Money20/20 Reflections: What FinTech Scale-Ups Need to Internalize Now

Operator Briefing: Real Conversations, Real Movement

It was great to reconnect with so many familiar faces at Money20/20 — friends, colleagues, founders, and operators from across the ecosystem. The conversations were candid, thoughtful, and often carried the quiet energy of teams who are navigating real traction or real headwinds.

If we didn’t get the chance to speak directly — I’ll be in London June 23rd–25th and would be happy to catch up in person.

Here’s a founder-centric readout of what mattered most:

1. Agentic AI: Still Early, But Strategic

Everyone’s circling it. But let’s call it plainly: agentic AI isn’t ready to drive your revenue line — yet. Visa, Nvidia, and Bunq discussed how embedding consent, tokenizing credentials, and layering orchestration logic are all still underway.

Microsoft’s message was clear: treat AI as a collaborator, not a tool. Don’t waste cycles pitching “full autonomy” when trust, compliance, and orchestration will determine your adoption curve.

If you’re building in this space, focus on augmenting manual flows (fraud ops, KYC, support) with clear ROI — not reinventing the stack.

2. Stablecoins: Quietly Going Live

The BVNK–Worldpay announcement stood out: merchants can now send stablecoin payouts as easily as choosing a currency. That’s real volume. Stripe and Remote pointed to stablecoin rails for treasury and global payroll. No longer crypto theory — we’re seeing structured enterprise use cases.

What’s the takeaway? You don’t need to become a crypto firm. But if you touch cross-border flows, treasury, or pay-ins — it’s time to understand the rails, partners, and regulators shaping this space.

3. A2A Payments: High Potential, Slow Burn

Everyone agrees: A2A is efficient. But fragmentation is slowing scale. Bizum, SIBS, and Bancomat are building toward interoperability, but adoption varies dramatically.

Booking.com shared promising usage on VRPs. Wayfair, meanwhile, ran a “fake button” trial that saw <1% conversion. Unless monetization models and incentives align across PSPs, merchants, and consumers — expect progress, not explosion.

If you’re integrating A2A, design for hybrid models that can flex by geography and merchant demand.

4. Wallets & Checkout UX: Compete Differently

You’re not beating Apple Pay at convenience. Curve knows this, which is why they’re betting on utility: FX savings, retroactive card switching. Adobe is highly selective on rollout, only launching new methods when scale is proven.

Lesson for operators: it’s not about offering more. It’s about offering smarter. Cut friction, extend value, and treat your PSP as a partner — not just a vendor.

5. Tokenized Money: Now a Compliance Question

The future of stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and CBDCs is increasingly about regulatory architecture. ECB and BOE are taking distinct paths — but both are building with transparency and optionality in mind.

Projects like BIS’ Agora and Solana’s multi-use stablecoins show that programmable liquidity isn’t fringe anymore. For founders building money movement, treasury tools, or embedded finance, the underlying question is shifting from tech feasibility to regulatory interoperability.

What Founders Should Track

• Agentic AI: Use AI to automate manual grunt work. Don’t oversell autonomy.

• Stablecoins: Start learning the enterprise use cases — they’re maturing.

• A2A: It’s coming. But build for fragmented adoption — not ubiquity.

• Wallet UX: Be deliberate. Smart beats crowded.

• Tokenization: If you’re building in money movement, learn the policy terrain now.

Final Word

Not everything you saw in Amsterdam is ready for primetime. But enough is in motion that smart teams should be investing cycles — not just in product, but in positioning.

If any of this resonates — or if you’re in the middle of solving for any of the above — I’d welcome the opportunity to hear more. I’ll be in London June 23rd–25th. Or feel free to reach out to set up a call.

Let’s make sure what you’re building aligns with where the market is going.

Tom C. Schapira
Founder and CEO
Imagine Capital Group
E: [email protected]
Website http://www.imaginecapitalgroup.com

Securities Offered through Wellesley Hills Securities. Member FINRA/SIPC