You wouldn’t blame attendees at this year’s Fintech Nexus USA event at the Javits Center in New York City if they came in thinking the industry’s glass was half full, but that was far from the case.
The annual event, which ran from May 10-11 this year, witnessed an upbeat outlook, from the keynote stage to the track sessions and the Innovation Zone.
Marco Argenti, chief information officer of global investment giant Goldman Sachs, said generative AI could create “superhuman abilities” for fintech innovators.
“At the heart of the impact of AI on financial services, never mind other significant aspects of human society, is the ‘revolution of knowledge,’” Argenti said.
Nigel Morris, Co-Founder and Managing Director at QED delivered a jaw-dropping presentation on the keynote stage, highlighting the tremendous opportunity ahead for the industry.
Ranjita Iyer, Mastercard’s SVP of Cyber & Intelligence Solutions, noted how companies that support establishing trust would have a demonstrated advantage.
Marqeta CEO Simon Khalaf took the stage on Thursday morning and, during his first event keynote since becoming CEO, talked about the next frontier of embedded finance.
‘Best event yet’
Bo Brustkern, CEO of Fintech Nexus, said the positive vibe was tangible this year despite challenges facing many attendees and the industry.
“We’ve just hosted our best event yet,” Brustkern said. “It’s an incredible achievement, given the backdrop of financial uncertainty. And yet so obvious: Nexus is for builders, and this industry is building. Seeing the undercurrent of optimism here in the world’s financial capital was truly inspiring.”
Peter Renton, chairman of Fintech Nexus, said the sense he got from his spot on the keynote stage, as a moderator of several track sessions, and in one-on-one meetings was that once the downturn fades, fintech will emerge as a power.
“Given the headwinds in the fintech space, we expected a somewhat downbeat event,” Renton said. “But what we found was mostly unbridled optimism and excitement. We know this downturn will be temporary, and the changes fintech brings are permanent.”
Networking opportunities proved popular
There were more than 4,000 registered attendees at this year’s event, said Chris Tedrick, head of marketing for Fintech Nexus.
Tedrick said those attendees sent 30,000 meeting requests on the custom event app to meet at the one-on-one networking space on the expo floor.
The networking tables were consistently full through most timeslots over the two days.
“The meetings you guys scheduled were spot on and highly productive. We feel this was a key differentiator that will help us achieve our goals for this event,” said Brian Reiss of Bridgeforce Data Solutions.
Sponsor and expo bookings have been steady for Fintech Nexus 2024, set to take place on April 17 and 18 at the Javits Center. Interested vendors and companies can contact sales via email at [email protected].