Leaders’ Roundtable: What’s in Store for Fintech in 2025?

As fintech navigates rapid technological advancements, regulatory challenges, and shifting market demands, 2025 promises to be a transformative year. From groundbreaking AI applications to the resurgence of IPOs and compliance-by-design models, industry leaders weigh in on the opportunities, hurdles, and innovations shaping the future of financial technology.

This year’s discussion was moderated by Ryan Woods, co-host of the Get Started Podcast and features the following fintech experts:

• Alex Mifsud, CEO & Co-Founder of Weavr
• Matt Bird, CEO & Co-Founder of Lemon
• Tamas Kadar, CEO and Co-Founder of SEON
• Thomas Müller, CEO and Co-Founder of Rivero
• Luke Trayfoot, CCO of Brite Payments
• Kimberley Waldron, Managing Director of Started PR

Ryan Woods: “Thanks so much for joining us today. This is a really heavyweight panel and I’m very excited to hear your takes on the coming 12 months. Matt, if it’s ok I’d like to start with you and ask for your general thoughts on the next year.”

Matt Bird: “Amid ongoing economic uncertainty and a prolonged funding downturn, I anticipate that 2025 will see more fintechs prioritise capital efficiency while harnessing AI tools to enhance their value propositions. Advancements in AI will provide companies with greater opportunities to challenge established players in major markets, driving increased competition and accelerating innovation. In a similar vein, fintechs are likely to centralise every aspect of where they spend, be that SaaS programmes or business tools.”

Ryan Woods: “Accelerating innovation is undoubtedly exciting. Many recent developments in fintech seem centred around enhancing speed and efficiency. Luke, would you say this is a key theme in the payments landscape as we approach 2025?”

Luke Trayfoot: “Yes certainly. As consumers and merchants increasingly prioritise speed and efficiency, the demand for faster payments will rise and they must effectively meet these expectations. Instant payments are becoming more widespread, and in 2025, Pay by Bank payment solutions will be more widely used to keep up with the changing trends. Instant payments help merchants access funds quickly and provide better cash flow management during critical sales periods. Consumers, in turn, benefit from a more seamless and instant shopping experience, a feature that is becoming more necessary, especially in eCommerce.”

Ryan Woods: “Let’s focus on AI, which has been one of the biggest trends of the past year. Tamas, you are deeply involved in that space – how are things going to evolve moving forward?”

Tamas Kadar: “AI is still in its infancy, excelling in specific areas but falling short of being universally reliable. Current systems prioritise fluency over accuracy, which limits broader utility. As AI improves, it could revolutionise industries to such a degree that global workforce dynamics shift, reducing the need for human labor in many sectors.

A future where AI autonomously battles other AI systems raises profound concerns. As bots outpace human comprehension, businesses, industries and consumer experiences could be shaped by decisions we barely understand. The psychological and operational impacts of these autonomous systems could redefine the human role in decision-making and trust in technology.

Trust in AI is fragile. Historically, AI models have failed spectacularly, reinforcing skepticism. If AI is embedded into critical infrastructure too quickly and fails, it could lead to catastrophic outcomes reminiscent of economic crashes. Ensuring human oversight and building robust safeguards is critical to mitigating such risks.”

Ryan Woods: “It seems like a pivotal moment for that field of development. I wonder if there are any other areas of fintech that may see similar change in the next year?”

Alex Mifsud: “I think there is. In 2025, new BaaS models and BaaS alternatives will resolutely replace old BaaS. Most, even the more established legacy BaaS players, are still far from profitable and have been saddled with increasing costs of compliance – we might even see failures or fire sales. Compliance-by-design alternatives are ready to step in to take their place.

Another swathe of regulations will hit financial services innovators, from the passing of PSD3 (Open Finance) to ‘operational resilience’ obligations such as DORA and its equivalent in the UK. Crypto regulation will continue apace, with the first MICA licences for crypto firms rolled out in Europe, and stablecoin regulation in the UK. All this while regulators will come under increasing political scrutiny on whether they are properly balancing enabling competition, innovation, inclusion and safety.

On a more positive note, 2025 may well herald the welcome return of headline grabbing fintech initial public offerings (IPOs). The pre-IPO waiting room is getting crowded, and in the company of Klarna, Revolut, Stripe and others to name a few.”

Kimberley Waldron: “I strongly agree with that latter point. Personally, I’m expecting to see a significant rise in fintech IPOs, with many occurring in the UK. This surge is likely to be driven, in part, by the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) recent reforms, which aim to simplify the listing process and enhance the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for public listings.

These changes are expected to encourage a diverse range of fintech companies, including emerging startups and mid-sized enterprises, to go public. The big question, however, is whether these reforms will be enough to convince Revolut, widely anticipated to have one of the biggest IPOs in history to list in London.

Regardless, the anticipated influx of IPOs reflects the sector’s maturity and the growing investor confidence in fintech innovations. This trend is likely to inject fresh dynamism into the UK’s financial markets, offering investors a broader spectrum of opportunities within the fintech landscape, which is great news for all.”

Ryan Woods: “That will be an interesting one to watch, let’s hope you’re both right. Thomas, I want to finish with you – what are the biggest trends you’re tracking ahead of the new year?”

Thomas Müller: “Financial institutions need to determine how to differentiate themselves moving forward—with digital payments here to stay and alternative payment methods popping up every week – they also need to focus on what consumers will demand from them in terms of their consumer protection rights. We foresee that with PSD3 and all other evolutions in the payments industry, the winners in payments will be those that can provide the frictionless experience that consumers demand, also when things go wrong with a modern approach to dispute management. This means the financial institutions focus on ‘Self-Service’ of their dispute management saving them time, money and increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction with the FI, resulting in top-of-wallet position for their payment product and increasing transaction volume.”

Ryan Woods: “One thing is clear—2025 promises to be another transformative year for the sector and its interconnected industries. Thank you all for joining us today and sharing such insightful perspectives.”