In co-operation with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and the Center for Financial Studies, the Institute for Law and Finance successfully held its first virtual conference "Digital Payment Solutions – The transformation of the payment sector" on 25 June 2021.
The conference focused on how technology is shaping the financial services landscape and payments, shedding light on the role of the European Central Bank within an evolving payments ecosystem and discusssing industry-led initiatives in the European payments sector such as the European Payments Initiative and the European Mobile Payment Systems Association. The conference also addressed regulatory developments based on legislative initiatives of the European Commission.
The conference commenced with Prof. Dr. Rainer Klump, Director, Center for Financial Studies, and Mr. Markus Benzing, Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP delivering the welcoming remarks and introducing the keynote speaker of the day, Ms. Fiona van Echelpoel, Deputy Director General, Market Infrastructures and Payments, European Central Bank. In her keynote speech "Pan-European digital payments: where the future lies", Ms. van Echelpoel shed light on the ECB’s projects and strategy on digital payments.
The second lecture "The Future of Payments in Europe – the European Payments Initiative and beyond“ was presented by Mr. Patrik Pohl, Managing Director, Head of Cash Products Germany, Deutsche Bank AG. He was followed by Ms. Céu Pereira, Team Leader for Retail Payments, Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission who spoke about "The European Commission's Retail Payments Strategy".
The conference was closed by a panel discussion consisting of the moderators Mr. Markus Benzing and Ms. Eva Schneider, Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, panelists Mr. Iddo de Jong, Team Lead Market Infrastructure, European Central Bank, Mr. Christian Pirkner, Co-Chair, Interoperability Working Group, European Mobile Payment Systems Association and CEO, Blue Code International AG and speaker Mr. Patrik Pohl.
During the streaming of the conference, participants were able to interact with speakers and moderators by raising questions through the chat.
