Banking Frontier 2026

International Banking Summit · 23–27 November 2026

Banking Frontier 2026

Holiday Inn Amsterdam – Arena Towers, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Five themed days, 89 published sessions, two rooms.

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A panel discussion with a handheld microphone at a previous Zenith Group event
Photograph from a previous Zenith Group event. Banking Frontier 2026 takes place 23–27 November 2026.

Three questions, opened out

Each one leads to the day it comes from, with that day's published description and four of its real sessions. All three start open, and all their content is in the page whether they are open or not.

What has to be true before AI runs inside the bank?

Day 1, 23 November 2026 — AI & Trusted Finance. AI-native banking, governance, model risk, data foundations, and the path from pilots to enterprise value.

  • AI governance & model risk

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Rita Gnutti · Head of Internal Validation and Controls · Intesa Sanpaolo · Italy

  • Data, AI enablement & intelligent automation for bank operations

    09:30–10:00 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Gladson Baby · VP & Director of Data & AI Enablement · Fifth Third Bank · US

  • Scaling AI responsibly: leadership playbook for AI risk & compliance

    10:00–10:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Frans Vanbruggen · Werkgebied Lead · AI Coalitie 4 Nederland (AIC4NL) · Netherlands

  • AI Governance: mitigating the risks of AI to unlock its true value

    10:00–10:30 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Dr. Paul Dongha · Head of Responsible AI & AI Strategy · NatWest Group · UK

All 14 sessions on 23 November 2026

How do you prove who someone is, at the moment it matters?

Day 2, 24 November 2026 — Identity & Cyber Resilience. Digital identity, fraud prevention, authentication, cyber resilience, and real-time trust across banking journeys.

  • Corporate digital identity management

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Stephan Wolf · Chair of the Board · Verifiable.Trade Foundation · Germany

  • Digital trust in AI-led banking · risk, audit and cyber oversight at board level

    09:30–10:00 · Room A · Main Stage

    Dr. Björn Lenzmann · Member of The Supervisory Board · DenizBank · Turkey

  • User centricity in cybersecurity · UX research and behavioural science

    09:30–10:00 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Nazima Kadir · Global Head of UX: Cybersecurity · J.P. Morgan · UK

  • Custody, governance and operational controls for digital assets

    10:00–10:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Lubin Reyes · Founder and CEO · Custodial Management Solutions Ltd · UK

All 16 sessions on 24 November 2026

What replaces the rails money moves on today?

Day 3, 25 November 2026 — Payments & Digital Assets. Instant payments, wallets, tokenization, Open Finance, digital assets, and the future of money movement.

  • Instant payments and interoperability

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Domenico Scaffidi · CEO & Founder · DS Payments Ltd · UK

  • The new payments landscape · instant, interoperable, invisible and built on trust

    09:00–09:30 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Paul Walvik-Joynt · VP Commercialization Real-Time Payments · Mastercard · Norway

  • Digital wallets and biometric payments · customer experience and secure authentication

    09:30–10:00 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Mihai Draghici · Founder & CEO · PayByFace · Romania

  • Moving Money — how banks think · the new role of the Chief Payment Officer

    10:00–10:30 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Viktoria Soltesz · Founder · PSP Angels · Cyprus

All 20 sessions on 25 November 2026

The five days in detail

The normal schedule, including the two days the questions above do not cover. Times are Central European Time (CET).

AI & Trusted Finance

Day 1 · 23 November 2026 · 14 sessions

AI-native banking, governance, model risk, data foundations, and the path from pilots to enterprise value.

  • AI governance & model risk

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Rita Gnutti · Head of Internal Validation and Controls · Intesa Sanpaolo · Italy

  • Data, AI enablement & intelligent automation for bank operations

    09:30–10:00 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Gladson Baby · VP & Director of Data & AI Enablement · Fifth Third Bank · US

  • Scaling AI responsibly: leadership playbook for AI risk & compliance

    10:00–10:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Frans Vanbruggen · Werkgebied Lead · AI Coalitie 4 Nederland (AIC4NL) · Netherlands

Identity & Cyber Resilience

Day 2 · 24 November 2026 · 16 sessions

Digital identity, fraud prevention, authentication, cyber resilience, and real-time trust across banking journeys.

  • Corporate digital identity management

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Stephan Wolf · Chair of the Board · Verifiable.Trade Foundation · Germany

  • Digital trust in AI-led banking · risk, audit and cyber oversight at board level

    09:30–10:00 · Room A · Main Stage

    Dr. Björn Lenzmann · Member of The Supervisory Board · DenizBank · Turkey

  • User centricity in cybersecurity · UX research and behavioural science

    09:30–10:00 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Nazima Kadir · Global Head of UX: Cybersecurity · J.P. Morgan · UK

Payments & Digital Assets

Day 3 · 25 November 2026 · 20 sessions

Instant payments, wallets, tokenization, Open Finance, digital assets, and the future of money movement.

  • Instant payments and interoperability

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Domenico Scaffidi · CEO & Founder · DS Payments Ltd · UK

  • The new payments landscape · instant, interoperable, invisible and built on trust

    09:00–09:30 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Paul Walvik-Joynt · VP Commercialization Real-Time Payments · Mastercard · Norway

  • Digital wallets and biometric payments · customer experience and secure authentication

    09:30–10:00 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Mihai Draghici · Founder & CEO · PayByFace · Romania

Customer Growth & Platform Banking

Day 4 · 26 November 2026 · 23 sessions

Omnichannel journeys, AI-assisted service, smart branches, SME banking, and platform-based growth.

