At UNCHAIN, the fortress is just the setting. The real story is the people. In this edition of Finance Legends, two sides of the same transaction meet.

Ciprian Pîrv, Country Managing Director at Payten Romania, has spent years on the infrastructure side of payments, making sure the systems that move money work seamlessly. 

Dorin Branza Danciu, Team Lead for POS Systems at Auchan Romania, lives on the other side of the counter, where technology meets real customers, queues, and expectations.

Together, they map the frontier between fintech and retail, between what’s possible and what’s practical. Their perspectives are different, but the challenges and roadmap are the same. Ultimately, both aim to make every checkout invisible, every payment instant, and every failure virtually impossible.

When it comes to payments, retailers are juggling speed, volume, and reliability all at once. What does that pressure look like from your side?

Dorin Branza Danciu → Auchan Romania
For large retailers managing high-volume checkout systems, everything starts with keeping the flow uninterrupted. Orchestration must prioritise a fast and frictionless checkout process: minimising transaction and wait times, ensuring reliability, and adapting to the growing diversity of payment methods. Mobile wallets, contactless cards, and wearable devices all need to work seamlessly.

This doesn’t stop at technology. It’s also about throughput. Investing in efficient POS hardware and well-trained staff keeps lines moving and satisfaction high. The goal is always the same: a quick, reliable, secure payment that customers barely notice.

Ciprian Pîrv → Payten Romania
From our side, two things keep retailers up at night: lost revenue and operational drag. Fragmented in-store setups (multiple terminals, uneven acceptance) create friction and unnecessary cost. That’s why we built POS Sharing, a single-terminal model that consolidates checkout operations across the network.

In Romania, that means one device covering covering close to 90 percent of locally issued cards, integrated with RoPay instant payments, and leaning on hardware maintenance. The result is fewer points of failure, faster queues, and predictable costs. When the checkout works as it should, everything else follows.

How has the consumer demand for digital and contactless payments changed your approach to POS orchestration?

Dorin Branza Danciu → Auchan Romania
Modern payments are continuously evolving, and for this reason, we have to consider several points of view.

The rise in consumer demand for digital and contactless payments has compelled large retailers to redesign their Point of Sale (POS) orchestration to prioritise speed, convenience, and security. Contactless payments allow transactions to be completed within seconds without physical contact, eliminating the need for cash or manual PIN entry. This results in faster checkouts and reduced in-store queues, thus enhancing customer satisfaction and throughput.

At the same time, large retailers now implement POS systems capable of handling a broad range of digital payment options, including mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay), RoPay, contactless cards, and wearable devices. POS orchestration embraces near-field communication (NFC), QR codes, and tokenisation technologies to ensure compatibility and security across platforms. This multi-modal support accommodates diverse consumer preferences and future-proofs payment infrastructure.

Another key point is security and compliance. Heightened consumer and regulatory focus on data protection has shifted POS orchestration toward end-to-end encryption, tokenisation, and real-time fraud detection. Retailers invest in robust cybersecurity frameworks within their POS ecosystems to maintain trust, comply with PCI DSS standards, and mitigate fraud risks inherent in digital payments.

Beyond these technical and operational layers, Auchan’s approach to payments is also about scale and coordination. The digital shift is forcing retailers to think omni-channel by design: connecting in-store and online payments so that customers get a consistent experience across every touchpoint. 

It also drives efficiency on the back end. Automation reduces cash-handling costs, eliminates manual errors, and accelerates reconciliation, giving large retailers clearer visibility over daily operations and cash flow.

Orchestration promises flexibility across channels. What benefit matters most: reliability, cost, data, or something else?

Ciprian Pîrv → Payten Romania
Reliability first, then acceptance uplift. If the terminal is down or the flow is slow, nothing else matters. POS Sharing is built on Payten’s rails that handle 2 billion-plus EFT transactions per year across around 1.7 million terminals in 14 countries, with 24/7 monitoring and real-time dashboards, so uptime and speed are bank-grade. Once reliability is assured, retailers see higher approvals (broad card coverage, installments), cost discipline (one device, shared infrastructure), and better data (standardised reconciliation from a single source).

After reliability comes scale, and with scale comes complexity. If the checkout works flawlessly in one store, the next challenge is making it work the same way across hundreds of locations, apps, and online touchpoints. That’s where orchestration stops being about hardware and starts being about data.

Integration across e-commerce, app, in-store, and loyalty systems is complex. What’s been the biggest orchestration challenge for you recently?

The primary and biggest challenge is ensuring real-time, seamless, and scalable data synchronisation across highly disparate systems while maintaining system compatibility and security.

The integration often involves legacy POS systems, modern e-commerce platforms, mobile apps, and loyalty programs, each with different data formats, APIs, and architectures. This heterogeneity creates barriers in communication and data exchange, making seamless orchestration very complex. Legacy systems with outdated tech or customisations resist easy integration and slow down real-time synchronisation efforts.

Unified commerce also demands real-time updates of inventory, orders, customer profiles, and loyalty points across all channels (online, app, and physical stores) to avoid issues like overselling, inconsistent pricing, or delayed rewards. Failure to synchronise accurately leads to poor customer experience and operational inefficiencies.

Beyond these core technical challenges, the hardest work often happens behind the scenes. As volumes grow, integration must scale without performance bottlenecks while keeping data secure under strict GDPR and PCI-DSS requirements. 

The human side adds another layer. Teams need shared ownership, integration know-how, and constant coordination to keep systems aligned. Middleware plays a crucial role here too: diverse APIs, rate limits, and platform updates demand automation, error handling, and continuous monitoring to keep everything stable.

On Payten’s side, the same complexity looks different. Where retailers fight to keep systems aligned, providers must build infrastructure sturdy enough to absorb change, constantly adding new features without breaking what already works.

Payten supports online, in-store, ATM, tokenisation, and mobile. How do you balance innovation with stability?

