Money 20/20: Sunday Highlights

Money20/20 USA kicked off its 2022 edition in Las Vegas today with a packed day full of exciting conversations and thought provoking discussion. 

Melissa Strait, Chief Compliance Officer at Coinbase, sat down with John Sabatini, Cyber, Risk & Regulatory Partner at PwC, to discuss how to thrive in the current digital asset regulatory boom. Specifically, how all in the industry must focus on trust, especially in the aftermath of the downward trend that the crypto market has experienced this past year. That is because virtual assets offer an opportunity to bank the unbanked, particularly in situations where banking rails do not work  – like the war in Ukraine – or are simply not there in developing countries.  “So, we run all our operations not unlike banks to make sure authorities and regulators continue to be comfortable with all we do,” Melissa said. 

Registration and badge pick-up at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 23, 2022. INSIDER IMAGES FOR MONEY 20/20

Web3 was an undeniably important topic of discussion throughout today – as it is the wave of the future and a novel technology that will have a generational impact, said Jai Ramaswamy, Chief Legal Officer at Andreessen Horowitz. Jai sat down with Eric Golden, Host of Web3 Breakdowns, to discuss rationally regulating Web3. “That criminality and technology go hand in hand is not enough to dissuade bright minds from the development of Web3,” he said. As to who should be regulating the base layers of technology we’re seeing today? Not financial regulators, as they’re the “least competent to make design decisions,” he said. “I think the industry needs to think carefully about how that base layer can be regulated through self-regulation, through standard setting bodies and through best practices.”

Speaking of the future, the Metaverse will have an economic value of anywhere between $8 trillion and $13 trillion, with about 5 billion users, according to Sophia Bantanidis, Future of Finance at Citi Global Insight. So banks should be exploring ways to facilitate payments and provide credit, to support transactions that will take place in the metaverse, she said. Bantanidis sat down with Steve Pannifer, Managing Director at Consult Hyperion, to discuss the metaverse and what it could mean for money and the future of identity, at Money20/20 on day one. At the same time, digital assets like NFTs will allow for actual ownership online, Pannifer said. But it’s going to take a long time to get there, both agreed. “We are nowhere near where we need to be with the technology that is required to power the metaverse,” she said. “That will involve an awful lot of spending – billions of dollars will [need to be] poured into it so that we can have this enhanced digital experience,” she said. “It will be a superior digital experience than we have today because it will be far more intimate, but for that we need really good technology and that will take time.”

Latin America’s potential for impact on the global ecosystem also dominated a conversation led by Carolina Dorado, Head of Corporate & eCommerce Sales for Andean, Central America & the Caribbean Region, Payments at J.P. Morgan. Cash is king in Latin America, with 58% of point-of-sale purchases still done in cash, she said, highlighting a pressing need for frictionless cross-border payments. About 70% of LatAm is currently unbanked, which means there is huge opportunity for growth in that region, which is why VC’s invested $15 billion in Latin America this year – more investment than the previous six years in total, Dorado said. 

See more: Money 20/20: The fintech event par excellence opens its doors

Money20/20 USA’s Illegal to Legal Summit also shown a light on the cannabis industry’s continued rapid growth, with global weed sales reaching $25 billion in 2021, according to Erin O’Donnell and Michael Beird, Founding Partners of Infused Banking. That number is set to grow even more over the next 5 years while the industry already supports over 480,000 jobs. The booming cannabis industry’s long-term viability depends on continued legislation and political support though. Luckily, things are moving in the right direction but without governments stepping up efforts it could be a slow process. 

Day one continued with the leaders of Money20/20 – Tracey Davies, President of Money20/20, and Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer of Money20/20 – opening Sunday Night Live, the keynote show for 2022.

  • First, Stephane Kasriel, Head of Commerce & FinTech at Meta, sat down with Sanjib Kalita, CEO and Editor in Chief of Guppy to talk about building a digital wallet, where you can store various payment methods, identification and reward tokens.
  • Next Bill Harris, Chief Executive Officer at Nirvana Money and former leader of PayPal, joined the stage to talk about his next chapter; Nirvana Money – which will offer a credit and debit in one card and the opportunity to have your paycheck build credit.
  • And finally, Money20/20’s Scarlett led a conversation on the embedded revolution with Kamran Zakim, Chief Operating Officer at Adyen; Julie Loeger, Chief Growth Officer at eBay; and Dave Salvant, Co-Founder & President at SQUIRE. Small and medium sized businesses are extremely underserved, and there is a massive opportunity to change this: offer embedded payments.

At the America’s Got Access stage, both Remynt and Zirtue took top prize – in a surprising twist – winning $100K each. 

The day concluded with an inspirational speech from Molly Bloom, keynote speaker and best-selling author. Bloom spoke of the resiliency of determination and reinvention. “If something means everything to you, you can’t let anything stop you from getting it,” she said. “It’s important to forgive ourselves and keep going. On the other side of failure are these redemptions and a beautiful life.”

“The Modern Tech Stack for High-Growth Companies” session on the Marcello stage at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 23, 2022. INSIDER IMAGES FOR MONEY 20/20

See below for an announcement from Ayden on an exciting launch for embedded finance

·       Adyen powers the future of financial services by launching embedded financial products

Don’t forget to check out the announcements on the stage tomorrow to hear the announcements before anyone else does!

See what Tracey Davies, President of Money20/20, and Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer of Money 20/20 had to say about today!

“Money20/20 USA has launched in full force today, with more networking events, more speakers , more meetings and more excitement than ever before. We are joined by people from more than 90 countries and we have more than 400 speakers talking on our six stages, with innovative ideas that will  drive the fintech industry forward.”

“Fintech is constantly pushing the limits of what we have been able to achieve and the ways in which it can help heal the financial pain points that exist in traditional systems. While there are always challenges to be addressed, solutions, innovations and opportunities will undoubtedly be found right at this show, this week.”

“We are the place where the fintech community loves to do business. We host an evolving ecosystem, from global leaders to new challengers and tech giants and startups – we are proud to host the industry’s bright minds over the course of four incredible days.”

“This year’s Money20/20 USA promises something in the agenda for everyone” said Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer of Money 20/20. “This year’s event offers attendees the chance to meet with thought leaders and provocateurs, and rub shoulders with the rockstars of Fintech – including the queen of tennis herself, Serena Williams, who will kick off tomorrow, with a conversation with Takis Georgakopoulos, Global Head of Payments at J.P. Morgan”