Bas ter Weel (1975) is a Dutch economist and academic, serving as Director of Monetary Affairs at De Nederlandsche Bank and professor of economics at the University of Amsterdam. His work bridges labour market research, technological change, and macroeconomic policy. Previously deputy director of the CPB and general director of SEO Amsterdam Economics, he has helped shape policy debates on social-economic issues, innovation an public finance. Ter Weel is also a Crown member of the SER, contributing to national socio economic strategy. He holds an MSc and PhD in economics from Maastricht University.

De Nederlandsche Bank is the central bank of The Netherlands.

Opening Keynote Address

 

Inge van Dijk is Director of Payments, Cash & Market Infrastructure at De Nederlandsche Bank. She is responsible for policy, operations, oversight and cyber resilience. In her role she is amongst others member of both the Appia and Digital Euro High level Steering Groups within the Eurosystem and she is a member of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) at the Bank of International Settlements.

De Nederlandsche Bank is the Dutch Central Bank.

Panel Discussion: From Tokenization to Transformation

Tokenization is moving beyond experimentation and into mainstream financial markets. This panel explores how CBDC, tokenized deposits, assets, and securities reshape liquidity, settlement, and market infrastructure.

As an economist by profession David is working as a senior financial advisor for the Competence Center Financial Systems Development and the Business Development Unit for the Green Climate Fund at GIZ. David has worked in several countries with GIZ, including Mexico, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan. Before joining GIZ he worked for a fund management company, where he headed the support for small enterprise financing in the Middle East. His work focuses on financial instruments for climate impact and digital central bank currencies.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a global service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work. As a public-benefit federal enterprise, GIZ supports the German Government – in particular the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – and many public and private sector clients in around 120 countries in achieving their objectives in international cooperation.

Panel Discussion: Regulation Going Global

As digital currencies move from niche innovation to mainstream infrastructure, regulation is becoming an increasingly global conversation. This panel will explore how jurisdictions are shaping policy for stablecoins, CBDCs, tokenized assets, and crypto markets, and what greater international coordination means for financial institutions, fintechs, and policymakers. Join leading regulators, industry experts, and legal practitioners as they discuss emerging frameworks, cross-border challenges, and the opportunities to build a more interoperable and trusted digital financial ecosystem.

Peter Bofinger is a Senior Professor at the University of Würzburg. From 2004 to 2019 he was a member of the German Council of Economic Experts. Previously he had been Vice-President of the University of Würzburg and an economist at the Deutsche Bundesbank.

 Founded in 1402, Universität Würzburg is one of the oldest universities in the world. Today it is a university with an international reputation for excellent research.

Presentation Title will be announced soon

Arjan has a long history in the payments and financial industries. Prior to his current role, he served as Country Manager at Mastercard Netherlands and held various positions around the world at Mastercard, Aon and ING. He also served in the Supervisory Board at bunq, European Merchant Services and CM Payments.

The members of the DPA are regulated providers of payment services in the Netherlands: banks, payment institutions, and electronic money institutions. On behalf of its members, the DPA strives for efficient, accessible, secure, and reliable payments, with an eye for the interests and wishes of other participants, such as consumers and merchant and takes care of collective non-competitive tasks and projects within the Dutch Payments ecosystem.

Panel Discussion: Digital Euro, WERO and other Systems of Money Transfer

 

Diederik is Head of Innovation and Payments at ESBG. He is also a Board Member of the European Payments Council, a Member of the European Commission’s Payment Systems Market Expert Group and the European Central Bank’s Digital Euro Market Advisory Group, and technical expert to the Euro Retail Payments Board.

ESBG represents the locally focused European banking sector, helping savings and retail banks in 18 European countries strengthen their unique approach that focuses on providing service to local communities and boosting SMEs. The 885 member banks have total assets of €5.7 trillion, and serve 162 million Europeans seeking retail banking services.

Presentation Title will be announced shortly

 

Professor Andrew Buckley's research at The University of Manchester focuses on innovation in financial services and consumer attitudes to adoption. He is also a Non-Executive Director at the Payment Systems Regulator and Professor at Birmingham City University.

The University of Manchester is a centre of teaching excellence, world-class research, outstanding student experience, and social responsibility.

Academy Session: The Design of CBDC and Consumer Demand

 

The technical creation of a CBDC may not guarantee success, because in payment related innovations, what does not scale does not matter. The question is therefore not simply can a Digital Pound be launched, but also would citizens use it at scale? Our research directly addresses that question. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of 10,000 UK residents, we assess consumer willingness to adopt a Digital Pound and the factors that shape that willingness. Participants of this Academy session will hear about the study results, and be able to explore the app themselves. 

Experienced payments professional with 25+ years in banking, focusing on end-to-end payment journeys across SEPA and international flows. Active in industry working groups and conferences, with a strong emphasis on digital payments, digital assets, and Digital Euro developments, promoting practical innovation alongside fraud prevention, compliance, and trust in the payments ecosystem.