Ciprian Pîrv → Payten Romania
We ship features on top of a proven, certified acquiring stack. For POS Sharing, that means: versioned software updates, remote device management, PCI-compliant kernels, canary releases/instant rollback, and SLOs on latency and success rates. Innovation (like RoPay instant at the POS, installments, and tokenisation for repeat customers) is introduced without disrupting live operations.

Innovation at the infrastructure level only matters if customers can feel it. Once the system is stable, the next frontier is experience, and that’s making payments not just reliable, but personal.

What’s one customer-centric capability few merchants offer, but should?

Ciprian Pîrv → Payten Romania
Portable shopper identity across channels—linking a network/tokenized profile so a customer recognized online gets the same one-tap experience in store (saved payment credentials, account-to-account via RoPay, easy exchanges/returns). POS Sharing makes this practical: one device, one flow, consistent consent and receipts—so loyalty isn’t trapped in a single channel.

If Payten’s view highlights the invisible layer connecting a shopper’s identity across every touchpoint, Auchan’s perspective looks toward the ways identity itself may soon evolve.

As coordination across systems tightens, what emerging trend in in-store payments are you keeping a close eye on?

Dorin Branza Danciu → Auchan Romania
The emerging trend in in-store payments to watch as coordination across systems tightens is the rapid expansion of biometric payments. This includes technologies such as palm scanning and facial recognition, moving beyond the familiar phone tap methods at checkout. 

Major companies like JPMorgan Chase and Amazon are already conducting tests indicating a swift adoption curve for these biometric payment methods in retail environments. This trend reflects a push towards more seamless, secure, and convenient payment experiences that integrate tightly with evolving payment infrastructures and customer verification systems.

After exploring the layers of technology and customer experience, the conversation naturally circles back to perspective: what each side of the ecosystem takes away from moments of exchange. 

What did you take with you from UNCHAIN 2025?

Dorin Branza Danciu → Auchan Romania
My experience at Unchain 2025 enriched my understanding of the fintech landscape’s dynamic growth, strengthened valuable industry connections, and equipped me to bring back practical innovation strategies.

For Payten, the same event was less about discovery and more about validation. The conversations confirmed that retailers are asking the same questions they’ve been building toward: resilience, simplicity, and usable data.

Ciprian Pîrv → Payten Romania
Merchants want resilient checkouts, lower total cost, and usable data, and they’re open to mixing card and instant rails to get there. POS Sharing aligns directly: it reduces hardware/OPEX, adds instant payments alongside cards, and normalises data for faster reconciliation. In short, fewer moving parts at the till, more approvals, and clearer insight into what actually converts.

What connects Payten and Auchan is a shared obsession with what happens in the split second between intent and transaction. One builds the rails that make payments work everywhere, while the other turns them into moments that customers barely notice.

Both see the same future coming: payments that are faster, more intelligent, and increasingly invisible. Whether it’s through shared terminals, instant payments, or biometric recognition, the goal remains the same.

In that sense, fintechs and retailers are no longer on opposite sides of the counter. They’re part of the same ecosystem, moving toward a version of commerce where experience and infrastructure finally run at the same speed.

At UNCHAIN, the fortress is just the setting. The real story is the people. Finance Legends brings forward the voices shaping finance. The ones building, adapting, and rethinking the systems that keep money moving. This time, we sat down with Raul Alexandru Risnita from Banca Transilvania to talk about the efforts of bringing digital banking closer to Romanian businesses.

Raul has spent much of his career at the intersection of business and technology. As Director Companies Digitalization Department at Banca Transilvania, he works on the products and processes that keep businesses connected to the bank’s services, from everyday transactions to full digital ecosystems. His approach is pragmatic rather than theoretical, built on understanding how technology can solve real operational challenges for companies that are still learning what “digital” means in practice.

Corporate digitalization has become a strategic priority for many banks. In your view, which area of the digitalization process makes the biggest difference for corporate clients?

Digitalization has become a mainstream priority in most domains and has become more interconnected between segments than ever. For full digital experiences or automation, some domains become dependent on others. Corporate customers focus mostly on creating efficiency in internal processes and automating redundant employee work, very similar to what we, as a large bank, are trying to do.

And from the bank’s side, what does that mean in practice?

We need to be able to offer them transactional frameworks, accessibility, and connectivity to their transactions, accounts, and banking activity. Extending this to customizing statements, recurrent or bulk payments, auto-reconciliation, and adapting to their more personalized needs, like direct integrations with ERP systems, payroll systems, and so on. In other words, we need to facilitate accessibility in whatever touchpoint a customer needs.

Looking at it, we get the sense that the story of corporate digitalization isn’t really about the technology itself. It mostly centers around habits. About how companies, often run by people who built them long before “digital” became a department, start rethinking the way they work. 

That same idea is what shaped BT Go, the platform that slowly grew from a practical tool into something closer to a companion for entrepreneurs who just want banking to get out of the way.

BT Go is well-regarded among SMEs. What do you think has been the key to building an app that business users choose to adopt?

I think we have built BT Go with the thought of it becoming more than a banking application. We mainly focused along the way on understanding how we can solve the day-to-day problems and struggles that entrepreneurs face. Most of the time, it has been a close collaboration between real customers and product owners, trying to discover together what the best experience would look like and how we can adapt and offer more seamless services. 

There is still a long way ahead for BT Go and its plans, but I am most confident about its success because we totally changed the product development mindset and perspective on how it needs to be developed, starting from real needs being solved with the latest technology.

With BT Go, the front door felt settled. The next question sat behind it: how do you handle the knocks that come at all hours? Where do you put help when people don’t want to open another app? That’s where a “little” WhatsApp experiment came in, one that even carried his name.

You’ve launched tools like the “Raul” chatbot on WhatsApp. What role do you believe automation plays in transforming client service at scale?

I think it solves exactly what the question expresses — “scale.” Depending on processes, the only way you can reach high numbers and volumes is by automating whatever can be automated, restructuring unnecessary steps, and creating simple and intuitive workflows.

