Breakfast

Gain early access to senior banking, fintech and payments leaders in a high-value networking hour before the day begins.

The Opening Lap | The Future Isn't Waiting: Why 2026 Will Redefine Issuer Banking and Payment Technology

Dive into a forward-looking view of banking and payment technology—and how i2c is positioning its clients to lead. Amir will outline the top priorities global institutions are raising with i2c, what they expect from their technology provider in 2026, and how i2c's strategy, architecture, and partnership model are built to deliver against those expectations with speed and certainty.

Driver’s Seat | When Technology Drives Strategy: The New Power Equation for Issuers & Processors​

Uncover a first look at findings from the American Banker–i2c industry research initiative, examining how consolidation, modernization, and new chartered entrants are reshaping the issuer–processor relationship. Once viewed as middleware, processors are now strategic enablers—and increasingly a source of competitive advantage. Executives will gain insights into shifting expectations around architecture, data access, flexibility, service, governance, and long‑term risk across a rapidly changing payments landscape.​

Turning Point | Agentic AI Breakthroughs: Rewiring Customer Experience, Cost Models & Competitive Advantage

Secure a strategic perspective on the modernization pathways that create real business impact. We'll explore how financial institutions and fintechs can unlock operating efficiency, accelerate product delivery, and generate new revenue streams through carefully selected modernization approaches. Experts unpack why modernization efforts often stall despite heavy investment. Leaders will walk away with a clear framework for decision‑making across core systems, servicing models, digital transformation, and payments infrastructure with execution models that work. ​

Track Signals | Signals vs. Noise: What Deserves Your Attention in the Payments Shift

Cut through the noise with an executive-level scan of what truly matters in today’s payments and banking environment—and what's merely distraction. Distill what's becoming a real inflection point—and what’s just noise. This session cuts through competing narratives to reveal the trends, shifts, and structural changes that actually deserve executive attention as banks and fintechs plan for the next horizon. Executives will walk away with clear guidance on emerging initiatives and evolving technologies that merit executive attention.

Track Signals: From Track to Tech: The Shared Science of High-Performance

Get an inside look at how high-performance racing and high-performance payments share the same core principles of speed, precision, and resilience as we explore what it takes to engineer systems—and teams—that can adapt, accelerate, and win in constantly changing conditions. In a world where milliseconds define winners and the track ahead is always shifting, the future belongs to those who can command both speed and control. This is where precision becomes performance—and where the road to the next era of financial technology begins.

Control Panel: Steering Fraud vs. Friction with Precision

Examine emerging payment identity authentication, transaction fraud vectors and dispute dynamics from both the processor and network vantage point. Hear how leading institutions are adapting their authentication, fraud and dispute stacks, which controls and tools matter most, and how to strengthen resolution workflows as attacks grow more sophisticated and emerging factors expand risk exposure. Leaders evaluate real-world examples, highlighting how decisioning directly impacts approvals, revenue, and long-term trust.​

Driver's Seat | The Emerging Middle Market Is Scaling Faster Than Its Financial Stack

Uncover new intelligence from the PYMNTS–i2c research initiative that defines the fast‑rising “emerging middle market.” As emerging middle‑market companies race from $1M to $50M in revenue, they hit a critical breaking point: operational complexity accelerates, but financial infrastructure lags behind. Cash flow volatility, limited access to flexible credit and fragmented payments systems slow momentum—despite strong growth ambitions and market opportunity.

Join this session to explore what these companies actually need to scale smarter—from real‑time cash visibility and integrated financial infrastructure to more adaptive funding models. The conversation will spotlight where incumbents fall short, where fintech innovation is breaking through, and why solving for this segment represents one of the biggest, most under‑served opportunities in financial services today.

Pit Stop: Recap & Refuel

Lock in the essential insights from the day through an executive-level recap, followed by a Q&A that clarifies themes, answers open questions, and sharpens strategic direction.

Breakfast

Gain early access to senior banking, fintech and payments leaders in a high-value networking hour before the day begins.

Turning Point: Agentic AI Breakthroughs: Rewiring Customer Experience, Cost Models & Competitive Advantage

Explore how Agentic AI is reshaping the customer lifecycle —from onboarding to servicing to retention. This session separates hype from substance and provides a clear view of what’s possible today, what’s emerging next, and what leaders must consider as they modernize their organizations. Key insights include:

• What Agentic AI can and cannot do today
• Current and near‑term use cases delivering measurable value​
• How AI reduces servicing costs while boosting personalization​
• Implications for infrastructure, data, compliance, and risk​
• Build vs. buy decisions and organizational readiness​
• Ethical considerations as automation accelerates​

Control Panel: The Consumer Credit Revolution: Instant, Intelligent, and Radically Personal

Take a look inside the evolution of consumer credit as it shifts from a static card product to an instant, intelligent, and radically personal experience. This session explores how evolving consumer expectations—across demographics and use cases—are reshaping how credit is designed, delivered, and perceived. Industry leaders will discuss how lenders are moving toward hyper-personal, digital, and real-time credit experiences, redefining risk assessment and decisioning through advanced data, analytics, and continuous evaluation. The panel will also examine how the practice of extending credit is evolving from a momentary approval into an ongoing consumer engagement—driving faster decisions, smarter risk management, and stronger outcomes for both consumers and institutions.

Explore how successful sponsor bank-fintech partnerships are structured and executed with a focus on governance, alignment, and operational realities for the future of embedded finance. As fintech models mature and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, sponsor banks are no longer just enablers of BIN sponsorship and compliance—they are strategic partners shaping product design, risk frameworks, and go-to-market execution. This session brings together leading sponsor banks to unpack where real value is created, how risk appetites are shifting, and what it takes to build durable, scalable programs in today’s environment. Leaders will walk away with practical insights on how to better partner with sponsor banks, avoid common pitfalls, and understand what will define the next generation of embedded finance.​

Control Panel: Orchestrating Real-Time Payments for Multi-Rail Optimization

Examine how financial institutions are managing and optimizing P2P and B2B payment flows across realtime batch and card networks in an increasingly complex, multi-rail environment. Leaders will focus on smart routing logic, cost efficiency, and maintaining operational control while balancing speed, reliability, and customer expectations. Executives will gain practical insights into building flexible real-time payment strategies for evolving P2P and B2B use cases that maximize performance and value across payment networks and rails.

Turning Point: Hyper-personalization: The Art & Science of Marketing to One

Unlock practical strategies for turning insight into action In an era where customers expect brands to know them as individuals, personalization has become a critical driver of growth. Leaders will explore how payments data can unlock deeper insight into customer behavior and be transformed into personalized experiences that boost engagement and revenue while scaling personalization responsibly and effectively across their business.

The Final Lap: Recap & Next Steps

Synthesize the day’s key insights in a crisp executive summary followed by a focused Q&A addressing open questions, leadership themes, and strategic implications for the road ahead.

OPEN

Utilize this time for networking, 1:1 interview video sessions, etc.