Where Greece and Europe Converge to Shape the Future of Payments & RegTech
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25th NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum
JOIN INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS & REGTECH EXPERTS
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“Change is the only constant in life.”
Heraclitus
Welcome to the 25th NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum – Athens 2026!
Join us at the Marriott Hotel in Athens for an energising one-day forum at the crossroads of payments, compliance, RegTech and AI. Building on the success of the 2025 Forum in Athens – which brought together leading banks, PSPs, fintechs, regulators and corporates from across Greece, Cyprus and the wider region – the 2026 edition will go even deeper into the technologies, regulations and strategies reshaping the European payments ecosystem.
Across a full day of keynote sessions, strategic panel discussions and real-world case studies, you will explore how instant and real-time payments, A2A transactions, digital wallets, open banking, stablecoins, the Digital Euro and embedded finance are transforming customer journeys and business models. You will also gain clarity on the evolving EU regulatory landscape – from PSD3/PSR and the Instant Payments Regulation to the EU AML package, DORA and new expectations from supervisors such as the ECB, HCMC and CySEC.
A special focus will be placed on AI and agentic AI in payments and RegTech – how intelligent, goal-driven systems can orchestrate workflows, enhance fraud and financial crime detection, and support compliance teams, while keeping governance, explainability and human oversight firmly in place.
Whether you represent a bank, cooperative bank, payment institution, fintech, merchant, RegTech provider, processor, card scheme, corporate treasury or regulatory body, the Forum is designed to deliver concrete, actionable insights and open the door to high-value partnerships across Greece, Southeast Europe and the wider EU.
Reserve your place today and help shape the future of payments, compliance and RegTech from the heart of Athens.
OUR SPONSORS
OUR SPEAKERS
Our speaker line-up brings together leading voices from the global payments industry, EU compliance sector, and top banking technology innovators. They will deliver high-value insights on driving innovation, meeting regulatory demands, and navigating the rapidly evolving payments landscape.
OUR CONTRIBUTORS
WHAT'S COMING UP
The Future of Payments in Greece & Europe
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Instant, A2A & Cross-Border Payments – How real-time payments, A2A schemes and new cross-border models are changing consumer behaviour, merchant expectations and bank strategies across Greece, the Balkans and the EU
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Digital Wallets, iGaming & Everyday Commerce – The rise of digital wallets, frictionless checkout and new use cases in sectors such as e-commerce, gaming and travel – and what this means for product, risk and treasury teams
Regulatory Change, DORA & Supervisory Expectations
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From PSD2 to PSD3, PSR & the EU AML Package – What upcoming rules mean in practice for Greek and regional institutions: licensing, safeguarding, transparency, consumer protection and anti-money laundering compliance
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Operational Resilience by Design – Implementing DORA, strengthening governance, and building resilient technology and risk frameworks that satisfy supervisors while enabling innovation and growth
AI & Agentic AI in Payments & RegTech
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From Analytics to Agentic AI – Moving beyond rules-based systems and classic machine learning towards agentic AI that can coordinate tasks, surface insights and support real-time decisioning in onboarding, fraud, AML and treasury operations
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Human-in-the-Loop Intelligence – Designing AI and agentic AI with the right guardrails: governance, model risk management, explainability and human oversight so that innovation, customer experience and regulatory expectations stay aligned
Financial Crime, Fraud & the New European Payments Infrastructure
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Next-Gen Fraud & AML Defences – Using AI, data and collaborative intelligence to combat scams, mule accounts, APP fraud, sanctions evasion and cross-border money laundering across the Greek and European payments ecosystem
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Instant Payments, Stablecoins & the Digital Euro: How instant payments, stablecoins and the upcoming Digital Euro will reshape settlement, liquidity, risk management and customer expectations – and what banks, PSPs and fintechs must do now to prepare
OUR AGENDA
14 OCTOBER | ATHENS, GREECE
The 25th NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum will bring together leading experts to explore the future of payments, banking, and compliance in Europe. The agenda highlights AI, digital transformation, cryptocurrency, cross-border payments, instant payments, and AI-driven financial crime prevention, offering insights into the KEY challenges, solutions, and trends shaping 2026.
14 OCTOBER 2026
08:30-09:00
REGISTRATION AND WELCOME COFFEE
Participants arrive, register, and enjoy welcome coffee
Sponsored by EWC Investment
09:00-09:05
WELCOME ADDRESS
Lilly Pavlou, Executive Director at QUBE Events
09:05-09:10
CHAIRMEN WELCOME ADDRESS
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Welcome from the Chairmen: Setting the stage for the day’s discussions
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Key themes for Greece and Europe in 2026 and how to maximise the day
Robert Courtneidge, Payment Expert
Tony Craddock, Director General at The Payments Association
09:10-09:35
KEYNOTE SESSION + Q&A
Digital Euro, Stablecoins & Tokenised Money - Real Use Cases
Insights from the Bank of Greece's work on the digital euro and DLT-enabled wholesale settlement, exploring how central bank money will support the next generation of digital financial markets.
