Overheard and Seen at Money20/20 2025: From the Floor to the Future

Money20/20 in Amsterdam once again cemented its place as the pulse check for where financial services are heading, and this year’s edition was more focused, urgent, and practical than ever. Across packed-out sessions and hallway conversations, a few clear themes dominated: the real-world use of AI, the evolution of embedded finance for SMEs, a sharpened focus on transparency and trust, and a healthy dose of fintech realism.

The most significant shift this year was how AI is being discussed, not as a distant opportunity, but as a present operational priority. Stripe’s CTO and Swift’s Head of AI outlined how their organisations are moving from isolated, experimental use cases to building AI infrastructure that is deeply integrated into core processes. The concept of an “AI factory”, where AI capabilities are systematised and scalable, gained traction across several sessions.

At Liberis, we were proud to contribute to this conversation by announcing Ada, our proprietary AI underwriting agent. Developed in collaboration with Google, Ada is designed to transform how funding decisions are made, using rich, real-time data to make smarter, faster, and fairer funding recommendations for small businesses. It’s not just an automation tool, it’s the start of a shift toward fully agentic financial decision-making. Crucially, Ada is built to be auditable, bias-checked, and guided by human oversight. Read more about Ada here.

During the “Beyond the Hype” session, Liberis and other industry leaders explored how to build AI agents that enhance rather than replace human capability. The panel underscored that AI must be explainable and trustworthy, especially in lending. It’s not just about making the right decision quickly; it’s about being able to clearly show how and why that decision was made, both for customers and regulators.

There was a strong call for a cultural shift across organisations: AI can’t just live in the product or tech teams. It must be embedded into leadership thinking, operational governance, and customer support frameworks, with clear goals, responsible data use, and constant feedback loops.

SMEs were front and centre this year, with several sessions addressing the pain points in traditional lending, payments, and cash flow management. Platforms like Xero and Airwallex explored how embedded finance is evolving to offer not just integrated services, but contextually relevant ones, capital and payments that show up exactly when and where a business needs them.

In a standout session hosted by eBay and Liberis, the discussion explored how embedded capital is helping thousands of sellers, many of whom are accidental entrepreneurs, access finance directly within the eBay ecosystem. By combining eBay's unique data and reach with Liberis’ underwriting capabilities, the partnership removes friction and offers personalised funding that adapts to each seller’s cash flow. For example, sellers can repay financing through a small percentage of their daily sales, smoothing the experience during quieter trading periods.

The session highlighted real outcomes, including a case study where a seller scaled from 200 to nearly 700 listings after accessing capital in just minutes through the embedded experience. Conversion rates for applications more than doubled after embedding the journey natively into the platform, a testament to the power of well-executed embedded finance to unlock growth for digital entrepreneurs.

What stood out was the dual impact: giving small businesses instant access to the resources they need, while enabling platforms to deepen loyalty, lifetime value, and growth outcomes at scale.

Another recurring theme was trust, both in terms of customer relationships and within the infrastructure powering financial services. As AI, open banking, and digital money continue to evolve, panellists from banks, fintechs, and regulators pointed to the increasing need for transparency in algorithms, data usage, and compliance processes.

Speakers also discussed the risks of “black-box” decisioning. With agentic AI on the horizon, organisations must ensure they can trace, audit, and explain every decision, not just to regulators, but to customers. That means investing in education, data governance, ethical frameworks, and ongoing human oversight.

AI and embedded finance may be accelerating fast, but trust remains the foundation.

Founders and fintech leaders brought a dose of realism to the stage, particularly when it came to funding challenges and go-to-market strategies. The venture environment remains tight, and companies are being forced to make smarter choices about product depth versus geographical expansion. The idea of doing fewer things, but doing them better, is resonating more than ever.

The most insightful moments came when operators shared how they’re rethinking growth, with partnerships, infrastructure resilience, and data-driven insights taking precedence over headline-grabbing launches.

Money20/20 2025 was a reminder that we’re now in a phase of pragmatic innovation. The bold visions remain, but the focus has shifted toward building scalable, sustainable models that deliver genuine value to businesses, consumers, and ecosystems.

In this new era, the companies that win won’t just be those with the best tech. They’ll be the ones that connect insights to action, embed finance where it matters most, and earn trust by design.