Leaders in Payments Conference & Awards 2026

ORGANISED BY

Leaders in Payments Conference & Awards 2026

Challenges and Change

22 September 2026
The Ritz-Carlton JBR Dubai, United Arab Emirates

400+ Regional Banking, Finance, Fintech and Technology Leaders, Standardisation Organisations, Regulators, Financial Trade Associations
30+ Thought Leaders, Innovators and Market Makers & Experts
6 In-depth & lively sessions on the future & state of Payments in the region
Full day of Peer Interaction
and
Networking
1 Awards Winners Presentation
Ceremony

Overview

At some of our previous MEA Finance, Leaders in Payments Conference we have asked the question whether payments evolution has either reached its apex or is entering a slower and more sedate period of development. The answer from our esteemed panelists has always been an emphatic - No! The evolution of payments across our region remains ongoing at pace, and despite the days big geo-political issues, it may, after a period of reduced normality, and as with earlier times of challenge, be spurred into speedier development and innovation.

Payments are becoming more than only agile, intuitive and convenient, but also, as these features become more deeply embedded, they can now have real positive influences for economies and societies as efficiencies aid productivity and foster greater inclusion. However, this general positivity does not come without old and new potential downsides that require monitoring or control. BNPL for example is a helpful facility for both customers and merchants, but might it lead to higher levels of public indebtedness, and how do the new businesses running this service scale to accommodate market growth? Agentic Payments is set to bring better money management and optimised spending for consumers, but will it successfully navigate privacy and compliance issues or unexpected, even misaligned purchases?

The discussions set to take place at the 2026 MEA Finance, Leaders in Payments Summit will, as always, be from and about the leading edge of this vital economic function in our region’s economies.

Taking a clear and definitive role in this conference is your best opportunity to be clearly visible as one of our region’s leaders of payments at this very special time

What to expect?

More than 400 regional banking and technology leaders engaged to hear the latest from the entire spectrum of interested professionals includingregulators, technology companies, start-ups, fintechs, innovators and other stakeholders from along the value chains.
Solid engagement opportunities for your company with decision makers, to directly detail your company’s solutions to today’s most pressing payments related issues.
Exposure to the regional banking communities with your brand visibility in the networking and exhibition area during breaks and through participation in panel discussions and keynote presentations.
Opportunities to be recognised and celebrated as a bank or technology business at the forefront of payments transformation and progress at the MEA Finance Leaders in Payments Awards

Who should attend?

Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Technology Officer
Chief Information Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Chairman
Chief Audit Executive
Chief Commercial Officer
Chief Economist and Head of Research
Chief of Shared Services Officer
Chief Risk Officer
Managing Director
MD - Head of Treasury, Capital Markets & FI Department & Section Heads
Partner - Financial Services
Advisor - Investment Management
Commercial Advisor
Executive Director
Head of Client Relations
Head of Payments, Remittances & Foreign Exchange
Head of Regulatory Advisory and Assurance
Head of Transaction Banking
Head Corporate Relations and Strategic Partnerships
Head Digital Strategy and Change
Head of Corporate Communications
Head Digital Strategy and Change
Head of E-Banking
Head of Market Risk
Head of AML & Sanctions
Head of Bancassurance
Head of CAD, Remedial & Collection
Head of Central Operations
Head of Change Management
Head of Client Experience
Head of Compliance
Head of CRM
Head of Disclosure and Issuance Department
Head of Enterprise Architecture
Head of Enterprise Banking Platforms
Head of External Communications
Head of Finance
Head of Financial Institutions
Head of Government Relations & PR
Head of Information Security
Head of Investment Solutions
Head of Issuance
Head of Prepaid Cards
Head of Regulatory Compliance
Head of Retail Banking
Head of Risk Specialist
Head of Strategic Planning
Head of Strategy - Technology
Head of Transaction Banking
Head Product Manager
Manager Audit & Compliance
Manager Operational Risk
Payments & Contract Manager
Portfolio Specialist - Insights & Strategy
Project Manager
Regional Compliance Manager
Regional Manager - Compliance & Risk Retention & Vigilance Manager
Senior CRM Project Lead
Senior CX Manager
Senior Manager - Digital Transformation
Senior Manager Treasury
Information Security, Senior Strategic Advisor
Senior Trade Officer, Strategy & PMO
Assistant Vice President - Global Customer Relations
Associate VP - Strategic Engagements
AVP Agile Delivery - Retail Banking
AVP Credit Risk and Portfolio Manager
FS Strategy Manager
SVP & Head of Compliance - Personal Banking Group
SVP & Regional Head - Corporate & Commercial Banking
Vice President, Compliance
VP Risk and Change Management
VP Wealth and Asset Management
VP - Strategic Initiatives & Bancassurance

MEA Finance Conference

The MEA Finance Conferences are known for bringing together over 500 regional banking, investment and technology leaders for a day of immersive discussion on the latest developments and most pressing issues being faced across the sectors of the banking industry across our region.

