In this episode, Rik speaks with Jasper Wolfs, head of product open banking at Rabobank, about the state of open banking 10 years after PSD2, to find out what worked, what didn’t, and where AI may take it next.

They compare business and retail adoption, dig into premium APIs and real-world use cases, and look ahead to PSR, FIDA, and the role AI may play in shaping open finance.

Jasper brings a useful insider-outsider view: two years at Rabobank, plus a fintech background that dates back to the birth of PSD2. That perspective frames a candid discussion about where regulation created momentum, where it fell short, and why tech companies may now be the ones pushing the next wave.

If you prefer to read instead of listening, you can find the full transcript of the interview on our website here.

During the first content block of our Fraud and Compliance track at our flagship conference in Brussels this year, we heard from industry experts how AMLA, data and AI are reshaping the compliance function, during a keynote: "The Latest Trends in Compliance: AML and Sanctions and Screenings", delivered by Wendy de Meyer, Deputy Chief Compliance Officer at Belfius.Which was followed by a keynote: AMLA and The Supervisory Shift: What it means for banks and fintechs", delivered by Charlotte le Beau de Hemricourt, Seconded National Expert at AMLA, The EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority.Which was followed by a panel session: “Financial Crime, Regulation and Relevance: Writing the Next Chapter for Compliance”, moderated by Wendy de Meyer with panel members: - Charlotte le Beau de Hemricourt- Daniël Meel, Head of Innovation and Design - Detecting Financial Crime, ABN AMRO- Marie-France de Pover, General Manager, Director Group Compliance, KBC Group and - Anton Wilsens, Managing Partner, KyndrylAs you can imagine, the sessions were packed with insights which we summarised in a (longer than usual) blog on our website here.

In this episode, Andrew and Rik discuss the session and explore why short-term complexity may increase even if long-term harmonisation helps, and why the biggest challenge may be cultural rather than technological. They also dig into how AI could push banks toward better data consistency, fewer silos, and a more effectiveness-driven compliance function.

Discover how open banking is shaping the future of financial services through the lens of Deutsche Bank's Open Finance Lead, Joris Hensen.

This episode explores the successes, challenges, and opportunities within open finance, with expert insights on regulation, technology, and the role of AI.

You can read the interview summary on our blog here.

Key topics:

• The evolution and success of open banking over the past decade
• Deutsche Bank's most successful use cases: wealth management and embedded finance
• Common pitfalls in open banking implementation and future solutions with FiDA regulation
• The role of AI in transforming open finance strategies
• Governance and standardisation challenges in cross-border data sharing
• The importance of sandbox approaches for AI integration within FiDA
• Who is driving open finance: regulators, banks, fintechs, customers, or AI providers?

Most banking as a service stories are about quick wins and shiny new APIs. Joe Wilson reveals how Bunq is quietly building a robust infrastructure layer designed for long-term partnerships, not just quick integrations. Unlike traditional banks, Bunq as a Service is about extending their platform into B2B, empowering other fintechs and companies to innovate without the heavy lifting of compliance, licensing, or security. This strategic move isn’t just about growth, it’s about creating a scalable ecosystem that bridges crypto, open banking, and international digital nomads.

A recent panel session at the European Payments Council, moderated by Andrew, explored the impact of agentic commerce from the perspective of issuers, acquirers, merchants and customers.Rik summarised his key takeaways from the session in his blog here and discussed some of the gaps in the debate with Andrew in this episode.For more insights on Agentic AI and The Future of Banking, download our (free) white paper here.

In our first ever book review, we invited guests, Julia Streets and Wasim Mushtaq to join us along with Chris Skinner, for a dive into Chris Skinner's first foray into fiction, "Diary of a Ponzi Scheme".

It's a unique blend of finance and fiction (a completely new genre that Chris calls "Finction"), that challenges conventional thinking about trust and social proof in investments. In it, Chris explores how appearances can deceive and how the right narrative can sway even the most sceptical investor.

This is a story that reflects real-world dynamics, from the glitz of London's social scene to the intricacies of tokenisation, and offers insights that are both entertaining and enlightening for all readers.

You can find out more about the book and how to buy it here.

The Banking Scene LIVE webinar preview of highlights from our latest white paper, "AI and The Agentic Future of Banking". This session explores the monumental shift in financial services from passive Generative AI assistants to fully autonomous, goal-oriented AI agents.Discover how leading financial institutions like ING, Rabobank and Revolut are scaling agentic architectures in production to revolutionise mortgage processing, fraud containment, and perpetual KYC automation. We also tackle the critical risks of this shift, including cascading errors and machine collusion and unpack the rise of the "Agentic Customer" powered by individual digital twins.If you prefer to dive straight into the full white paper, you can download it from our website here.

Agentic AI is currently one of the most discussed topics in banking, but the conversation is moving beyond the excitement of new technology. For banks, the real question is no longer whether agentic AI has potential, it is how to deploy it safely, measure it properly, govern it effectively and turn experimentation into enterprise value.This was the central theme of a recent conversation we had with Alok Chaurasia, Associate Vice President and Anshuman Choudhary, Consulting Leader, GRC Northern Europe at Cognizant, reflecting on a Think Tank session we convened in Brussels in collaboration with Cognizant and Microsoft.

You can find a summary of the insights from the discussion on our website here.

Most banks are currently talking about Agentic AI, ING is actually deploying it at scale and seeing real results. In this episode, Thomas Geerinck, ING’s Groupwide Retail Chief Data Officer, shares how the bank is turning AI into tangible business value through agentic AI, beyond just experiments. Discover why scale, infrastructure, and strategic deployment are the key differentiators for banks aiming to lead in AI-powered financial services. Thomas breaks down how ING has evolved from basic machine learning to fully orchestrated, agentic workflows that automate complex processes like mortgage handling and client onboarding. You'll learn about the architecture of agentic AI: how it handles decisions, interacts with clients, and executes tasks, while staying within strict guardrails and human oversight. He shares real use cases that demonstrate how agentic AI is revolutionising operational efficiency and customer experience.If you prefer to read, you can find the full interview transcript in the blog on our website here.

"Are we there yet?". When it comes to Open Banking and Embedded Finance, are we still debating if we should, instead of implementing what we can?

How do we (the Benelux Banks) stack up against the rest of the world and what can we learn from them? Is regulation a help or a hindrance? We have so many questions and we are sure you do too, which is why we invited Nicola Breyer, an internationally recognised expert on open data and embedded finance, who frequently speaks and publishes on the topic, to help us set the scene before we begin our Q3 research.

In this session, we unpacked what went right and wrong after PSD2, why PSD3 / PSR and FIDA (Financial Data Access Regulation) may already be outdated, and how the rapid rise of AI assistants, agentic AI, and data platforms like Plaid is reshaping the future of financial services.

You’ll hear candid views on:

• Why consumer adoption of open banking is still low
• How poor UX, lack of data standards, and no remuneration for banks held back innovation
• Whether we really need FIDA to make open finance work
• The race between European regulation and US tech / AI platforms
• What “financial home” and “My CFO for SMEs” use cases could look like
• How banks risk losing the customer relationship to AI platforms—and what they can do about it

If you prefer to read rather than listen, you can find a summary of the session on our website here.