At this year’s Money Motion conference, Damir Čaušević, CEO of Monri Payments and co-founder of MoMo, spoke about key trends in the finance industry, including digital wallets, instant payments, and the impact of artificial intelligence. In a conversation with Emir Nuhanović on AL Jazeera Balkan Business, Čaušević shared his insights on the future of payments, digital innovations, and the new challenges that come with the rapid advancement of technology.
Below is their conversation:
More than 4,500 registered visitors, over 20 startups, AI in banking, the end of cash, and digital identity for all EU citizens by 2026. This year’s Money Motion conference provided concrete answers to some of the most critical questions about the future of finance. One of the most attended talks was on the future of payments in retail, which was opened by Milan Gauder, co-founder of Freda.
Gauder emphasized that the decline in cash usage accelerated significantly after the pandemic and that instant payments through simple technologies like QR codes have seen rapid growth, especially in developing countries such as India and Brazil. A particularly exciting part of the program was the Startup Stage, where 20 innovative startups competed for the attention and favor of a jury composed of six experienced investors. The organizers highlighted that this year’s conference is 25% larger than the previous one and that they aspire to become the largest fintech conference in Europe.
We discuss the conference in more detail with Damir Čaušević, co-founder of Money Motion and CEO of Monri Payments.
Mr. Čaušević, welcome to Al Jazeera Business magazine.
“Hello Emir, and greetings from Zagreb.”
What are the main topics of discussion at this year’s conference? What is, as experts like to say, the buzzword?
“Look, the program is divided into several key segments. As the name of the conference suggests, a significant focus is on fintech. A large portion is dedicated to banking and payments. This year, we introduced a new category with a strong emphasis on retail. Of course, part of the program also covers insurance companies, investment firms, brokerage houses, and personal investments. Each of these industries has its buzzwords.
But if I had to pick one that resonates across all of them, I would say AI. This year, we have heard a lot about the application of AI in the financial industry, the insurance sector, and investment industries. AI is undoubtedly one of those terms that ties all these topics together.”
Money Motion – money in motion – is a very interesting name for a fintech conference. How did it come about, what was the motivation behind launching it, and how has it evolved?
“We started exactly three years ago. I’d say that we exceeded our expectations with the first event. We initially aimed for around 1,000 participants, but we reached 1,200. The next natural step was to grow from 1,200 to 2,000 participants, which we achieved last year, and this year we have 2,500 attendees. Looking at this growth in participants, it’s clear that the strong interest in the conference—both locally and regionally—has been a major driving force for us to continue developing it.”
As we mentioned at the beginning, you lead Monri Payments, a company specializing in financial transactions. So, what are the most dominant trends in the industry today?
“To go back to the buzzword discussion from other industries—one of the biggest buzzwords at this conference has been digital wallets. In fact, during the opening panel, one speaker shared an interesting statistic: over 60% of card payments in Europe today are processed through digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and others. So, digital wallets are undoubtedly a major trend.
Another key trend is instant payments—transactions made directly from account to account, bypassing card payments altogether. These are not only being applied in the business world but also in retail, from person to person, or what is commonly known as peer-to-peer payments.
A third emerging trend that could have a significant impact soon is the vertical integration of payment companies and solutions. More and more payment companies are no longer acquiring their competitors or firms within the same sector in a traditional manner. Instead, they are aiming to consolidate the entire payment process.
For example, if you had a company like Monri Payments, which processes transactions, you would also have companies involved in issuing receipts or invoices for those transactions. Vertical integration enables companies to acquire firms that are part of this process.
There have been numerous examples in the past year of global companies deciding to acquire firms specializing in fiscal cash registers or invoicing solutions—something that would have been unimaginable and seemingly unrelated just a few years ago.”
We mentioned digital wallets and peer-to-peer payments. These were also discussed at the beginning of the conference, where it was stated that these technologies are expanding the fastest in emerging markets such as Brazil and India. Is there an observable increase in their usage in the region as well?
“We need to draw a parallel here. Markets where digital wallets are now dominant, such as India, Brazil, and Mexico, are markets that have skipped many developmental stages of the banking and financial system, however you may call it. From bank branches to physical cards, ultimately, they immediately turned to mobile payments, i.e., digital wallets. The main reason for this is that the technology available was predominantly mobile-based, and it was only logical to continue the development of other financial technologies on the same mobile solutions.
Our market, the European and American markets, have developed continuously and could not skip those steps. There were bank branches, checks, and now there are cards, which is why the dominance of digital wallets in the markets you mentioned is largely due to skipping certain stages of financial development.”
Consumer habits are certainly an important factor, as people are accustomed to using cards.
The development of the crypto market is particularly in focus this year, partly due to the current political will in the United States to transition the industry from an alternative to a commercial one and for the state to take control. Is this also a focus for you?
“Of course.
Monri, as a company, aims to enable merchants to accept every form of payment—whether it’s card payments, instant payments, or crypto payments. If a merchant wants to accept crypto, and there is market interest for it, we are here to facilitate that and ensure they can complete the process seamlessly. Monri does this in collaboration with companies that are authorized and licensed for cryptocurrency transactions in regulated markets.
In practice, we already have hundreds of merchants who accept cryptocurrencies as a primary payment method and receive their funds in euros in return.”
One last question. The use of online financial transactions surged during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the rise of e-commerce. Is the industry still experiencing growth, and what behavioral patterns do you observe among your users?
“It definitely continues to grow. I would say that, thanks to the unfortunate pandemic, the adoption and implementation of online payments accelerated significantly. These payments have continued to develop, albeit at a slightly slower pace than during those years, but there is no turning back.
The growth hasn’t reversed or slowed down drastically—it is still ongoing. The expansion now extends to other areas, with an increasing integration of payments within apps. It’s no longer just about online payments through web browsers, which were more prominent at the time; now, we see more integrated payment systems directly within mobile applications.”
You can find the full conversation here.