These one-day, exclusive gathering provide intense and fruitful networking opportunities and include audience presentations and panel discussions, with an array of the region's industry-leading experts, innovators and distinguished speakers who meet to discuss the future of banking and innovation in finance.

Provisional Agenda

The Ritz-Carlton JBR Dubai, Tuesday, 22 September 2026

Digital Defense

This year the region has faced direct and serious challenges that have impacted commerce and trade, slowing down business and impacting transactions and payments. Has the recent digitisation and standardisation initiatives for regional and crossborder payments helped to mitigate problems associated with conflict conditions? Does digitisation and its reliance on targetable infrastructure such as datacentres or sub-sea cabling make payments more vulnerable in these circumstances? Also, attacks are not only kinetic, with cyber warfare a key strategic tactic. In terms of post-challenge normalisation, will our modern-day reliance on digital and AI systems bring swifter normalisation or a slower recovery?

Trust Issues

AI based agentic payments autonomously execute payments for consumers and businesses, finding, negotiating and paying for goods and services within pre-set limits. Benefits for consumers, business and merchants include frictionless purchasing, automated money management, optimised spending, more conversions and lower operating costs. But questions and risks remain - privacy and compliance issues, wider scope for disputes and chargebacks from unexpected or misaligned purchases, vulnerability to fraud, unclear liability and accountability and diluted brand affirmation from indirect customer interactions. Can agentic payments ever enjoy unquestionable trust or will there have to be accepted trade-offs between it and convenience?

In from the cold

Stablecoins are experiencing increasing adoption in the region, having rehabilitated crypto from speculative assets into a practical payment rail with benefits like continual operation, elimination of chargeback fraud, instant settlement and lowcost cross border payments, programmability and financial inclusivity. However, there are concerns about tension between financial privacy and state control, and drawbacks including irreversible loss from human error, no chargebacks for accidental payments or undelivered goods or a lack of deposit insurance. Will stablecoins outperform or replace conventional payments rails and what is the future for stablecoins in our region’s payments markets?

Buy now consolidate later

On one hand, the regional BNPL market is quickly consolidating, into one dominated by fewer bigger and well-funded multiple product providing fintechs, motivated by the need for capital-hungry scaling, by local banks increasingly offering their own built-in instalment features and by regulatory oversight. On the other hand, mindful of personal debt issues that can arise from this service, BNPL consolidation can also refer to merging multiple BNPL obligations into more manageable payments through simplified repayments of personal loans. Is BNPL devolving into conventional debt or this form of payments option going to last to become a permanent element in the regional payments infrastructure?

Payments Technology and AI

Technology and AI are effectively the anatomy of payments - bringing new services, agility, convenience and reducing human error, impeding financial crime, providing data derived efficiencies and accurate digital transactions. What roles can we expect Agentic AI to play across the payments spectrum? Can Payments as a Service allow banks to more easily and economically modernise their legacy systems? What vulnerabilities might reliance on technology bring and what more can they bring to the payments world thatwe do not already have? Can payments technology assist with ensuring successful payments in less accessible or challenging places and environments?

Border Crossing

Much has been achieved regionally and globally to smooth the path for cross-border payments, but challenges, whether inherent or unpredictable, still remain. Pain points like high costs for corporate transfers, settlement and correspondent banking delays, regulatory fragmentation, patchy data standardisation and unpredictable FX costs still weigh on the cross-border payments experience despite reform efforts. Add to this the rising tide of geopolitical tensions, then many of the challenges we thought overcome, remain stubbornly present. How have recent innovations like the 2025 implementation of Swift’s ISO 20022 begun to ease paths and can cross border payments ever become truly painless?

