The Banking Scene Director's Cut

From Experiments to Enterprise Value with Agentic AI

Rik and Andrew discuss the key takeaways from a round table Think Tank session held under the Chatham House Rule with senior financial services professionals on the topic of Agentic AI in banking. You can find a summary of the discussions on our website here [https://thebankingscene.com/opinions/] if you prefer to skim-read the highlights.

What Banks Need to Get Right About Agentic AI

Sára Hanniker, Head of AI Solutions and Research, and Josef Dvořák, Chief AI Officer (CAIO) at Finshape, shared their insights and experience in this candid interview. What emerged was not a story about rapid disruption or easy wins. It was a much more useful conversation. Their view was that agentic AI in banking is real, but the route to value is slower, more structural and more demanding than the current noise around the market suggests. For banks, the challenge is not simply adding smarter technology to existing processes. It is about redesigning workflows, rethinking customer journeys, clarifying accountability and deciding where human judgement should become more valuable rather than less. You can find a summary of the interview on our website here. [https://thebankingscene.com/opinions/what-banks-need-to-get-right-about-agentic-ai/]

Instant payments APP fraud and Intelligent Friction - Insights from Martijn de Ruijter, Rabobank

Martijn de Ruijter shares a clear view on where payment fraud is heading in Europe and why instant payments are forcing banks to rethink the balance between speed, customer experience and protection. Verification of Payee is helping, but fraud is adapting just as quickly. https://thebankingscene.com/opinions/instant-payments-app-fraud-and-the-case-for-intelligent-friction-insights-from-martijn-de-ruijter-rabobank/ https://thebankingscene.com/resources/fraud-prevention-in-a-real-time-economy/

The Next Wave of Banking: The Age of Quanvergence - interview with Dharmesh Mistry

Dharmesh Mistry is a veteran of banking with over 40 years of experience in the industry. His latest research into what he calls the "Quanvergence" suggests that we are moving past the era of digital delivery into an era of deep, structural change driven by four intersecting forces: Quantum computing, Digital Twins, Agentic AI, and Tokenisation. The challenge for European banks is that these are often managed as separate pilots or innovation labs. The real value, and the real threat, lies in their overlap. You can read the summary of the interview on our website here [https://thebankingscene.com/opinions/the-next-wave-of-banking-why-we-must-rethink-relevance-in-the-age-of-quanvergence/].

From Strategy to Signal: What ClearBank’s MiCAR Move Really Tells Us

ClearBank's recent MiCAR notification does not represent a strategic pivot towards crypto, nor does it suggest a belief in a wholesale transition to new rails. It is an extension of an existing role. We reflect on the fireside chat with Tristan Kirchner, CEO of ClearBank Europe, at our event in Amsterdam. You can read the summary article on our website here [https://thebankingscene.com/opinions/from-strategy-to-signal-what-clearbanks-micar-move-really-tells-us/].