  • Human-AI banking experience

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Rudolf Stefanich · Lead UX Researcher · Bitpanda · Austria

  • AI-augmented service and product-led banking at scale

    09:00–09:30 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Speaker TBC

  • Present and Future of Digital Transformation in Islamic Banking

    09:30–10:00 · Room A · Main Stage

    Wan Halim · Head of Shariah Governance (Global) · Crédit Agricole CIB · UAE

Future-Proofing Banking 2027–2030

Day 5 · 27 November 2026 · 16 sessions

Post-quantum readiness, sovereign AI, and the technologies shaping banking to 2030.

  • Systemic Risk in European Banking 2027–2030: Geopolitics, AI and Structural Vulnerabilities

    09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

    Ulf Holmberg · Functional Lead and Senior Analyst · Swedbank · Sweden

  • Preparing banks for systemic threats: cyber, geopolitical disruption and operational concentration risk

    09:00–09:30 · Room B · Innovation & Implementation

    Naji Freiha · Risk Appetite, Strategy and Governance · Konsilium · France

  • Systemic threats and stress testing · post-quantum readiness

    09:30–10:00 · Room A · Main Stage

    Christoffer Kok · Head of Division, Stress Test Experts · European Central Bank · Germany

The complete 89-session agenda

Speakers and their sessions

These people contribute the sessions named beside them. None of them wrote the three questions above, and nothing on this page is presented as their words.

Rita Gnutti, Executive Director, Internal Validation and Controls, Group Chief Risk Officer Area

Rita Gnutti

Executive Director, Internal Validation and Controls, Group Chief Risk Officer Area, Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy

AI governance & model risk

Day 1, 23 November 2026 · 09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

Rita Gnutti · Head of Internal Validation and Controls · Intesa Sanpaolo · Italy

Stephan Wolf, Chair of the Board, Verifiable.Trade Foundation; Leadership Team, LEI Worldwide

Stephan Wolf

Chair of the Board, Verifiable.Trade Foundation; Leadership Team, LEI Worldwide, LEI Worldwide / Verifiable Trade Foundation, Germany

Corporate digital identity management

Day 2, 24 November 2026 · 09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

Stephan Wolf · Chair of the Board · Verifiable.Trade Foundation · Germany

Domenico Scaffidi, CEO and Founder / Independent Consultant, Global Payments Innovation Practice

Domenico Scaffidi

CEO and Founder / Independent Consultant, Global Payments Innovation Practice, DS Payments Ltd, United Kingdom

Instant payments and interoperability

Day 3, 25 November 2026 · 09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

Domenico Scaffidi · CEO & Founder · DS Payments Ltd · UK

Rudolf Stefanich, Senior Manager - Product Insights

Rudolf Stefanich

Senior Manager - Product Insights, Bitpanda / New Design University, Austria

Human-AI banking experience

Day 4, 26 November 2026 · 09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

Rudolf Stefanich · Lead UX Researcher · Bitpanda · Austria

Ulf Holmberg, Functional Lead and Senior Analyst

Ulf Holmberg

Functional Lead and Senior Analyst, Swedbank, Sweden

Systemic Risk in European Banking 2027–2030: Geopolitics, AI and Structural Vulnerabilities

Day 5, 27 November 2026 · 09:00–09:30 · Room A · Main Stage

Ulf Holmberg · Functional Lead and Senior Analyst · Swedbank · Sweden

The full roster of 65 speakers

Participation

  • In person

    Both rooms run at Holiday Inn Amsterdam – Arena Towers, Amsterdam, for all 5 days, 23–27 November 2026.

  • Online

    Online participation runs alongside the in-person meeting. Current passes and terms appear only on the official registration page.

Registration and current conditions

Around the sessions

Round tables laid for an evening reception at a previous Zenith Group event
Photograph from a previous Zenith Group event. Banking Frontier 2026 takes place 23–27 November 2026.

Registration, breaks, lunches and the evening slots are part of the published timetable and appear on the official agenda alongside the sessions. What comes of them is not something this page can promise.

Break and evening slots on the official agenda

Holiday Inn Amsterdam – Arena Towers

Venue
Holiday Inn Amsterdam – Arena Towers
Address
Hoogoorddreef 66a, 1101 BE Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nearest station
Bijlmer ArenA · 4-min walk
From Schiphol
Train Schiphol → Bijlmer ArenA, approx. 15 min
Parking
P1 ArenA · paid, on-site
Accessibility
Step-free access; accessible WCs on every floor
Registration desk
Ground floor lobby, signposted on arrival
Published times
Central European Time (CET)
Scene from a previous Zenith Group event
Photograph from a previous Zenith Group event. Banking Frontier 2026 takes place 23-27 November 2026.
Scene from a previous Zenith Group event
Photograph from a previous Zenith Group event. Banking Frontier 2026 takes place 23-27 November 2026.

Travel and access details

Questions and organiser

Who asked the three questions?

Nobody did. They are written on this page from the published descriptions of days one, two and three, as a plain-language way in. They are not quoted from anyone and no speaker is presented as their author.

Are the brackets quotation marks?

No. They are graphic containers around the opening composition. Nothing inside them is presented as speech.

Will I get to meet particular people?

This page cannot promise that and does not. It describes a published programme and links to the official site; who you meet is not something it controls.

What is the programme?

89 sessions across 5 themed days in two rooms, 23–27 November 2026, all times Central European Time (CET), with 65 listed speakers.

Can I attend online?

In-person and online participation are both available. Current passes, terms and any group conditions are shown on the official registration page.

Zenith-Energie International s.r.o., Rezlerova 273/74, Petrovice, 109 00 Praha, Czechia. Company ID 02354357, VAT CZ02354357. Enquiries: info@group-zenith.com. Registration, payment and official announcements happen only on the official site.