Money 20/20 USA in Las Vegas: Monday
Money 20/20 USA is back in Las Vegas with its continued mission to “bring together the ecosystem of money to inform, connect and do business”.
The event, held at The Venetian, aims to give businesses access to thousands of visionaries, decision makers and influencers. Through stages and experiences, people can engage, learn, be inspired and ultimately connect across the ecosystem to get business done.
Back in June, Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam broke records with more than 220 press representatives from 70 plus media, 90 countries represented, 380 sponsors and 2,300 companies in attendance.
On Monday, Money20/20 president Tracey Davies revealed that they are also adding Asia to their list of destinations in 2024. Money20/20 Asia will take place in Bangkok, Thailand on April 23-25, 2024.
Davies said: “I am delighted to announce the new location of our global selection: Bangkok in April 2024. Asia has a dynamic fintech ecosystem and some of the world’s largest fintech companies with over 50 unicorns. It makes so much sense that Money 20/20 fits perfectly into that landscape. Bangkok is a really exciting destination city.”
Tennis to finance
After Davies entered the scene was tennis superstar Serena Williams who joined Takis Georgakopoulos, global payments manager at JP Morgan and Scarlett Sieber, Money20/20’s head of strategy and growth, to discuss her foray into venture capitalism, the impact of social media and the rise of smart devices.
Williams on why she wants to support people with motivation, adversity and diversity: “These are some of the things we look at when we invest because we invest so early. The valuations are so small that it’s a huge risk and I like to win. When you invest that early, you can get one winner out of 20. For me, I’m like no, I really love all these companies – they’re all like somebody I believe in. That’s why we choose them, that’s why we work with them.”
Fraud awareness
TV host and producer of the MTV series Catfish, Nev Schulman chat about fraud with FINRA and Cell including “pig slaughter”. They revealed that one in ten Americans will fall victim to a scam this year.
Gerry Walshsenior vice president of investor education at FINRA, says: “Scammers try so hard to look like a legitimate company. We see this a lot in the cryptocurrency space with hog slaughter scams where they fatten you up for the kill. They encourage you to invest on a platform that sounds like a platform or exchange you may have heard of. And that is what is so ugly.”
Socure founder and CEO Johnny Ayers and award-winning investigative journalist Mariana van Zeller led a panel discussion entitled ‘How Money Moves Through Dark Markets’. It was a fascinating session on how criminals earn and move huge sums of money.
Modernization of payments
Other highlights included a discussion on how regulators can modernize the payments system by providing access to Fed accounts and services, implementing FedNow and ensuring an open banking infrastructure with Nick Catino, global head of policy and social impact at Wise, Leila Perkinshead of North America regulatory wood Stripe and Conway Ekpo, director, associate attorney at Brex.
Perkins said, “There is a lot of focus on what is being said, done and planned in Washington, and less at the state level. Still, there has actually been a lot of progress and payment harmonization at the state level from years of industry feedback. We have reason to be optimistic about hopefully seeing similar trends at the federal level as well.”
Sport and innovation
Monday was rounded off by a panel discussion led by Scarlett Sieber New York Yankees baseball legend Derek Jeter and Allyson Felixwho has more Olympic medals than any American track and field athlete in history, alongside Mark Sullivan, EVP, financial services, from Salesforce.
“You can have a legacy that’s on the field, but I think it’s more important to have a legacy off the field and give something back. “It’s always been something that’s been very important to my whole family,” Jeter said. “You have to be passionate about what you invest in and you have to be passionate about your people. You need a good team.”