How far can that automation go before it starts to replace the human element?

We have managed to reach more than 60,000 customers with a chatbot embedded in WhatsApp that has been built around simple automated processes. I believe most companies should focus on using automated or AI capabilities to figure out potential scalability paths that open up through this type of technology. Close and offline customer relationships still remain a very important aspect of the experience, but when it comes to servicing high numbers and volumes of simple requests, we should let technology do its thing.

Automation helped BT serve more people, faster. Inside the bank, that created a different kind of work: aligning teams, untangling approvals, redrawing processes. We asked Raul what has to shift on the inside for the strategy to stick.

Digitalization isn’t just about technology, and it also requires internal transformation. What organizational change do you think is essential for making these strategies work?

A very good question. I think technology is the last thing that comes in the digital transformation process. Basically, it’s the enabler, not the starting point. I think that a combination of a forward-looking mindset together with business knowledge, customer insights, and process design is the most important thing when thinking about transforming businesses and organizations. Once your strategy is clear, your processes are designed based on real needs and customer understanding, tand he technology will come to enable these changes.

And culturally, what needs to change inside the organization for that to work?

I am a great fan of creating a safe environment where people can create, think outside the box, push the boundaries, and just try. No matter if they fail, if the trying never stops, in the end you will find a good solution or develop a good product. So, to conclude, it’s mostly about the right people with the right skill set who can work within a safe and innovative culture. It’s itself a great process of aligning all this together.

After culture comes direction. Once the teams, processes, and guardrails are in a decent place, the open task is simple enough on paper: decide where to put the energy to evolve.

Looking ahead, where should Banca Transilvania focus next when it comes to supporting businesses through digital innovation?

I’m really not a great future predictor and I think the way things are looking nobody can truly say what will happen in the next couple of years. Nevertheless I think that there are some areas where we should be more present or focus more, like embedded finance for example. People and businesses are more and more on the go. We are seeing more and more superapps being developed which leads to the fact that we need rapid access to multiple services in the same place, quickly and with lower effort.

This creates a future based on API capabilities and services, not a fight for the most beautiful interface. The touchpoint will be wherever the customer feels most comfortable and attracted to enter. Who knows, maybe we will no longer have any applications in 10 years from now but just one… a super AI search engine and assistant that provides personalized content without us even making a slight effort.

All of this lands only when people keep comparing notes in real life. Direction is set inside the bank. Calibration often happens out in the open: on stages, in hallways, around a table after a panel. From there, the role of industry meetups becomes hard to ignore.

UNCHAIN has become a key meeting point for fintech and banking professionals across the region. From your perspective, what role do events like this (and particularly UNCHAIN) play in shaping collaboration and innovation in the industry?

Unchain Festival is a venue for innovation that has managed to improve year after year. Something rare in the Romanian landscape of fintech and technology events, and it’s something that needs to be sustained continuously. We need to focus more on bringing great people and minds together, facilitating and investing in their ideas and discussions so the entire ecosystem benefits from it. 

It’s exactly what these kinds of events bring together: great minds and people with no limits in opening a great dialogue for collaboration between them. It’s also a great place for people to be seen, for ideas to rise and, why not, for people to start co-creating together.

Overall, Raul talks about digital change in a way that stays close to the work. Start with real problems and map the process. Let the technology come in when there’s something clear to enable. For companies, the value shows up in operations: access, connectivity, integrations, and service that holds up when demand surges.

Looking ahead, his instinct stays modest. Companies should build what helps, meet people where they already are, and don’t make the tool the story. It’s a practical view for a market that moves on habit as much as on hype. If the coming years reward builders who keep usefulness at the centre, Raul’s work is already pointing in that direction.

FINANCE LEGENDS

At UNCHAIN, the fortress is just the setting. The real story is the people. Finance Legends is a series that shines a light on the individuals whose choices and ideas leave a mark on the region’s financial landscape. Each edition looks at a leader whose work is influencing how banks, fintechs, and regulators think about progress and act on it. In this edition, the focus is on Serban Negrescu, the Garanti BBVA executive whose work in digital transformation raises some of the most pressing questions facing banks today.

Serban Negrescu has built his career on the idea that banking should always follow progress. At Garanti BBVA, he leads the push on digital transformation and product development, a role that puts him in the middle of one of the biggest questions in finance today: how do you keep the bank relevant when customers expect everything to happen instantly, on their phones, and without issues? In today’s market that challenge is amplified: customers are quick to embrace digital tools, yet institutions often struggle to keep pace. Serban sits at that fault line, pushing Garanti BBVA to move with the agility of a fintech while carrying the responsibility of a bank.

What does real digital transformation in banking require today, beyond the hype?

Real digital transformation in banking goes far beyond adopting flashy front-end apps or simply digitizing existing processes. It demands a deep, strategic shift across the entire organization, one that rewires both the technology stack and the operating model

At Garanti BBVA Romania, we are replacing our core systems with scalable, cloud-ready platforms that allow for faster integration, real-time data processing, and continuous delivery of new digital services. Old legacy systems are too rigid and slow to support the agility of today’s market demands.

So it starts with technology, but where does the customer come in?

Technology is only the foundation. Real transformation also means redefining how value is delivered to the customer. That starts with putting customer journeys at the center, not just digitizing offline processes but completely rethinking them to be intuitive, accessible, and efficient. In my experience, aligning business, IT, and data teams around this goal is key.a teams are all aligned around the same goal.

And what about culture inside the bank? Many institutions still struggle with risk-aversion.

A successful transformation also requires a culture of agility and experimentation. Traditional banks often struggle with siloed structures and risk-averse mindsets. To drive change, we need empowered, cross-functional teams, rapid feedback loops, and leadership that supports bold decisions. At Garanti BBVA, we’re fostering this by adopting agile methodologies and collaborative governance across departments.

You also mentioned data. How central is it to this transformation?