Previous Speakers

Jamal Saleh Director GeneralUAE Banks Federation

Dr. Abdulla AlTaee Chief Operating OfficerUnited Arab Bank
Ahmad Jishi Data & AI LeaderGBM
Ahmed Salahy Director of Strategic PartnershipsCareem Pay
Alaa AlRousan Head, Middle East & North AfricaSwift
Anand Sampath MD & Head - Payments, Collections & Client Implementation | GTxFirst Abu Dhabi Bank
Anna Zeitlin PartnerAddleshaw Goddard
Bryan Stirewalt Executive AdvisorGrant Thornton
Finali Fernando Managing Director, Regional Head of Products, CCOHSBC
Gregory Thomas Head of Group Strategy and Corporate DevelopmentRAKBANK
Gyan Prakash Srivastava Group Head One Data and AnalyticsMashreq
Isha Chander Chief Administrative Officer for CEEMEA, PaymentsJ.P. Morgan
Dr. Joseph George Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO)Doha Bank
Kerim Yebari Director | Head of Institutional Cash & Trade, Eastern & Southern AfricaDeutsche Bank
Naman Kapoor Managing Director - Head of Payments for Middle East and Africa (MEA)Citi
Nauman Hassan Regional Director for MENAPaymentology
Osama Al Rahma Head of BD and WM Emirates Investment Bank, Chairman FERG
Paul Carey EVP Cards, Payments & Fintech, Al-Futtaim Financial Services
Pinaaz Kulkarni Vice President - Regional Head, Visa Commercial Solutions, CEMEAVisa
Rajesh Nagpal Director TechnologyGBM
Ramana Kumar CEO Middle EastPaytm
Rashid Basheer Head of Digital ChannelsAl Ansari Exchange
Sagar Chandiramani CFOVirtuzone
Sara Raza Head of Cobrands - Cards BusinessEmirates NBD
Saud Al Dhawyani Chief Platforms OfficerEmirates NBD
Siddharth Ghaisas Payments Strategy & TechnologyAccenture
Somu Roy Managing Director for Outsourced Payment Services in the UAENetwork International
Sudarshan Seshadri Head of Retail Banking DivisionNational Bank of Umm Al Qaiwain NBQ
Uzair Kapadia Managing Director, Head of Cash Products, Transaction Banking AMEStandard Chartered
Venkata Prasad Indraganti Senior AGM, Head of Transaction BankingCommercial Bank of Qatar
Vibhor Mundhada CEONeopay

MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED

Highlights

Challenges and Change

The MEA Finance Leaders in Payments Awards 2026 will celebrate and recognise the outstanding achievements of banks, financial institutions, payment providers, and technology suppliers who are driving innovation and excellence across the payments landscape in the Middle East and Africa.

These prestigious awards will highlight the exceptional contributions made toward building efficient, secure, and future-ready payments systems—systems that are rapidly becoming benchmarks on the global stage. Through this recognition, MEA Finance honours the dedication and leadership that continue to shape the region’s dynamic payments ecosystem.

Open for Nominations: 20 July 2026
Submission Deadline: 1 September 2026
Judging Process: 4 September 2026
Awards Ceremony: 22 September 2026

Submission Process

MEA Finance conducts its own research to ensure that our awards categories accurately reflect the current payments ecosystem and comprehensively recognise the achievements of the industry.

As a result, we have determined 24 award categories that provide regional recognition to exceptional banks, financial institutions and technology providers who are shaping the new digital financial landscape and have made outstanding contributions to the future of the industry. Institutions can nominate themselves in all relevant categories as deemed appropriate, provided the submission is sent in before the deadline, and in the required format.
NOMINATE NOW

HOW TO ENTER

STEP 1: Choose your category.
It is important to review the individual descriptions and criteria before choosing your category.

STEP 2: Upload relevant financial performance documents or other relevant information.

STEP 3: Confirm submission of your entry.

Judging Process

The awards will feature a rigorous two-step judging process by a panel of industry experts in collaboration with the MEA Finance editorial team.

All nomination entries will be meticulously evaluated and analysed based on relevant market knowledge, industry research, and accurate company financial statements. The MEA Finance editorial team will then create a shortlist which will be given to the judging panel.
The judging panel will be composed of senior executives from professional services firms working with the banking industry. They will review the shortlist and the submitted materials for each category and place a score from 1 to 5 for each category nominee. All scores will be sent back to the editorial team.
The MEA Finance editorial team will independently score shortlisted institutions per category. Score values will be from 1 to 5. All scores will be kept confidential and will not be released publicly, nor will they be discussed with any individual applicants.
Scores from both the judging panel and the editorial team shall be collected and combined. The editorial team will hold an official tabulation of the scores to determine the highest scoring institution per category which will be declared winner