IFW 2022

Creating a distributed universe

The impact of Blockchain is immense, argued by some. The implications will be limited, some others contend. Despite differing views, distributed technologies have created impact in a multitude of industries. The way business is done, contracts signed, transactions conducted, data stored is being reconsidered. What awaits us is the inquiry the panel will undertake.

Crypto assets: Status check

The fast emergence of crypto assets in the last decade has led to a pop-up of exchanges across the world. Today, the number of traders is in vast numbers, daily turnovers are worth in multi-billions. The market is consolidating around a small number of cryptos yet the innovation has the potential to bring on new entrants. The panel puts light on where we are today and where we are headed to.

Tokenization for a better society

Tokenization is an intrinsic element of distributed technologies. Tokenizing assets enables us to be moving a step closer towards tokenized economies. Are tokenized systems and economies imploring an after-life of conventional practices in financial infrastructures? Do they offer building blocks in creating impact in social and economic life?

DeFi: An upcoming revolution?

DeFi (decentralized finance) is a broad term for a variety of financial applications in cryptocurrency or blockchain geared toward disrupting financial intermediaries. While the locked amount in DeFi has grown exponentially into multibillions, the market harnesses how the DeFi will impact both conventional and digital understanding of financial systems.

Stablecoins

Stablecoins are instruments that have price stability characteristics as a unit of account and store of value, often pegged to a national currency or commodity. Such functionality makes stable coins ideal for commercial transactions given the volatility in most of the coins. The panel weights on the current stable coin market and its potential for the near future.

Digital currencies

Digital currency implies any currency available in digital form. The panel looks into how central banks might adopt digital currencies that would enable local payment systems as well as transactions either locally or cross-border.

Workshop: Digital currencies for central banks

Keynote Address: The impact of Distributed Technologies

Regulatory Buzz

Two sides usually come to the fore when regulation is on table: The pro: Regulation is a fantastic enabler for innovation. It makes market participants think outside the box and become more creative. The con: Regulation is usually slow with market trends and does not always follow what innovation could bring to improved services quality. This panel dwells on the regulators’ view towards the intertwined relationship of regulation and innovation.

Banking Innovation: Yesterday and Tomorrow

Technology has brought the future of banking to one level up in the discussion. Banks are now more embarked on transforming services. Omnichannel is one of the ways to switching to new concept of banking that would help the bank of today to survive. Some entrants, usually tech companies, have stepped in with eye-caching products. They have this irresistible argument of providing financial services to all in lighter, more lenient, more user-friendly and cost-effective fashion.

The right digital model for banks

It has become a ubiquitous question of the industry definition of banking today. This is mostly due to the emergence of technology companies offering full stack digital banking and financial services that come with KYC, AML, compliance and other industry standards. The conventional banks also maintain sizeable payroll for their technology development arms to keep up with innovation. The inquiry of the session is: How are banks adopting digital programs to remain on the competitive edge? What is an ideal model?

Understanding digital customers

We have entered an era where trust is not the major catalyst customers when choosing their bank. Customers today look into an experience where they can connect with the bank through an easy and convenient channel. Generational differences (X, Y, Z) have an impetus on this change of behavior. The panel gives a try to the “how” question by looking into “why”.

Alternative solutions to payments and transfers

Payments and transfers have long been facilitated by traditional players. With the emergence of digital and online payments, alternative solutions as well as the service providers have moved their way forward along the lines. Mobile payments, eWallets, bank transfers and prepaid cards are some of the major verticals within this scope. The panel looks into how alternate methods impact the market.

Open Banking, PSD2 and beyond

Open banking has become a widespread topic in banking and payments. PSD2 has paved the way for banks to open their APIs and share data. The panel will discuss if this will help boost the ecosystem by empowering entrepreneurs and bringing cost efficiencies.

Creating best data in customer analytics

Financial institutions today are forced to deploy analytics and data-driven capabilities. This is due to better growth, lower costs and higher efficiencies. With banks going mobile and digital, improved customer data comes to the fore for such business goals. The panel looks into how data is best created and utilized in today’s financial services industry.

