At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Ashutosh Kumar, head of global transaction banking for Asia Pacific at Mizuho, explained how the bank is experimenting with tokenised deposits and blockchain, investing in GenAI, and working with partners to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more secure while driving interoperability in trade finance.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Stephen Richardson, chief strategy officer and head of banking at Fireblocks, described how the company is simplifying access to blockchain for banks, payments companies and fintechs, enabling tokenised deposits, stablecoins and interoperability across more than 120 blockchains while addressing custody, compliance and user-experience risks.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Borislav Ivanov-Blankenburg, Global Head of Documentary Trade and CEO of Central and Eastern Europe at Deutsche Bank, explained how interoperability, legal frameworks, cost and ESG compliance shape the digitalisation of trade finance and why tokenisation and data standards will be critical for future growth.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Akber Jaffer, CEO of Smartstream, explained how the company is refreshing its brand and investing in cloud, APIs and AI to deliver secure, resilient and innovative post-trade solutions to financial institutions worldwide.

Mark Monaco, head of global payment solutions (GPS) at Bank of America, said Sibos offers a chance to “share ideas, new innovations and communicate” within the banking community. He explained how Bank of America leverages its global network, integrates new technologies carefully and works with industry partners to evolve payments.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Katja Lehr, EMEA payments, industry and advocacy lead at JP Morgan, outlined how the bank combines payments scale with participation in industry initiatives such as Swift’s digital ledger initiative and ISO 20022 to address speed, transparency, cost and regulatory hurdles in cross-border payments.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Philip Bruno, chief strategy and growth officer at ACI Worldwide, set out how the company’s new cloud-native ACI Connetic payments hub, intelligent orchestration and fraud-prevention heritage position it to help banks deliver faster, safer and programmable payments across domestic and cross-border rails.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Samuel Mathew, global head of documentary trade at Standard Chartered, highlighted how the bank leverages its network, industry standards and technology partnerships to reduce risk and accelerate trade digitisation.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Tsvetanka Nankova, global head of sales for institutional cash and trade finance at Deutsche Bank, outlined how the bank is implementing ISO 20022, supporting new real-time schemes and piloting blockchain and AI to meet the G20’s objectives for faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments.

Paolo Ardoino, chief executive of Tether, aims to build on the firm’s global scale with USAT and plans for AI in January, extending its role in regulation, infrastructure and the digital economy.

Escalating geopolitical and regulatory pressures are prompting corporates to strengthen supply chain resilience. Banks are modernising platforms and enhancing connectivity through digitisation, automation, and integrated platforms to transform trade finance.

As geopolitical risk and foreign exchange volatility reshape corporate treasury strategies, companies are strengthening cash buffers, centralising liquidity and adopting real-time digital tools to maintain visibility and control. API integration and AI-driven automation have become central tools in transforming cash management functions.

In Asia Pacific’s fragmented payments landscape, demand for faster and more transparent multi-currency payment solutions is rising as corporates expand businesses regionally. Banks are shifting from standardised offerings to integrated, AI-enabled solutions that balance security and compliance.

CME’s crypto derivatives open interest peaked near $40 billion in September — more than double the year before — a headline figure at TOKEN2049 Singapore that signalled how deeply institutions are now embedded in digital assets. Alongside mainstream ETF approvals, sovereign treasuries and programmable stablecoins, the opening plenary highlighted how traditional and decentralised finance are binding together into hybrid financial systems.

At Sibos Frankfurt 2025, Manuel Klein, Head of Market Management, Payments and Digital Currencies at Deutsche Bank, described how the bank is shaping the future of money through distributed ledger technology, stablecoins and instant payments.