Returning for its ninth year, NextGen Nordics will welcome decision makers from banks, central banks, regulators, trade associations, technology firms and fintechs to the Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm, Sweden on 28 April 2026.
This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community.
Sweden is renowned for architecting the blueprint for a near-cashless payments ecosystem, boasting one of the lowest shares of cash in the world, and in turn, innovating a burgeoning digital financial services industry. However, in May 2025, a month after the 2025 NextGen Nordics conference, the Swedish central bank issued a statement that arguably put Sweden’s progress in reverse.
In its submission to Sweden’s ongoing Cash Inquiry, the Riksbank iterated the importance of people being able to use cash to make payments and ensuring the payment system remains resilient. At the time, Governor Erik Thedéen said: “People should always be able to pay for food, healthcare and medicines both digitally and with cash. The increasingly turbulent global situation, increased cyber attacks and also the major power outages in southern Europe show the importance of being able to make payments even when the internet is down.”
Thedéen added that the “cash infrastructure is currently very vulnerable and urgent legislative action is needed to protect it. It is essential that businesses can make cash deposits and receive petty cash for people to be able to use cash in society at all. The banks should take more responsibility for the cash of both their corporate and private customers.”
In 2026, as the Nordic financial sector faces new hurdles and opportunities, a variety of issues continue to be front and centre for financial institutions, technology providers, and fintechs. Finextra’s latest survey of 150 responses reveals how Nordic institutions across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are navigating the current landscape and their strategic priorities for 2026. This data will be exclusively revealed at NextGen Nordics on 28 April 2026.
This sentiment is what the 2026 edition of NextGen Nordics is focused on: from securing payments in an era of fraud and infrastructure risk to designing experiences around people, not just transactions. Here’s an overview of the key topics and trends being covered at this year’s NextGen Nordics conference.
As payments accelerate toward digital and alternative methods, security concerns are evolving rapidly. Social engineering attacks, vulnerabilities in new payment models like account-to-account transfers, and the growing sophistication of organised digital crime are reshaping risk strategies. At the same time, recent disruptions to critical infrastructure have exposed the fragility of fully online systems, sparking renewed interest in offline payment capabilities and cash resilience.
As global stablecoin adoption accelerates, the Nordics are charting a distinctive path, integrating the EU’s MiCA framework while safeguarding monetary sovereignty and financial stability. The industry must also go beyond stablecoins to examine the broader impact of digital assets, including the upcoming digital euro, Sweden’s e-krona, and the role of CBDCs in a world moving toward de-dollarisation.
Finextra unveils never-before-seen data from a bespoke survey tackling the questions everyone asks, but no one has answered, about the future of payments in the Nordics. From quantum-era security and influence on regional strategies to synthetic data for fraud prevention and infrastructure modernisation, our sector must take a first look at these insights that will shape boardroom decisions and technology roadmaps.
Quantum computing is no longer a distant concept; it’s a looming reality that could render today’s encryption obsolete and expose critical financial systems to unprecedented risk. We must go beyond theory to show what quantum computing really means and illustrate its power and potential impact on current cryptographic standards.
Fraud prevention is entering a new era, and synthetic data is leading the charge. The industry must consider how privacy-compliant, AI-generated datasets are solving one of the industry’s toughest challenges: training fraud detection models without exposing sensitive information.
Nordic payment systems are undergoing a major transformation to meet the demands of instant payments, cross-border efficiency, and enhanced resilience. Beyond Sweden’s adoption of ISO 20022 and domestic clearing upgrades, Denmark is implementing significant changes to its own infrastructure, and other countries are following suit, all under the shared Nordic rulebook. This harmonisation effort aims to align domestic systems with European standards such as SEPA, while enabling cost reduction and security in a digital-first economy.
When every second counts, resilience isn’t optional; it’s essential. We must dive into how advanced outage management strategies keep real-time payment systems running, even under pressure.
AI is transforming payments from a back-end process into a front-line experience, but its role should be balanced. Predictive intelligence, personalisation, and proactive service can create payment journeys that feel effortless and human, while acknowledging that technology is only part of the solution. However, it must be debated whether AI is being pushed too hard and how it can complement – not overshadow – customer experience and design thinking.
Register here for your NextGen Nordics 2026 ticket. You can expect:
• Actionable Takeaways: Leave the event with strategies and data (including Finextra’s exclusive survey) ready to integrate into your 2026/2027 roadmap.
• Exclusive Networking App: Allowing you to view, connect with, and pre-book meetings with attendees before the conference.
• Post-Event Documentation: Private download access to all available speaker presentations and conference materials.
• Access to networking, lunch and the exclusive annual drinks reception, plus all-day refreshments.
Individual Ticket – For delegates whose company provides a service to FIs or banks.
Group Tickets – Unleash the Power of Collaboration. Boost your team’s knowledge, network, and save!…Read more by Editorial Team