Current Speakers Europe

With over 25 years as a seasoned technology leader, I specialize in advancing digital payment solutions, real-time gross settlement systems, and financial market infrastructure on a global scale.

Currently serving as Adviser Payment Systems, I drive transformative strategies for payment systems, cross-border payments, and scalable IT infrastructures. My career includes high-impact leadership roles at the European Central Bank, where I led pivotal technology programs for the Eurosystem and fostered robust partnerships with national central banks and financial institutions worldwide.

I am passionate about leveraging innovation and agile methodologies to streamline operations, fortify cybersecurity, and optimize real-time data flow for modern financial ecosystems.

Core Competencies:
• Strategic IT Leadership: Expert in overseeing global payment technology strategies, budget management, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Innovation & Digital Transformation: Strong track record of implementing next-generation payment technologies, enhancing cybersecurity, and automating key processes.
• Cross-Border Collaboration: Skilled in steering multi-national teams and building strategic partnerships with central banks, regulatory bodies, and technology providers.
• Cybersecurity & Compliance: Comprehensive experience in enhancing IT security across payment systems, meeting stringent regulatory and operational standards.

Founder & CEO of Banfico, supporting financial institutions with Open Banking and Verification of Payee solutions.

Open Banking expert who has worked at leading financial institutions in the UK – RBS, HSBC, WorldPay, Lloyds Banking Group. An active participant in various working groups on Open Banking and a speaker at various conferences. Serving as Advisor to Berlin Group’s open finance standards – EU’s most widely used API specification.

A strong advocate of Open Standards and an expert in identity & security. Come from a technical background with 20+ years of experience & is a hands-on solution architect. Graduate in Applied Mathematics.

László Kajdi is the Head of the Financial Infrastructures and Payments Policy Section at the Central Bank of Hungary (MNB). He holds a Ph.D. in Economics with a thesis on international remittances to Hungary. Previously he worked at the Hungarian Ministry of Finance and in the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. In his present position he is responsible for tasks concerning the development of the Hungarian payment system, i.e. designing and executing public policies which facilitate the prevalence of electronic payment methods. This includes the further development of the Hungarian “qvik” instant payments service, as well as tasks in connection with the analysis of central bank digital currencies. The development of financial infrastructures like the Hungarian ACH, CSD and CCP is also an important part of his work. In addition, his tasks cover the elaboration of proposals for payments related regulation.

Giorgio Andreoli has extensive professional experience in digital financial solutions and innovative services, spanning multiple industries and executive roles. Before joining the EPC in March 2023 he has been working from Sep 2021 at the European Central Bank (ECB) on the Digital Euro project. From 2010 to 2021 he served as a Managing Director at Accenture, working on digital finance, payments, and open banking projects for Italian and European clients. Before then he worked for 15 years in the telco sector, eventually serving as Director of Strategic Marketing at Ericsson South-East Europe.

At the Deutsche Bundesbank, Dr Heike Winter is responsible for digitalisation in payments. This comprises committee work in the Eurosystem and in the German banking industry. She is involved into internal and external discussions on crypto assets, stable coins and central bank digital currencies. After completing her degree in economics, Dr Winter worked at an institute for economic theory. She joined the Deutsche Bundesbank in February 1999, working initially in the Public Relations and Economic Education Departments before transferring to the Payments Department in March 2007.

Experienced Senior Business Consultant on banking applications.

Dealing room applications (syndication, selling and market making of bonds trading)
Electronic banking systems (Retail, Corporate and Private Banking users)
Payment systems ( Payment acquisition, processing, clearing and settlement)
Global Cash Management (Netting, Notional Pooling, Sweeping…)
Card processing and management (transaction acquisition, processing and settlment)
Loans management systems (Mortgage loans, personal loans…)
Trade finance processing (Letters of credit, Documentary collections, Bonds and guarantees)
global Custody (Transaction management, Portfolio management, corporate actions …)

Outstanding ability to understand the requirements of the customers and to relate it to the product capabilities of our software.

Specialties: Strong pre-sales consultant specialized in banking systems.

Saskia Devolder is a dynamic executive leader with over 20 years of experience in the
financial services and payments industry. As the Head of Visa Direct Central Europe at
Visa, Saskia is at the forefront of transforming money movement, enabling fast, simple
and secure ways to pay and be paid.
Previously, as Managing Director Strategy Cross-border Payments and Head of Western
& Central Europe at SWIFT, she spearheaded strategic initiatives to enable frictionless,
instant cross-border payments. Saskia successfully launched SWIFT gpi and led the
ECB ESMIG project, driving innovation and efficiency across Europe.
Known for her ability to demystify complex concepts in diverse, multicultural settings,
Saskia is passionate about sustainable growth through innovation and technology. Her
earlier career includes impactful senior roles at MasterCard, Synstar International, and
Sterling Software.