The future of neobanks and open banking

Open banking programs and regulations have served as a wake-up call to traditional banks in understanding the intrinsic value of APIs. For banks, it is almost becoming a norm that they must develop their digital capabilities to avoid being curbed or dis-intermediated by contestants (ie neobanks) with more innovative offerings and services. The panelists discuss the elements of this new environment and explain how this new ecosystem shapes up.

Is retail banking becoming mobile apps?

Today, there is hardly any retail bank that does not maintain a mobile app for its customers. Banks move their services more to the digital channels to the extent possible. Facial recognition, quick loans, platformization of services, social media integration, smart support towards bots and AI are only a few that are on the innovators agenda. The panel hosts distinguished professionals to discuss how they see mobile banking evolve for the years to come?

Lending by fintechs

Lending has been a financial activity provided in most cases by banks or authorized entities. The emergence of fintech has enabled new ventures that provide peer-to-peer lending solutions and small business loans. The panel sheds light on this fintech vertical that might boost SME funding in many markets across the world.

Keynote Address: Insurance Innovation, Yesterday and Tomorrow

Insurance industry evolves in an exponential fashion. Innovation changes the way insurance and reinsurance products are developed, processed and delivered. Insurance services go fully-digital. Awareness of the conventional players has

dramatically increased towards innovation. The inquiry is what awaits the insurance industry and services in the way forward.

Insurtech and Beyond

InsurTech is a buzz word and a trending topic these days in insurance industry. It transcribes into applications with AI, IoT, machine learning, data analytics, risk management and intelligent robots. The InsurTech influence is the primary goal of this session of which its speakers will bring to the board towards their professional experience. Speakers will delve into practitioner’s experience in various markets across the globe.

Fostering startup innovation in insurance

The opportunities towards increasing efficiencies with business cycle as well as customer journey in insurance services are abundant. Startups and innovative solutions maintain the potential in facilitating this process alongside corporate innovation by insurers. It is one of the reasons why we see traditional players in the industry are increasingly engaged with startups and entrepreneurs. The panel aims to present how some of the global industry leaders have tackled this interaction.

Startup Day Part 1

Fintech Association Turkey (FINTR), the strategic partner to IFW, is mandated to curating the fintech ecosystem by increasing the number of innovative solutions and startups, enabling their expansion towards global markets, and facilitating the emergence of global brands in the fintech industry. Along the same lines, we leverage on this mandate by having startups from 5 different countries (Sweden, Kazakhstan, France, Singapore and Turkey). Selected startups from these countries will make pitches to the IFW participants within this designated day.

Startup Day Part 2

Startup Day Part 3

Impact of AI in financial services

Making infrastructures intelligent is running amok in financial services. Financial institutions should expect a 22% cost reduction in operating expenses due to AI, with most of the savings coming from the front office, according to analysts. But it all hinges on one thing: consumers' level of comfort with AI. The panel offers an opportunity to hear from practitioners of the impact of AI in financial services?

Machine Learning: Best practices

Financial services have deployed machine learning programs that help handling large and complex volumes of information. Banking, insurance and capital markets industries are increasingly undertaking techniques in processing big volumes of historical and current data. Machine Learning today runs through from approving loans and carrying out credit scores, to managing assets and assessing risk, etc. The panel takes up on this technology by elaborating on the primary use cases.

Chatbots: Still hot?

Conversational agents and chatbots have primed the AI programs in finance. Banks and insurers that value mobile and online channels have embedded agents to improve customer experience. The panel discusses why and how the chatbot applications remain to be relevant.

Future of AI in FinTech

AI-based solutions enable financial services towards better customer experience, cost effectiveness, decisioning and data insights. However, there is a gap between AI investment and AI implementation.  The session looks into how this gap will be addressed in the short term and how AI enables fintech solutions today with prospects of use cases in the future.

Closing remarks