What has been your greatest career achievement to date?
Looking back, one of my greatest career achievements has been leading the Payments strategy and evolution for a banking group across 18 western and eastern European countries for many years. This activity was incredibly challenging, involving collaboration across various teams, including engineering, compliance, and product management, to ensure we created solutions that would genuinely make a difference.
What are some of the most exciting advancements in the industry right now?
The industry is undergoing a period of fast transformation, with innovations in real-time payments and digital wallets leading the way. Real-time payment systems are transforming expectations around speed and simplicity, making it easier for individuals and businesses to transact across borders within seconds. Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has been particularly powerful within Europe, enabling seamless euro-denominated payments across 36 countries as if they were domestic transactions, significantly reducing barriers and costs associated with cross-border payments. This has marked a step-change for small businesses and for individuals, as it has enabled cost-effective, fast, and transparent transfers. At the same time, companies like Revolut and Wise have disrupted the international payments landscape by offering innovative, user-friendly platforms that challenge traditional banks with lower fees end-to-end, transparent exchange rates, with a greater focus on customer experience. They’ve set new standards in convenience and affordability, making cross-border payments accessible to a much broader audience.
Unsurprisingly, advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning are also playing a part, enhancing customer experiences, from creating more personalised banking interactions to enabling sophisticated fraud detection systems that improve security. Watching these technologies evolve and reshape the financial landscape is incredibly exciting because they hold the potential to redefine what’s possible in global finance.
What advice would you give those looking to expand their career in the payments industry?
The payments industry offers an incredible chance to learn and grow quickly. Despite plenty of innovation happening, there is often a shortage of expertise in fintech and banks, so if you have the right mindset, there are opportunities to become an expert in a specific area and stand out from the crowd rapidly. That said, deep technical expertise isn’t the most crucial thing. What’s most valuable is understanding why payments work the way they do and the business case that supports them. Most importantly, you need a willingness to innovate. It’s an industry which is constantly evolving so bringing an openness to new ideas is essential.
What trends do you envision over the next few years?
Looking ahead, I anticipate that artificial intelligence will become even more integrated into financial services, with a focus on creating highly personalised experiences based on real-time data and behavioural analysis. This personalisation will extend beyond product recommendations to adapt services to individual needs, offering clients an unprecedented level of tailored support. Traditionally, it has been the ideas leading and technology following, but we’re now seeing a shift towards a more symbiotic relationship between the two, driven by exciting collaboration between fintechs and established financial institutions.
Where fintechs and banks were once “cat and dog,” they’re increasingly recognising the value they bring to each other; traditional banks provide capital, brand trust, and scalability, while fintechs offer agility and a fresh approach to innovation. This synergy is essential, as most fintechs struggle to be profitable on their own and need the banks' resources to scale. It can be hard to find capital and innovation in same place, but by working together, they’re poised to create hybrid models that leverage the best of both worlds, ultimately delivering a richer and more diverse range of services for customers. Using new embedded payments workflow technology which has been able to cut down integration time significantly from 20 years to near 2 years, banks can outsource many of the functions but control everything centrally.
Do you agree with the analogy that the global movement of money is being rewired in the same way the Internet revolutionized the transfer of information? Are there other historical parallels you would draw upon?
I fully agree with that analogy. Just as the Internet allowed information to flow freely, reshaping industries and economies, today’s advancements in financial technology are making it possible to move money across borders with unprecedented ease, speed, and security. This evolution is reducing friction in global transactions and bringing millions of previously underserved people into the financial system. However, whilst payments have evolved rapidly at a domestic level, largely driven by regulation and enforced competition, at a cross-border level the evolution has been far slower, partly because significant profits are being made from slower, less transparent processes. Currently in cross-border payments, you might send Dollars to receive Euros and ultimately receive less total value than you might’ve been expecting. It’s a little bit like purchasing a box of 10 golf balls from an online marketplace, only to find that 8 tennis balls arrive at your house. When you raise a complaint, they will likely pass the blame on to the seller as they are merely the facilitator of the transaction, taking a cut for the role they play.
On a personal note, what do you like to do when you're not at work?
Outside of my professional life, I have a range of interests that help me recharge and stay balanced. I love travelling and meeting people - it’s an incredible way to escape and immerse myself in different eras and perspectives, which I find both relaxing and intellectually stimulating. Another passion of mine is hiking. Spending time outdoors, especially on long trails, allows me to disconnect from the busyness of work and gain new insights or simply clear my mind. Being in nature is something I truly cherish. When I am not out walking or visiting new places, you can find me supporting my beloved football team, AC Milan who I was fortunate to play for in the early days of my career.