Erste Group is a leading Central and Eastern European bank, driving innovation in digital payments and financial services. It actively supports the evolution of SEPA and international payment ecosystems, while exploring future developments such as digital assets and digital payments, with a strong focus on security, compliance, and customer trust.efficient, accessible, secure, and reliable payments, with an eye for the interests and wishes of other participants, such as consumers and merchant and takes care of collective non-competitive tasks and projects within the Dutch Payments ecosystem.

Panel Discussion: From Tokenization to Transformation

Tokenization is moving beyond experimentation and into mainstream financial markets. This panel explores how CBDC, tokenized deposits, assets, and securities reshape liquidity, settlement, and market infrastructure.

 

 

Panel Discussion: Making Retail CBDCs Work

Retail CBDCs are moving from experimentation towards real-world implementation—but widespread adoption is far from guaranteed. This panel explores the key challenges, but also what it takes to build public trust, create compelling use cases and encourage uptake among consumers and merchants, while ensuring accessibility, privacy and seamless integration with existing payment systems.

 

Trellon Charles is the Financial Markets Infrastructure (FMI) Analyst at the Central Bank of The Bahamas and is responsible for supporting financial market operations, overseeing enhancements, testing and troubleshooting of the Bank’s payment systems.

Central Bank of The Bahamas

CBDC and Instant Payment Interoperability: A Bahamas Perspective

An overview of the current operational and adoption status of the SandDollar, The Bahamas' Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and the Bank's initiative to integrate the SandDollar with the upcoming national Instant Payment System (IPS). Discussion on the integration approach, key technical and operational requirements, implementation considerations, and the expected benefits of enabling seamless, real-time digital payments across the national payments ecosystem.

Lorenzo Cremona is the Director of Outbound Product Management at Oracle for High Availability Technologies, including Oracle Tuxedo, Oracle Blockchain Platform, and Oracle Transaction Manager for Microservices (MicroTx).  He has shared responsibility for product definition and adoption in the digital assets (central bank digital currencies) realm, working with central banks, government regulatory agencies and tier-1 System Integrators in helping define the appropriate strategy and applying Oracle technology where appropriate.  Lorenzo has almost 20 years of experience working with large banks insurance companies and ISVs (independent software vendors) throughout EMEA in optimization and modernization of mission-critical core banking systems.

Lorenzo comes to Oracle by way of the BEA acquisition.  At BEA Lorenzo was Director of Marketing for Tuxedo, overseeing the entire go-to-market strategy for BEA’s flagship product.  Prior to Oracle/BEA, Lorenzo managed sales and marketing activities at Fortune 100 enterprise accounts with Trend Micro, a leading security vendor.   At Trend Micro Lorenzo increased territory license revenue by 250%.  He also formed an advisory committee with the largest financial services companies to help facilitate best-business-practices in the adoption of security solutions to minimize enterprise computing downtime.  Prior to Trend Micro, Lorenzo was a product specialist with Oracle Corporation selling emerging solutions; including Oracle Collaboration Suite, Oracle Files and Enterprise Content Management within strategic accounts (Oracle top 240 accounts).

Lorenzo Cremona holds a Bachelor of Science in City and Regional Planning and a Master of Science in Architecture, both from the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo, California (USA).  He lives in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Northeastern Italy.

We’re a cloud technology company that provides organizations around the world with computing infrastructure and software to help them innovate, unlock efficiencies and become more effective. We also created the world’s first – and only – autonomous database to help organize and secure our customers’ data.

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Oracle Cloud Infrastructure offers higher performance, security, and cost savings. It is designed so businesses can move workloads easily from on-premises systems to the cloud, and between cloud and on-premises and other clouds. Oracle Cloud applications provide business leaders with modern applications that help them innovate, attain sustainable growth, and become more resilient.

The work we do is not only transforming the world of business–it’s helping defend governments, and advance scientific and medical research. From nonprofits to companies of all sizes, millions of people use our tools to streamline supply chains, make HR more human, quickly pivot to a new financial plan, and connect data and people around the world.

At work, we embrace diversity, encourage personal and professional growth, and celebrate a global team of passionate people developing innovative technologies that help people and companies tackle real-world problems head-on.

Presentation title will be announced soon

Johannes Duong graduated with Master in computer science at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU-Wien). He currently works in Treasury BACK-office department for Settlement and Collateral Management in the Austrian National Bank (OeNB). He is also responsible for the Blockchain research projects (DELPHI and CITADEL).

Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) is the central bank of Austria.

Eurosystem CBDC Developments and DELPHI Initiative Update
The presentation provides an overview of the Eurosystem’s CBDC developments, including the current status of the Digital Euro (pilot phase) and wholesale CBDC initiatives. It also includes an update on the DELPHI initiative.

