Ainsley Ward is Vice President for CGI Payments Solutions, specializing in interbank, FX, & market infrastructures. He sits on the board of Scottish Archery and manages Scotland’s national team. Having previously lived in Toronto & Belgium, he brings international expertise, guiding banks through modernization and regulatory shifts. Ainsley previously worked with major companies running consulting at FIS, as 2FA Product Manager at MasterCard, and Senior Advisor to banks with ESBG. He’s recently chaired the Digital Pound Foundation Payments WG, architected BIS Nexus, and has many inventions & patents, currently focusing on AI in payments, SEPA Inst adoption, cloud, and sustainability. A Brunel University alumnus, he now resides in Scotland.
Arantza Yague
Commercialisation Manager for SEPA Global Payments Solutions
HSBC Bank plc
Commercialisation Manager for SEPA Global Payments Solutions HSBC Bank plc
Arantza Yague is responsible for commercialisation of SEPA Products within Global Payments Solutions.
She has over 25 years of experience in transaction Banking with leading financial institutions worldwide, where she has held roles as eBanking Product Manager, Product Sales Specialist and Digital Transformation Manager.
Before joining HSBC in 2020, Aran was a Treasury Solutions Consultant at Bank of America Merryl Lynch
Arantza has a Master’s Degree in Communications Engineering by the University of London and has attended universities in Spain, France and Belgium.
Belema Parker
Digital & Compliance Manager
Inovatic
Digital & Compliance Manager Inovatic
Belema Parker is the Digital & Compliance Manager at Inovatic, a French fintech founded in 2005, specializing in intelligent data extraction out of financial statements. She has been working alongside our team to actively prepare for compliance with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and ISO 27001.
Belema closely follows compliance news and strongly believes that regulatory challenges are a powerful driver of innovation. During the session, she will demonstrate how banks can turn compliance into a strategic opportunity with a solution developed by Inovatic that combines security and confidentiality, helping them optimize processes and stay competitive.
She fully embodies Inovatic’s slogan: You lend, we care.
Bridget Meijer
New Markets Manager at SurePay
New Markets Manager at SurePay
Bridget is the New Markets Manager at SurePay and a seasoned payments expert with 16 years of experience at major banks. Driven by a passion for innovation, she leads the expansion of the Verification Of Payee solution across Europe and beyond, collaborating with banks and financial institutions to combat fraud and streamline payments. With a customer-centric approach, Bridget is dedicated to delivering secure, frictionless payment experiences on a global scale.
Christian Sarafidis
Chief Executive EMEA Financial Services
Microsoft
Chief Executive EMEA Financial Services Microsoft
Christoph Thumm
Head of Sales
Foconis Payment
Head of Sales Foconis Payment
Christoph Thumm is a seasoned payments expert with extensive experience in developing innovative payment solutions. As Head of Sales at Foconis Payment, he leads strategic digitization initiatives to optimize processes and drive digital transformation in banking. In his presentation, Christoph will show how Payment-as-a-Service (PaaS) approaches, combined with containerization with cloud-native technologies, can unlock the full potential of state-of-the-art Verification of Payee (VoP) and Instant Payment solutions.
Leading Strategy Consulting in EMEA, Managing Partner at CORE
Tech ThinkTank within EPAM
Leading Strategy Consulting in EMEA, Managing Partner at CORE Tech ThinkTank within EPAM
Fabian Meyer is leading Strategy Consulting in EMEA and is a Managing Partner at CORE, a Tech ThinkTank within EPAM. He is focusing on complex transformations, particularly those focused on digitalization within the banking and payments industry. He possesses extensive consulting expertise in the financial services and transformation engineering, supporting numerous clients in developing strategy, designing, and executing M&A projects and complex transformation initiatives.
Gayathri Vasudev
Product Executive, Payments
JP Morgan
Product Executive, Payments JP Morgan
Gilbert Verdian
Founder and CEO
Quant
Founder and CEO Quant
As Founder and CEO of Quant, Gilbert is focused on unlocking the power of blockchain for everyone, to create an empowered, interconnected world.
Gilbert has more than 20 years of cybersecurity experience and C-level accountability as a CISO, CIO and CTO. He has worked in government – for Downing Street, HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office, Ministry of Justice and NSW Health – and has also served in the private sector, at Mastercard, Vocalink, CSC, EY, PwC, BP and HSBC.
With a keen interest in disruptive technology, Gilbert established the Blockchain ISO Standard TC307 initiative in 2015 and is the Convenor of the Interoperability working group WG7 for ISO.
