Money20/20 Amsterdam 2025

Investor Briefing: Where Deployment Meets Discipline

It was a pleasure reconnecting with so many investors, partners, and operators across the FinTech spectrum at Money20/20 Amsterdam. This year’s tone felt materially different — less hype, more realism. The market may be recalibrating, but that doesn’t mean innovation is slowing. Quite the opposite — infrastructure is being rewritten.

If we didn’t cross paths — I’ll be in London June 23rd–25th and happy to connect in person.

Here’s what should be on your radar:

1. Agentic AI: On the Cusp, But Not Yet Core

Investor interest in AI remains strong — but the use cases that justify allocation are still developing. Visa, Nvidia, and Microsoft emphasized the gap between technical capability and ecosystem readiness. Consent frameworks, orchestration layers, and model governance need to mature.

Investor lens: Back teams focused on augmenting ops — not reinventing the wheel. Monetization will likely come from margin expansion in fraud ops, onboarding, and underwriting — not net-new business models.

2. Stablecoin Infrastructure: Moving from Narrative to Revenue

Stablecoin rails are no longer theoretical. Stripe, Remote, and BVNK/Worldpay are operationalizing real-world flows: global payroll, treasury optimization, and FX-light settlement.

Signal for LPs: This is becoming core middleware. Don’t invest in abstractions — invest in regulated enablers with licensure, volume, and enterprise-grade infrastructure.

3. A2A Payments: Still a Structural Bet

Account-to-account payments are improving on cost and speed — but distribution, standardization, and revenue models remain bottlenecks. Bizum, SIBS, and Bancomat are pushing toward interoperability, but fragmentation persists.

Implication for funds: Treat A2A like early open banking — a five-year play requiring both merchant buy-in and PSP alignment. Monetization will be uneven until VRP and regulatory tailwinds accelerate.

4. Wallet UX and Checkout Flow: Platform Differentiation Over Proliferation

The future of checkout isn’t about adding options — it’s about embedding utility. Curve, Adobe, and PayPal all reinforced this: success comes from solving pain, not duplicating taps.

Back endgame operators: Scale-ups winning here will be those that integrate FX management, fraud filters, and merchant controls into one seamless layer.

5. Tokenized Money & CBDCs: Watching the Stack Rebuild

ECB and BOE diverge on strategy, but converge on urgency. Tokenized deposits and programmable CBDC pilots are gaining traction — with BIS’ Agora project aiming to unify commercial and central bank rails.

Investor edge: Bet on compliance-first platforms that can bridge traditional and programmable finance. The revenue opportunity is in solving for interoperability — not ideology.

Key Watch Areas for VCs and PE Funds

• Agentic AI: Invest behind real cost takeout, not storytelling.

• Stablecoin rails: Prioritize licensed, enterprise‑ready partners.

• A2A adoption: Track where regulation unlocks recurring flows.

• Wallet UX: Bundle utility, drive merchant ROI.

• Tokenization: Back firms solving for interoperability, not hype.

Final Thought

Money20/20 2025 was a reminder that infrastructure innovation continues — and the right capital, with the right underwriting discipline, can still outperform. If you’re allocating behind FinTech infra, embedded finance, or middleware, I’d be glad to trade notes.

Let’s connect in London (June 23rd–25th) or schedule a deeper conversation around where your thesis intersects.

Tom C. Schapira
Founder and CEO
Imagine Capital Group
E: [email protected]
Website: http://www.imaginecapitalgroup.com

Securities Offered through Wellesley Hills Securities. Member FINRA/SIPC