Balkan Payment Forum 2026 — The Strategic Payments Hub of Southern Europe

About the event

Balkan Payment Forum is a high-level platform uniting the payments, fintech, and financial services ecosystem of the Balkans and Southern Europe with the global payments community.

The Forum brings together central banks, regulators and authorities, financial institutions, PSPs, innovators, investors, and technology providers from 20+ countries to address the region’s most important challenges and opportunities in digital payments.

The Balkans are entering a decisive phase: rapid digitalisation, EU-driven regulatory change, expanding cross-border commerce, and accelerating fintech innovation.

Balkan Payment Forum is the place to be — let’s shape the future of payments together!

200+

delegates

25

speakers

15+

regulators

20+

countries

SPEAKERS OF THE FORUM

Juozas Kaminskas

Managing Director at Nuvei & Board member at Fintech Hub LT

Dome Scaffidi

Independent Consultant Global Payments Innovation Practice
SAPA Africa - Global Lead & President
Bank of England – Standard Advisory Panel Member

Bo Knoblauch

Director, Business Development Executive, Visa Direct – The Nordics and The Baltics (Denmark)

Denas Gadeikis

Head of Payment and Electronic Money Institution Supervision Bank of Lithuania

Ali Hussein

Vice-President of Africa Fintech Network, Advisor to Boards (Kenya)

Patrick Saidu

Conteh PhD, CEO Africa Fintech Network & Africa Advisory (Nigeria)

Mindaugas Maraulas

Head of IT Service Management "Blue Bridge" (Lithuania)

Anna Pavlovska

Head of Partnerships Fintech Hub LT

Aleksejus Loskutovas

Managing Partner HeadHunters Hub (Lithuania)

Cosmin Cosma

President of the Board Romanian Fintech Association (Romania)

Tanya Slavova

Director of Product Sales, Mastercard | Open Banking (Denmark)

Deniss Skokovs

Founder Intrepid Fox (UK)

Chris Crespo

Founding Partner Nordic Fintech Magazine (Denmark)

Ledia Bregu

Director of Payment Systems, Accounting and Finance Department at Bank of Albania

Piotr Jan Pietrzak

New Markets Lead at the European Payment Initiative (EPI)

Adela Cristea

Co-Founder and Managing Design Thinkers Academy Eastern Europe (Romania)

Tobias Tenner

Head of Digital Finance Association of German Banks (Germany)

Nameer Khan

Chairman of MENA Fintech Association (UAE)

Panos Chalkias

CEO, Central, South and East Europe, Transaction Systems (Hungary)

Deniss Filipovs

Chief Technology Officer, Member of the Board Magnetiq Bank (Latvia)

Jeremiah Agboola

Application Security & Multi-Cloud delivery Solution Engineer, F5

Michał Nowakowski

PhD, President of the Management Board of the Polish Organization of Non-Bank Payment Institutions (PONIP) (Poland)

László Kajdi

Head of the Financial Infrastructures and Payments Policy Section at the Central Bank of Hungary

Sarp Demiray

CEO and Board Member at European Merchant Bank

Alexander Romanov

Pre-Sales Manager at D8 Corporation

Sonal Bomb

Co-Founder & CEO of TechnoXander (UK)

Pavel Proskurov

Deputy Head of Customer Department WALLETTO

Sharlote Leikuma

Business Executive at DECTA

Tuomas Autero

Director, Transfer Solutions in Northern Europe Mastercard (Finland)

Audrius Galinskis

Chief Data Officer at TransferGo (Lithuania)

AGENDA

09.00 - 09.30

Registration & Welcome Coffee

09.30 - 09:45

Opening of the Forum. Welcome word by Organizer, Government, Authorities, Guests and Partners

09:45 - 10:30

Opening Panel Discussion:

Regulatory Outlook for the Balkan Region «Regulatory Priorities for Payments, Innovation and Financial Integrity»

Guiding Questions:

  • What regulatory changes will shape payments in 2026–2027?
  • PSD3, Instant Payments, Open Finance — what impact on the Balkans?
  • SEPA and its tangible benefits 6 months from live
  • What are main challenges and opportunities for payment industry?
  • What incentives (or regulations) can accelerate cashless adoption?