Hays Littlejohn is CEO of EBA CLEARING, the leading private-industry provider of pan-European infrastructure solutions for euro payments. Prior to that, he held managerial and executive positions in global transaction banking at UBS, covering the areas of product management, relationship management, sales, business development and market infrastructures. Hays also served on the Boards of CLS and EBA CLEARING.
Isabelle Olivier
Head of Visa Direct Southern Europe
Visa Europe
Head of Visa Direct Southern Europe Visa Europe
Isabel Schmidt
EPO Payments Enablement Platform
BNY
EPO Payments Enablement Platform BNY
Jude Pinto
Chief Delivery Officer
Payments Canada
Chief Delivery Officer Payments Canada
Jude Pinto, as Payments Canada's Chief Delivery Officer, brings more than 30 years of experience in senior- and executive-level leadership positions within the financial services sector. He has successfully led business transformation and innovation nationally and internationally. As the payment systems that underpin Canada’s financial ecosystem continue to evolve, Jude is responsible for leading large-scale delivery programs to support Payments Canada’s vision for a Canadian payment ecosystem that is resilient, inclusive and enables fair competition as the foundation of Canada’s thriving economy. Jude works alongside Payments Canada business and technology experts, members, stakeholders and regulators to deliver these complex programs.
Justin Brearley-Smith
Global Product Lead
J.P. Morgan
Global Product Lead J.P. Morgan
Justin serves as J.P. Morgan’s Global Product Lead and has responsibility for the firm’s ISO 20022 payment adoption initiative which represents a major shift in the way high-value payments are initiated, processed and settled between institutions and corporates. His experience and applied expertise spans treasury and payments product, technology, account services and vendor management and helps to ensure J.P. Morgan’s clients can optimize cross-border, ach and real-time payments.
Katja Heyder
Head of Marketing & User Relations
EBA CLEARING
Head of Marketing & User Relations EBA CLEARING
Katja Heyder is Head of Marketing & User Relations at EBA CLEARING, the leading private-industry provider of pan-European infrastructure solutions for euro payments, including the systemically important payment systems EURO1 and STEP2 as well as the instant payment system RT1. Katja has been with the company since 2006 and was instrumental in the successful implementation of the STEP2 SEPA and RT1 Services. She also serves as regional representative for, among others, Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Katja Lehr
Europe Product Head and EMEA Payments and Industry & Advocacy Lead
J.P. Morgan Payments
Europe Product Head and EMEA Payments and Industry & Advocacy Lead J.P. Morgan Payments
Kevin Flood
Head of European Growth Office
FIS Global
Head of European Growth Office FIS Global
Kjeld Herreman
Founding Partner
Paylume
Founding Partner Paylume
Kjeld Herreman is a founding partner at Paylume, a consulting firm specialized in payments and fraud prevention. He has acquired over 15 years of experience in the payments industry. Having worked with corporates, banks, payment service providers, fintechs, market infrastructures, associations, and payment networks on their strategic payment challenges on across multiple continents, he has a 360° view on the payments processing ecoystem.
Dr. Leo Lipis
Chief Executive
Lipis Advisors
Chief Executive Lipis Advisors
Liliana Fratini Passi
Managing Director
CBI
Managing Director CBI
Ms. Liliana Fratini Passi, CBI’s Managing Director, also serves as Vice Chair of the International Supply Chain Program at UN/CEFACT. She holds the position of Italian UNINFO Delegate and member of ISO 20022 RMG . A recognized opinion leader keynote speaker, and author of numerous articles and papers, she is highly regarded in the fields of digital financial services, electronic payments, open banking, open finance, and gender equality. Among her accomplishments, more recently, in 2024, she was awarded for the “Standout Woman 2024”, in 2023 she was named one of Fortune Italy's 50 Most Powerful Women, recognized for her leadership, commitment, and impact across various industries.
Chief Executive Europe, Middle East & Africa Swift
Nils Beier
Managing Director
Accenture.
Managing Director Accenture.
Olivier Jolyon
Head of New Initiatives
EBA CLEARING
Head of New Initiatives EBA CLEARING
Olivier Jolyon is Head of New Initiatives at EBA CLEARING, where he drives the design and delivery of new services and functionalities. His current focus areas include Fraud Pattern & Anomaly Detection and Verification of Payee, along with other initiatives aimed at taking payments to the next level. Olivier also acts as country representative for EBA CLEARING’s Belgian user community. Olivier brings deep expertise in the banking and payments sector, having worked as a consultant in Financial Services and as a Product Owner for international payments and SEPA services at a major European bank.