It’s critical. True digital transformation means becoming a data-driven organization, where insights guide decision-making, personalization, and operational efficiency. This goes beyond dashboards; it’s about embedding intelligence into every customer interaction and internal process.

All of these moving parts (technology, culture, data, and compliance) point to the same conclusion: digital transformation is a complete rethinking of how a bank operates. It takes leadership willing to make structural changes, teams willing to experiment, and above all, a constant focus on the customer. 

How would you describe Romania’s progress in digital banking compared to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe?

It is a solid fact that Romania has made significant strides in digital banking, particularly in the past five to seven years, but its progress is a mixed picture when compared to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).

On the positive side, Romania has seen strong innovation in mobile banking and fintech adoption. The local market responded rapidly to global trends like NFC payments, instant onboarding and lending, and mobile wallets. The appetite for digital experiences is there, and Romanian consumers are digitally savvy and willing to adopt new solutions quickly when the value is clear.

What role have banks played in that shift?

Banks (both local and subsidiaries of international groups) have invested heavily in core modernization and digital channels. Initiatives such as replacing legacy infrastructure, launching fully digital lending products, and integrating RPA or AI-based services are no longer exceptions, they are part of the new norm.

Still, progress has been uneven. Serban points out that while there are success stories, the pace and consistency of implementation lag behind markets like Poland or the Czech Republic. Many banks are still early in their digital journeys or working with fragmented strategies, which makes scaling harder.

Another weak spot is public digital infrastructure. In countries such as Estonia (and increasingly in Hungary), tools like digital IDs, electronic signatures, and open data have created the foundation for seamless financial services. In Romania, those pieces exist but remain underdeveloped or underused.

What about inclusion? Has digital closed the gap, or widened it?

That’s still a challenge. Financial inclusion and digital literacy continue to present barriers in rural or underserved communities. There’s a need for broader efforts across the ecosystem (banks, regulators, fintechs, and government) to ensure digital doesn’t widen the accessibility gap

Even so, Serban believes the fundamentals are strong: talent, appetite for innovation, and consumer readiness. What Romania needs now, he argues, is scale, speed, and closer cooperation between public and private players. Only then will the country be able to match (maybe even surpass) its peers in the region.

At Garanti BBVA, you have overseen fully digital onboarding and AI-powered personalization. What were the main lessons from implementing those capabilities?

One of the key lessons we learned is that digital onboarding and AI personalization are not technology projects. They are transformation enablers that require deep alignment across the business, IT, risk, legal, and customer experience functions.

What did you discover when it came to digital onboarding specifically?

The first major lesson was the importance of customer-centric design. It’s not enough to digitize forms or replicate the branch process online. We had to rethink the onboarding journey entirely, simplifying steps, eliminating friction, and ensuring compliance and security without compromising user experience. Getting KYC, digital signature, and identity verification to work seamlessly required intense collaboration between compliance and tech teams, and sometimes even regulatory dialogue.

That collaboration, he adds, was not just a technical exercise but a cultural shift inside the bank. Compliance and technology don’t always sit at the same table, and digital onboarding forced those conversations to happen in real time.

Did everything work smoothly from the start?

We realized the importance of agility and testing in live environments. What worked in pilot did not always scale as expected. We had to continuously monitor drop-off rates, customer feedback, and operational data to iterate quickly and optimize the funnel. Real transformation came from being willing to adapt and improve fast, even after launch.

And when it comes to AI personalization?

Personalization must serve a clear value to the customer, not just push offers. When used right, AI helps us anticipate needs, simplify navigation, and make financial decisions easier. But relevance is key. Irrelevant recommendations erode trust fast, so the AI has to be smart, explainable, and continuously trained.

The broader lesson was about ownership. Digital onboarding and personalization touched nearly every part of the bank. Success depended on breaking silos and aligning everyone around the same goal: creating a simple, intuitive, and meaningful customer experience. These initiatives, he says, are now treated less as standalone projects and more as pillars of a scalable digital bank.

Looking ahead, where do you think banks still fall short when it comes to delivering truly personalized customer experiences?

While many banks have made progress in collecting data and segmenting customers, most still fall short in translating those insights into real-time, context-aware, and emotionally intelligent experiences. Personalization today is often superficial, driven by marketing rules or product triggers, not by a true understanding of customer intent or life context.

What’s the core problem behind that?

One of the key shortcomings is that banks think in products, not in customer needs. Most personalization efforts still focus on pushing offers (a credit card when spending is up, a loan when income drops), but that’s not truly personal. Real personalization starts with anticipating behavior and offering relevant guidance, sometimes even before the customer realizes the need. That requires a shift from transactional thinking to relationship thinking.

Serban points out that this shift requires more than clever targeting. It means building an understanding of customers that cuts across silos, something most banks still struggle with.

Is data integration the missing piece?

Yes. Many banks still operate in silos, with fragmented views of the customer across channels and products. Without a unified customer profile (enriched with behavioral, transactional, and even contextual data), it’s impossible to deliver consistent and meaningful personalization. The data exists, but it’s often underutilized or locked in legacy systems.

Beyond data, what else gets overlooked?

Banks also underestimate the importance of timing and delivery. Personalization is not just what you say, it’s when and how you say it. A push notification during salary week can be relevant; the same message during a financial hardship moment can be tone-deaf. Understanding context and emotional state is critical, and AI can help, but only if designed and trained thoughtfully.

He adds that timing without trust doesn’t get far. Customers today are more aware of how their data is used, and if personalization feels intrusive or manipulative, it can backfire quickly. Transparency, control, and a focus on genuine financial well-being matter just as much as the sophistication of the algorithm.

So what will separate the leaders from the laggards in the years ahead?

I would say agility. By the time a personalized campaign is built, approved, and deployed, the moment of relevance has often passed. Embedding real-time intelligence into customer interactions (from app navigation to contact center conversations) is where the future lies. And that requires not just technology, but a cultural shift toward experimentation and continuous learning.

