Advertise on podcast: Open Banking Expo Unplugged

"Cards remain the most prevalent payment option on charities’ websites — but high processing fees eat into every donation, forcing NGOs to either absorb the cost or pass it on, adding friction that can cause drop-off right when someone is ready to give. Direct Debit, the backbone of recurring giving, carries its own hidden operational burden that quietly reduces how much of every pound reaches its intended cause. Pay by Bank offers a faster, cheaper, more reliable alternative for one-off and recurring donations alike, yet to date, sector adoption remains minimal. Attend this industry panel to hear new research on what payment options UK non-profits accept in 2026, alongside fresh survey data on UK consumers' awareness of the high costs nonprofits absorb to process donations, and whether willingness to Pay by Bank. Panelists will also unpack whether cVRP/Recurring Pay by Bank could become a genuine alternative to Direct Debit. This panel brings together payments industry leaders helping NGOs unlock open banking and Pay by Bank, to explore why adoption in this sector lags — cost, awareness, technical barriers, or something else? Key discussion points: New research reveal What payment options 100 major non-profits/charities currently offer donors, and what it tells us about sector-wide reliance on cards. The true cost of cards for charities — and the difficult trade-off between absorbing costs and asking donors to cover them. Why recurring donations are the lifeblood of the sector and where Direct Debit falls short. The hidden operational burden that quietly reduces how much of every pound reaches the cause Charities and CVRP Charities are already in scope for commercial variable recurring payments; what would it take for CVRP to become a genuine alternative to Direct Debit for recurring giving? Why adoption has lagged. What's holding the charity sector back from Pay by Bank today: cost, awareness, technical barriers, or something else? A practical roadmap. Reveal of new UK consumer survey data on consumers’ awareness of the scale of the problem, and their willingness to Pay by Bank for one-off and recurring donations."

Open Finance and Smart Data have made far more data visible. Has that actually changed decision-making, or just changed what's technically possible?Where should the line sit between what the data can show and what a person still has to decide?Is more data actually solving the trust problem, or just moving it somewhere else?What would it take for this to be judged on outcomes over time, rather than a single moment?

Open banking made financial data accessible, but can agentic finance act well without truly understanding the customer? Join experts from SaaScada, Salt Edge, and Neumetria to explore how financial services can turn transaction data into meaningful behavioral context, use that context to inform real-time decisions across payments, credit, risk, and products, and ensure AI agents act in line with company policies and risk rules.

This conversation will cover a new report I am publishing called Building Confidence, Control and Connection in Digital Payments (1st October). We'll be pulling on the themes of how technology can be used to create inclusive products and services (this includes using smart data and open banking); the challenges fintechs and others face in getting more inclusive products to market; and the importance of shared services, standards and infrastructure in supporting and enabling inclusive innovation that scales. This report asks two questions: How can digital payments be designed to better reflect the needs of consumers in vulnerable circumstances or with less wealth? How can we unlock innovation and investment for people who are less commercially viable to serve? The report is split into three parts: Part 1 explores how near and next-gen technologies could meet consumer needs. It includes international examples and a story about Jona, who has learning disabilities and their financial helper, Nina. Part 2 considers why some people's needs may not be met by competition and why this holds back payments innovation. Part 3 considers how we might unlock innovation and investment through developing a shared services approach to delivering inclusive services. It advocates for the delivery of a digital 'front door' to help people build financial resilience and wellbeing. Parts 1 and 2 are grounded in evidence but Part 3 is green and aims to provoke discussion about how, within a fast moving digital transition, we can create an accessible and inclusive route into digital payments inclusion. This report builds on the Consumer Vision for Payments and also Hidden Heroes, which was published earlier this year; as well as industry roundtables held in February and March.

Officially, the Smart Data Council is all about "delivery models and best practice." Unofficially, it's a lot more interesting than that. Council member Dr Louise Beaumont, alongside Agnieszka Scott, Head of Smart Data at the Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Technology, and fellow Council member Ghela Boskovich, takes you inside the room: what the Smart Data Council actually is and why it exists, the full panorama of Smart Data sectors and the scale of the opportunity for UK plc, where the UK leads and where it's behind, and what we're doing about it. We'll answer the questions listeners are asking - this isn't the press release version.

Salt Edge’s Chief Sales Officer Stephen Winyard and Chief Product Officer Ilya Dragan ask whether open banking has delivered on its promise and unpack why “open finance” still has no clear definition. They cover the limits of PSD2, what PSD3 and PSR need to fix, why consumer protection and dispute resolution for account-to-account payments remain unresolved, and the potential of Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs). They also discuss data privacy and user control, inclusivity for small merchants, and cross-border payments as the biggest bet for the next five years.

