Author Archives: LFP

The Biggest Fintech Event of 2026: Money20/20 Europe | Special Preview

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Money20/20 has become one of the most important gatherings in global fintech — bringing together the leaders, innovators, and institutions shaping the future of financial services.

In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark speaks with Oliver Smith, Head of Content for Europe at Money20/20 Europe 2026, to explore what’s coming at this year’s flagship event.

They discuss the scale and ambition of Money20/20 Europe, the key themes driving the agenda, and how the conference continues to reflect — and shape — the evolution of the fintech ecosystem.

At the heart of the event are four major pillars: AI, rebundling of financial services, the evolving tech stack, and regulation. Oliver shares how these themes come together across stages, speakers, and sessions — and what attendees should focus on to get the most value from the experience.

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Why privacy is the key to institutional blockchain: Inside the Canton Network

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Blockchain has been discussed for over a decade, but its real impact in institutional finance is only now beginning to take shape.

In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark speaks with Yuval Rooz, CEO of Digital Asset and Co-Founder of Canton, about how blockchain infrastructure is evolving to meet the needs of global capital markets.

At the centre of the conversation is the Canton Network: a public, privacy-enabled blockchain designed to bring blockchain rails to financial markets at scale. Yuval explains how Canton is addressing one of the biggest barriers to institutional blockchain adoption: privacy and control over sensitive financial data, while still enabling interoperability across markets and participants.

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Inside the modern CFO’s office: Turning data into decisive action

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🎙️ In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark speaks with Søren Westh Lonning, CFO of Pleo, about how finance leaders are navigating an era of growing complexity, higher expectations, and mounting pressure — and why too many organisations are still making decisions based on hindsight rather than foresight.

Søren shares Pleo’s growth journey, scaling from €65m to €165m in ARR in just three years, and explains how the company has evolved from a simple expense management tool into a comprehensive spend and cash management platform designed to support real-time, confident decision-making across finance teams.

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The real-time CFO: How data Is transforming decision-making

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In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark sits down with Susanne Chishti to explore the growing pressure on CFOs operating in today’s increasingly complex financial environment, from geopolitical shocks to shrinking margins and fragmented data systems.

This conversation is created in collaboration with Pleo, and highlights their work in modernising the CFO’s office through real-time visibility, automated treasury workflows, and embedded finance capabilities that unify spend across the business.

Tony and Susanne dive deep into findings from Pleo’s Decision-Making Report 2025, including:

💡 Over 50% of UK decision-makers experience “decision freeze” due to a lack of real-time data
💡 Finance teams spend 26+ hours per week on manual treasury tasks
💡 Many organisations still make decisions based on “feeling” rather than evidence
💡 Fragmented systems slow down business agility and innovation

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The rise of institutional onchain finance

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In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark sits down with Sid Powell, CEO of Maple Finance, to explore the rapid rise of onchain finance and what it means for the future of institutional lending, asset management, and global financial markets.

Sid explains how Maple is building institutional-grade borrowing and lending natively onchain, taking a different path from traditional finance players that rely on legacy rails. By using stablecoins, Bitcoin, and decentralized finance protocols, Maple is working to make lending faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more efficient—all while maintaining a rigorous focus on risk management.

With over $4 billion in assets under management, Maple has emerged as a key player in crypto-native credit markets, partnering with institutions such as Cantor Fitzgerald, Bitwise, family offices, prime brokers, exchanges, trading firms, and Bitcoin miners. Sid outlines how BTC-backed loans, stablecoin-based lending, and DeFi integration are reshaping capital markets at scale.

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“Governing the Machine”: Responsible AI in financial services

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In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark speaks with Dr Paul Dongha, Head of Responsible AI & AI Strategy at NatWest Group, about the importance of AI governance in financial services.

With decades of experience in AI—from his early PhD research on autonomous agents to leading responsible AI initiatives at major banks—Paul brings both technical depth and practical expertise to the conversation. He shares insights from his new book “Governing the Machine”, co-authored with leading global AI advisors Ray Eitel-Porter and Miriam Voge, and promoted by figures such as Andrew Ng, Reid Hoffman, and the CEO of IBM.

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Fintech in Europe: AI, regulation & emerging hubs

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In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark speaks with Mike Brennan of Finch Capital and AI innovator Parsa Ghaffari about the evolution of fintech in Europe and the impact of AI on financial services.

They discuss the development of new fintech hubs, the integration of AI across business functions, and how regulation and technology are shaping operating models. The conversation also explores the concept of “peak engineering” and what it could mean for the next phase of digital transformation in finance.

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Money20/20: On stage with global fintech leaders

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️ In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark speaks with Scarlett Sieber, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at Money20/20, about the role of global industry gatherings in financial services.

Scarlett discusses her career journey from banking innovation to leading strategy at Money20/20, and shares perspectives on collaboration across the sector. The conversation covers the return of in-person events, trends in AI and fraud prevention, blockchain use cases, and the influence of technology companies on finance.

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LFP 280 – The future of asset servicing: AI, automation & digital assets

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In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark sits down with Rob Stone, General Manager of Intelligent Automation and Analytics at SS&C, to explore how AI, automation, and digital assets are reshaping the future of asset servicing and investment management.

Rob shares his journey with SS&C—from joining in 2010 when the firm was valued at $1 billion, to helping scale it into a $20+ billion leader at the intersection of technology and operations. He explains how SS&C’s unique dual role as both a technology provider and an operator creates a powerful competitive advantage in financial services.

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LFP 279 – Digitisation: The next 50 years in global finance, with Sandy Kaul

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In this episode of the London Fintech Podcast, Tony Clark sits down with Sandy Kaul, Executive Vice President & Head of Innovation at Franklin Templeton, to explore how tokenisation, smart contracts, and wallet-based ecosystems are set to redefine the future of finance.

Sandy shares her extensive background at the intersection of finance and technology, explaining how the industry is moving from traditional account-based systems to decentralised, wallet-driven models. They dive into the transformative power of tokenisation for equities, bonds, and other financial instruments, as well as the potential of smart contracts to automate and streamline transactions.

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