That shift, he argues, will define tomorrow’s leading banks.

How did you enjoy your time at UNCHAIN this year?

UNCHAIN this year was truly inspiring, both in content and in energy. It brought together exactly the kind of community we need more of in the region: bold thinkers, digital doers, and people genuinely passionate about reshaping financial services. What I appreciated most was the honesty of the conversations. It was less about buzzwords. It had actual substance. Whether it was about embedded finance, open banking, or AI in customer journeys, the discussions reflected a maturity that shows how far the ecosystem has come.

Part of the value was also personal. Stepping outside the day-to-day pressure of execution gave him space to reconnect with peers from fintechs, banks, and regulators across CEE. The mix of perspectives (and even the constructive disagreements) offered both validation for what Garanti BBVA is already doing and sparks for what could be improved.

Another standout for me was the diversity of voices, not just geographically, but also across disciplines. You had product leaders next to founders, data scientists next to policymakers. That kind of mix creates the right tension, and some of the most insightful conversations happened outside the formal panels, over coffee or during side chats.

Too many conferences stay in the clouds; Unchain managed to balance inspiration with practical use cases and lessons learned, including some failures, which are just as important to hear. All in all, it was time very well spent.

That sense of shared purpose also mirrors his own approach at Garanti BBVA. He has never spoken about technology as an end in itself, but as a means to build relevance and trust. Whether it’s digital onboarding, AI-driven personalization, or the broader cultural shifts inside banks, his message is that transformation only matters if it makes people’s lives simpler and more meaningful.

In a region still defining its digital future, transformation is not a showcase of technology but a test of relevance: whether banks can remain trusted, useful, and human while rethinking their foundations. Serban’s work at Garanti BBVA shows that the future of finance in Romania (and in the wider region) will belong to those who can turn ambition into execution without losing sight of the people they serve.

At UNCHAIN, the fortress is just the setting. The real story is the people. Finance Legends is a series that highlights the people shaping finance in Central and Eastern Europe. Each edition focuses on a leader whose work influences how banks, fintechs, and regulators think and act. This time, that spotlight is on Rik Coeckelbergs, a voice that has become familiar across Europe for bringing bankers and innovators together and keeping questions of trust and values at the centre of the conversation.

Rik Coeckelbergs has spent the past decade turning conversations about banking into a career. Known across Europe as a moderator, writer, and community builder, he usually asks the questions that others tend to avoid. With his latest book, A New Ethos in Banking, he’s pushed the debate even further, challenging banks to look beyond quarterly results and reconnect with the values that once defined them. In a time when the industry is still trying to balance digital speed with human trust, Rik has become one of the voices reminding us that finance is, at its core, about people.

You’ve spent years observing and moderating conversations across Europe’s banking scene. What’s the biggest shift you’ve noticed in how banks approach their role in society?

It’s fascinating how banks have approached their role in society, because it often mirrors how society views them. After the global financial crisis and the digital shake-up that followed, banks were on the defensive. They were seen as greedy, slow, and out of touch — bailed out by the public but not giving much back. Whether or not that was fair, it shaped how people looked at them, and banks had to carry that perception.

Between those years of playing defence, there was another challenge. As Rik points out, banks had to accept their position as “semi-public institutions.” That meant more than balancing the books. It meant financing the economy to keep jobs alive, investing in the green transition, and pouring money into digital projects. That had to happen while making sure those who struggled with new technology weren’t left behind.

Do you feel like that perception is finally changing?

What I now observe is that banks are gradually recovering from this negative perception, after twenty years, and are adopting a more proactive societal role. Banks are resisting non-productive regulations, recognising the digital divide, and launching initiatives to keep every consumer engaged.

And what about sustainability? That’s become a defining part of banks’ responsibilities.

We can’t ignore it. Sustainability has evolved alongside geopolitics, with investments in the defence industry serving as a striking example. This used to be a clear “no” for many institutions when defining ESG safe investments; today, the landscape has changed significantly.

After years of moderating conversations, Rik decided to capture some of those ideas in writing. What began as a series of events around “ethos in banking” grew into a book that pushes the debate further, asking banks to reconnect with values that go beyond short-term performance.

Your latest book, A New Ethos in Banking: Embracing Values and Ethics for a Meaningful Transformation, explores values in the financial sector. What inspired you to write it now, and what response has surprised you the most so far?

Back in 2023, we organised three events centred on “Ethos in Banking,” where numerous CEOs and other executives shared their interpretations of ethos and their visions of its significance for the industry. It was fresh and presented banking within a context I had not encountered before. That is why I wanted to continue that dialogue through a series of interviews, which eventually culminated in the book now available worldwide.

From my observations, the banking industry has somewhat lost its original character by merely copying successful strategies from others. The book is not primarily about ethics but about translating a bank’s ethical principles into its daily operations and transformation efforts, whether that involves digital innovation, sustainable practices, or other forms of change.

Beyond the events that inspired it, Rik describes the book as a call to action, a push for banks to bring their identity and values back into the heart of transformation. That message has resonated. Readers have praised the work for putting trust and social contracts at the centre of banking’s future, and for highlighting the intersection of ethics, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership.

When you talk about an ‘ethos’ in banking, what does that mean in practice for a traditional bank trying to modernise?

Embracing an ethos in banking means going beyond digital transformation to embed a deep, values-driven culture across the institution. For a traditional bank, it’s about reconnecting with its foundational purpose: helping customers and communities thrive, not just processing transactions or selling products.

In practice, this starts by articulating a clear long-term mission, one that resonates internally and externally. Ethos demands a shift from quarterly performance to generational relevance, anchored in trust, empathy, and responsibility. 

And what role does technology play in this?

Critically, an ethos-driven transformation humanises technology. Digital banking often failed to connect with customers emotionally. Banks must now infuse empathy into design, ensuring services are inclusive and meaningful, particularly for vulnerable groups.

That requires leadership to set the tone, right?