Kelly Galea is a Legal and Policy Officer in the Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), where she currently focuses on digital euro and online fraud. Prior to joining the Commission, she gained valuable experience in the banking sector. Kelly completed her legal education in Malta and is a fully licensed lawyer.

European Commission

Presentation Title will be announced shortly

A former computer scientist with 25 years of banking experience. Focus on new payment methods and forms of money, such as trigger solutions and tokenised deposits.Co-author of the German banking industry papers "Europe needs new money" and "Commercial Bank Money Token", a form of tokenised deposits.

DZ BANK is the second-largest bank in Germany. As the central institution of the cooperative banking sector in Germany, we provide solutions for around 700 cooperative banks.As a commercial bank, DZ BANK also serves companies and institutions with our own network of branches and representative offices around the world.

Commercial Bank Money Token (CBMT)

Commercial Bank Money Token (CBMT) is a new form of money. Its economic underpinnings are identical to those of the commercial bank money currently in use. Technically, CBMT exists as a native token on distributed ledger technologies (DLTs), which enables commercial bank money to benefit from the advantages of this technology. This talk explains why CBMT was designed, its key design principles and how it differs from a stablecoin. It also covers how corporates and commercial banks would use CBMT, and the current state of play. Finally, it briefly touches on the possibility of collaborating with CBDCs.

 

Dr. Syed Hasan serves as Vice Dean, School of Business, and Area Chair (HOD) of Finance at Woxsen University. With over 15 years of distinguished leadership experience across industry and academia, he brings deep strategic insight and thought leadership to the field of finance. A widely respected expert, Dr. Hasan is a trusted voice for leading national and international media, including CNBC, Asharq, Aaj Tak, The Economic Times, Investing.com, Bloomberg, Moneycontrol, Business Standard, among others.

Woxsen University is a dynamic, future-focused institution in Hyderabad, renowned for academic excellence and global partnerships. With cutting-edge infrastructure and industry-driven programs, it nurtures innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

CBDCs and the Changing Architecture of the Global Economy

Hachem Hassan is a Principal Financial Digitalization Expert at Danmarks Nationalbank. His work focuses on digital money, payments, and financial infrastructure, with particular emphasis on digital assets, tokenisation, and European work on the Digital Euro Regulation, where he has been closely involved in negotiations and policy development.

Dankmarks Nationalbank is the central bank of Danmark.

From Experimentation to Market Structure: The Evolving Architecture of Tokenised Money and Assets

At KfW since 2018, now managing the acquisitions of DLT based bonds for KfW.  He has a background in financial markets and business and treasury consulting.

KfW is one of the world’s leading promotional banks. KfW has been committed to improving economic, social and environmental living conditions across the globe on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. To realize its goals KfW is one of the most active, high-volume issuers of bonds and notes in the world.

Wholesale CBDC in Action: Two Real-World Use Cases of DLT-based Bonds

In this presentation, we showcase two real-world use cases demonstrating the power of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) combined with Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). Witness how digital bonds were issued and purchased with instant, real-time settlement powered by CBDC payments. Our insights highlight the practical benefits, challenges, and future potential of integrating DLT and CBDC in bond markets. Join us to explore how these innovations can transform financial infrastructures worldwide.

John Kiff was a Senior Financial Sector Expert at the IMF from 2005 to 2021, focusing on financial stability and fintech issues, and OTC derivatives. Before that, he was at the Bank of Canada for 25 years where he managed the funding and investment of the government’s foreign exchange reserves.

Kiffmeister Consulting provides advice to central banks and international financial institutions on digital currencies. It also publishes a daily update on fintech and digital payments developments, and a monthly report on central bank digital currency (CBDC) exclusively for official institutions.

Academy: A Bright Future for Retail Central Bank Digital Currency?

This session will provide an update on recent retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) developments. It will show that large-scale (“Death Star”) projects are fizzling out and discuss potential reasons why. The update will then show that projects that focus on “purpose bound” use cases are on the rise, as are those that combine tokenized deposits with wholesale CBDC.

Armen Ktoyan is a Board Member of the Central Bank of Armenia. His professional interests include financial stability, financial infrastructure, financial education, statistics and economic modelling. He is actively involved in policy discussions and initiatives aimed at fostering innovation and supporting the sound development of Armenia’s financial system.

The Central Bank of Armenia is the country’s central monetary and financial authority. Its core responsibilities include maintaining price and financial stability, regulating and supervising the financial system, overseeing payment and settlement systems, and promoting the sound and sustainable development of Armenia’s financial sector.

Presentation title will be announced soon

Over 25 years of international leadership experience across Euro and Africa, driving growth, partnerships, and market modernization. Before taking on this current role, Olivier led SWIFT’s Sub Sahara Africa business from Johannesburg, steering multi-country teams and expanding Swift presence in some of the world’s fastest-growing financial markets.

