Key Conversation: New Digital Assets and Money 2025

Alistair has held senior roles at American Express, where he grew the Corporate Purchasing Card programme in Europe to a $1 bn business, Visa’s Global Strategy team, MasterCard Advisors and First Data, along with partner-level positions at CapGemini and KPMG.

At EPAM he founded and now runs the global Open Banking & Payments group that takes a consult-design-build approach to all of the main themes in modern Financial Services, ranging from Digital Money, alternative payment methods, data analytics and monetisation, and financial cyber security to Open Banking as it globalises through both regulation and FinTech disruption.

Alistair founded and developed the internal EPAM Academy for Open Banking & Payments that enables generically capable EPAMers to understand the complexities of PayTech and the business challenges specific to this domain; in so doing he has cross-trained over a thousand EPAMers in this space, enabling 7 of EPAM’s Delivery centres to contain sizeable groups of domain-aware technologists for nearshore programmes.

He is a Judge for the annual Payments Association Awards, specialising in areas such as financial inclusion, and sits on the Board of the Armenian national switch, ArCa, extending their new responsibilities to the rapid evolution of the financial services landscape across the nation.

His most recent programme at the National Bank of Georgia established five new Use Cases for Central Bank Digital Currencies through the adoption of Blockchain technology in a series of scenarios, including Government bonds, payroll, real estate payments and a non-fungible token.

Jordan Sinclair is President of Robinhood UK, launching the company’s first international brokerage market in 2023.

Prior to joining Robinhood, Jordan was Managing Director, Europe at Freetrade - where he launched Freetrade's first international brokerage market - and Director, Corporate Development & Strategy at Barclays. Jordan has wide-ranging financial services experience and is also a qualified Chartered Accountant.

As part of Robinhood’s commitment to encouraging greater retail investing in the UK, Jordan sits on the Industry-led Retail Investment Campaign steering committee established by the Chancellor. He is also a TheCityUK Leadership Council member.

Keith is a Fellow at the Centre for Alternative Finance, focused on research and industry collaboration in Digital Assets, AI and Fintech innovation. He chairs the Cambridge Digital Asset Research programme and teaches on CCAF’s Digital Assets course for Regulators.

Previously, Keith was responsible globally for the strategy, development and execution of IBM’s business in Financial Markets, working extensively with global clients.

Keith serves on the Advisory Board of 5 Fintechs, as an Independent Board Member at DFNS (a Web3 wallet as a Service provider), on the Advisory Board of the Digital Markets and Digital Money APPG, on the Advisory Board of Global Digital Finance, as a lead mentor at the Techstars/ABN accelerator, and on the Board Risk Committee at the London Metal Exchange.

He is also a member of WEF’s Expert Council, ESMA’s Investor Trends Consultative Working Group and the Bank of England’s CBDC Technology Forum. He also advises the Mission OG VC Fund.

Martin advises a wide range of clients on UK and EU financial services regulation. His clients include banks, asset managers, payment service providers, the operators of financial market infrastructure, and fintech firms. He regularly advises e-commerce, social media and technology companies on their financial services offerings. He also advises on financial services, financial crime (including AML/KYC requirements), consumer protection and e-commerce regulation. 

Martin is the co-author of the chapter on payments and blockchain/cryptoassets in Payment Services: Law and Practice, Second Edition, published in July 2025, and chaired the Financial Markets Law Committee's response to the FCA's consultation paper on stablecoin issuance and crypto custody.   

Muneeb is Head of  Digital Assets Technology consulting and is leading payments modernisation at EY UK. With over 19 years’ experience in the financial services sector, predominantly in payments, working with large global banks, consulting firms and more recently heading payments product strategy at a blockchain scale-up. Muneeb is recognised for building innovative solutions leveraging emerging technologies and  extensive experience helping financial institutions on large scale transformation projects, with a focus on payments, innovation and digital first approach. 

Muneeb has deep expertise in payments alongside digital assets and is focussed on payments modernisation, tokenising commercial bank money and integrating it with DeFi. 

A recognised innovator and thought leader at the intersection of digital assets, governance, and intergenerational wealth, Paul saw years ago what few others anticipated: as crypto, tokenised securities, and digital accounts grew, there was no secure, trusted, or universal way to pass them on. 

That foresight led to AssetPass, which is now building the rails for a world where wealth is increasingly digital, identity is cloud-based, and AI will transform how families, firms, and institutions preserve continuity. 

Paul’s perspective has been shaped through a career spanning financial services, fintech entrepreneurship, and enterprise growth, including contributions to the Capgemini Global Wealth Report, one of the most influential studies in private wealth worldwide. He combines entrepreneurial vision with strategic rigour, speaking with the conviction of someone who has consistently been early to every major shift: from crypto adoption to tokenisation, from cloud assets to digital-first governance. 

For banks, insurers, trustees, and wealth managers, Paul highlights both the systemic risks of inaction lost assets, fragmented identities, eroded trust, and the strategic opportunity to build enduring client confidence through infrastructure that safeguards digital wealth responsibly. 

Paul believes the great entrepreneurs of every era see problems before they arrive and create solutions that shape new markets. His mission is no less ambitious: to ensure nothing of value is ever lost, and everything that matters is passed on protecting wealth, preserving identity, and strengthening the UK’s leadership in the future of money. 

As the Head of Emerging Payments, Europe at HSBC, Phoebe leads the development and implementation of innovative payment solutions across the region. She provides thought leadership and oversee our delivery of the future of payment landscape.

She is also a Steering Committee member for the GBTD formally known as Regulated Liability Network UK project, a member of Project Agora which aims to improve Cross Border Payments network with BIS and IIF, a member of European Central Bank’s New Technology Wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency contact group, and the Retail Digital Euro Rulebook working group. Additionally, she serves as the Chair of HSBC China Connect, acting as a cultural ambassador to bridge Eastern and Western business practices.
 
Her expertise extends to emerging technologies in payments, such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technology, and application programming interfaces. She has shared insights on how these technologies are shaping the payments industry, emphasizing their role in enhancing efficiency, security, and customer experience.
 
Beyond her professional endeavours, Phoebe enjoys exploring the world, reading, playing the piano, and participating in wine-tasting events. She is passionate about exchanging innovative ideas through collaboration and networking with colleagues and stakeholders, consistently seeking to improve herself in multiple dimensions.

Richard is CEO of Allica, a digital bank focused on established SMEs that has lent over £3bn since launching in 2020, and named by Deloitte in 2023 and 2024 as the fastest growing technology company in the UK, and by the FT in 2025 as the second fastest growing company in Europe.

Previously he was COO at Revolut, as it scaled from 5 million to 15 million customers and launched in various new geos, and he was the inaugural CEO at OakNorth.

Varun studied Economics at the University of Cambridge and gained a Masters in Economics from University College London, before joining the Bank of England in 2008. Over 14 years there, Varun supported decisions on interest rates, managed risks to financial stability and delivered a landmark review on the future of finance. Most recently, he was head of the Bank’s Fintech Hub, where he focused on the future of money and the digital economy. 

In his role at Fireblocks, Varun serves as the global business lead for Central Banks and FMIs, and leads on partnerships related to tokenization, interoperability, blockchain foundations and regulated custodians on the Fireblocks Network. He leads on tokenized money and the settlement of tokenised assets to enhance financial markets, leaning on his expertise and partner network to support financial institutions all over the world in their digital asset journey.