Leadership plays a crucial role. Ethos isn’t about slogans but about behaviour, especially when no one is watching. As Cor Herkströter put it, “principles that change every year become worthless for employees.” Consistency in values through leadership transitions is essential. 

Ethos also changes how banks think about compliance. It’s not enough to tick boxes. The shift is from doing only what is legally allowed to doing what is right. Rik stresses that “For traditional banks, modernisation with ethos is not optional. It’s how they remain trusted, human, and meaningful in a digital world.”

Through The Banking Scene, you’ve built a strong community around banking innovation. What’s one lesson you’ve learned from curating all those dialogues?

All these people act with the best intentions within their own context. Often, changing a bank is less about the individuals and more about the environment they operate in, whether that is culture, leadership, work methods or the bank’s identity, in short: its ethos.

That also means the same question will spark very different answers, depending on the bank. For Rik, this diversity is what makes real change possible. The Banking Scene is a platform for people to share their stories to help others re-evaluate the status quo.

Have you noticed differences between smaller and larger banks?

Yes. Smaller banks are often modest in taking the stage, although they are often the heroes that successfully drive change with much fewer resources, and remain a relevant competitor for the big players. That is often underestimated in my opinion. They may innovate less, but be much more focused on developing the right services.

Looking ahead, Rik suggests the bigger challenge is not just about the size of institutions, but about their relevance. It’s a theme he’s already planning to put at the centre of The Banking Scene’s 2025 agenda, and it connects to questions of technology, risk, and even sustainability.

What do you see as the next big conversation the industry isn’t having yet, but should be?

Anything from digital transformation to societal and economic relevance in a world that seems to be embracing some aspects of the free banking era again, with the rise of stablecoins. I’m not just talking about payments, but also the impact of stablecoins on banks’ credit policies, etc.

The relevance of banks is also being challenged in fraud prevention. The rise of AI is completely reshaping how fraud is committed and how it should be countered. What should banks do here? The same applies to the responsible use of AI, not only within banks but also in interactions with the outside world. What happens when I start using an AI agent to manage my finances, and what is the role of a bank in that context? 

Sustainability is part of that same conversation. As Rik points out, climate change already leaves a mark on the balance sheets of banks and insurers. The question is how much further the sector should go in keeping responsibility high on the agenda, and in pushing society to act on it.

Against that backdrop of relevance, risk, and responsibility, it’s no surprise that the events Rik values most are the ones that open space for honest dialogue, events like UNCHAIN.

You’ve been to countless fintech events. What stood out to you about UNCHAIN?

What made UNCHAIN different was that it really felt like a festival, not just another conference. Beyond the panels, there were informal moments – pre-drinks, the evening concert, even a city tour — that created space for genuine dialogue. The setting, a fortress in Romania at the crossroads of Eastern Europe, gave it a distinctive energy, and the organisation was seamless. It brought together regulators, banks, and innovators in a way that felt open and collaborative.

That mix of structured debate and informal exchange is exactly what Rik has tried to foster throughout his own work. He never approached banking as just numbers and regulations. Through his activities (from moderating debates to writing about values and ethos), he’s shown that finance is inseparable from the society it serves. The Banking Scene has become his way of keeping that dialogue alive, drawing together voices from across Europe to ask what relevance, trust, and responsibility really mean in 2025.

At a time when the industry is reshaped by AI, sustainability pressures, and shifting geopolitics, Rik’s message is a reminder that banks are more than institutions. They are part of the social fabric, and their future depends on whether they can stay human while adapting to change.

• Digital Transformation in Crisis: Discover how Ukrainian fintechs have adapted to war conditions, with solutions like AI-powered banking to enhance customer experience and maintain security during tough times.
• Cybersecurity & Resilience: Leading experts shared how fintechs in Ukraine are using cutting-edge cybersecurity measures to stay secure even amidst the crisis, ensuring continuous operation.
• Financial Innovation Amidst Adversity: Get inspired by stories of fintechs leading digital finance evolution in challenging conditions, from innovating in digital identity to contactless payments under war conditions.
• Collaborations that Matter: Hear about exciting cross-border collaborations and partnerships helping businesses stay agile and grow despite the odds.

Catch these fascinating discussions now – an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the future of fintech and digital transformation in the CEE region!

The Evolving Consumer Landscape: Understanding the Banking Preferences of Digital Generations 

Key highlights of the discussion:

AI is reshaping the banking industry by providing personalized solutions, improving decision-making, and enhancing customer experiences. As banks integrate AI, they can offer tailored financial products and services, making them more competitive in an increasingly digital world.

Alongside these advancements, regulatory challenges are becoming more critical. As AI usage in banking grows, new regulations are needed to protect consumer safety and privacy. These regulations must evolve quickly to keep pace with technological innovations and ensure responsible AI deployment.

The generational shift is also driving change in the industry. Younger generations, accustomed to digital-first interactions and influenced by platforms like TikTok, are shaping banking expectations. They demand fast, interactive, and mobile-centric services, pushing banks to adapt their operations to meet these new digital standards.

Key Fintech Investment and M&A Activity: Implications for Market Growth

Key highlights of the discussion:

Hungary’s fintech ecosystem faces a challenge in terms of groundbreaking innovation, with many startups more focused on following trends rather than creating truly disruptive technologies. This stands in contrast to more dynamic markets like the Baltics, where innovation is driving the sector forward.

While Hungary presents significant potential for testing fintech solutions, its small market size limits startups’ ability to scale. Entrepreneurs often need to expand into larger markets like Central Eastern Europe or the US to grow, which presents unique challenges in adapting to diverse market conditions.

AI is transforming the fintech landscape by reducing capital requirements, particularly in software development. AI-driven solutions can automate complex tasks, decreasing human resource costs and accelerating development. International investors are increasingly interested in the Hungarian fintech market, with new forms of funding allowing smaller investors to support the sector’s growth.