Digital identity used to be treated as a single step in the customer journey: verify someone, tick the box, move on. But as financial services become more connected through Open Banking, Open Finance and digital-first customer journeys, identity is becoming part of the underlying infrastructure. In this conversation, we’ll explore why identity needs to be thought of as infrastructure rather than a standalone verification tool. We’ll discuss how identity verification, KYC and KYB, AML, electronic signatures and re-authentication increasingly need to work together across the customer lifecycle. We’ll also look at why financial institutions are moving towards more flexible, provider-independent infrastructure that can orchestrate different technologies and verification methods, provide fallback and business continuity, and evolve as regulation, technology and customer expectations change.

The success of any data-sharing ecosystem depends on trust. From Open Banking to broader digital ecosystems, robust governance frameworks and trusted participation models have become key enablers of secure data exchange and scalable innovation. In this discussion with Raidiam, we examine how trust frameworks have evolved, the impact they have had on ecosystem adoption, and the role of centralised capabilities in supporting growth. We'll explore what organisations can learn from established schemes, where these principles can be applied next, and how they can help unlock new opportunities across both public and private sectors.

A conversation with both data experts (from Deutsche Bank, Raidiam), and governance and customer experience experts about the future of customer journeys in financial services in an AI driven world.

Ten years in, open banking has transformed access: a lender can securely see a customer's accounts in seconds. What it hasn't solved is understanding them. Nick Tuttelberg (Atto) talks to Andrew Duncan, CEO of Soar, about what a lender really does with the data, why the SME account is the hardest to read and interpret, and to Nimeshh Patel, CEO of Wrisk Group, the parent company of Atto, about what comes between the raw data and the decision.

Salt Edge’s chief product officer Ilia Dragan and product owner Vasile Mogos join the Unplugged podcast to explain the key features of its Ecomm Payments product and the next steps for its rollout. They reveal how account-to-account payments are reshaping the checkout experience for merchants, the friction points they solve for ecommerce specifically, and the importance of payment choice for consumers and merchants. Ilia and Vasile also offer their views on the UK and European payments landscape. Finally, with Salt Edge returning as Open Finance Show Stage Partner, they reveal why Open Banking Expo UK & Europe is a key fixture in their event calendar.

Keith Grose, regional managing director UK and Europe at Coinbase, joins Ellie Duncan on Open Banking Expo Unplugged to talk about his experience working in what he calls "financial plumbing" and global money movement, and how it led to his current role at Coinbase. Ketih explains how stablecoins are being used in the UK today and the potential of stablecoins to send and store value cross-border in the future. He discussed the role of tokenisation and stablecoins in the democratisation of finance and why a vibrant stablecoin ecosystem is important. Finally, hear from Keith about the talking points he plans to land during his panel debate on Open Finance at Open Banking Expo UK & Europe 2026.

Mat Tuvesson, vice president, product at Volt, joins Open Banking Expo Unplugged to reveal how he has been building out its product offering since joining last year, as the Open Banking market reaches maturity. He discusses the real-time payment network’s plans and ambitions in its key markets, as account-to-account payments begin to scale. He talks about Volt’s recent stablecoin launches and its involvement in the UK’s commercial variable recurring payment scheme. Mat also explains how agentic commerce will change the way we shop and its potential impact. Finally, as a Gold Partner of Open Banking Expo UK & Europe 2026, Mat reveals what he’s looking forward to most at the event.

Simon Coles, managing director, digital payments and Open Banking at PayPoint, Andrew Bonsall, chief operations officer at AperiData and Nicola Dunn, commercial director at AperiData join the podcast to discuss financial inclusion and payment journeys. They explain how the cost-of-living crisis has changed the way organisations, such as local authorities and utilities providers, engage with customers, and how they are using Open Banking to more accurately determine the types of financial pressure households are under. They also discuss how important it is to build trust and security into payment experiences, with tools such as Confirmation of Payee. Find out what PayPoint’s recent acquisition of AperiData will mean for how they continue to work together. And finally, find out why Open Banking Expo UK & Europe 2026 is such a fixture in the ecosystem calendar as PayPoint returns as an Event Partner.

Reuben Piryatinsky, chief executive officer of Altitude Consulting joins head of content Ellie Duncan on the podcast to discuss the intersection of Open Banking and real-time payments in North America. Reuben reveals what the timing of the Bank of Canada’s announcement about a regulated stablecoin framework in Canada means and the potential use cases. He also discussed the rise of agentic commerce. Finally, Reuben explains the components that are crucial for a more efficient financial system both in Canada and the US.