Swift is a member-owned cooperative and trusted provider of secure financial messaging services, connecting financial institutions, market infrastructures, and corporates worldwide. At the heart of the global financial ecosystem, Swift enables the secure and reliable exchange of information and value, driving efficiency, interoperability, innovation, and resilience across financial markets.

Panel Discussion: Charting the Digital Future

As digital transformation reshapes economies and financial systems, this panel will explore the key trends, opportunities, and challenges defining the road ahead. The panelists will share perspectives on innovation, regulation, and emerging technologies that are shaping the future of digital currency and payments.

Lead Treasury consultant since 2004 at Zanders (2004-2012, PWC (2012-2020) and independent since 2020.

Piet Mallekoote studied Macroeconomics at the University of Amsterdam. After 25 years at De Nederlandsche Bank, he became CEO of Currence (iDEAL) in 2006 and the Dutch Payments Association in 2011, retiring from both in 2021. He later joined the ECB Digital Euro Market Group and currently holds advisory and supervisory roles.

Panel Discussion: Making Retail CBDCs Work

Retail CBDCs are moving from experimentation towards real-world implementation—but widespread adoption is far from guaranteed. This panel explores the key challenges, but also what it takes to build public trust, create compelling use cases and encourage uptake among consumers and merchants, while ensuring accessibility, privacy and seamless integration with existing payment systems.

José Manuel is the Director of the Financial Innovation and Market Infrastructures Department. He joined the Bank of Spain in 1996 and is chair of the Working Group of Green Finance in the BIS Innovation Network and represents the Bank of Spain in the HLTF on the Digital Euro as alternate and in the CEMLA Foro Fintech.

Bank of Spain is the central bank of Spain.

Panel Discussion: Digital Euro, WERO and other Systems of Money Transfer

This panels examines the rapidly evolving landscape of digital payments and financial infrastructure in Europe and beyond. It will explore how CBDCs like the Digital Euro compare with emerging payment solutions such as WERO, as well as traditional banking networks, fintech platforms, and blockchain-based systems. Experts will discuss the implications for consumers, businesses, privacy, security, financial sovereignty, and the future of cross-border transactions in an increasingly digital economy.

Asen Naydenov is all about driving change, currently rocking the role of Product Owner for the Digital Euro at the Austrian National Bank. With years of hands-on experience in digital banking and a strong track record in regulatory projects, Asen is collaborating closely with the European Central Bank to seamlessly integrate the Digital Euro into Austria’s payment landscape. His mission goes beyond national borders—the Digital Euro is envisioned to close the gap in Europe’s fragmented payment ecosystem and establish a unified system for approximately 350 million citizens, making everyday transactions easier, faster, and more secure across the continent.

Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) is the central bank of Austria.

Eurosystem CBDC Developments and DELPHI Initiative Update
The presentation provides an overview of the Eurosystem’s CBDC developments, including the current status of the Digital Euro (pilot phase) and wholesale CBDC initiatives. It also includes an update on the DELPHI initiative.

Robert is Economic Adviser in Banking Operations at the Swiss National Bank, where he leads the Helvetia Pilot, focused on issuing tokenized central bank money. Previously, he worked at the Swiss Centre of the BIS Innovation Hub, contributing to central bank projects related to tokenization, privacy, and scalability. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Bern.

The Swiss National Bank is the central bank of Switzerland.

Panel Discussion: Charting the Digital Future

As digital transformation reshapes economies and financial systems, this panel will explore the key trends, opportunities, and challenges defining the road ahead. The panelists will share perspectives on innovation, regulation, and emerging technologies that are shaping the future of digital currency and payments.

At Eesti Pank since 2011, of which 4 years at the European Central Bank. Past working life in retail banking. Today, his teams are responsible for the operator, oversight and catalyst functions in Estonia as well as the coordinator role ensuring continuity of vital payment services at national level in crisis scenarios. Keywords: instant payments, open banking, request to pay / e-invoice payments, non-bank access to payment systems, digital euro, wCBDC, offline payments, resilience and backups, retail payments strategy.

Eesti Pank is the National Central Bank of Estonia.

Presentation title will be announced soon

 

 

Before joining the Bank of Slovenia Marko Pahor was for over two decades a professor of statistics and economics at the University of Ljubljana. Besides the role in the central bank, he is a member of the high-level task force on digital Euro at the ECB. 

The Bank of Slovenia is the central bank of the Republic of Slovenia. Since 1 May 2004, when Slovenia joined the European Union, the Bank of Slovenia has been a member of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).

Panel Discussion: CBDC & Sovereignty

 

Jaime Pradenas has extensive experience designing and executing projects at the intersection of finance and technology. Jaime leads initiatives focused on DLT technology, tokenization, CBDCs, and next-generation market infrastructures. He holds a master’s degree in financial management and is a Civil Industrial Engineer with a minor in Computer Science.