Olivier Julou
Payment Fraud Expert and Crédit Agricole representative in French and European Fraud workgroup
Crédit Agricole CIB
Payment Fraud Expert and Crédit Agricole representative in French and European Fraud workgroup Crédit Agricole CIB
With over 20 years of experience in developing major card payment projects, Olivier JULOU is a recognized expert in the payment industry. His career at Crédit Agricole Payment Services highlights his expertise and commitment to enhancing the security and efficiency of payment systems, with a particular focus on fraud prevention and detection.
Head of International Development & Global Relationship Management
Cecabank
Head of International Development & Global Relationship Management Cecabank
Rafa has held a variety of positions during his 20+ years in financial services. He has worked as Sales and Trader in Investment Banking – Fixed Income and Treasury - and Transaction Banking. He has also run Cecabank’s UK Branch and currently leads International Development, FI and Global Relationship Management from London.
Among his responsibilities, he is the product owner of Cecabank’s cross-currency solutions and is a member of Bank of Spain`s payments´ infrastructure group, AMI Pay. Rafa is also Cecabank’s ICMA’s Principal Delegate and sits on its Commercial and AML/TF Committees.
Sara Amara
Head of Currency Clearing
HSBC
Head of Currency Clearing HSBC
Sébastien Racinais
Head of Innovation, Global Cash Management
Crédit Agricole CIB
Head of Innovation, Global Cash Management Crédit Agricole CIB
With 20+ years of experience in the banking sector, Sébastien is head of Innovation for the Global Cash Management business line at Crédit Agricole CIB, with the objective to implement an ambitious digital transformation leveraging new technologies such as AI and DLT and to develop an Open Innovation framework through partnerships. Prior to joining the CA Group, he held various senior roles in other international institutions such as HSBC (where he was most recently Head of Strategy for the Europe International region based in London) and Deustche Bank in Corporate Finance.
Full corporate website è https://www.credit-agricole.com/
Sheri Brandon
Global Head of New Business
Worldline Financial Services
Global Head of New Business Worldline Financial Services
Sheri Brandon serves as the Global Head of New Business at Worldline Financial Services, and has been with the company since 2020. With a career entirely devoted to the payments industry, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the rulebooks for SEPA payments and card frameworks. Holding a BSc in computer science, Sheri is a firm believer in technology's transformative power, viewing it as a key driver in the evolution of the payments sector.
Simone Del Guerra
Head of Central Institutions & International Sales
Nexi
Head of Central Institutions & International Sales Nexi
Since 2023, Simone Del Guerra has been Head of Central Institutions & International Sales contributing to the International growth of Nexi's Digital Banking Solution business. Simone holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from University of Pisa. Prior to joining Nexi, he worked for UniCredit Group where he held several senior positions among which, CEO of UniCredit Factoring Italy and Global Head of Financial Institutions Sales for Transaction Banking. Previously, Simone worked for IBM Italy before joining GE Capital, where he held various commercial positions in Italy, France and the UK
Simone Satan
Senior Director - Head of Digital Payment Solutions Treasury Services
BNY
Senior Director - Head of Digital Payment Solutions Treasury Services BNY
Sophie Giorgi
Head of Payment System and Infrastructure Relationships
Crédit Agricole Payment Services
Head of Payment System and Infrastructure Relationships Crédit Agricole Payment Services
Sophie GIORGI is Head of Payment System and Infrastructure Relationships for Credit Agricole with twenty years experience in wholesale and retail payment industry, interbank relationships, payment infrastructures and regulation. She joined Crédit Agricole in 2001 to work in the area of international payments. After several experiences of management of back-office and projects, she decided to take part to the strategy of payments of Credit Agricole. She is representative of Credit Agricole in several French bodies : STET Client Council, French User Group of TARGET 2 and SWIFT, CFONB. She also seats as Board Member at EBA CLEARING and EBICS S.C. and acts as representative of French Banks at the Payment Scheme Management Board of EPC.
Chief Product Officer - Financial Messaging Global
Bottomline
Chief Product Officer - Financial Messaging Global Bottomline
Vitus Rotzer is the Chief Product Officer - Financial Messaging Global at Bottomline. Vitus is leading the strategy to expand Bottomline’s solution set globally. Vitus is a versatile senior executive with strong leadership, management, and business development skills. He has over 20 years’ experience in financial services and software technology within leading, and international companies, encompassing senior executive roles.