The Payment Expert Team brings you all the updates from the 2025 Payment Expert Summit Lisbon
17:20 –
“As an industry, we have always innovated, always found creative solutions to how we meet compliance, and when a new regulation comes in, we get a little more wiggle room to innovate. Like an F1 team, how do you meet the aerodynamic rules to work for your benefit?” – Scott Burrows
17:15 – Quote of the day goes to paytently’s Isabelle Delisle: ‘Crypto has never been anonymous’.
In the final session of the day, Crypto Capitals: a watershed year for alternative currencies, panellists considered how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Fetch.ai have managed to thrive in a landscape shaped by regulatory crackdowns in key markets and unexpected political endorsements.
Delisle was joined by Dee Maher, CEO of the Gaming Division – La Royale Group/Celesta; Peter Heneghan, Principal at Bettor Capital; Scott Burrows, Head of Technical Compliance at Superbet; and Mark Grech, Founder & CEO of Pyaza.
16:30 – A short break from our panel sessions to hear from Breno Oliveira from payabl. In his session, he notes iGaming operators and product leaders want to optimise player journeys and drive sustainable growth.
He says payments are no longer a back-office function, but central to acquisition, retention, and compliance.
16:15 – Technology may be racing ahead, but regulation often lags behind. Brazil’s gambling laws have already shifted since their introduction, while other LATAM jurisdictions are still finding their footing. The panellists noted smaller PSPs can pivot quickly, but larger acquirers tend to prioritise certainty and scale. Local expertise and strong partnerships remain essential to navigating these changes.
16:00 – The panellists agreed Latin America is rich with opportunity, but the road to success is paved with local detail. For payments firms, that means pairing ambition with patience, and processing capability with genuine value-add.
“Brazil does change all the time. PIX was such a major success, instant payments like that are now coming into other markets, such as Bre-B in Colombia, we expect that to become as popular in Colombia as PIX is in Brazil” – Gary Clarke
15:50 – Next on the roster is a panel on how technology is revolutionising payment solutions with localised innovations.
Olena Demchenko, Head of AML Governance of FDJ United; Filip Marušić, Sales Operations Lead from Aircash; Atis Ivanovs, Head of Business Growth at Unlimit; and Gary Clarke, Head of Sales at PagSeguro have taken to the stage dive into how cutting-edge technologies like offline-first wallets and real-time APIs are streamlining deposits and withdrawals in rapidly evolving markets.
15:35 – The panellists said fraud is now an AI-driven arms race, pushing operators to double down on first-party data, smarter verification and 24/7 liquidity. Stablecoins and agentic AI could transform user experience, and loyalty.
Some key takeaways from the session:
Fraud is an arms race: Bot farms and deepfake-enabled document fraud are escalating. Teams are “arming up” with data-led defences rather than point tools.
Data > buzzwords: Value comes from how firms ingest, structure, share and act on data (rules, triggers, simulations, alerting). “Don’t throw AI at a problem” without the plumbing.
KYC without collateral damage: Design controls that block bad actors without locking out good ones – friction is now a competitive variable.
Verification gaps persist: In many markets, account-name data isn’t available at transaction level; providers are turning to open banking APIs to close the gap.
Local rails matter: Market entry still hinges on domestic methods (e.g., Pix, Swish, Bizum). Stablecoins can complement, not replace, local acceptance.
Cash still counts (in places): Some segments still rely on cash-to-digital on-ramps; compliance at the cash-in point remains pivotal.
“The challenge with AI is that it isn’t a magic bullet. You need to build monitoring systems around your own data: rules, triggers, simulations, alerts. It’s not just about adopting AI but applying it correctly. You can’t just throw AI at a problem and expect results.” – Mark Watts
15:20 – A change if tact for session 3 of the day as the experts turn their attention to omnichannel payments; specifically looking at digital wallets. Moderated by Andrea McGeachin, CEO at Neosurf, the panellists discussed how businesses can build the right infrastructure, assess whether current solutions meet modern consumer expectations, and examine how omnichannel systems can facilitate cross-border transactions, helping businesses expand while delivering a seamless customer experience.
Panellists: Antony Jordan Head of Payments and KYC at ODDSET Sportwetten GmbH; Mark Watts, Executive Director of iGaming at Aircash; Marc Cregan, Senior Director of Payments and Worldpay; Roberta Guedes Regulatory Compliance Counsel at Betboom Br.
14:15 – Golushenko pointed out that open banking payments require strong customer authentication for every single transaction, unlike card payments under 30 euros. This makes it less convenient for frequent, small payments. Smith agreed, emphasising the need for a more seamless user journey to compete with one-click payment options like Apple Pay.
