{"id":51526,"date":"2026-03-30T11:06:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/51526\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:06:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:06:06","slug":"my-dispatch-from-the-banking-scene-amsterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/51526\/","title":{"rendered":"My Dispatch from The Banking Scene Amsterdam"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Tom Dickinson<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\" Traveling from the grey skies of London to the crisp, canal-side air of the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, I arrived at The Banking Scene<\/a> with a single question: In an era of digital exhaustion, how does a bank stay relevant? The theme, \u201cRethinking Relevance,\u201d wasn\u2019t just a marketing slogan; it was a survival manual for an industry facing the \u201cagent-first era.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day kicked off with a high-tempo keynote that set the stage for the massive transformation ahead. Peter, our keynote speaker, didn\u2019t just talk about AI; he let his AI agent, Sarah, hijack the stage. \u201cAssistants ask permission,\u201d Sarah told us. \u201cAgents, like me, take the stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Puppets to Actors<\/p>\n

Peter\u2019s breakdown of the AI evolution was a wake-up call for many. He described the journey from the \u201cpuppet\u201d (simple chatbots) to the \u201cservant\u201d (assistants) and finally to the \u201cactor\u201d\u2014the true agent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re still building chatbots, you will get some bad news later on today.\u201d<\/p>\n

This shift is fundamental because agents don\u2019t wait for a swipe or a click; they act. Peter argued that we are reaching the end of the mobile era, which has become a \u201cremote control of my life\u201d but one that leads to \u201cdigital exhaustion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The future is ambient, embedded, and face-to-face AI.<\/p>\n

Cutting Through the \u201cAgent Washing\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most insightful discussions of the day featured S\u00e1ra Hanniker, Head of AI Solutions at FinShape. In a market currently flooded with \u201cagent washing\u201d\u2014where every legacy tool is suddenly rebranded as an agent\u2014S\u00e1ra provided much-needed clarity.<\/p>\n

She noted that while banks have long claimed to be a \u201cgoldmine for data,\u201d they haven\u2019t known what to do with it. \u201cThe back is what to do with this knowledge, how to act upon them, how to be proactive,\u201d she explained. S\u00e1ra\u2019s vision for a true AI Financial Assistant moves beyond simple alerts. Instead of just stating your balance dropped, an agent should interact:<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw that your balance increased. What about saving more? And then you can discuss it with your client\u2026 the AI could say, okay, then let\u2019s set up a recurring transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n

She emphasized that this isn\u2019t just a technology problem, but a cultural one. \u201cHow to change the mindset, how to achieve this cultural shift, and yes, to learn how to utilise the data,\u201d is the real challenge for established institutions.<\/p>\n

Digital Assets: Beyond the POC<\/p>\n

The afternoon shifted focus to the complex world of digital assets and infrastructure. The panel, featuring experts like Anoush (Zodiac Custody), Sergei (Rabobank), and Sarah Liebing (Dutch Central Bank), tackled why, after a decade of pilots, we aren\u2019t at \u201cglobal digital asset domination\u201d yet.<\/p>\n

The Cash Leg Gap: Xavier noted that while tokenizing assets like bonds is \u201cthe easy part,\u201d the cash leg remains a \u201cmenu of imperfect options.\u201d
\nLiability and Risk: \u201cInstitutional investors\u2026 need to know the full remediation path when something goes wrong, and that just isn\u2019t clear,\u201d Xavier warned.
\nCentral Bank Movement: Sarah Liebing provided a more optimistic view from the Dutch Central Bank (DNB), noting that they are moving from \u201cidea and just a pilot\u201d to actual products, with settlement in wholesale CBDC expected by Q3.<\/p>\n

Anoush pointed out that the technology is solved, but the legal frameworks are the hurdle. \u201cInnovating even where you may not have the end answer immediately\u2026 shouldn\u2019t stop the innovation in the interim,\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Human Element: The \u201cOrchestrator\u201d<\/p>\n

A recurring theme throughout the day was the impact on people. Peter noted that 92 million jobs are at risk according to the World Economic Forum, leading to an \u201cidentity crisis.\u201d However, he suggested a pivot from being a \u201cspecialist collaborator\u201d to a \u201cgeneralist orchestrator.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be hiring people for what they can oversee and what they can validate. They should be hired for how good they are as an orchestrator.\u201d<\/p>\n

This requires maintaining \u201chuman judgment\u201d and \u201ccritical thinking\u201d to ensure we don\u2019t suffer from \u201catrophy of the mind\u201d by delegating everything to machines.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

As the sun set over the IJ River, the takeaway was clear: the industry is moving from \u201cwaiting to seeing technology act.\u201d Whether it\u2019s through the agentic workflows championed by S\u00e1ra Hanniker or the infrastructure shifts discussed in the digital asset panels, the \u201cpuppet\u201d era of banking is over.<\/p>\n

A massive well done to Rik Coeckelbergs and Andrew Vorster for curating an event that was as challenging as it was inspiring. Bringing together regulators, incumbents, and disruptors in one room is no easy feat, but they managed to create a space where the \u201crethinking\u201d actually happens. Amsterdam remains the beating heart of European fintech, and I\u2019m already looking forward to next year\u2019s progress report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"by Tom Dickinson Traveling from the grey skies of London to the crisp, canal-side air of the Eye…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[28541,248,199,7776,28542,3909,200,26175,28543,28544],"class_list":{"0":"post-51526","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-amsterdam","8":"tag-agent-first","9":"tag-ai","10":"tag-amsterdam","11":"tag-digital-assets","12":"tag-european-fintech","13":"tag-event","14":"tag-netherlands","15":"tag-settlement","16":"tag-the-banking-scene","17":"tag-wholesale-cbdc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@dk\/116317807569755529","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}