CEO perspective on tech evolution and banking – 7 Key takeaways from the FIN&TONIC panel talk at SuperNova

We marked a significant milestone for our FIN&TONIC events by organising our latest edition at SuperNova Fest, a key European event focused on the future of tech and entrepreneurship. Our founder and CEO Stefan Dierckx led an eye-opening panel discussion with financial industry leaders from across Europe, exploring the future of banking and how modern technologies, evolving regulation, and geopolitical forces are reshaping the sector. In this article, we share the key takeaways from this inspiring session.

The panel brought together four prominent voices from the European financial industry for a honest and thought-provoking conversation. Joining Stefan Dierckx on stage were Hans De Cuyper (CEO of Ageas), Olivier Onclin (CEO of Belfius), Peter Adams (CEO of ING), and Stefaan Decraene (Chair of Managing Board of Rabobank). Together, they explored how banks can navigate a rapidly changing landscape, driven by advances in technology, particularly AI, as well as tightening regulation and growing geopolitical complexity.

Banks as enablers of innovation

About a decade ago, the prevailing belief was that fintech companies would wipe out traditional banks. Today we see a different scenario. Banks have proven themselves to be resilient and adaptable. Rather than becoming victims of disruption, they are positioning themselves as enablers of innovation. The panellists agreed that banks should partner with (fin)tech startups instead of competing with them. “It’s the societal responsibility of banks to help tech startups thrive,” said Olivier Onclin (CEO Belfius). “The entire financial ecosystem benefits when banks and fintechs combine their strengths. These partnerships have propelled us forward in a much faster way than we could have done on our own.”

The advantage of trust

While tech giants such as Apple and Google have taken over part of the banking value chain, particularly in payments and e-commerce experience, they haven’t taken over completely. On the contrary, traditional banks have used this competition as a challenge to improve their own processes, accelerate innovation, and tweak customer experience. “Don’t forget that we have a key advantage,” said Hans De Cuyper (CEO Ageas). “Unlike a tech brand entering the financial market, we have the reputation of trust. Do not underestimate that. We also have historical data and expertise to build on. For me, the answer is to insert fintech solutions into the established banking expertise.”    

Pan-European collaboration

Europe’s fragmented financial landscape was a recurring theme in the panel discussion. Unlike the United States, which benefits from a unified market, Europe faces regulatory and infrastructural challenges that hinder growth and innovation.

All panellists agreed that there should be more collaboration between European financial institutions. “What makes me proud is that the best tools that we have in the European banking infrastructure today come from Belgium and the Netherlands. That’s Payconiq and iDEAL. We’re building something that will benefit the European banking infrastructure, and the building blocks have been made right here. This is something we need to do more of,” Stefaan Decraene (Chairman of the Managing Board Ageas) explains. “Europe is so fragmented, we should really find solutions for that. We have universities, we have researchers, so we have the necessary knowledge. We should push that forward. It will be interesting to see, for example, how far new applications such as WERO can go. The momentum is there, let’s make it a European success.”

AI & efficiency gains

At a technology conference, we cannot ignore the topic of major technological advances. A few years ago, blockchain was the big hype. Now, it’s (generative) AI.

“I think AI offers a lot more opportunities than blockchain did,” said Peter Adams (CEO ING Belgium). “We’ve seen AI projects go live where two people have been building something for two months, and we immediately see a 5 percent increase in efficiency. These projects are much shorter, with a much higher return on investment. I have never seen anything like that in blockchain or digitalisation.”

There’s still a lot of resistance to using AI in the workplace, but a shift is happening. “People are starting to realise that AI isn’t there to replace them, but to improve their efficiency and their work-life balance. AI can take over the boring tasks and free up time, for example by automatically summarising a call as soon as it’s finished,” said De Cuyper.

Changing the game

But AI is about more than efficiency gains or replacing existing tasks. It is also about changing the nature of certain roles, as the audience changes and evolves through the same technology. “We need to think about how the role of certain people in the organisation will evolve,” said Onclin. “Fundamentally, AI is democratising the access to knowledge. That means that the role of the advisor will have to change, because our audience will be using the same technology and will have access to the same knowledge. We need to prepare for this evolution.”

The challenge of (over)regulation

Do European banking regulations such as GDPR and the AI Act hinder innovation? The panellists agreed that these regulations are a hurdle, but not an excuse to lag behind. “Is there overregulation in Europe? Sure. But that’s not the only reason for the lack of innovation in the European banking industry,” said Onclin. “It all comes down to working together, pooling resources and having an effective capital market. If we can do that, then we will be able to make a significant jump forward.”

Regulation is necessary because it also protects us from fraud. “But why not simplify it?” Decraene wonders. “Regulations don’t encourage innovative thinking. They create a risk-averse attitude.”

Geopolitical shifts

With recent geopolitical developments, Europe’s reliance on non-European providers has become a pressing concern. It’s clear that we need to work together to offer European alternatives. A good example of this is Belfius’ stake in Mistral AI. “We need to cooperate to keep up with the speed of innovation. So, we wanted to invest in capacity and AI capabilities, to have access to these engineers and inject these technologies into the bank,” Onclin explained. “Mistral AI was a very conscious choice, because it’s the only European alternative to OpenAI and DeepSeek.”

Conclusion

The FIN&TONIC panel agreed on most points. The future of banking depends on collaboration, regulation, and innovation. Banks must embrace their role as enablers of fintech startups, while integrating these new technologies into their own way of working. We need to push for more European initiatives to withstand the current geopolitical challenges. Regulation weighs on us, but it’s no excuse for stagnation.  And last but not least, we must use AI to improve operational efficiency and transform the customer experience by rethinking the role of our advisors. While the banking industry has proven to be resilient and adaptable, we cannot be complacent. The time to act is now.