Georgios Kolovos, Payments and Fintech Leader, NVIDIA
Tom with Georgios Kolovos, NVIDIA
Georgios Kolovos discussed how AI is evolving from a fraud prevention tool into a foundation that can power the wider payments ecosystem.
While fraud remains one of the most mature applications of AI within financial services, he explained that organisations can unlock significantly greater value by extending the same models across multiple business functions. Rather than using AI solely to detect fraud, businesses can combine fragmented data to generate insights, improve operational efficiency and create new revenue opportunities.
The conversation explored the growing maturity of AI adoption. Many organisations have moved beyond experimentation and are now embedding AI into their long term business strategies. Georgios highlighted the importance of considering every layer of AI infrastructure, from data and models through to computing power, to build scalable solutions.
He also examined the challenge of fragmentation across financial institutions. While many organisations still operate in silos, combining data and AI models creates opportunities to improve both fraud detection and commercial performance. Collaboration between institutions will also become increasingly important, particularly through approaches such as federated learning, where organisations share models and signals rather than sensitive customer data.
Looking ahead, Georgios believes transaction foundation models will play a key role in helping organisations move beyond protection alone and use AI to drive future growth.
Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist, bunq
with Joe Wilson, bunq
Joe Wilson explored how trust is becoming central to the digital banking experience.
He explained that his role focuses on ensuring information flows in both directions between customers and the business, helping bunq understand user needs while communicating the company’s values and approach.
The discussion centred on the importance of transparency and honesty when building trust, particularly as bunq continues expanding internationally. While customer expectations may differ between markets, the principles of openness and reliability remain consistent.
Joe also discussed bunq’s focus on serving expats and digital nomads, whose financial behaviours often differ from traditional banking customers. By recognising these patterns as normal rather than suspicious, AI can help reduce unnecessary friction while maintaining strong security controls.
The conversation concluded by examining the industry’s response to fraud. Joe believes organisations should place greater emphasis on preventing scams before they happen through better customer education and intelligent interventions, while continuing to listen carefully to customer needs and experiences.
Rik Goslinga, Vice President, Account Management EMEA, Adyen
with Rik Goslinga, Adyen
Rik Goslinga examined the evolving fraud challenges facing merchants as they expand internationally.
He explained that many businesses still rely on manual fraud rules designed to detect traditional payment fraud, while modern fraudsters increasingly use automation, AI and sophisticated attack methods that closely resemble legitimate customer behaviour.
The discussion explored how fraud is no longer limited to the checkout. Refund abuse, account creation and promotional offers are becoming attractive targets as fraudsters exploit weaknesses throughout the customer journey.
Rik also highlighted the growing importance of connecting online and offline payment systems. As consumers move seamlessly between digital and physical channels, disconnected systems create opportunities for fraud while increasing operational complexity.
Machine learning and AI are becoming essential tools for balancing fraud prevention, customer experience and payment conversion. Rather than treating these objectives as competing priorities, intelligent risk management allows organisations to improve all three simultaneously.
Looking ahead, Rik expects global payment platforms combining large scale transaction data with advanced AI models to play an increasingly important role in identifying fraud across markets while enabling merchants to continue growing with confidence.
Ivan Zhiznevsky, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, 3S Money
with Ivan Zhiznevsky, 3S Money
Ivan Zhiznevsky discussed the challenges international businesses continue to face when accessing global financial services.
He argued that discrimination within financial services remains a significant barrier to international growth, particularly when businesses attempt to collect payments across borders. Stablecoins are increasingly helping to solve these challenges by enabling faster and more accessible cross border payments.
The conversation explored the impact of evolving regulation, including MiCA, which Ivan believes is helping establish greater confidence in stablecoins while strengthening protections against financial crime.
Ivan also challenged assumptions around risk management. Rather than judging businesses based on geography alone, he argued that modern KYC processes allow organisations to make more accurate assessments based on customer behaviour and source of funds.
Looking ahead, he highlighted rising compliance costs as one of the biggest challenges facing fintech companies. While regulation is essential, he believes governments should play a greater role in verifying legitimate businesses, reducing the burden currently placed on financial institutions.
Despite these challenges, Ivan remains optimistic about AI’s ability to improve productivity and reshape financial services over the coming years.
