the European show. 

We also expect some buzz around initial public offerings. Some of Europe’s biggest fintech darlings who have been in the news around potential listings will be in Amsterdam.

Q: What is the state of play when it comes to fintech and traditional bank collaboration?

A: We’re in the golden era of collaboration, but the situation is evolving. Some banks are now thinking about reabsorbing services that they’ve outsourced to fintechs. The next phase could spark a redefinition of operating models. But regulation needs to become more agile and the infrastructure more modular. As regulation continues to evolve and the infrastructure is modernised, we could see a swing back to competition. 

A large incumbent European financial institution will be talking about launching a fintech in Amsterdam. The scale and pace of what they have done is impressive, which would not have been possible within that timeframe a decade ago.

Q: What are your top tips for successful fintech and bank partnerships?

A: First, each entity needs to identify its unique asset, such as a new customer demographic or technology platform, and understand how their partner can leverage that asset. Second, from the fintech perspective, they should look for partners who can go to market quickly, such as ones who already have had a few successful fintech partnerships. 

One of Money 20/20’s priorities is to ensure that we’re bringing in smaller incumbent institutions, as often they can test and iterate more quickly than the big players. We can help get that first or second partnership off the ground, so they can build and scale from there.

Q: Where do you think fintechs are making the biggest impact in the payments space?

A: Definitely embedded payments, with the likes of Stripe, Adyen and Checkout.com powering seamless payments on different platforms. The more the payment becomes invisible, the more you know it’s working at scale. 

Cross-border payments is another area where we’re seeing a lot of activity. Money 20/20 and FXC Intelligence are releasing a white paper on the state of play in European payments. While there’s been a lot of growth, the landscape remains deeply fragmented which presents a huge opportunity for fintechs to transform this space. 

Q: You’re speaking on a panel entitled ‘Space Odyssey: how tech’s new frontier is driving fintech’. How can fintech tap into emerging technology and think bigger?

A: At NASA, I was focused on cross-industry innovation – which is exactly what this panel is about. Many of the technologies that we use every day, such as microwaves, came out of NASA. Innovations that have broken barriers in one industry can also be applied to other sectors. For example, US biometrics technology company Clear Secure, which helps millions of people pass faster through security lines, is moving into financial services to solve identity verification challenges. 

It’s about making bold moves, but also taking what works in adjacent industries and applying it to financial services – that’s where the real magic happens. 

Q: What is key in the ongoing battle to keep regulation relevant? 

A: Regulation is extremely relevant and ultimately for our own protection. However, regulators need to understand the technology and how it can benefit people. It’s dangerous if industry leads and regulation follows. Notably, I’ve seen much more intentionality from regulators who want to be part of the conversation.

Situating the regulation discussion front and centre at Money 20/20 is critical in helping to advance the industry as a whole. We believe it’s important to bring the public and private sector together to break down boundaries and create a common understanding, and have worked hard at being the place where multiple sides can come together to have that chat.