 The Central Bank of Chile is an autonomous technical body whose task is to ensure the stability of the currency, and the level of inflation. It also promotes the stability and efficiency of the financial system, guaranteeing the normal functioning of internal and external payments.

Public Money for a Tokenized World: Exploring the Role of Wholesale CBDCs

Tokenization promises more open, efficient markets—but only if settlement infrastructure evolves in parallel. This speech examines the role of wholesale CB+DCs in bridging today’s systems with tomorrow’s tokenized economy. It outlines how central banks can support innovation without compromising stability, through carefully designed and purpose-driven digital currency experiments.

 

 

 

In an increasingly digital financial world, three contenders are shaping the future of money: Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), tokenized assets, and stablecoins. This panel brings together industry leaders, technologists, and policymakers to explore the strengths, limitations, and use cases of each. Are CBDCs the path to sovereign digital money? Will tokenized assets unlock new efficiencies in capital markets? Can stablecoins bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto? Join us for a lively debate on which digital currency model is best positioned to lead the next era of global finance.

Mark Rakhmilevich is Vice President of Product Management and Development at Oracle, leading the Fintech, Blockchain, and Transaction Management portfolio within Oracle’s Mission-Critical Systems group. He drives technology and product strategy for key solutions including Oracle Blockchain Platform, Blockchain App Builder, Oracle Database Blockchain Tables, Tuxedo, Transaction Manager for Microservices, and the Fintech Data Platform initiative—delivering innovation both in the cloud and on-premises.

With a focus on the complex needs of financial institutions, central banks, and enterprise clients, Mark guides global organizations in leveraging blockchain, digital assets, and data platforms to drive measurable outcomes—accelerating growth and innovation, deepening customer engagement, streamlining operations, reducing fraud and risk, and bringing to market innovative solutions that solve real-world economic and societal challenges.

He plays a pivotal role in Oracle’s blockchain and digital assets strategy, working with customers and partners across sectors to move from experimentation to production—sharing industry use cases, advising on deployment architectures, and aligning technology with regulatory and business imperatives. Mark has been actively involved in CBDC and digital asset initiatives with central banks and financial services innovators worldwide.

A recognized thought leader, Mark is shaping Oracle’s innovation in Digital Assets, Decentralized Identity, and AI-powered compliance through the Fintech Data Platform initiative. He has spoken at global forums including the OMFIF Digital Money Summit and regularly contributes insights on Oracle Blockchain Blog and on Linked.in.

Oracle is a cloud technology company that provides organizations around the world with computing infrastructure and software to help them innovate, unlock efficiencies and become more effective. We also created the world’s first – and only – autonomous database to help organize and secure our customers’ data.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure offers higher performance, security, and cost savings. It is designed so businesses can move workloads easily from on-premises systems to the cloud, and between cloud and on-premises and other clouds. Oracle Cloud applications provide business leaders with modern applications that help them innovate, attain sustainable growth, and become more resilient.

The work we do is not only transforming the world of business–it’s helping defend governments, and advance scientific and medical research. From nonprofits to companies of all sizes, millions of people use our tools to streamline supply chains, make HR more human, quickly pivot to a new financial plan, and connect data and people around the world.

At work, we embrace diversity, encourage personal and professional growth, and celebrate a global team of passionate people developing innovative technologies that help people and companies tackle real-world problems head-on.

CB+DC Academy: Tales from the CBDC Trenches

After years of exploration and proof-of-concepts, we’re now entering the “money time” for digital currency initiatives, such as stablecoins and CBDCs to deliver tangible results. Amid growing competition for digital money many central banks face urgent need to move beyond the initial exploration into live, operational systems that can modernize payments and enhance financial inclusion.

Oracle is actively involved in global CBDC initiatives for both wholesale as well as retail digital currencies. The session will showcase a CBDC project implementation using Oracle Blockchain Platform and Oracle’s extended CBDC Sandbox providing a robust, scalable, interoperable, and secure infrastructure to meet central banks’ needs.  We’ll review architectures for advanced use cases ranging from cross-border wholesale payments to scalable domestic retail CBDC deployments. We will also explore best practices for designing, deploying and managing CBDC projects, based on Oracle’s engagement with CBDC pilots, long history in financial services and many large-scale payments projects.

This session is for decision-makers and technical leads in financial institutions and central banks who want to move beyond the experimental phase to build a sustainable future with digital assets and CBDCs.

 

Unifying CBDCs, Deposit Tokens, and Stablecoins into the Future of Money

The digital currency debate has often been framed as a zero-sum contest—CBDCs vs. Stablecoins vs. Deposit tokens. But in practice, the monetary future is shaping up to be “all of the above.” Each form of digital money is advancing rapidly, backed by distinct stakeholder groups, use cases, and regulatory frameworks. This presentation reframes the conversation: from competition to coexistence.

