On January 29th, at the Paris Fintech Forum, an impressive panel composed of Christine Lagarde (Managing Director, IMF), Carlos Torres Vila (Group Executive Chairman, BBVA), Stefan Ingves (Governor, Sveriges Riksbank) and Katrhyn Petralia (President, Kabbage) discussed "The Future of Finance". The moderator of the panel was Laurent Nizri, the founder of the event.

"Our world is changing thanks to digital and finance is deeply impacted. We see the creation of new products and services, the rising importance of customer journey and experience, the development of cashless societies, the advent of Blockchain, AI and cryptocurrencies, and much more. Therefore, it means new challenges, risks and opportunities," first underlined the moderator. Carlos Torres Vila then explained how BBVA was at the forefront of innovation, as it notably continues to be at the top of mobile banking apps, with more than 50% of its clients now being "digital". "We are embracing technology to deliver better experiences," he added. The BBVA expert also explained that digital helps with financial inclusion, and even allows people to get out of poverty thanks to cheaper and faster solutions. Moreover, with tech, banks are now more efficient at preventing crime and suspicious activities, while also improving internal processes and allow better decision-making. "This is where the big change is happening. BBVA invested subsequently in Fintech, via acquisitions, ventures, or internally, with the biggest impact being on the pace of change," he highlighted. In such a context, banks that have an innovative mindset will survive and have a role to play in a wider finance ecosystem, by bringing a unique value proposition and its industry knowledge. Finally, Carlos Torres Vila insisted on the ownership of data and its importance in a connected environment. He advocated the free flow of data, cross-sector and even cross-country.

As explained by Stefan Ingves, the Governor of Sveriges Riksbank, "change and technology is no news in the banking industry. Central banks have been around for a long time and have been dealing with it for the same period of time. Actually, the fundamental role of the Central Banks has remained the same, even if internally experts now need to think outside the traditional tool box".

On the question of trends and their potential to disrupt the banking world, Christine Lagarde shared a personal and impactful example. When visiting a rural community in Peru 5 years ago, she met a fascinating woman who had lost people because of terrorism. Thanks to digital, she was able to sell guinea pigs and therefore live and protect herself. "I therefore think that financial technologies can help to fight against violence towards women. Mobile devices have transformed the way people live," simply explained the IMF Managing Director. The International Monetary Fund also helps several countries to respond to tech changes. All the finance ministers who participated to the Bali Tech Agenda, shared their points of view and biggest challenges, to later come out with 12 basic principles that are to be used when Fintech startups and their innovate services start disrupting emerging markets and countries. In this respect, the IMF is open to understanding and supporting the development of Fintech all over the world.

To back Mrs Lagarde's story, Kathryn Petralia explained how technology enables the inclusion of people who could participate in the past: back in the days, data wasn't available. Nowadays, thanks to technological innovation, organizations are able to deliver new services to bad-banked communities located in emerging markets and therefore make a real difference globally.

The experts then discussed regulation and risks. Katheryn Petralia shared her vision: "according to me, regulation makes it harder for new entrants. For instance, in the US, it would be impossible to be licensed in all 50 states". Carlos Torres Vila agreed, stating that companies engaged in many activities meet difficulties because different sets of rules exist. Moreover, he explained that tech giants, who will be soon be entering the market and driving financial insights from data, are not regulated entities. "Also, let's not forget about the risks associated with cyber-attacks as companies and banks are constantly under pressure. These will increase because value lies in data," he added. The cybersecurity risks were also mentioned by Christine Lagarde, who advocated cooperation between the private and public sectors, but also with institutions.