The Power 50 Podcast brings together three payments industry experts to explore how payments are evolving beyond the checkout. Hosted by Theodora Lau, the discussion features Victor Padee, Chief Revenue Officer at Aevi, Joaquim Marques, Sales Director, Strategic Accounts at Mangopay and Hugo Horton, Head of Partnerships at Sokin. The conversation explores the growing complexity of payment infrastructure, the rise of account-to-account (A2A) payments and stablecoins, the role of AI agents in making financial decisions, and the importance of trust, fraud prevention and accountability. The central message: the future of fintech isn't simply about offering more ways to pay. It's about making money move intelligently, securely and efficiently across the entire financial ecosystem. The five biggest takeaways: 1. Payments are becoming business infrastructure Payments no longer end when a customer completes checkout. Businesses must also manage reconciliation, refunds, liquidity, fraud, settlements and payouts. As platforms expand across countries, currencies and sellers, automating these processes is becoming increasingly important to reducing costs and operational risk. 2. The real data problem is accountability Businesses already collect enormous amounts of transaction and customer data, but that information is often fragmented across systems, teams and regions. AI can make it easier to analyse this data, but it cannot replace clear ownership of decisions or ensure that businesses act on the insights they uncover. Victor Padee's key insight: the industry has an accountability shortage, not necessarily a data shortage. 3. Stablecoins could transform cross-border payments Stablecoins offer businesses the potential for faster international transfers, greater transaction visibility and 24/7 access to move funds. Their adoption is particularly promising in cross-border payments and business treasury operations, although widespread consumer use still faces barriers. Hugo Horton predicts growing stablecoin volumes and usage, particularly for international business payments. 4. Cheaper payments aren't enough to change behaviour A2A payments can offer merchants lower costs and faster settlement, but consumers already trust cards and value their rewards, protections and convenience. Adoption depends on delivering a genuinely better experience, clear consumer benefits and confidence that fraud or disputes will be handled fairly. 5. AI-powered commerce raises new questions about trust AI agents may soon select merchants, choose payment methods and make purchases on behalf of consumers. But who is responsible when an agent makes the wrong decision? The panel highlights unresolved questions around consent, liability, fraud, consumer protection and regulation. Trusted, licensed payment infrastructure will remain essential.
Moderator: Theodora Lau
Panellists:
Aevi - Victor Padee, CRO
Sokin - Hugo Horton, Head of Partnerships
Mangopay - Joaquim Marques, Business Development Director
What the experts predict
VICTOR PADEE · AEVI
"Payments will become modular.
Merchants will increasingly build their own payment technology stacks from specialist providers, rather than relying on one supplier for everything".
HUGO HORTON · SOKIN
"Stablecoin adoption will grow.
Businesses will increasingly use stablecoins for cross-border payments to improve transaction speed and reduce international payment costs".
JOAQUIM MARQUES · MANGOPAY
"Payment orchestration will become the differentiator.
Success will depend less on the number of payment methods supported and more on how effectively platforms coordinate money movement, protect transactions and manage the complete payment lifecycle".
The bottom line
The next phase of fintech will be shaped by orchestration, automation and trust. More payment options and new technologies will create opportunities, but they will also increase complexity. The businesses that stand out will be those that make the entire payment journey simpler, safer and more efficient — from the initial transaction to final settlement.
AI and stablecoins could accelerate that transformation, but adoption will depend on solving real business problems and protecting the people and organisations using them.