The Banking Scene Director's Cut

In this conversation with Gijs Boudewijn, chairman of the European Payments Council, we explored what PSD2 achieved, where it fell short, and why open banking has been slower to turn regulation into real market momentum. The discussion also covers SPAA, the move from directive to regulation with PSR, the challenges around FiDA, and how AI may reshape consent, fraud, and agentic commerce.

Gijs brings a long view from payments regulation and scheme design, and he explains why compliance alone never creates a market. Rik Coeckelbergs drives the conversation through the practical questions banks, regulators, and third-party providers are still trying to solve.

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

While PSD2 was a game-changer for some organisations, its impact has been varied across the industry. Success isn't just about technology; it's about understanding customer behaviour and finding the sweet spot where business ambitions align with user trust. As this interview with Bratel Braeckman, Head of Department Open Bankinsurance at KBC Bank unfolded, it became clear that both businesses and consumers must benefit for open banking to succeed.

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

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.