Open Banking Expo Unplugged

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.

Joris Hensen, founder and co-head of Deutsche Bank’s API Programme, has spent 10 years working in Open Banking. He reflects on the progress made in Europe and the UK, and the bank partnerships that have evolved to create tangible outcomes. He also discusses the EU’s Financial Data Access Regulation (FiDA), which is an Open Finance framework, and why there are concerns that it could lead to fragmentation as schemes roll out. Joris explains an initiative in Germany, the FiDA Roundtables, established alongside TechQuartier, that brings together banks and insurers to explore the opportunities and potential products that the framework could generate. The conversation also moves onto AI and how, in combination with structured financial data, it can help create hyper-personalised products. Finally, Joris reflects on what he would like to see from this year’s Open Banking Expo Awards entries, as a member of the judging panel.

Steve Boms, executive director of FDATA, joins Ellie Duncan to bring us up to speed on the state of play in the US, where Open Banking tools have been widely adopted yet, at the same time, regulatory uncertainty continues. He reveals the implications of the lack of a regulatory framework for consumers and small businesses, and how FDATA continues to advocate for Americans to own their financial data. Steve also discusses the shift in tone in Canada, where the transition to Open Banking is firmly underway, and his expectations for next steps. With Open Banking Expo an official partner of FDATA’s 2026 Global Open Finance Summit which takes place on September 17 in Toronto, Steve discusses what’s on the agenda. Finally, we hear what he is looking for from this year’s Open Banking Expo Awards entries and what he enjoys about judging.

In this episode, hear from the winner of the inaugural Andrew Moor Award, Neela Maharaj, director, Open Banking and APIs at RBC. The Award was created to honour the former president and chief executive officer of EQ Bank, who passed away suddenly last year and who was widely regarded as one of the strongest advocates for Open Banking in Canada. Neela reveals what it means to be recognised, and why it prompted her to take stock of all that she has achieved. She considers how winning the Award will influence her work in the future and how she is feeling about the momentum behind Consumer-Driven Banking in Canada.

In this episode, Saba Shariff, senior vice president, chief strategy, product and innovation officer at Symcor, elaborates on some of the key points she made during her Opening Keynote at Open Banking Expo Canada on March 5, 2026. She explains what momentum looks like in practice and the Consumer-Driven Banking experiences that will change consumer behaviours positively. She also discusses the need to build trust into the system from the start, and points to some of the lessons learned from the UK, Brazil and Australia. Saba also considers the impact on Canada’s small businesses as Open Banking use cases are rolled out.

Following the recent publication in the UK of the Smart Data Strategy 2035 and the Open Finance Roadmap, Charlotte Crosswell, executive chair of Raidiam, and Colin Payne, head of innovation at the Financial Conduct Authority, join the podcast to discuss Smart Data Sprints and global learnings. They tell host Ellie Duncan how Raidiam and the FCA have been working together on the Smart Data Accelerator and reveal the key outcomes from the regulator’s Sprints. They also reveal the lessons the FCA is taking from other markets and how this is shaping its approach to Open Finance, and explain what’s next for Smart Data in the UK.