Earlier this week, Niclas Lindblom and Cecilia Guthreus participated at the EBAday in Lisbon, Portugal. It is an annual summit for bankers and stakeholders within payments and transactions, as well as representatives from the regulators. In this short interview, Niclas and Cecilia share their insights from the two-day conference.
Welcome back to Stockholm! How has your visit to EBAday been?
Niclas: It’s been great! We’ve got to network and listen to other stakeholders in the industry about what they believe the future of payments will look like. For instance, how new regulations, digital advancements, and changed customer behavior will impact their operations and the industry as a whole. It was very interesting to hear different opinions and strategies from the participants.

421 has recently focused on Instant Payments and Confirmation of Payee. Did you gain any key takeaways from these?
Cecilia: Yes, many of the discussions revolved around the challenges and opportunities the two bring. For instance, there’s a risk that instant payments lead to increased fraud. However, a participant from the UK showed how they are using CoP as a preventive measure. When a user starts making a payment, there are several security steps where the user can verify that the recipient is indeed the intended one. The transaction is instant, but the process before takes a longer time.
If we widen the perspective, how will this work globally?
Niclas: Well, ISO 20022 brings us closer to a more harmonized payment landscape. But there’s still a lot of work to do, and I believe the main challenge is finding common ground. Each region has its own rulebook, and there are also differences between individual countries in the areas. ISO 20022 is a common format, but there are different dialects in different implementations, which also adds to the challenges. We must continue cooperating across regional borders and learning from each other, and EBAday is a perfect example.

What other challenges is the new payment market facing?
Cecilia: Customer needs and behaviors are changing—faster payments and increased accessibility, to name a few. AI and other digital advances also affect the relationship between banks and customers. Do banks consider this when building their strategies? With this in mind, as well as several new regulations with tight deadlines, banks are forced to be compliant instead of innovative. So, developing products and services that meet customer expectations requires new strategies for the banks.
Finally, what potential solutions did you talk about at EBAday?
Niclas: One of our reflections regarding solutions is to make new technology available to the whole market. It means that everyone, not just regulated companies, should be able to innovate and build on the same premises. This is especially relevant if we are talking about Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which will soon leave the drawing board.
We thank Niclas and Cecilia for their insights! You are welcome to contact us to continue discussing regulations, strategies, or new technologies within Payments.