PAY360 2025: Bigger and better than ever before

Over the 25^th and 26^th March, the payments industry took over the London ExCel with the annual PAY360 conference. This two-day celebration – hosted by The Payments Association - of everything payments-related was an opportunity for the industry to come together and share ideas about what’s next for this rapidly innovating space. Cardaq was there, right in the thick of things at Stand 101, but if you couldn’t make it here is everything that happened at PAY360 2025.

From the off, it was clear to see why thousands of people from across the payments ecosystem were descending upon East London. The cavernous London ExCel room hosted over 120 exhibitors with stands of all sizes, from fintechs across payments issuing, acquiring, cards, crypto and compliance. From household names to the latest startups emerging onto the scene, the huge room was bristling with energy as people met, shared insights and discussed the latest industry trends.

While many come for the exhibits, the really exciting stuff was happening at the conference stages dotted throughout the hall. At these locations, a packed agenda played out with industry leaders and experts discussing the latest trends and topics happening in payments. The schedule kicked off with a warm welcome and opening remarks from Ben Agnew, CEO of The Payments Association.

“This is a fascinating time for our industry,” Ben told the packed crowd. “In the UK, we are focused on the National Payments Vision – a bold UK roadmap that should drive inclusivity and innovation in the industry…. Now is the time to think big and get on with it.”

Leading insights

He was soon followed by guest speaker Brian McBride, someone who knows a thing or two about innovation. Brian was formerly CEO of Amazon UK but is now chair of both ASOS and Trainline. As well as sharing insights from what it’s like to have a job interview with Jeff Bezos (spoiler, the world’s richest man enjoys sudden hypothetical questions to keep candidates on their feet), Brian revealed what is required to make innovation work.

“There will be moments of luck, but you have to be ready to grab these,” said Brian. “We have seen Darwin’s Theory of Evolution play out numerous times in digital business. You don’t need to be the biggest or the toughest to succeed – you just need to be ready.”

After this, the agenda split into numerous breakout sessions with something for everyone at each stage. One of these was a panel of banking and fintech leaders, featuring Cardaq’s very own CEO Hugo Remi, which was asking the big questions around whether or not e-wallets were going to succeed in their current form. Panellist Shachar Bialick, CEO at CURVE, pointed out how the space is ripe for further disruption, but more investment is needed.

“We have seen a huge effort from banks to accelerate their innovation,” said Shachar. “The challenge is the infrastructure. I do not see a world where banks disappear but if they don’t move fast enough, they will lose customer relationships.”

Pointing out how difficult it is to compete, Hugo stressed that regulation was still needed in e-wallets and could not afford to fall behind other, more established sectors.

“As technology changes, regulation needs to keep up,” said Hugo. “Banks are regulated very well but e-wallets are not - too many open questions that need to be answered and this is just the start. How quickly will regulators work?”

Everything on the agenda

Sessions throughout the two days covered a wide range of topics. On one stage, with innovation taking payments into bold and new directions, the role of older technology was questioned.

“Legacy has a negative connotation and infers it needs to be replaced,” said panellist Danielle Anthony, technology platform lead at Lloyds Bank. “That’s not always true. There’s some legacy applications that do perfectly good jobs.”

In agreement was fellow panellist Kevin Flood, director of payments ecosystem strategy (Europe) at FIS Global: “In fintech, we always want the shiny new toy – but it should be about the business needs.”

Elsewhere, a fireside chat between regulators FCA and PSR covered the importance of cooperation.

“We think the National Payments Vision should be used as a Northern Star,” said Michael Long, director of payments and digital assets at the FCA. “We need to do the things we said we would deliver, which means more straightforward conversations.

“We also need to empower smaller groups to make decisions. I want to see small groups with refined ideas and driving through real change.”

In agreement was Dan Moore, head of strategy, analysis and engagement at the PSR who sees this Vision as the time to act to get all authorities on the same page.

“It would be massive wasted opportunity if we did not act on this Vision,” said Dan. “Consolidation of regulators means real opportunity for streamlining. But payments have different characteristics to other industries. There’s a huge amount of learning to be done from other jurisdictions.”

There were also insights regarding customer issues. In a panel on where payments will take customer experience next, HSBC global service lead (cross border payments) Katie Hoskins discussed how expectations had been irreparably shifted.

“Everything is very much instantaneous,” said Katie. “A lot of that shift we have to be aware is traditional banks there will be competition from fintechs that will be more agile. It’s important to invest in ways that help us meet expectations.”

Here, fellow panellist Matthew Agronin – chief growth officer at Ubiquity – stressed the need to not forget basics in payments: “Customers expect simple and reliable and it for to be personalised for them. That has not changed, even if the technology has.”

After two days and 20 hours of networking, as quickly as it had begun, PAY360 ended, and the curtain was brought down on an exhilarating if exhausting event. The event had been punctuated by a performance by UK rap sensation and double BRIT Award winner Tinie Tempah – who proved that conferences don’t need to be dull – to close day one, with the second day ending mid-afternoon.

Over two days over 8000 attendees had filed into the London ExCel to hear from hundreds of speakers and visit 200 exhibits. The event will be held at the same dates and same location in 2026, and at Cardaq we already can’t wait for it!