We’ll highlight the distinct benefits each form of money offers, and the unique strengths they bring to the broader financial ecosystem—sovereign trust and monetary authority in CBDCs; regulatory familiarity, fractional reserve backing, and credit creation in deposit tokens; cross-border utility, and portability in reserve-backed stablecoins, and with money market fund–backed stablecoins, the additional benefits of institutional-grade liquidity and capital efficiency.

We’ll also explore how to architect a unified, multi-layered digital money ecosystem, integrating these instruments through a shared settlement layer such as a unified ledger approach supporting independence through cross-ledger interoperability.  We’ll also show how Oracle digital assets solutions can augment Central Bank capabilities leveraging CBDCs programmability for targeted interventions, ensure universal access without dependency on specific financial institution, while aligning with regulators’ priorities: financial stability, monetary policy control, AML compliance, and system resilience. Ultimately, this is not a technology race—it’s a design challenge. One that demands realism and interoperability, while incorporating continuous compliance monitoring and embedded supervision across all layers of the digital currency stack.

 

Panel Discussion: The Impact of Digital Currencies on Payment Systems

This panel will discuss how digital currencies will influence the way payments will be made in the future. What are the pros & cons, the risks & opportunities?

This panel delves into how digital currencies are reshaping global payment systems, from reducing transaction costs to enabling real-time cross-border transfers. The panelists will discuss the opportunities and disruptions brought about by stablecoins, tokenization, CBDCs. The conversation will explore the integration of digital currencies into existing payment infrastructures and their potential to enhance financial inclusion. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the technological, economic, and policy implications of this transformation.

Senior payments expert with 35+ years experience in digital assets, corporate cash management, and cross-border payments.

Consulting services to banks globally, Senior Advisor to Paylume, External Advisor to Bain.

Academy: Swift is dead, long live Swift: 6 lessons for DeFi from TradFi on scaling adoption

 

 

Lead Treasury consultant since 2004 at Zanders (2004-2012, PWC (2012-2020) and independent since 2020.

Helping corporate treasuries to formulate and implement their ambition and becoming best in class, both in consultant and interim roles.

Panel Discussion: Digital Currencies and their Impact on Corporate Payments and Treasury

As digital currencies gain momentum, corporate treasurers are facing new opportunities and strategic decisions. From stablecoins and CBDCs to tokenized deposits, this discussion will explore how digital assets are redefining payments, liquidity, and treasury management. Join leading practitioners and industry experts for a forward-looking conversation on the technologies, risks, and business models that will shape the future of corporate finance.

Fernando Rodríguez is Deputy Director of International Expansion at Bizum, the real-time mobile payment solution from Spanish banks, a position from which it has led Bizum's alliances with other similar solutions in other countries to interconnect them, promoting the creation of a pan-European instant payment solution.

With 32 million users, 120,000 online retailers and 15,000 donation codes (June 2026), Bizum is a success story for the Spanish banking system. In 2025 alone, the Spanish population made an average of more than 3.4 million instant SEPA transfers per day via Bizum p2p, donations and e-commerce payments.

Panel Discussion: Digital Euro, WERO and other Systems of Money Transfer

This panels examines the rapidly evolving landscape of digital payments and financial infrastructure in Europe and beyond. It will explore how CBDCs like the Digital Euro compare with emerging payment solutions such as WERO, as well as traditional banking networks, fintech platforms, and blockchain-based systems. Experts will discuss the implications for consumers, businesses, privacy, security, financial sovereignty, and the future of cross-border transactions in an increasingly digital economy.

Dr. Mariem EL ALAOUI is Head of Group Risk Standards at Bank of Africa – BMCE Group and a researcher in CBDCs and monetary policy. She holds a PhD in Monetary Economics from Mohammed V University of Rabat. Her research explores CBDC design, exchange rate stability and financial inclusion in emerging economies.

Bank of Africa – BMCE Group is a leading pan-African banking group headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, operating in around 30 countries across Africa, Europe and Asia. The Group provides retail, corporate and investment banking services and supports financial integration and economic development across the continent.

CBDC Design Choices and Exchange Rate Stability

As central banks worldwide explore central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), understanding how CBDC design interacts with exchange rate stability has become an increasingly important policy question. This presentation examines how the key CBDC design parameters (cross-border interoperability, non-resident access, adoption intensity, transaction traceability, and capital flow management capabilities) influence exchange rate outcomes. Drawing on evidence from 28 economies, the findings show that CBDC design choices matter: interoperability tends to reduce exchange rate volatility, whereas unrestricted non-resident access may amplify external pressures. The presentation concludes by discussing implications for implementation sequencing, access calibration, and the evolving role of capital flow management in a CBDC environment. 

Dr Michael Salmony advises regulators, investors and banks — including the ECB, European Commission and commercial/central banks worldwide — on payments, digital finance and tokenised money. He served as Executive Adviser to the Board of Worldline for a decade, runs the Tokenised Money training at Oxford and at EBA, has co-edited the Springer Book on Tokenised Money and co-hosts The Payments Trilogue.