Scott is a payments industry leader and SME of 17 years, with experience across a range of local (UK) and global financial services organisations. His experience is primarily focused in product management / development, strategy development / deployment and sales.

He enjoys the challenge of keeping up with the new technological changes that we continue to experience and relating this back to evolving product and service offerings to delight customers.

He currently holds a position on the Pay.UK industry advisory council in the UK, focused on using his experience to help influence and direct their future strategy. He has also previously held board and advisory positions with LINK, UK Payments Council and number of payment-related fintechs.

Marcus joined the Digital Euro Project from day one on and supported the holistic definition of the front-end related product part. This included a wide scope from the distribution model via form factor considerations up to the compensation model. Since July 2024 he acts as team lead for the online use case team within the Product Proposition Division. The team is responsible for all front-end related standards, formats and specifications around the digital euro as well as the detailed implementation of those within the rulebook of the Digital Euro.
Before joining the ECB Marcus worked 11 years at Deutsche Bundesbank in different occupations, but always within the payments policy area. He was responsible with his team for the evolution of the SEPA clearer, was involved in national debit card migration projects but as well in Bundesbank’s first DLT experiments.
Marcus has a background in economics from Bonn University as well as KU Leuven.

Axel is a seasoned business development manager at SurePay, the inventors of Verification of Payee in Europe. He joined SurePay in 2025 and is responsible for expanding the companies presence and offerings in the D-A-CH region, leveraging his extensive network and knowledge of the financial services industry.

As of 1 February 2014 Gijs Boudewijn (1958) holds the position of Deputy General Manager at the Dutch Payments Association. Before that he was responsible for payments at the Dutch Banking Association.

He has extensive experience in domestic as well as international payments issues, governance, competition law and fraud prevention. He started as an in-house lawyer at a large Dutch savings bank, and later became Head of Legal Affairs at the central Dutch clearing house, Bankgirocentrale, the predecessor of equensWorldline.

In 1998 Mr Boudewijn joined the Dutch Banking Association as Head of Payments and Security Affairs, and in 2014 was appointed Deputy General Manager of the Dutch Payments Association. Currently Mr Boudewijn is Chair of the Legal Support Group of the European Payments Council and Chair of the Payment Systems Committee of the European Banking Federation (also representing the EBF on the API Evaluation Group established by the European Commisison).

Over the past years he was in that capacity closely involved with matters relating to PSD2 and the various Regulatory Technical Standards. Mr Boudewijn is a regular speaker at national and international conferences on payments, open banking and related issues.

The “too hard basket” is my comfort zone. I excel at simplifying complex challenges, collaborating with Subject Matter Experts to transform underperforming verticals affected by legislative, operational, or legacy issues. I thrive on continuous growth, both personal and professional, through learning and coaching.

Key achievements include founding an early-payment platform serving over 200 corporations, securing significant debt funding, financing 35,000+ WorkCover Claims, and developing a bankable legal framework for high-risk construction finance. I also created a multi-currency factoring system boosting efficiency by 10X and resolved critical deficiencies in a public health system, preventing potential crises. Challenges inspire me.

Bence Marosi has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. Bence started his career at Citibank Hungary in 1999, where he held various roles such as Management Associate, Senior Citigold Executive and Investment and Citigold Head. In 2007, he joined UniCredit Bank Hungary, where he led multiple key areas in Retail, Private Banking and Corporate Divisions. In 2020, he joined GIRO Zrt. where he held the COO position between 2021-2023. Since 2023, he is Business Director of GIRO Zrt., overseeing GIRO’s Service Portfolio, Business Development and Testing activities.

20+ years experiences in IT development & Team Leadership within Financial Industry

She believe in transformation and innovation in the heart of every improvement, looking for better customer experience and boosting the personal growth for people in your team. With experience in transformational and complex projects, becoming a business-technology translator, managing multidisciplinary teams, and working effectively with the rest of the company areas or external third parties to accomplish business goals.
With high experience developing products and services, Customer experience and data quality oriented. Project management and governance, coordinating other areas to achieve an accurate implementation of new initiatives, products and services.

Christian Schäfer has headed the newly formed Payment Department at the DSGV since February 1, 2024.

Mr. Schäfer joins from the European Central Bank, where he was responsible for developing a payment scheme for the digital euro as Chair of the Digital Euro Scheme Rulebook Development Group in the Market Infrastructure and Payment Directorate.

Prior to that, Christian Schäfer held various global and regional roles as Head of Product in the Corporate Banking division of Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt and London.

He teaches various disciplines in the field of managerial skills such as negotiation, leadership, strategy, innovation and change management at the University of Mannheim and the Mannheim Business School.

