The LHoFT is excited to be partner & sponsor of the Paris Fintech Forum 2018, which will be held on January 30th & 31st, at the former stock exchange market in the very heart of Paris. We will be joined by a delegation of members and partners, including many key figures of Luxembourg’s financial technology ecosystem.
We asked each representative a few questions to help shed light on their work, as a part of our series of interviews: The Innovators.
This time we caught up this time with Léo Studer, product manager for SIX Payment Services.
“The new EU regulation is opening the door for a new paradigm in payments, opening the floodgates to digitally driven actors.”
Could you introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Léo Studer and I am product manager for SIX Payment Services, based in Luxembourg. We are an international payment services provider, active in the card issuing and merchant acquiring business. Our client base is spread across Europe.
As European financial power base that is embracing innovation, which aspects of Luxembourg’s financial technology ecosystem have been most beneficial to your company?
We do appreciate the vibrant dynamics of the fintech ecosystem here in Luxembourg. It allows us to create synergies between new players and our client base. It’s an exciting period of times to be part of the payments business really, with digital driven entrants bringing disruption into a rather monolithic sector. The pace of innovation is outstanding right now.
What do you think are the key challenges and risks for the different financial technology players in Luxembourg and in Europe?
The new EU regulation is opening the door for a new paradigm in payments, opening the floodgates to digitally driven actors. It is a fundamental change of mind for our industry. We see data monetisation is a big thing with GAFA, so we must ensure that, from a security and data protection perspective, the user remains at the centre.
Which trend in financial technology do you think deserves more discussion and which less?
Seamless payments are talked quite a lot, and I feel that the “pain of payment” effect needs to be taken into account more. I’d like to read and hear more thoughts similar to the articles by the Behavioural Research in Finance group at Newcastle University.
Mobile payments are a huge topic, but the customer uptake is not there yet. The payment sector should spend more time thinking of how to build a value proposition around it that is able to really benefit the users.
What are you most looking forward to getting out of Paris Fintech Forum this year?
The Forum is a great time to catch up with the colleagues, and it is a truly European event. I look forward to be surprised by new ideas and bright talks, as was the case last year.
Any final thoughts or predictions for Fintech in 2018 you wish to share?
2018 is a very busy year: we will need to invest into regulatory-driven projects while keeping on delivering customer-driven projects. I look forward to seeing how we as an industry will use the green field that the European Union opens up for us.
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