At this year’s Zagreb Financial Forum, Robert Penezić, a member of the Management Board at Monri, participated in a panel discussion titled “Innovation and trends in finance.”
The panel provided an opportunity to discuss how the latest technologies and innovative business models are shaping the financial sector, influencing business operations, and improving the accessibility of financial services. The discussion focused on the impact of digital transformation on transparency, security, and inclusivity, as well as on the direction in which the domestic financial market will develop under the influence of global trends, new technologies, and the accelerated growth of digital tools.
Alongside Robert Penezić, member of the Management Board at Monri Payments, the panelists included: Andrej Krvavica, general menager of GrECo Croatia; Mitja Kumar, Partner at Deloitte’s Business Consulting Department; Linardo Martinčević, Advisor in the Governor’s Office of the Croatian National Bank; and Vjeran Vrbanec, President of the Management Board of HAMAG-BICRO. The panel was moderated by Saša Ćeramilac, journalist and communications consultant.
Between Regulation and Innovation: How Technology Is Transforming the Payment Experience
The financial industry, particularly the payments sector, finds itself at a crossroads between regulation and innovation. On one hand, strict rules ensure the security and sustainability of the market. On the other hand, fintech companies often point out that these same regulations can slow down their ability to develop and implement new solutions.
Ultimately, Europe—although sometimes perceived as over-regulated—has managed to achieve a certain balance between safety and flexibility. However, there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to the user experience.
Back in 2018, in Croatia, it was common for a cashier at a point of sale to take the customer’s card, select the POS terminal, and ask which type of card it was. The entire process took at least 30 seconds. In larger retail chains, the cashier would often add, “Would you like to pay in installments? How many?”
Then Monri Payments entered the market and completely transformed both the technology and the experience, putting the customer in control. Monri introduced POS terminals that enabled customers to manage transactions independently. By choosing the number of installments and the payment method, the customer gained complete control over the process for the first time.
Today, the user experience has reached the highest level, and thanks to regulation, customers are now even more protected in the context of payments, said Penezić.
How to balance security and payment simplicity
In the world of digital payments, the issue of security has never been more critical—or more challenging. While users expect a fast and seamless experience, financial institutions must ensure that every transaction is reliable and secure. The question arises: can tokenization and risk-based authentication help keep payments safe while still making them quick and easy for users?
Imagine a scenario where, on a local webshop, you’re buying tickets for an event worth 5–10 euros, and each time you go through multiple authentication steps and security checks before the transaction is approved. Meanwhile, on global webshops, you’re purchasing items worth 100, 200, or even 300 euros—often without any additional authentication. It’s not that those merchants have decided such transactions are less risky; instead, they’ve implemented technological solutions that use various tools to assess whether a card from a particular IP address is legitimate and whether the payment can be trusted.
This raises an important question: why aren’t we, in our domestic market, moving toward simplifying the process for so-called low-value transactions, when those are often the ones with the most complex procedures?
Penezić emphasized: “We need to turn our focus toward the user—to make things easier and create a better user experience—while ensuring that the necessary processes take place on the merchant’s side.”
Payments of the future: between the digital euro and artificial intelligence
During the panel, numerous questions were raised about the trends shaping the financial sector. The way we make payments is changing rapidly. When asked, “Which trend would you highlight as the key one this year, and what can we expect next year?” Robert responded:
There are definitely many changes happening on the horizon in the world of payments. The digital euro is increasingly being discussed—perhaps we won’t see it as early as next year, but within the next five years, it will almost certainly be introduced.
In some parts of Europe, direct account-to-account payments have already become common practice, and this will undoubtedly become a relevant topic in Croatia as well.
Additionally, there’s growing discussion about artificial intelligence and its role in automating financial processes. What could truly define the coming year is the emergence of agentic commerce—shopping assisted by artificial intelligence. This field brings numerous challenges and involves many stakeholders, so it will be fascinating to see in which direction it continues to develop.
The Zagreb Financial Forum (ZFF) brings together leading experts, innovators, and decision-makers from the banking and financial sectors. Its goal is to collectively shape a sustainable, digitally transformed, and competitive future for the industry. The Forum serves as an epicenter for exchanging experiences, presenting the latest trends, and fostering partnerships that drive the development of the entire sector.
