Fierce growth, then a sudden drop. Investments in financial technology and the broader industry, after two years of drought, have finally returned to their initial momentum. Safer, bigger, and more aggressive than ever before, new investments in revolutionary solutions that are changing the entire financial instruments market have officially announced a new era of FinTech.
Three things are perfectly clear after 2025. Asset tokenization is no longer an experiment but a realistic form of investment with incredible examples worldwide, from the tokenization of stocks and debt to real estate and even wine.
Artificial intelligence is not just an addition to existing services and a bow on top of good products. It has become the strategic backbone of a new wave of technological solutions development for existing and only predicted challenges in the industry. FinTech no longer exists without artificial intelligence.
Banking and payment services have never been simpler and more present – from embedded finance that allows for an almost invisible transaction completion process on all imaginable digital platforms to open banking which enables us to solve almost all our financial needs outside the traditional banking system.
We will hear about all this from the biggest industry experts at the fourth edition of the Money Motion conference, the largest FinTech event in Central and Eastern Europe, which gathers more than 700 market players from all continents of the world. Money Motion 2026 will be held on March 11 and 12, with the support of Mastercard, Robotiq.ai, NLB, Nexi, Croatia osiguranje, LAQO, Erste banka, Erste Card Club, KeksPay and Raiffeisen Bank International, across five attractive stages and two pavilions of the Zagreb Fair.
The organizers expect more than 3000 visitors and a hundred international speakers. Among them are Sabrina Tharani, Senior Vice President at Mastercard, who leads global FinTech programs and partnership development with startups; Frank Schwab, a renowned German FinTech expert, entrepreneur and innovator in the banking and financial industry, and co-founder of the FinTech Forum Frankfurt platform; and Faustine Fleuret, a prominent French expert in financial market regulation and digital assets, and Director of Public Relations at the French DeFi company Morpho.
In addition to them, three more big names have been announced, from the northwestern coast of Europe to the southeastern coast of Asia, details of which we provide below.
Globally renowned expert in digital currencies, payment innovations, and the future of financial services, and author of numerous relevant industry titles, David Birch, is coming to the main stage of Money Motion. Birch is recognized as one of the first voices in the market to advocate for the growth of digital currencies and the impact of mobile technologies on financial inclusion. In recent years, he has been a frequent advisor to central banks and multinational corporations worldwide, especially concerning the development of CBDCs and digital payments. He is a frequent lecturer and speaker at relevant gatherings, which is why his analyses and predictions have an exceptional impact on industry leaders.
After scaling two Asian FinTech unicorns, Lazada and Ascend, Dean Krstevski moved from Bangkok to Jakarta and has spent the last eight years building the most popular digital wallet in Indonesia – DANA. In a developing market, DANA succeeded in making a huge breakthrough as a financial super-app that enables all users easier access to and management of assets, as well as paying numerous life obligations, from regular utility bills to other online and offline bills.
For the fourth consecutive year, the indispensable Panagiotis Kriaris, one of Europe’s greatest experts and lecturers on digital payments and the digital transformation of the industry, is returning to the Money Motion stage. Currently serving as Commercial Director and Head of Business Development at Unzer, a leading European FinTech provider, Kriaris has led teams and serious strategic development projects throughout his career, such as digital wallets and the integration of new technologies into financial processes, primarily artificial intelligence and blockchain.
With last year’s shift towards the retail industry and this year’s emphasis on artificial intelligence, the organizers of the Money Motion conference intend to reveal some of the industry’s most impressive names only in the coming weeks. Accordingly, a big piece of news is that the Money Motion startup competition, with valuable prizes for the three best competing teams, will this year accept applications for solutions from the world of FinTech, as well as artificial intelligence. Applications for the competition are officially open this week, and the best competitors will share a prize pool worth over 50,000 euros. The selected top 10 registered teams will pitch their ideas to an expert jury whose names will be announced soon.
Follow all information about the conference, new announcements, and opportunities on the official Money Motion website and the conference’s social channels. Super Early Bird tickets priced at 229 euros can be purchased today on the Entrio platform pages.