Payments Innovation Consulting is a specialised consultancy focusing on regulation and technology-driven payment innovations, with particular expertise in tokenised money, CBDCs, stablecoins, Open Finance and FinTech. We advise central banks, regulators, commercial banks, neo-banks, processors and global consultancies, offering business consultancy, market research and training on the future of payments.

Academy Session: Tokenisation of Money – From Fiat to Stablecoins

This session marks the launch of the book "Tokenisation of Money – From Fiat to Stablecoins", exploring how money is evolving from traditional fiat currencies to tokenised forms. It will highlight the rise of all kinds of digital currencies, their role in the financial system, and the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of money and payments. This comprehensive handbook with over 30 top authors from all stakeholders (central banks, commercial banks, fintechs, thought leaders, academics, platform builders, etc) around the world, published by from Springer, examines the How, What, Why, When - and future - of tokenised money.

Joachim Samuelsson is CEO and board member at publicly-listed Swedish deep tech company Crunchfish. Joachim is a tech pioneer and a serial entrepreneur with many patents in digital payments and mobile technology. He has a Master of Science degree from 1998 in Industrial Engineering and Management from Linköping University.

Crunchfish is a deep tech company developing a device-agnostic trusted client application platform for offline payments, tokenized card payments as well as other mobile client / server systems. Crunchfish has been listed on Nasdaq in Stockholm since 2016, with headquarters in Malmö and a subsidiary in India.

Offline Payments at Scale as Digital Money

This presentation reframes offline payments as a critical architectural choice rather than a backup feature, emphasizing how design decisions shape liquidity, risk, and governance when systems are disrupted. It introduces the BIG framework—Bankable, Implementable, and Governed—as a way to assess whether offline payment solutions can scale while preserving financial stability and institutional integrity. At its core, digital payments comes not from altering the system under stress, but from preserving it. This speech highlights governed offline architecture as the most effective path forward, enabling continuous payments while maintaining central authority, controlled risk, and alignment with regulatory frameworks

Adolfo is a senior advisor in financial services & digital currencies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Uruguay. Previously, he has been responsible for the monetary policy implementation and the payment system regulation and supervision at the Banco Central del Uruguay / Central Bank of Uruguay. He has been working as external advisor for the International Monetary Fund on CBDC projects.

The Central Bank of Uruguay is responsible for monetary policy, financial stability and financial services supervision in Uruguay.

Panel Discussion: Regulation Going Global

As digital currencies move from niche innovation to mainstream infrastructure, regulation is becoming an increasingly global conversation. This panel will explore how jurisdictions are shaping policy for stablecoins, CBDCs, tokenized assets, and crypto markets, and what greater international coordination means for financial institutions, fintechs, and policymakers. Join leading regulators, industry experts, and legal practitioners as they discuss emerging frameworks, cross-border challenges, and the opportunities to build a more interoperable and trusted digital financial ecosystem.

Massimiliano Silenzi is an entrepreneur, payments executive and researcher working at the intersection of marketing and payments. He first led Onebip, then founded CryptoRefills in 2018, combining international operating experience with empirical research on payment behavior. He holds a PhD in Finance and Management Sciences and an MSc in Marketing Management.

CryptoRefills is a global crypto-commerce platform operating since 2018 across more than 180 countries. It enables consumers to purchase everyday digital goods using cryptocurrency and conducts empirical research through CryptoRefills Labs on real-world crypto payment behavior, drawing on large-scale transaction-level merchant data.

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Shawn R. Smith, is a multidisciplinary strategist with more than 25 years of experience guiding organizations through complex financial, operational, and strategic challenges in the financial services, healthcare, government, real estate, hospitality, construction, and infrastructure development industries.

Shawn serves as an Executive Business Consultant to CEOs and Boards of Directors. He provides strategic advisory, business consulting, contract negotiation, regulatory relations, conflict resolution, and interim CFO support to private, public, and government clients. He has worked across several Fortune 500 and global organizations, including Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Ernst & Young (EY), where he gained extensive training and experience in auditing, performance improvement, and financial services.

A licensed Chartered Accountant in The Bahamas and a PA, Shawn is currently a CA and CPA in addition to his CFE designation. He holds multiple Bachelor’s degrees across Accounting, Finance, International Business, Marketing, and Criminology, reflecting his broad analytical foundation and holistic approach to organizational leadership.

With over 10 years in the payments space, Shawn has lots of experience in Central Bank Digital Currency. He played a key role in the implementation and rollout of the world's first CBDC in the Bahamas.

SunCash is an innovative technology company specialized in financial payments and transfers, and headquartered in the Bahamas. SunCash is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of the Bahamas and the Securities Commission to deliver our services to consumers across The Bahamas.

