FIBE 2026: where Europe’s financial infrastructure takes shape

Ahead of FIBE 2026, The Paypers sought to discover more about the event that brings banks, fintechs, and policymakers together to turn structural shifts in finance into real-world action.

How is FIBE 2026 positioning itself within the evolving European fintech ecosystem, and what key themes will define this year’s agenda?

FIBE is neither a traditional conference nor a festival-style event; it functions as a working space for Europe’s finance and technology ecosystem. What matters is the combination of depth on stage and informal exchange off stage: many conversations start in sessions and continue immediately afterwards.

Berlin plays a special role here. Regulated institutions, startups, investors, and policymakers meet in an unusually accessible environment, and FIBE deliberately builds on that proximity.

For this year, the focus is less on individual technologies and more on structural shifts in financial markets, including:

• stablecoins and new monetary infrastructure;
• the next phase of retail investing and brokerage;
• private markets and the accessibility of asset classes;
• defence and security financing in Europe;
• changing roles between banks, platforms, and technology providers.

FIBE isn’t about trendwatching, it’s about meeting the right people, exchanging real experiences, and leaving with ideas you can actually implement.

Which emerging payment, banking, or Embedded Finance trends do you believe will have the greatest impact on the industry in 2026, and how will the event reflect these shifts?

2026 will likely be defined less by new features and more by structural changes in how finance operates. Four developments stand out:

1. Programmable money & stablecoin infrastructure

Stablecoins and tokenised deposits are moving from speculative instruments toward settlement infrastructure. The programme frames them not as a crypto story, but as part of next-generation financial market infrastructure.

2. Agentic AI

Agentic AI refers to systems that do not merely generate outputs, but independently plan, execute and optimise tasks toward defined goals. In finance, this marks a shift beyond automation or predictive analytics. The session 'AI in Finance: Is Agentic the Endgame or Just the Beginning?' explores the move from AI as an analytical tool to AI as an autonomous decision-making actor.

3. Embedded Finance as distribution revolution

Financial services are increasingly integrated into non-financial platforms, retail, mobility, SaaS and marketplaces. The 'Deep Dive Embedded Finance' looks at this development not as a niche trend but as a structural change in distribution and ecosystem dynamics.

4. Private markets

Private equity, private credit, infrastructure and venture capital have historically been limited to institutional investors. Structural forces are now gradually expanding access, raising the question of whether private markets are becoming a mainstream asset class. The session 'Private Markets – From Elite to Mainstream?' examines this shift.

FIBE reflects these developments not only through stage discussions but through direct exchange between banks, fintechs, platforms and investors, focusing less on isolated case studies and more on how business models are actually changing.

Regulation continues to reshape financial services across Europe. How will discussions at FIBE 2026 address regulatory challenges and opportunities for fintech and payments players?

In Europe, regulation is not a side topic, it is part of the market structure. Many business models exist because of regulatory clarity, and others fail because of it.

At FIBE, the discussion therefore focuses less on legal interpretation and more on impact:

• Stablecoins in 2026: The New Backbone of Finance? 
  • This panel directly engages with financial market regulation and monetary sovereignty. Regulation is treated as the decisive factor determining whether stablecoins become infrastructure or remain niche instruments.
• From Local to Global: Navigating Regulations and Winning Hearts in New Markets. 
  • This session tackles regulatory complexity as a scaling challenge.
• What’s Next in US Fintech: Risks, Shifts & Signals. 
  • This panel examines regulatory volatility and political risk in the US.
• AI as a Hero Saving Banks from Future Fraud?
  • This session links AI innovation directly to regulatory pressure.
• The Defence Dilemma: Rethinking Investment Priorities between ESG & Security.
  • Here, regulation shapes capital flows and forces a re-evaluation of normative investment frameworks.

By bringing industry and policymakers together, conversations move beyond theory toward practical implementation and strategic consequences.

What can attendees from the payments and digital commerce sectors specifically expect in terms of networking, partnerships, and actionable insights?

Participants from payments and digital commerce can expect both strategic perspective and hands-on exchange. Sessions like 'Instant, Integrated, Tokenised: Digital Payment Disruption' with Ania Dargel (Berliner Sparkasse) and 'Who Owns the Future of Money? The Battle Over Payment Sovereignty' with Robert Buenick (Unzer Group), Patrick Green (Banking Circle), and Isabel Martinez Gayá (Bizum) address infrastructure, schemes and Europe’s role in future payment models.

Beyond the stages, focused masterclasses explore implementation challenges, while informal formats, from Späti meetups to networking in the Tiergarten, extend discussions and help turn conversations into partnerships and concrete takeaways.

How do you envision FIBE’s role in fostering collaboration between traditional financial institutions, fintechs, and technology providers?

Collaboration rarely happens inside panels, it happens in the conversations that follow them. FIBE’s role is to create the conditions for those exchanges. Different players meet with clear intentions: banks seek distribution, fintechs seek infrastructure, technology providers seek real use cases. FIBE accelerates these interactions because all sides are present at the same time, allowing discussions to move quickly from ideas to potential implementation.

The Paypers is a proud media partner of FIBE 2026. Register for the event here and use the code FIBE_Media to get your discounted ticket.

About the interviewee

Lisa Dally is the Project Lead of FIBE Berlin, a brand of Messe Berlin, bringing over 11 years of experience in project management and creation. With a passion for events, communication, and creating unforgettable moments, she thrives in bringing ideas to life and crafting meaningful experiences.

 

 

About FIBE

FIBE is the leading finance festival in Berlin organised by Messe Berlin, Handelsblatt, Berlin Finance Initiative, and Berlin Partner. Experts from fintech, banks, startups, and investors come together to discuss the latest trends and innovations in the fields of finance, technology, and digitalisation. Whether you're a finance expert, fintech visionary, or tech investor, FIBE is the chance to engage with Europe’s leading finance and tech scene, 15 and 16 April 2026.