Sibos 2024 conference highlights: Connecting the future of finance in Beijing

Sibos arrived in mainland China for the first time in October 2024, bringing together more than 10,100 participants online and in-person in Beijing.

Tapping into the theme of ‘Connecting the future of finance’, over 500 thought leaders presented to participants from more than 150 countries, while over 130 exhibitors connected with thousands of executives and industry professionals.

Across a packed four-day programme, Sibos 2024 Beijing addressed the pivotal issues shaping finance amid rapid, ongoing digital transformation including artificial intelligence, tokenisation, payments and compliance.

Here, we recap some of the most-watched conference sessions from Beijing, now available in full on Sibos TV .

Building the bank of tomorrow

Perhaps no session encapsulated the Sibos 2024 theme like Building the bank of tomorrow , as panelists discussed what do banks and other financial institutions need to do to thrive for the future? Watch Ernest Saudjana from BCG moderate a discussion on how you can build successful business models in the face of economic uncertainty, stiff competition and other challenging conditions. This session featured panellists Erica Kostelijk, ABN AMRO, Ashish Bajaj, Citi, Manish Kohli, HSBC, and Souleïma Baddi, Komgo.

Achieving the G20’s roadmap for cross-border payments: A central bank perspective

Public and private sectors are rallying around the G20 goals for enhancing cross-border payments. Hear how central banks see their role in reaching the ambitious G20 targets. What tools and capabilities do they have at hand to impact the efficiency of cross-border payments? And how can innovation and collaboration on a global scale help overcome barriers and mitigate risks towards achieving greater efficiency?

Swift’s Marianne Demarchi moderated this session exploring various dimensions of cross-border payments and their interconnectivity with domestic payment systems within the broader framework of the G20 objectives. The discussion featured Faisal Alhijawi, Buna, Dr. Susan Koech, Central Bank of Kenya, Burkhard Balz, Deutsche Bundesbank, and Dimitri Pattyn, European Central Bank.

Reality check: How far have CBDCs come?

Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) were firmly in the spotlight at Sibos 2024. Bénédicte Nolens, BIS Innovation Hub, moderated this panel session alongside Henry Campbell, Central Bank of the Bahamas, Changchun Mu, Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, Evellen Witlox, European Central Bank, and Assel Marchenko, National Bank of Kazakhstan.

When it comes to CBDCs, how much progress has been made over the last year? In some countries, wholesale CBDCs have overtaken retail ones, as development and production continue throughout a diverse range of countries, including China, the UAE, India, Brazil and Kazakhstan. The rollout of CBDCs is increasingly moving closer, pressing the need for vital design decisions on scalability, security, programmability and cross-border interoperability. In this session, we unpacked what these decisions are, what they mean, past learnings and future roadmaps.

As ISO 20022 reshapes payments, how can providers reshape themselves?

This popular Big Issue Debate explored the move to ISO 20022 and the generational shift it’s having on the payments landscape. Moderated by Peter Harmston, KPMG, panellists included Etienne Bernard, Crédit Agricole, Tsvetanka Nankova, Deutsche Bank, Pamela Mar, ICC Digital Standards Initiative, and Michael Spiegel, Standard Chartered.

Panellists emphasised that, like other major changes, the move to ISO 20022 is much more than a technology shift. It reshapes the entire payments landscape and opens opportunities for payment providers to redefine their value proposition. More frictionless operational and financial crime compliance processes are just the tip of the iceberg. The big question is how can providers use the rich, structured data to develop innovative, useful and sticky new services for customers – and what will happen if they don’t?

This session was introduced by Pat Antonacci, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Swift.

To watch all these sessions, as well as other video highlights from Sibos 2024 Beijing, visit Sibos TV .

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