14:10:
“I think that Open Banking is above all a regulatory question, and it was also trying to be implemented through regulation to facilitate, for example, banks from opening their APIs, from allowing… Because we have ways to think that the payment business is a business that is being deconstructed, coming out of the banks and going to other companies and going to more companies that are non-traditional banks.” – Martinho Lucas Pires
14:05 – Panelists unanimously praised open banking for its ability to streamline cash flow for merchants. Gunchenkova noted that open banking’s direct integration with banks bypasses “a chain of regulators,” making transactions cheaper and speeding up settlements. This allows money to be credited to a company’s bank account instantly, which is a major improvement over the traditional “T+2, T+3” settlement times of card transactions.
13:48 – Shpak reveals Open Banking is a “big deal” for the payment journey of a gaming customer as it enables personalisation and insights for operators to better facilitate their preferred payment methods.
“Open Banking is a really big deal for consumers and end users. It’s not only changing payments strategy, we will know what benefits our end users from using Open Banking.”
13:40 – The next panel dives into the importance Open Banking is for multiple industries, and the payment rails it has birthed in order to personalise the customer payment journey. The panel also discussed the potential of decentralisation and if there are a major hurdles to overcome before it can be truly embraced by all industries.
Moderator Pavel Dergachev, Advisor & Co-Founder at 4H is joined by: Nataly Shpak, CFO of 13Aff, Martinho Lucas Pires, Head of Policy Affairs – Consultant at Portugal Fintech – BlockReg Advisors Ltd, Olga Gunchenkova, Director of Payments at Flutter International, Rolands Grancovskis, Group Head of Payments at Thelotter Group, and Elaine Smith, Head of Partnerships at Volt.io.
13:05 – Speaking to Payment Expert’s Callum Williams, payabl. Head of Product Breno Oliveria believes the adoption of stablecoins will grow from both a B2B and B2C perspective next year, with a “value-driven” entry into the financial market.
Oliveira also shared his thoughts on the stablecoin market dominance of USD-backed stablecoins and while be believes the US has “set the tone” for the market, he believes EURO and Dirham-backed stablecoins will soon follow suit but once exchange friction has been solved.
Oliveira’s thoughts will be shared as part of Payment Expert’s “Industry Speaks” roundtable, that will be published soon.
12:25 – You’d have thought it was all smiles from the photos, but a debate ensued during the panel around stablecoins, highlighting the fact these payment instruments remain shrouded in mystery.
One of the biggest challenges discussed, was the lack of education among gambling regulators who may view stablecoins as being the same as other cryptocurrencies, which are often not accepted. For the wider adoption of stablecoins and crypto in the gambling industry, this educational gap needs to be closed, and the two regulatory bodies must work together.
12:15 – Bennett stated Open Banking comes in very different forms. “What is going to slow down Open Banking… EU banks have been forced to offer the ability to third parties to trigger payment requests, and now banks are fighting back, putting a tax on their customers data, which we have seen in the US.”
“The biggest challenge is banks fight back, and stifle these innovative payment companies”
12:05 – The discussion quickly turned to successful models, with Ludiara Sousa, Head of Payments at Blaze, highlighting the groundbreaking impact of Brazil’s Pix payment system. She described it as a highly efficient and trusted method that is “very, very low” on chargebacks and gives operators a wealth of information about the player. The minimum acceptance rate for Pix in the gambling industry is over 90%, and players can see money in their bank accounts almost instantly.
In Europe, the road to instant payments is a bit bumpier. Christian Reinheimer of LeoVegas and Olof Wirfelt of Trustly both pointed to open banking as a potential solution, but noted that banks are “pushing back” and “fighting back” against innovative payment companies by putting a “tax on the access to their customers information.” Banks, which own the underlying network, have little economic incentive to facilitate these changes, creating a major challenge.
12:00 – Payment Expert Editor Rachael Kennedy kicks off the Payment Expert Summit with the first panel discussing where could new tech take the payment industry in the next five years?
The opening panel will feature moderator Rahul Das, Head of Payments at Dafabet, Christian Reinheimer, Director Payments Product & Technology at LeoVegas, Ludiara Sousa Head of Payments at Blaze, James Bennett CEO of Stable Mint, Evans Concha Soto CTO & Founder of ProntoPaga, and Olof Wirfelt, SVP Sales & Distribution of Trustly EMEA.
10:00 – Attendees and exhibitors are beginning to fill out Hall 4 of Feira Internacional de Lisboa for the Payment Expert Summit, where we will bring you round the clock updates from the bustling exhibition floor and the conference, which will gather industry figureheads insights across a range of topics, such as Open Baking, digital wallets, crypto and more.