A very long time ago Tim’s first job was to work out how to use smart cards and cryptography to build a payment system. Since then he’s worked with clients in over 70 countries and been involved in most major initiatives in retail payments including EMV, contactless and tokenization, with a sideline in other security related programs such as transit ticketing and digital identity. In recent years he’s focused more on instant payment initiatives including PSD2 / Open Banking, digital wallet initiatives, Central Bank Digital Currencies and cross-border payment initiatives

Susana is Managing Director, Strategy & Business Development at Swift. She defines and executes
strategies for Swift to support the financial community in delivering instant and frictionless payments across the world.
In her professional trajectory with over 20 years of experience, she has developed a broad expertise in
payments, having worked for leading financial institutions such as Santander’s cross-border payments division and Citi’s credit cards business.
Beyond the financial industry, she delved into the dynamic world of technology holding leadership roles at Amazon and in the B2B software industry, where she led digital transformation and go-to-market strategies. Earlier in her career she was a management consultant at McKinsey.

Specialist in financial services law and global payment solutions for corporates and financial institutions. Leading and managing the Global Payment Solutions Europe and Product Legal Team and providing Global oversight and support regarding liquidity, cash management and payment legal risk.

Private practice roles in both Paris and London and as in-house counsel, including a number of secondments to global financial institutions. Experienced advisor for implementing changes relating to finance and financial services law; supporting regional deal and product governance forums. Specialising in strategic projects assessing the impact of legal, regulatory, strategic and market changes and advising on solutions.

Trustee on the board of The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) – Friends in the UK and Peacehaven House care home.

David Ballaschk is a payments expert in the Deutsche Bundesbank’s Directorate General Payments and Settlement Systems. His work focuses mainly on cross-border and real-time payments. He is a member of various G20 and G7 groups focussing on payments.

Robert Kiszely graduated from Eotvos Lorand Science University in Computer Science. He was hired as the first Capsys employee in 1998. Over the past 26 years he has gained experience in several fields in banking and financial IT: expert consultancy, development, implementation and support of securities settlement, pension fund administration and payment systems. Robert has successfully led several domestic and international projects. As Director of Professional Services, he runs the professional support of Capsys’ international partnership programme, focusing on Immediate Payments and PSD2/ Open Banking. Robert has been recognised as one of the leading experts of Immediate Payments and PSD2/Open Banking in Hungary, having spoken at numerous conferences on these topics. Over the last three years he has led the architectural design and subsequent implementation of two major immediate payment implementations in Hungary.”

‘Martijn de Ruijter is head of SEPA Payments and Payment Transactions Fraud at Rabobank – a Dutch cooperative bank. In this position he is responsible for product management and delivery related to SEPA Payment Products (including Instant Payments) and a number of related applications. In addition, he is accountable and risk and model owner regarding external fraud including (coordination of) relevant policies and awareness, prevention, detection, case handling and compensation activities. Martijn has a background in Business Lending for SME and corporate customers and holds two Master degrees in Finance and Marketing’.

Sandra Sommerlund leads the Customer & Sector Integration tribe at Danske Bank but comes from a background in Markets. She started her career in the investment management department of a Nordic insurance company before transitioning to Danske Bank in 2017 – initially dealing interest rate derivates and later heading up the Nordic FX sales desk for business customers. In her current role, Sandra has the responsibility for Danske Bank’s well-renowned file integration solutions while driving their large commercial ambitions in the Open Banking area which is a key component in the bank’s Forward ’28 strategy

Passionate about payments modernization and worldwide access to secure, interoperable payment systems, I have been fortunate to find myself at the forefront of Payments Canada’s modernization efforts, helping to define Canadian usage of the international ISO 20022 standard for the Real-Time Rail and high-value system Lynx. My extensive knowledge and expertise in this area has also allowed me to represent Payments Canada as an engaging public speaker in multiple conferences.

Working closely with Payments Canada’s members and stakeholders, I help to analyze Canadian banking systems and business needs, assessing potential solutions to identified issues and proposed ISO 20022 message development initiatives while recommending strategic approaches (both systemic and operational) to support the best way forward for Payments Canada and the Canadian financial ecosystem.

Driven by innovation and global cooperation, I continually challenge myself to remain at the forefront of key developments and trends in Payment Market Infrastructures and Modernization efforts, and as such, regularly collaborate with various worldwide organizations and financial governing bodies including the European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Experienced Senior Advisor on Payments and Cash Management Services.

Principal at Quad Solutions Ltd, heading Management Consulting Services. I cover both Strategic and Product consultancy for IT Vendors, Banks and Corporates across Europe.

Providing professional advisory and training to payment fintechs and banks on strategy, products, targeting, sales approach, pricing, implementation and post-sales.

I also work as Senior Advisor with global payment infrastructures and central banks for the evolution of payments services and related regulation, standards and market practices.

Served at UniCredit Group as Head of Payments Italy, Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe for 12 years with a demonstrated history of successful product innovation.

Strong competences in SEPA, Instant and International Payments, Foreign Exchange, Liquidity Management, Pricing Models, Receivable Reconciliation, Virtual Accounts, AML, Revenue Enhancement