Panel 1: AI & Banking – The Inevitable Integration

AI in Every Role – The New Normal
AI is no longer just an innovation; it’s becoming a necessity. In the coming years, every role in banking—from front desk to back office—will integrate AI to enhance efficiency, automate workflows, and redefine customer interactions. Are banks ready for this transformation?

Agentic AI & Automation – A Game-Changer for Banking Operations
Imagine an AI-driven ecosystem where risk assessments, compliance checks, and product launches happen seamlessly. The potential of agentic AI in banking is enormous, but how close are we to full-scale adoption? Experts discuss what’s possible today and what the future holds.

Panel 2: Fintech at the Crossroads – Regulation, AI & SME Lending

Regulation: A Blessing or a Curse for Fintechs?
Is regulation a catalyst for fintech growth or a roadblock to innovation? Compliance requirements are forcing fintechs to refine their processes, but does this come at the cost of agility? Leaders share real-world insights on navigating the regulatory landscape.

The AI Disruption – Will It Redefine Money Itself?
Financial services are evolving rapidly, but AI might push transformation even further than we imagine. Could we see a fundamental shift in how money functions, how transactions happen, and how compliance operates? The panel explores how AI is rewriting the rules of finance.

The SME Lending Gap – The Biggest Missed Opportunity?
Despite driving economic growth, SMEs struggle to access affordable financing. Traditional banks often overlook microloans due to high costs, but digital lending is changing the game. Could fintech finally unlock this untapped market and fuel SME expansion?

AI, regulation, and digital transformation are reshaping the future of banking and fintech in Romania and beyond. From enhancing operational efficiency to unlocking new opportunities in digital lending, the industry is evolving rapidly.

Don’t miss these insightful discussions on the key trends driving change. Watch now to stay informed on what’s next for Romania’s financial landscape!

The Role of Banks and Fintechs in Moldova

Key highlights of the discussion:

Outsourcing vs. Insourcing: Experts discussed the importance of banks determining which services should be insourced, such as core banking, and which could be outsourced to fintechs for greater efficiency and innovation.

Collaboration between Banks and Fintechs: The panel emphasized the need for banks and fintechs to collaborate, with fintechs offering specialized solutions (like AI and automation) that complement traditional banking services.

Cybersecurity in Financial Services: A major topic was the need for robust cybersecurity measures, including training for employees and customers, to mitigate cyber threats and ensure trust in digital banking systems.

Strong Customer Authentication (SCA): The National Bank of Moldova highlighted the introduction of SCA to reduce fraud risk, with a focus on customer education to ensure compliance with new security requirements.

Customer Trust and Education: The importance of educating customers on security measures and the rationale behind regulatory changes to ensure confidence in digital payments and financial services was a key discussion point.

Nurturing Moldova’s Fintech Ecosystem

Key highlights of the discussion:

Challenges for Startups: The legal complexities of transitioning from local to international structures and the need for a sales-driven model due to limited access to long-term funding in Moldova.

EU Membership Prospects: The potential benefits of Moldova’s EU integration, including streamlined legal frameworks, easier access to European markets, and reduced barriers for attracting investments.

Impact of Geopolitical Events: The ongoing effects of the war in Ukraine, energy crisis, and other global challenges on Moldova’s economy, with expectations of recovery and growth as these issues stabilize.

Crowdfunding and Investment Regulations: The difficulty startups face in navigating national and international crowdfunding regulations, and the legal complexities of operating in both Moldova and the EU.

Optimism and Proactive Engagement: The importance of being optimistic and proactive in promoting Moldova’s tech ecosystem, participating in public-private discussions, and leveraging local talent for future growth.

Fast forward to today, and things are (thankfully) a lot easier. This shift from complicated, clunky systems to streamlined, user-friendly experiences is driving the future of finance. Exchange platforms like Kriptomat have changed things. Instead of navigating a labyrinth of confusing processes, they’ve made crypto as easy to access as your online banking.

At this year’s edition of the UNCHAIN Festival, we got the chance to talk to Dejan Davidovic, the COO and co-founder of Kriptomat. He shed some light on what makes the Kriptomat different and how they see their trajectory in the market of the future.

Making Crypto Accessible for Everyone

When people think of crypto, they usually picture fancy setups and complex trading platforms – which, to be fair, can be the case. Even I stumbled into some complicated things that left me thinking I could put my money elsewhere. As a beginner, going into crypto can be a challenge. But that’s exactly the problem Kriptomat set out to solve. 

Our goal has always been to bring crypto and this new technology and new opportunities to regular retail customers.

Dejan Davidovic

The platform was designed to help everyday users who find traditional crypto exchanges too intimidating or complicated. Since its founding in 2018, Kriptomat has grown to serve over half a million customers, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe. But Dejan is quick to mention that this growth wasn’t the result of flashy marketing. 

It happened organically, step by step. We always try to put customers first because we are very well aware that without customers, there is no service, and there is no us.

Dejan Davidovic

Building Trust in a Trust-Lacking Industry

One of the biggest problems facing the crypto industry today is trust. Between scams, fraud, and a lack of understanding, it’s no wonder many people are still hesitant to invest their money. 

The only thing our industry actually lacks is trust. We have all these different great solutions, but retail doesn’t trust us because they don’t know us.

Dejan Davidovic

Kriptomat tackles this problem head-on by being fully licensed and regulated.

We are a licensed company out of Estonia, and we are also registered as a crypto asset service provider in Spain, France, Greece, Croatia, and Poland.

Dejan Davidovic

In the near future, Kriptomat expects to operate under the new MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulations, bringing even more oversight and credibility to its operations.

The Rise of the Web3 Wallet

Kriptomat’s mission isn’t just about making crypto accessible. It’s also about adapting to what customers want. For instance, the company recently launched its Web3 wallet, a hosted decentralized wallet that lets users access more than 1,000 digital assets.

We still control the wallet keys, but the customers can access whatever other asset is within their Kriptomat account, which makes it really easy for them to skip complicated things.

