Day 1 – October 30

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09:00-09:40
Opening Session

Mohamed Horani, Chairman – HPS
Abdeslam Alaoui Smaili, CEO – HPS
This opening keynote defines HPS’s strategic vision in today’s rapidly evolving payments landscape. It underscores how the convergence of AI, quantum computing, and blockchain is transforming payments from static products into intelligent, context-aware experiences. 
The session highlights how these pairings driving programmable money, payment orchestration, and agentic commerce that enable real-time, adaptive, and personalized payment journeys. At the core is a cloud-native, API-first infrastructure delivering the scalability, security, and agility vital for next-generation autonomous payment ecosystems. This roadmap aligns closely with industry priorities around payment modernization, data-driven insights, and ecosystem-powered hyper-personalized financial services.
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09:40–10:00
Thought Leadership Keynote: AI First
Keynote Session
Amane Dannouni, Managing Director & Partner – BCG
Embedded, real-time, contextual, and AI-driven: how next-gen banking is being redefined.
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10:00–10:30
Payments Data at Work
Keynote
Karim Saadani, Project Director – HPS
Patrick Simons, Head of Presales – CR2
This keynote highlights how payments data is transformed into actionable intelligence that drives predictive insights and adaptive decision-making. It emphasizes the critical role of cloud-native platforms as the foundational technology stacks enabling seamless data collection, real-time access, and orchestration across the ecosystem. By fuelling the entire ecosystem with rich, contextual data, financial institutions can deliver hyper-personalized, context-aware payment experiences that set new standards in agility and customer engagement.
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10:30–11:30
Experience Playground – Break
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11:30–12:00
NextGen Payments: Unlocking Innovation Pathway
Panel Discussion
Owais Iqbal, Executive Director – OCBC Bank
Jean-François Dorval, Vice-President Core Banking – BNC
George Thomas, CEO – Sagicor Bank
Karsten Kemna, Regional Director APAC – HPS
Sophia Furber, Journalist – 451 Researcher
This panel brings together leading banks across regions to explore their strategic pathways for building NextGen Payment Experiences that drive real business impact. From managing complex multi-country payment stacks and targeted regional modernization to pioneering digital-first approaches, panellists will share how they are overcoming legacy constraints to deliver simple, seamless, and secure payments. Panellists will emphasize the importance of the business angle and detail their chosen pathways to enable hyper-personalized and contextualized experiences powered advanced data insights. The discussion will provide actionable strategies to accelerate innovation and build future-ready payments infrastructures that meet evolving customer expectations and create lasting competitive advantage.
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12:00–12:30
A Journey of Modernizing Payments
Fireside Chat
Senzo Nsibande, CEO Issuing – First National Bank
Kamal Aouda, Presales Director – HPS
This exclusive fireside chat offers a rare opportunity to hear directly from a senior executive at a top 100 global financial institution. The conversation will provide strategic insights into the evolution of payments, covering why transformations are critical, how they are executed at scale, and how industry leaders are navigating the shift toward hyper-personalized, contextualized customer experiences. These are exclusive insights on the key trends and dynamics shaping the future of payments, delivered firsthand by one of the most visionary leaders driving this transformation.
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12:30–12:45
Bridging Stablecoins with Payment Rails
Keynote Session
Trevor Torzsas, Managing Partner – TCR Advisory
Trevor will explore how stablecoins are moving from theory to function by integrating directly with existing payment infrastructures – creating a tectonic shift in payments. As financial institutions look to extend value beyond traditional rails, the convergence of crypto, real time payment rails and cards opens the door to faster, more cost effective settlements, programmable commerce, and real-time liquidity for clients and merchants. By anchoring stablecoins to trusted infrastructure, this session demonstrates how innovation can accelerate the shift from static products to fluid and intelligent payment experiences.
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12:45–14:00
Lunch Break
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14:00–14:30
Card as a Service – One Stop Shop
Panel Discussion
Caio Reis, VP Strategy & Marketing – Thales
Stefano Ottaviani, CIO CSEE Area – Nexi Group
Mark Elliott, Division President Africa – Mastercard
Muissa Mangaya, Head of Payments and Channels – Equity Bank
Khevin Seebah, Managing Director – ICPS
This panel brings together top industry leaders from banks, payments infrastructure, and value-added partners to discuss how Card as a Service is driving innovation in payments and digital banking through collaboration and ecosystem thinking. By leveraging a best of breed partner ecosystem and scalable API integrations, Card as a Service enables financial institutions to quickly launch customizable card solutions and embedded finance offerings without the complexity of legacy systems. Panellists will emphasize how the power of data combined with the as-a-service business model and a collaborative ecosystem approach accelerates time to market and empowers financial institutions to deliver embedded financial services experiences to untapped markets.
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14:30–15:00
From Cards to Clicks
Panel Discussion
Tawfik Daidai, Managing Director – MtCash
Abu Yahaya, CIO – Fidelity Bank
Teferi Mekonnen, CEO – Oromia Bank
Mwenya Mubanga, Head of Digital Products and Channels – Access Bank
Ana Nedeljkovic, Customer Relationships – CR2
This panel explores the strategic shift toward building digital-first payment experiences that seamlessly connect to the real world. Panellists will discuss how delivering always-ready, frictionless digital solutions requires combining deep industry domain expertise with embedded finance capabilities tailored to real-life use cases. The conversation will highlight the rise of lifestyle wallets, digital wallets, and the new reality of cashless economies, showcasing how these innovative tools integrate payments into everyday experiences. Emphasizing the critical importance of user-centric design, the discussion will explore strategies to drive adoption and loyalty in today’s rapidly evolving financial landscape.
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15:00–16:00
Experience Playground – Break
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16:00–16:30
Fast Payments, Converging Rails & Activating Value
Panel Discussion
Hakima El Alami, Director – Bank Al-Maghrib
Hanae Ben Driss, Managing Director – Switch Al Maghrib
Ryan Green, CTO – Enigma
João Salcedo, Partner – TCR Advisory
This high-profile panel brings together market infrastructure experts, regulators, and value-added service enablers with deep experience spanning Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. The discussion will debate the critical role of fast payments rails in accelerating the shift toward cashless societies. Panellists will explore the balance between robust, secure payment protocols and seamless user experiences. Discussions will span from proxy access points to the practical activation of innovative use cases that drive adoption and engagement. The conversation will emphasize both ecosystem adoption beyond purely financial service providers and active regulatory engagement as key drivers in transforming the digital payments landscape and user experience.
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16:30–16:45
Closing Remarks
Closing
Update on HPS strategy & how it maps with the innovation roadmap.
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19:00–23:00
Gala Dinner