The event brought together over 120 professionals from banks, processors, card schemes, merchants, corporates, and other strategic players in the payments ecosystem with the aim of fostering collaboration. The participation of the Payment Systems Sub-Directorate of the Bank of Spain provided an institutional perspective.
Experts agreed on the key changes shaping Europe’s payments strategy: AI, security, and new regulatory challenges.
“Coopetition”—balanced collaboration between competitors—emerged as the essential strategy to drive innovation and ensure the resilience of the payments chain in an increasingly complex environment.
In a context where Europe is working to strengthen its financial autonomy and sovereignty, the payments chain faces strategic decisions that will shape its future: changing regulations, the digital euro, technological advances, new fraud environments, the impact of artificial intelligence, and increasingly unpredictable consumers. Against this backdrop, “coopetition”—balanced collaboration between competitors—stands out as the key strategy to drive innovation and ensure the resilience of the ecosystem.
With this objective, Cecabank, Spain’s leading custodian bank and one-stop shop for payment, reporting, and treasury solutions for all types of financial institutions and corporates, and AECOC, the only business association in the country bringing together industry and retail to foster collaboration and add greater value for consumers, organised the 3rd AECOC-Cecabank Consumer & Retail Payments Conference, held at Cecabank’s Espacio28 in Madrid. The event brought together more than 120 professionals from commerce, the financial industry, fintechs, and payments experts to improve and increase efficiency across the payments chain, as well as to encourage the exchange of experiences and best practices, showcasing the latest technologies and payment solutions setting global trends.
Throughout 2025, digital transformation in the retail sector has continued to accelerate, changing both organisational operations and consumer habits. The adoption of technologies that reduce friction in payments has become firmly established, driving new transaction methods across all channels, from in-store sales to e-commerce. The use of digital solutions for payments in physical stores and between individuals continues to grow, with options ranging from traditional cards to innovative methods such as Bizum and digital wallets, not to mention the future integration of the digital euro. In addition, artificial intelligence is transforming the payment experience through personalisation, automation, and advanced fraud prevention, making technological innovation a critical factor for competitiveness. For the retail sector, having technologies and services that ensure agile, secure, and flexible operations has become a strategic requirement to compete in an increasingly dynamic environment.
Under the title “Coopetition: The Key to Overcoming Sector Challenges”, Juan José Gutiérrez, Corporate Director of Technology Services at Cecabank, and Carlos Torme, Director of Expansion at AECOC, welcomed attendees to the event, which included representatives from Ibercaja, AEFI, Amazon, American Express, Unicaja, Wipay, Bizum, Visa, AECOC, ABANCA, Sipay, DIA, Mahou San Miguel, CaixaBank, PayPal, Iberia, Mastercard, and Cecabank. Montserrat Jiménez, Deputy Director of the Payment Systems Department at the Bank of Spain, gave the institutional opening address.
The debate focused on four key areas for the future of payments: Europe’s and Spain’s retail payments strategy, digitisation and technological trends in online and point-of-sale environments, opportunities for commerce and new market players, and the impact of artificial intelligence on personalisation, automation, and fraud prevention. Topics addressed included financial autonomy, instant account-to-account (A2A) payments, technological and operational resilience, fraud prevention, cross-border payments, and sustainability; the evolution of the digital euro and the EU Digital Wallet; interoperability between solutions and the role of cryptocurrencies; as well as the regulatory and governance challenges posed by AI.
In the words of Juan José Gutiérrez, Corporate Director of Technology Services at Cecabank: “The payments chain is at a decisive moment where innovation and collaboration are essential. ‘Coopetition’ among all actors in the ecosystem not only drives efficiency and security but also strengthens resilience against challenges such as the digital euro, artificial intelligence, and increasing regulatory complexity. At Cecabank, as a wholesale processor and comprehensive solutions provider, we work to ensure that clients and merchants progress at the pace of digitisation, offering services that guarantee agility, security, and trust”.
For his part, Carlos Torme, Director of Expansion at AECOC, emphasised that: “At AECOC, we have been working since 2019, together with a group of 30 companies, to address the key issues affecting the payments value chain, with the aim of strengthening and making the ecosystem more competitive for the benefit of the end consumer. Our work focuses on supporting the development and implementation of regulations aligned with the objectives of regulators and the needs of the sector, improving security and the user experience, fostering innovation, and ultimately generating relevant knowledge for all the actors in the chain”.