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Yoav Soffer has been with the Bank of Israel for 22 years, serving in various Positions . In 2020 he was appointed an Advisor to the Deputy Governor and the CBDC Project Manager, and coordinates the Bank of Israel's work on the digital shekel. Yoav has a B.A in Economics and Geography and an M.A in Economics from Ben Gurion University in Israel. He has taught in several academic institutions in Israel.

Bank of Israel is the central bank of Israel.

A fintech and regulatory professional with 15+ years across capital management, payments, and digital assets. Built Bermuda's payments and stablecoin regulatory framework at the BMA, led capital management at Checkout.com, and held senior treasury/capital roles at Barclays, KPMG, and NAB across different jurisdictions.

The Bermuda Monetary Authority is Bermuda's integrated financial services regulator, supervising banking, insurance, investment, trust, and digital asset businesses. It licenses and oversees regulated entities, issues policy and prudential standards, manages currency issuance, and promotes financial stability while positioning Bermuda as a well-regulated, internationally respected jurisdiction for financial services.

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At KfW since 2010, focusing on Digital Transformation and Distributed Ledger Technology since 2016, leading blockchain bond projects and ECB digital central bank money explorations, managing AI, Big Data, Cloud, and RPA.

KfW is one of the world’s leading promotional banks. KfW has been committed to improving economic, social and environmental living conditions across the globe on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. To realize its goals KfW is one of the most active, high-volume issuers of bonds and notes in the world.

Wholesale CBDC in Action: Two Real-World Use Cases of DLT-based Bonds

In this presentation, we showcase two real-world use cases demonstrating the power of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) combined with Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). Witness how digital bonds were issued and purchased with instant, real-time settlement powered by CBDC payments. Our insights highlight the practical benefits, challenges, and future potential of integrating DLT and CBDC in bond markets. Join us to explore how these innovations can transform financial infrastructures worldwide.

Harry is a senior marketing and positioning strategist. He previously worked at Banque Paribas and ABN AMRO and was a director at two leading international strategic consultants.

He is a leading contributor to innovation in both the retail and corporate payments and transaction space. He has also been actively involved in developing a.o. financial planning, international pensions and new steps in 'social innovation'. His strength is in catalyzing institutions into developing vision and strategies and in identifying and implementing client-centric solutions.

He is a columnist and guest speaker, sits on several advisory boards and regularly publishes in leading international media.

Smorenberg Corporate Consultancy is an advisory specialized in payments and financial transactions.

Panel Discussion: The Impact of Digital Currencies on Payment Systems

This panel will discuss how digital currencies will influence the way payments will be made in the future. What are the pros & cons, the risks & opportunities?

This panel delves into how digital currencies are reshaping global payment systems, from reducing transaction costs to enabling real-time cross-border transfers. The panelists will discuss the opportunities and disruptions brought about by stablecoins, tokenization, CBDCs. The conversation will explore the integration of digital currencies into existing payment infrastructures and their potential to enhance financial inclusion. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the technological, economic, and policy implications of this transformation.

Kai Tänzler is a Senior Expert in the Directorate General Digital Euro at Deutsche Bundesbank, specialized in wholesale CBDC. With over 30 years of experience in central banking, he has played a key role in several significant projects.

Deutsche Bundesbank is the central bank of Germany.

Panel Discussion: From Tokenization to Transformation

Tokenization is moving beyond experimentation and into mainstream financial markets. This panel explores how CBDC, tokenized deposits, assets, and securities reshape liquidity, settlement, and market infrastructure.

Daniel van Delft is the Chief Executive Officer of Currence iDEAL, the owner of the payment brand iDEAL. He also serves as the CEO of EPI Operations, the entity responsible for the operational management of the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and its digital wallet, Wero.

Wero is the first European-born digital wallet, developed by the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and supported by 14 major European banks and two large payment acquirers (Worldline and Nexi). Built on account-to-account payments, Wero allows users to send and receive money instantly using just a phone number, email address, or QR-code, without needing an IBAN.

Panel Discussion: Digital Euro, WERO and other Systems of Money Transfer

This panels examines the rapidly evolving landscape of digital payments and financial infrastructure in Europe and beyond. It will explore how CBDCs like the Digital Euro compare with emerging payment solutions such as WERO, as well as traditional banking networks, fintech platforms, and blockchain-based systems. Experts will discuss the implications for consumers, businesses, privacy, security, financial sovereignty, and the future of cross-border transactions in an increasingly digital economy.

Lead consultant for Reconnaissance on CBDCs writing extensively and regularly about them both considering both technical and policy options.  Editor of Cash & Payment News looking at payment developments and their impact on cash.  Consultant advising on projects such as the impact of changing cash usage.

Reconnaissance publishes newsletters and reports, organises conferences and webinars and offers consulting services. Its publications relevant to central banks cover the technical through to policy of all elements of cash, physical and digital, and payments with strong forward looking content. Currency News is a media partner of the CBDC conference.

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