Digital, Innovation, Payments
Connecting banks and FinTechs: highlights from the ABBL speed meeting 2026
Published on 20 January 2026
The ABBL Bank CEOs–FinTechs Speed Meeting 2026, held on 15 January 2026 and hosted at Banque Raiffeisen, once again confirmed the value of structured, business-oriented dialogue between banks and FinTech firms. Bringing together around 100 participants, including bank CEOs, senior executives and FinTech leaders, the event aimed to foster meaningful exchanges and identify concrete opportunities for collaboration.
Summary
Watch the after movie and revisit key moments from the ABBL Bank CEOs–FinTechs Speed Meeting 2026!
From structured dialogue to concrete collaboration
The ABBL Bank CEOs–FinTechs Speed Meeting 2026, held on 15 January 2026 and hosted at Banque Raiffeisen, once again confirmed the value of structured, business-oriented dialogue between banks and FinTech firms. Bringing together around 100 participants, including bank CEOs, senior executives and FinTech leaders, the event aimed to foster meaningful exchanges and identify concrete opportunities for collaboration.
Setting the scene: openness and cooperation
The evening opened with welcome addresses by Laurent Zahles, CEO of Banque Raiffeisen, and Yves Stein, Chairman of ABBL, who both underlined the importance of collaboration and openness to innovation within Luxembourg’s financial sector. The event was introduced by Sarah Odru, Head of Member Relations at ABBL, who welcomed participants and set the scene for the evening’s programme.
A format designed for focus and efficiency
Since its launch in 2022, the speed-meeting format has been designed with a clear objective: enabling decision-makers to quickly assess whether there is a strategic fit between a bank’s needs and a FinTech’s solution. The structure remains intentionally simple and time-efficient, combining short, focused meetings with clear rules and limited time slots, allowing participants to maximise the value of each interaction.
During the 2026 edition, banks and FinTechs took part in up to six rounds of eight-minute one-to-one meetings, introduced and facilitated by Andrey Martovoy, Senior Adviser – Innovation & Digital at ABBL. The evening concluded with a networking cocktail, offering additional opportunities to continue discussions in a more informal setting.
Insights from concrete cooperation experiences
Ahead of the speed-meeting sessions, participants were invited to reflect on real-life examples of bank–FinTech cooperation.
A first segment was dedicated to success stories from “Catapult: BankTech – Depositary Banking Edition 2025”, implemented in collaboration with The LHoFT Foundation. Insights were shared by Brenda Bol, Chair of the ABBL Depositary Banking Cluster (Cecabank S.A., Branch in Luxembourg), Alex Panican, Deputy CEO of The LHoFT Foundation, and Melanie Moos, Managing Director at Depowise. Their contributions illustrated how targeted innovation programmes can help banks and FinTechs jointly address concrete operational challenges, particularly in depositary banking.
The programme also featured a practitioner’s perspective from Advanzia Bank, presented by Nishant Fafalia, CEO of Advanzia Bank. His intervention provided a concrete example of bank–FinTech collaboration, showing how innovation partnerships can move beyond initial discussions to deliver practical solutions and measurable value when objectives and expectations are clearly aligned. He also highlighted the importance of identifying potential challenges early and addressing them proactively.
Quality exchanges and strong engagement
Throughout the evening, discussions were characterised by pragmatism. The diversity of participants, spanning retail, private, corporate and depositary banking, as well as a wide range of FinTech specialisations, contributed to the richness of the exchanges.
The event once again demonstrated that innovation in banking is most effective when it is rooted in dialogue, mutual understanding and concrete use cases, rather than abstract concepts or purely theoretical approaches.
Looking ahead
The ABBL Speed Meeting continues to serve as a key platform for fostering collaboration within Luxembourg’s financial ecosystem. By bringing together decision-makers and solution providers in a structured and time-efficient format, it helps accelerate the transition from initial contact to concrete follow-up.
ABBL would like to thank Banque Raiffeisen for hosting the event, as well as all participating banks, FinTechs and partners for their active engagement and the quality of discussions. Many of the conversations initiated during this edition are expected to continue in the months ahead, contributing to the ongoing innovation and competitiveness of Luxembourg’s financial centre.
Andrey Martovoy
Senior Adviser - Innovation & Digital, ABBL
Published on 20 January 2026