Dejan Davidovic

However, he’s transparent about the fact that this isn’t a perfect solution: 

Self-custody is one of the main benefits of crypto, but it’s also the biggest threat.

Dejan Davidovic

Kriptomat’s approach is to balance ease of use with security, and they’re continuously evolving this service based on user feedback.

Focusing on Eastern Europe

While many crypto companies aim to scale globally as fast as possible, Kriptomat’s approach is more localized. 

 We want to make the transfer from Fiat to crypto as frictionless as possible.

We are looking into this hyper-localization as much as possible, and we will be doing this in most Eastern European countries.

Dejan Davidovic

For Kriptomat, this means offering services in local languages, supporting local currencies, and working with local banking partners.

Kriptomat’s focus on Central and Eastern Europe sets it apart from competitors, particularly in a region where financial literacy is lower and the barriers to investing are higher. 

People in Eastern Europe lack financial literacy. We will continue to build products that make crypto an interesting investment asset.

Dejan Davidovic

Looking ahead, Kriptomat wants to expand its offerings beyond just crypto. 

There is a possibility that we will be looking into potentially adding also traditional investment assets to our platform, like ETFs.

Dejan Davidovic

This is part of a broader goal to transform Kriptomat from a simple crypto exchange into a more comprehensive wealth management platform.

But at its core, the company’s mission remains the same: to make crypto accessible, safe, and easy to use for everyone, whether you’re a first-time investor or an experienced trader. 

It’s funny how we all have those moments. Those “coincidences” where your phone seems to know you better than you know yourself. Whether it’s Instagram targeting your inner chef or your bank nudging you with a credit card offer right as you plan a weekend trip, it’s like they’ve got you figured out.

My dad would say it’s Big Brother watching. I’d say it’s just real-time event processing in action. So yeah,…same thing. Ok, just kidding. -Ish.

Of course, if you’re in finance, you’re no stranger to this. EVAM, for example, takes this to the next level. They’re not just pushing ads or offers—they’re helping companies take action on customer behavior in the moment it happens. That’s the kind of tech that keeps customers engaged and businesses ahead of the curve.

At this year’s UNCHAIN, we had the pleasure of talking with Valentin Costa, Sales Manager at EVAM. He shed some light on how EVAM is taking over the customer engagement space in banking and telecoms with real-time event processing.

Laser-Focused on Customer Engagement

We’ve been in the market for about eight years. And I think we’ve managed to find the niche where, you know, you could find some similar products doing similar things, but they are part of a bigger solution. So, the focus on developing those products was in another direction. We focused on this direction of customer engagement.

Valentin Costa

And that laser focus? It’s paying off. While other companies are spread thin and trying to be everything to everyone, EVAM sticks to what they do best: getting banks and telcos to communicate better with customers in real time.

Valentin is confident about why they’re the first choice: 

We are really, really, you know, laser-focused on developing a customer engagement tool for banks and telcos. So that will be our, let’s say, a key differentiator.

Valentin Costa

The Pandemic Gave Banks a Much-Needed Kick

Let’s not pretend banks have always been on top of their game when it comes to digital communication.

Banks have been a little late to the table, haven’t they, when it comes to communications? Pandemic helped.

Valentin Costa

The pandemic gave them a shove in the right direction, and now there’s no going back. Banks quickly learned that they needed to reach customers without them setting foot in a branch. Valentin said it best: 

You need to invest in the customer experience because it’s the only element that will make the difference between whether a customer decides to stay with the bank or go to another bank. 

Valentin Costa

When competitors are breathing down your neck, real-time engagement isn’t just a trend anymore—it’s survival.

Don’t Spam. Be Relevant.

We’ve all been on the receiving end of spammy messages and irrelevant offers, and we know how fast that sends us running. That’s why EVAM’s approach is focused on relevance, always. 

We enhance the experience and we base the communication with the client on relevance. We don’t spam the customer with things that are useless or irrelevant.

Valentin Costa

They’ve got data models working on an individual level to figure out what the customer needs, when they need it, and which channel works best to send that offer. Simple, right? But here’s the genius part: 

By automating these tasks, you know, we have a higher chance of adopting that product or service.

Valentin Costa

When customers feel like the offer is meant for them, they’re more likely to engage. And more engagement? That’s loyalty right there.

Easy to Implement, Even Easier to Scale

When all is said and done, the real question banks care about is, “How easy is this to actually use?” Well, according to Valentin, EVAM’s got that covered, too. 

Our typical implementation time is around three months, even for a large bank.

Valentin Costa

They’ve hooked up banks with over 50 data sources in a matter of months, which is no small feat. And when it comes to scaling, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a million customers or 10 million.

 It depends. I mean, there are banks that, even if they are small, have a wide variety of systems… And some big banks have decided to, you know, go through a digital transformation about three or four years ago where everything is more streamlined.

Valentin Costa

Basically, whether your tech stack is a mess or already modernized, EVAM can get you connected and running.

The Circle of Engagement (and Money)

Valentin described EVAM’s approach to customer engagement as a circle. You start by improving the customer experience, and then the customer will consume more products. The more they consume, the more loyal they are. And the more loyal they are, the less likely they are to jump ship for another bank.

If the communication is based on relevance, then you have a customer who’s happy about the experience, and then he consumes more products from the bank.

Valentin Costa

More consumption equals lower churn risk. It’s a loop that keeps on giving for both banks and their customers. And now, with the Romanian market in the bag, EVAM has its sights set on bigger things. 

Our primary focus now is Central Eastern Europe. We managed to secure Romania’s biggest bank.

Valentin Costa

They’re also eyeing major banks in Poland and the Czech Republic next. Looking further down the line, EVAM has its sights set on bigger things.

Somewhere next year, we will start approaching banks in Western Europe, where the references that we’ve managed to get in Central Eastern Europe would be more useful.

Valentin Costa

They’re ready to take on the Western markets, and with their track record, it looks like they’ve got a solid shot.