that there is a way we can prepare: “Standardisation of APIs is fundamental. We need to collaborate on setting standards, and pursue an agreement on the architecture underlying all payments.”
Through this, Sanchez believes we will see competition, as all payments systems will have the same foundations.
What lies ahead
required in order to decide which assets are a good choice to manage through blockchain. “Potentially, it has limitless opportunities. However, I always tell people that the starting point for blockchain must be small and tangible, so it’s easily managed”.
“I’d start with mangos,” joked Curtoni. Some takes on payments
The likes of Open Banking and PayTech are taken for granted: they’re already here and are changing how we do business. WeChat was mentioned within the first half an hour by the Chairman of the Board at Monzo, Baroness Denise Kingsmill, who used it to exemplify the level of integration and approachability that banks should aspire to nowadays.
However, for Carlos Sanchez, CEO at ipagoo, priorities are clear. At one of the panels held during the event, he said: “There is an urgent need for speed [in payments]. Only now underlying infrastructures are catching up to real- time payments, which up until now some companies have ‘faked’ through a network of accounts. This has a limited lifespan.”
“We will see a global trend in adherence to regulations and speed,” added Sanchez. Russell Saunders, Managing Directors of Global Payments at Lloyds Bank, agreed with him: “The UK has always got on really well with regulations, and that’s why we have such fast payments.”
“We can’t foresee where the future of payments will work, particularly with the Internet of Things on the rise,” commented Carlos, regarding whether we need to make payment systems future-proof. However, he does believe
All in all, there was a lot of level-headed excitement at the event. “I don’t believe virtual currencies will be a big thing in the future, but stable and traditional currencies will prevail. Blockchain won’t be a sort of ‘wonder cure’ for any of our banking problems. I’m also sceptical about the democratisation of financial services, which have always required a component of trust by people for them to function properly.” Dirk Schrade, from the Department of Payments and Settlement Systems at Deutsche Bundesbank, sees FinTech as helpful, but not revolutionary.
Again, trust became a relevant topic for the future of banking services, alongside standardisation. “Any innovation won’t work if it’s only adopted by one bank,” said Schrade. This is why Gavin Wells, Head in Europe at Digital Asset Holdings, believes that “new tech needs to be standardised and more open source. This will make all new technology future-proof, as people will be gradually less reliant on suppliers and their support.”
Perez-Tasso closed the conference by asking the industry to be ‘all-rounded’: “like a football team, we need a good line of attack, which is our capabilities for innovation. But we also need a strong defence, built on reliable, modern and updated cybersecurity and regulation compliance.”
Lord Hague of Richmond (aka William Hague, the Tory leader who lost to Tony Blair during the 2001 general election) was last on stage, addressing almost exclusively Brexit and shifting political alignments across Europe and the US. While the majority of the attendees polled that the country’s economy will ‘survive’ as a result of Brexit, Lord Hague’s views were a bit more optimistic. “We need a resilient infrastructure,” he said, at the prospect of uncertainty. “The UK market will thrive, but things will be very different, and we need to be prepared.”
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