Dimitris Pierrakos, Head of Payment Systems Management Division at Bank of Greece
09:35-10:05
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
Regtech & Responsible AI - Governance, Auditability And ROI
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EU AI Act readiness: model risk, explainability and documentation regulators will expect
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AI in compliance operations: smarter monitoring, investigations and reporting with human-in-the-loop
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DORA meets AI: resilience and third-party oversight for AI-enabled services
Moderator: Robert Courtneidge, Payment Expert
Damianos Charalampidis, Senior Advisor and Non-Executive Director at Digicon Services
Maria Tsiliakou, Head of Payments & Digital Services Compliance Sub-Division at National Bank of Greece (NBG)
Sakis Theologis, Chief Risk Officer at Cooperative Bank of Karditsa LLC
Panayiotis Theodosiou, Chief Operating Officer at Moneygate Solutions
10:05-10:30
FIRESEIDE CHAT + Q&A
Regulatory Outlook For Greece - Supervision, Resilience And Trust
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Supervisory priorities for 2026: resilience, safeguarding, financial crime and consumer outcomes
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How regulators expect firms to govern AI/automation and outsourced critical services
Moderator: Panagiotis Kriaris, Founder & Advisor
Vassiliki Lazarakou, Chair at Hellenic Capital Market Commission
10:30-10:55
FIRESEIDE CHAT + Q&A
The Expansion of Instant to Corporates & SMEs World, the Rise of Intercontinental Instant, and the Augmented Tools for the New Era of Payments
Moderator: Sophia Bantanidis, Future of finance advisor and NED at ESTIA Payments
Athanassios Daflos, Head of Cash and Trade Services, Transaction Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking at Eurobank
10:55-11:25
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK + ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS
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Opportunity for attendees to network, connect and discuss insights from the morning sessions
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Pre-qualified one-to-one meetings
Sponsored by Infocredit Group
11:25-11:55
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
Data sharing as the next AML model: why AMLA may be the catalyst financial institutions need
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Europe’s financial crime landscape is changing faster than banks’ traditional AML operating models can adapt. Regulatory scrutiny is rising and criminals professionalise by exploiting the predictability of scenario-based monitoring
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Many institutions see AMLA, AMLR and rising supervisory pressure as another compliance burden. But is this pressure not the catalyst financial institutions need to rethink AML around effectiveness, adaptability and shared insight?
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That transition requires a new detection model, built around shared signals, standardised data and the ability to adapt as criminal behaviour evolves
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Over the longer horizon, cross-bank intelligence becomes the logical next step
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In that sense, regulatory pressure is not only something to fear. It may be the trigger that finally moves AML from fragmented compliance to collective intelligence
Fabrice Deprez, CEO at Discai
11:55-12:25
KEYNOTE SESSION + Q&A
Building a Robust Third-Party Governance Framework for Banks
and Payment Providers
George Demetriades, Director - Centralized Procurement & Outsourcing services at Alpha Bank
12:25 - 12:50
KEYNOTE SESSION + Q&A
Agentic Commerce Beyond the Hype:
Myths, Realities and What Really Changes
Panagiotis Kriaris, Founder & Advisor
12:50-14:00
NETWORKING LUNCH
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Refuel and expand your network at the Networking Lunch
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Hosted tables and curated introductions
Sponsored by Discai
14:00 - 14:30
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
AMLA, AMLR & Sanctions - What Changes For Payments, PSPs And VASPs
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Operating-model changes: policies, controls, reporting and supervisory expectations
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Sanctions screening and monitoring at speed: reducing false positives while staying audit-ready
Moderator: Valia Varzaka, Director, Anti-Financial Crime Advisory Services, KPMG Greece
Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Head of Compliance and MLRO at Nexi Greece
Maria Mougianni, Head of Compliance at HarborLab
Alexandros Modakis, Group Deputy AMLCO at Worldline
Maro Tsoka, Fincrime Analyst at Revolut
14:30 - 15:00
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
Cross-Border Payments For Greece - B2B, Remittances & Travel Flows
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Transparency, tracking and reconciliation: ISO 20022, messaging, and end-to-end status visibility
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FX and treasury impact: pricing, liquidity and working-capital optimisation for corporates
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Controls that scale: compliance-by-design for cross-border risk, fraud and sanctions
Moderator: Athanasios Zoidis, Former CIO and Payments Technology Leader at DirectPay
Georgia Mitropetrou, Co-Founder & Managing Director at Borderli
Veni Arakelian, Head of Microeconomic Policy and Microsimulations at Ministry of Finance, Hellenic Republic
Maria Magoula, Head of Core Payments and Strategy at Everypay
15:00 - 15:30
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
Merchant Acceptance In Greece - Approval Rates, Cost And Omnichannel UX
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Reducing declines and improving authorisation: data quality, smart routing and optimisation