10:30 - 10:45

Keynote presentation

«Cashless Transformation in Emerging Markets: Lessons for the Balkans»

10:45 - 11:10

Keynote presentation

«The Future of Payments in Europe: Instant, Open, Cashless»

11:10 - 11:40

Coffee Break & Networking

11:40 - 12:00

Keynote presentation

«Payments & Digital Innovation»

12:00 - 12:45

Panel Discussion

«Digital Payments Transformation: What will Drive Growth?»

Guiding Questions:

  • Key barriers to digitalisation in the region
  • Bank–fintech cooperation models
  • Mobile payments, instant payments, embedded finance
  • What are the most promising business models?

12:45 - 13:00

Keynote presentation

«Building Trust: AML, Fraud Prevention and Financial Integrity in the Digital Age»

13:00 - 13:45

Panel Discussion

AML, Compliance & Anti-Fraud «Managing Financial Crime Risks in a Rapidly Digitising Region»

Guiding Questions:

  • Regional AML/CFT risks
  • KYC/KYB challenges for fintechs and PSPs
  • Fraud trends in e-commerce & digital channels
  • AI/ML: myth vs real impact
  • How to ensure compliance at low cost?

13:45 - 14:15

Coffee Break & Networking

14:15 - 15:00

Panel Discussion

Investment & Strategic Outlook «Why the Balkans Can Become a Fintech Growth Hub»

Guiding Questions:

  • What attracts investors?
  • Which products have the highest potential?
  • Expansion opportunities for potentinal investors and business
  • Biggest obstacles to building a regional fintech hub
  • Is “cashless 2030” a realistic goal for the region?

15:00

Closing Remarks, Q&A, networkin

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TERMS OF PARTICIPATION

Date

May 14, 2026
Working language - English

Location

Rogner Hotel Tirana 5*
Bulevardi Deshmoret e Kombit, Tirana, Albania

STANDARD TICKET

150 €
+ VAT/1 delegate

  • Participation in-person
  • Speakers presentations
  • Coffee-breaks
  • Networking opportunities
  • Photos of Forum
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TESTIMONIALS

Dome Scaffidi
Bank of England – Standard Advisory Panel Member, DS Payments Ltd UK & UAE CEO & Founder

I thank Karolina Aleksandrova and ProMoney for inviting me to such a great event as Baltic Payment Forum 2025. It was truly informative and very well organised. Thanks to the team for the fantastic coordination.

It was a pleasure to be a Panellist and Moderator at the Baltic Payment Forum's opening session and second section. Our interaction with the contributions from Central Bank representatives, Payment institution providers, FinTech association Representatives, Financial Institutions, and giant payment providers have made this event a significant milestone in the payment industry.

Alexander Movchan
President ACFE Baltic chapter

Participated as a speaker in a number of professional international conferences in the field of Internal Audit and Control, organized under the leadership of Karolina Aleksandrova, Founder ProMoney. The conferences always covered relevant topics, the agenda was well structured and well communicated in advance, and the technical support team was responsive and easy to deal with.

I have a very good impression of the conferences organized by Karolina, and I am happy to recommend her as a passionate and highly qualified specialist with extensive experience in organizing international conferences of any complexity at a highly professional a level.

Dorida Stambolla Marku
MBA, Head of Internal Audit Division, Raiffeisen Bank Albania; Member of the Board, IIA Albania

Audit Leadership Forum 2025 was an unforgettable experience. Rarely do insightful content, passionate speakers, and genuine professional connections come together so naturally.

It was an honor to speak before 200 international audit leaders, sharing insights on how to build and adapt an audit function during times of major technological and regulatory change.

The discussions were bold, the atmosphere collaborative, and the networking opportunities outstanding.

I’m truly grateful to ProMoney to have been part of such a vibrant and visionary community!