What's on tap for this year's Payments Forum?

• Key insights: The payment industry's top experts will convene at American Banker's Payments Forum from May 4-6 in San Francisco. 
• What's at stake: Technology advances in digital assets, real-time payments, mobile wallets and AI are rapidly changing how banks approach payments. 
• Forward look: Experts will discuss opportunities and risks, and American Banker will outline new research.

It wasn't long ago that mobile wallets were on the cutting edge, a forward-looking option for early adopters. 

But that's no longer the case. 

Mobile wallets have become mainstream, and banks and other financial institutions face an uphill battle to be competitive. What options are available? Kim Fitzsimmons, one of the payment industry's top executives, has clues that can unlock future opportunities. Fitzsimmons is among the confirmed speakers at this year's American Banker's Payments Forum, scheduled for May 4-6 in San Francisco.  Fitzsimmons, the CEO of payments processor Talus, in an earlier interview said the rapidly changing tech-driven payments industry is a "huge opportunity" for professionals to grow. 

At this year's Payments Forum, Fitzsimmons will discuss how mobile devices and digital wallets have become one of the most important gateways in history, creating new worlds for consumers and merchants and changing technology and strategic requirements for payment companies. 

Below are just a few brief examples of who will be on hand at Payments Forum and what to expect. (Here's how to register for the conference.)

The mobile revolution

Fitzsimmons won't be the only executive discussing the intersection of mobile commerce and payments. 

Sean Murray, chief product and digital officer at Barclays; Jennifer Smith Brittain, senior director of experience strategy and digital engagement at Synovus; and Tim Mills, executive vice president and head of enterprise banking and open banking for Regions Bank; will talk about the forces pushing digital wallets, the threats and opportunities for banks and how to strengthen ties to consumers. The market for digital payments and mobile wallets is vast, making it a vital play for banks looking to tap a channel that big technology companies such as Apple, Google and PayPal have long dominated.  

The global number of non-cash transactions is expected to increase from 1,685 trillion in 2024 to 3,540 trillion by 2029, as digital wallets and Account-to-Account (A2A) transform traditional card payments, according to Capgemini's 2026 World Payments Report. The shift is changing how people shop, increasing comfort with e-commerce, mobile commerce and artificial intelligence-powered commerce. "As digital becomes the default, both online and in-store transactions are increasingly dominated by wallets and instant payments, reshaping the payment mix and challenging legacy infrastructure," Capgemini wrote.

More than making payments

Innovations in areas such as real-time payments, AI, mobile technology and blockchains are changing the very nature of a payment. In the coming years, banks will need to expand beyond processing payments at the point of sale to become a source of intelligence that can inform a broad range of merchant strategies.Banks risk falling behind technology-driven payment companies such as Block and Stripe, which have made this interaction between merchant automation and digital consumerism a major pillar of their businesses.  

Ather Williams III, head of global payments and liquidity and wholesale digital for Wells Fargo, will discuss how banks can compete with fintechs and technology companies by tapping instant, secure, and easy-to-use payments while also using advanced data techniques to power security, expand their businesses and manage liquidity. 

New agents

As agentic commerce takes hold, what are the options for banks? 

Marie-Claude Nadeau, senior partner and co-Leader of global payments for McKinsey; Rubail Birwadker, global head of growth products and strategic partnerships at Visa; and Vineeth Subramanyam, global head of Spring by Citi, will dive into how AI, real-time settlement and tokenized money will change the future for banks, processors and payment networks. 

Beyond enabling shopping and payments with little of no human supervision, agentic commerce will also require banks to up their risk management game. 

Payments Forum speakers will explain what are the right AI agents for consumers, and how can banks win clients while consumers focus more on AI for shopping and buying than a traditional financial relationship?

New insights

Payments Forum will also be a venue for new research. American Banker and Fiserv will detail new findings on the progress of digital payments across U.S. banks and credit unions. Based on a survey of financial institution leaders, the study introduces a Digital Payments Maturity Index benchmarking institutions across 20 capabilities, from foundational services to instant payments, ISO 20022 compliance and stablecoin enablement.

The index will reveal differences in digital maturity across institutions and the link between higher maturity and improved outcomes in customer experience, fraud mitigation, compliance, revenue growth and efficiency.

It will also show how instant payments such as FedNow and RTP  and stablecoins are changing competition. 

Sayantan Chakraborty, head of digital payments for Fiserv; and Michael Moeser, senior content strategist for American Banker, will have the details. 

Banks and buy now/pay later

As BNPL and embedded finance attract more investment, how are banks responding? 

American Banker will share new research from U.S. banks and credit unions on how leaders are approaching BNPL and embedded finance right now, and what strategies are gaining momentum, where institutions are drawing hard lines, and which partnership models are proving viable. Megan Ryan, market intelligence analyst, payments, for American Banker; and  

Emily Hartye, head of U.S. Bank Avvance and Point-of-Sale Lending, will discuss the research and issues such as compliance, friction and how banks and credit unions are managing growth, control and risk.