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SoftPOS, tokenisation and modern authentication: frictionless acceptance with strong security
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Value-added services: fraud tooling, reconciliation, payouts and embedded finance for merchants
Moderator: Tony Craddock, Director General at The Payments Association
Aurelie Voche, Head of Project and Product Management at SysPay
Michael Kazakos, Founder & Payments Consultant at MMK Payments Consulting
Christos Taratsides, Fintech BD Lead, EU at Rakuten Viber
Dimitris Poutouris, Cloud Transformation Lead at Veracloud
15:30 - 16:00
NETWORKING COFFEE BREAK + ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS
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Opportunity for attendees to network, connect and discuss insights from the morning sessions
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Pre-qualified one-to-one meetings
Sponsored by Moneygate & NOTO360
16:00 - 16:25
FIRESIDE CHAT + Q&A
PSD3/PSR, SEPA Instant & Vop -
From Compliance To Competitive Advantage
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Verification of Payee (VoP), fraud controls and real-time risk for instant payments
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SCA evolution: passkeys/biometrics, step-up controls and smoother customer experience
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Liability, disputes and customer protection: what changes under PSD3/PSR and how to prepare
Anestis Dimopoulos, Director, Head of Digital and Risk Advisory at Baker Tilly
Dion Scotten, VP Solutions Consulting at Noto360
16:25 - 16:55
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
The Future of Digital Money: Digital Euro, Stablecoins & Tokenisation
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Where we are: design choices and timelines, and what they mean for banks and PSPs
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Merchant and corporate use cases: settlement, treasury, cross-border and programmability
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Risk, regulation and interoperability: what must be solved for mainstream adoption
Moderator: Andreas Kazamias, Managing Director EMEA at Liberty IT Consulting Group
Georgios Syntelis, CEO & Co-Founder at Hypodome & Loanverse
Konstantinos Maragkakis, EEA CEO at Paysafe Payment Solutions Ltd
Nikolaos Kolettis, Founder & CEO at EWC Investments
Tassos Kalergis, Head of Regulation at Euronext Athens
16:55-17:25
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q&A
Agentic Payments - The Companion To Agentic Commerce
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Delegated authority in practice: consent, limits, identity and how agents change the payment journey
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New risk patterns: disputes and liability, fraud/scams controls, AML/sanctions and governance
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Infrastructure implications: tokenisation, wallets, A2A rails and checkout orchestration for agents
Moderator: Robert Courtneidge, Payment Expert
Panagiotis Oikonomou, Group CIO at BoxNow
Chara Lontou, Advisory Software Engineer in Payments and International Trade at Alpha Bank
Efi Pylarinou, Global Fintech & Tech Thought Leader
Sophia Bantanidis, Future of finance advisor and NED at ESTIA Payments
Dimitris Gerostathis, Director, Products and Solutions Lead, Greece, Cyprus & Malta at Mastercard
17:25 - 17:30
CHAIRMEN CLOSING COMMENTS
Summarising the key takeaways from the conference and addressing final questions from attendees
Robert Courtneidge, Payment Expert
Tony Craddock, Director General at The Payments Association
17:30 - 19:00
NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION
A closing networking reception to foster connections among attendees and speakers,
featuring local drinks & snacks
Sponsored by Veracloud
MEDIA PARTNERS
KEY BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING
Build Thought Leadership
Showcase expertise and establish yourself as an industry thought leader
Generate Leads
It is the most cost-effective way to generate qualified leads of key B2B decision makers
Targeted Audience
Meet & engage with your target group
Global Reach
Hybrid events enable you to connect with your target audiences both locally and globally
New Prospects
Engage with new prospects and support existing relationships thus helping to drive leads into your sales funnel
PAST EVENT VIDEO
MEANINGFUL NETWORKING
The time to connect with our colleagues and peers in the Payments and RegTech sector is here! Our aim with the 25th NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum is to facilitate key discussions and create a platform for meaningful networking. No spamming, no irrelevant conversations, just quality conversations that promote business growth.
“Impressive stage of presenters discussing actual hot topics in the payments industry. A good forum for networking with others working in the same sector & also payments/financial services experts.”
MeDirect Malta Senior, Manager - Core Banking Platforms
BECOME A SPONSOR
Sponsoring an event like The 25th NextGen Payments & RegTech Forum provides you with a perfect opportunity to secure new clients, showcase your products & solutions, interact directly with your target audience and grow your international business network.
You can expect to build new partnerships and expand your network with key decision-makers and industry influencers.
Our Sponsorship package takes on a holistic approach and includes:
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An integrated international marketing & branding campaign strategy
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20 minute keynote presentation
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Inclusion on an industry-expert panel discussion
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Access to The Meeting Point which includes pre-qualified one-to-one meetings
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Various dedicated social media campaigns
