Each year, Money 20/20 gives us a glimpse into the future of Financial Services. This year’s edition felt different. The conversations were less about disruption and more about orchestration, as traditional institutions, fintechs, and technology players collaborate to build the next layer of financial infrastructure together. The industry isn’t just testing new tech anymore; it’s quietly rebuilding its foundation.
Here are four key takeaways from the three 2025 Money20/20 editions, where Globant served as a sponsor, and what they reveal about the next decade of Financial Services.
1. Traditional Financial Services Institutions Are Embracing Digital Assets
One of the most striking trends discussed at Money 20/20 this year was how firmly traditional Financial Services Institutions are making their way into the digital-asset space, as it embraces disruptive trends such as stablecoins and cryptocurrencies.
Western Union, for example, announced the launch of its own U.S.-dollar-backed stablecoin, USDPT, built on the Solana blockchain and expected to go live in 2026 (press release). The goal? To move money faster and cheaper across borders, the kind of inclusion play that remittance giants were once too cautious to make.
“Cross-border payments are becoming the ultimate test of digital maturity. The challenge is creating frictionless ecosystems that move as fast as global commerce.” – Erin Stillwell, EVP and Payments Head at Globant’s Financial Services AI Studio
At the same time, JPMorgan Chase & Co. expanded its use of crypto-linked assets as collateral for institutional loans. These moves mark a deeper shift: blockchain rails are no longer the “alternative” network, but are becoming part of the mainstream infrastructure. The conversation has moved from whether to use blockchain to how fast banks can rewire their legacy systems to compete on speed, cost, and transparency.
However, the real opportunity and challenge lie in interoperability. As payment networks, digital wallets, and stablecoin platforms proliferate, value will increasingly shift across diverse rails, including legacy, real-time, and tokenized. The winners will be those who make these systems speak the same language.
As stablecoins become the new settlement medium, what happens to traditional payment rails, such as ACH and SWIFT? Where will banks still earn a premium, risk management, compliance, liquidity, and what becomes a commodity?
2. The Next Wave of AI
AI again dominated the stage, but the narrative evolved. The first wave demonstrated its value in enhancing employee productivity and customer experience. The next wave is about autonomy and measurable ROI, a trend that is on the rise.
Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram and now Chief Product Officer at Anthropic, reflected on a pivotal moment for AI. Citing MIT professor Ethan Mollick, that “a threshold has happened, AI is now able to do economically valuable work.” underlining a shift from experimentation to execution: AI is no longer a futuristic concept but a practical tool reshaping how real work gets done. The question for businesses isn’t if AI can deliver value, but how fast they can harness it.
A recent Wharton School study, found that 82% of executives now use Gen AI weekly and 46% daily, yet adoption in banking and financial services remains far lower than in tech or telecom; however, it’s gaining traction.
Justin Boitano, NVIDIA VP, summarized it well: “Enterprises need to rethink their data center for AI – and it just took them a bit longer. We’re seeing demand start to take off in the last couple of quarters.”
One of the most compelling topics at Money 20/20 was agentic commerce, a world where AI agents find, compare, and buy products or services on behalf of the customer. Imagine your personal AI agent automatically finding your favorite products, comparing prices, and placing the order, while another agent, representing the merchant, handles payment, confirmation, and compliance. The invisible bridge? Agentic payments, the protocols that allow two autonomous agents (consumer & merchant) to transact securely, settle instantly, and resolve disputes transparently.
“Just as APIs transformed how applications talk to each other, agentic payments will redefine how AI agents transact. They are the invisible bridge turning intent into instant value exchange — a new infrastructure for trust, speed, and accountability.” – Erin Stillwell, EVP and Payments Head at Globant’s Financial Services AI Studio
Visa, PayPal, and Walmart are already exploring this frontier. Visa has been developing Agentic AI payment tools, while Walmart and PayPal have both partnered with OpenAI to embed conversational AI into commerce journeys. Yet, financial institutions still lag behind other industries in personalization. Social media platforms can anticipate what users want before they even ask. Banking data is far richer, but there remains significant room to leverage it for personalization better.
Financial Services institutions must shift from product sellers to agent orchestrators, providing the rails, identity frameworks, and payment protocols that enable intelligent agents to act safely on behalf of customers.
3. Identity and Security Take Center Stage
As digital assets and agentic commerce converge, security and identity become key enablers. Traditional players are racing to tokenize as many transactions as possible, not just for efficiency, but for traceability, privacy, and security.
“Nearly 50% of our e-commerce transactions globally are tokenized.” – Ryan McInerney, CEO at Visa Inc.
But new rails bring new risks: token custody, smart-contract vulnerabilities, and identity spoofing by autonomous agents.
“Today, more than 30% of Mastercard transactions worldwide are tokenized, and we intend to continue scaling this rapidly. By 2030, we’re aiming to eliminate the need for manual card entry and one-time or static passwords, by ensuring that every online transaction across our network can be tokenized and authenticated – making online checkout smoother and safer for everyone.” – Pablo Fourez, Chief Digital Officer at Mastercard.
Who is the counterparty when a bot transacts on your behalf? How do you trace accountability in an agent-to-agent payment? The next leap in trust will hinge on a multi-layered identity, encompassing human, agent, and asset. Banks will need governance models that authenticate not only the customer, but also the agent acting on their behalf and the digital asset being transferred.
“In a world where AI makes every interaction intelligent, trust is the real competitive advantage. Security is the architecture of confidence.” – Lucas Juri, Managing Director at Globant’s Financial Services AI Studio
4. Infrastructure as Strategy
Every conversation about the future of Financial Services eventually leads back to one word: infrastructure. But this year, the tone shifted. Infrastructure is no longer a hidden enabler; it’s the strategy itself.
Owning the rails that move money, data, and intelligence means owning the customer relationship. That’s why tech giants are building payment networks, fintechs are launching wallets, and banks are re-architecting their cores into platforms. Tomorrow’s competitive edge won’t come from product features; it will come from architectural agility: the ability to plug, unbundle, and reassemble services at speed. The next decade will be defined by who controls the orchestration layer, not who owns the transaction.
The New Era of Orchestration
Money 20/20 2025 made one thing clear: innovation is no longer about single technologies; it’s about connecting them. Stablecoins, AI, APIs, and wallets aren’t separate innovations; they’re interdependent layers of the same transformation.
“We’re entering a new phase where fintech innovation is no longer about disruption but orchestration. Those who can connect intelligence, agility, and trust across every customer touchpoint will reach the next frontier faster.” – JD Quiñones, Director and Head of Strategy at Globant’s Financial Services AI Studio
Financial Services institutions now face a choice: continue optimizing legacy systems or design new ones where intelligence, identity, and value converge.
The next decade won’t belong to those who move the fastest, but to those who move in sync.
Explore how Globant’s Financial Services Studio helps BFSI leaders harness AI, open finance, and intelligent ecosystems to drive innovation, orchestrate seamless customer experiences, and secure a competitive edge. Discover how here.
