This year, global member-owned cooperative and leading provider of secure financial messaging services, SWIFT, has announced it will host Sibos – the world’s premier financial services event – online and free of charge in order to make the event accessible to the global financial community during this exceptional and unprecedented year. The event will take place between 5 and 8 October 2020, and registration will open in August.
Each year, the conference and exhibition connect more than 8000 executives, decision makers and thought leaders from across the industry. The theme for this year’s event will be ‘driving the evolution of smart finance’. Featuring the world’s leading experts in banking, payments, securities services, technology, FX and more, the programme will include high-quality sessions exploring how the financial industry can make better decisions and run smarter businesses, while optimising technology and data.
“As the world faces unprecedented changes and the business environment continues to transform due to technological innovations, it is important that each industry adapts to these changes. For the financial sector this means adapting to changes and trends specifically around factors such as customer experience, investor priorities, supply chain dynamics and employee expectations,” notes Olivier Lens, Head of Sub-Saharan Africa at SWIFT.
“Africa is a good example of this shift. Payment innovations like mobile money have seen incredible growth in the region in the last few years as established financial institutions are collaborating with fintechs to build out the ecosystem, increase financial inclusion and deliver enhanced services to end users.”
The thought-provoking program at Sibos 2020 is aimed at addressing key industry issues, focusing on the core theme and four interconnected daily sub-themes – ‘delivering digital value’, ‘responsible innovation’, ‘banking for humanity’, and ‘the future of finance’.
Networking plays a pivotal role at Sibos. Welcoming a wider pool of delegates than ever before, Sibos 2020 will encompass a range of networking opportunities optimised for the digital age. All registered participants will be able to see who else is attending and initiate new partnerships.
Further to the program and networking opportunities, SWIFT plans to provide ongoing monthly digital sessions and content to registered participants beyond the week of Sibos 2020, running through to Sibos 2021, planned to take place in Singapore.
“This year, Sibos is aimed at providing a digital journey for our community. We look forward to bringing delegates sessions of substance and hard-hitting debate, while retaining that Sibos ‘magic’ that delegates have come to expect from SWIFT,” concludes Lens.
Sibos is organised by SWIFT and open to all its accredited members. Companies and individuals outside of the SWIFT community, such as fintechs, press and those with specific business interests are welcome to join, provided they meet certain criteria. More information on registration will be announced in the coming weeks.
More information on the event can be found at https://www.sibos.com/.