Top 25 Annual Fintech Conferences Your Business Needs Attend The rapid growth of the fintech industry has been matched by the mushrooming number of international conferences.
By John Rampton Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As fintech continues to attract interest among a wide range of industries and offer more applications for some of the key issues impacting industries like payments, insurance, investments and more. As the industry expands in terms of what's possible and how it can solve these issues, more like-minded individuals are gathering together at conferences to exchange ideas, form partnerships, and network.
This year is already proving to be a banner year for fintech conferences like these 25 annual events.
1. BlockShow Europe 2017
BlockShow Europe 2017 will be held in Munich, Germany on April 6. Focused on blockchain technology and applications, the one-day event provides information sessions plus a competition where startups can earn the title of Best Blockchain Startup 2017.
2. Banking Transformation & Innovation Summit
The second annual Banking Transformation & Innovation Summit is a two-day event from April 6-7 in Vienna, Austria. The focus of this fintech conference is related to digital banking innovation and transformation. The event includes expert industry speakers in keynotes and panels.
3. Innovate Finance Global Summit
The Innovate Finance Global Summit is one of the largest global fintech conferences that brings together financial and technology experts across business segments and niches to discuss the major trends and issues. This year, it is being held in London, England from April 10-11.
4. MIT FinTech Conference
MIT FinTech 2017 will be held April 22 at the MIT Media Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This annual event brings together startups, large corporations, regulators, and investors to discuss where fintech is going and how they will work together to get there.
5. Empire Startups Fintech NYC
Empire Startups Fintech NYC is scheduled for April 25 and promises to be an exciting event for startup founders and developers who want to showcase their ideas and solution as well as share thoughts on various areas of fintech related to real estate, insurance, lending, and payments.
Related: Looking for a New Payment Company? You're 'Due' for Some Good News.
6. FinTech 2017
FinTech 2017 is one of the top Canadian fintech conferences. This year, it will be held May 3 in Vancouver. It includes a focus on fintech and the regulatory environment related to the issue of financial crime. Topics include regtech, compliance, identity management, real estate tech and more.
7. Harnessing Fintech in Retail Banking
Harnessing Fintech in Retail Banking is more of a niche trade show directed at how retail banking has to rethink fintech, embracing it for its benefits and learning how to harness its power. This show also takes place in London, England but is scheduled for June 7 to June 8.
8. FinDEVr London 2017
FinDEVr London 2017 is connected to the one to be held in New York during March but offers developers in Europe and others around the world who could not make the other show a second chance at converging. This one will be held in London, England from June 12 to June 13.
9. Money 20/20 Europe
Money 20/20 Europe 2017 is not to be missed as it brings together renowned European innovators in the fintech industry to discuss their thoughts and collaborate on new solutions. This year, Copenhagen, Denmark is the host city for this event that takes place from June 26 to June 28.
10. Future of Fintech
Future of Fintech will be held from June 26 to June 28 in New York City. The focus is on studying the trends associated with various aspects of fintech, including regtech, insurtech, blockchain, artificial intelligence and more.
11. London Fintech Week 2017
London Fintech Week 2017 is a weeklong event held from July 7 to July 14 in London, England. It encompasses a number of mini-conferences within the week along with hackathons, networking parties, workshops, and meetings.
12. National FinTech Conference
The Third Annual National FinTech Conference is Canada's largest fintech conference. This year, it will be held August 18 in Toronto. Issues and trends are centered on the intersection and integration of fintech and regtech, smart contracts, payments, blockchain and financial inclusion.
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13. AI Conference
AI Conference illustrates the emerging importance artificial intelligence is playing within fintech. This conference will be held in Vancouver on September 7. It also will cover related topics like blockchain, automatic payments, machine learning and more.
14. Finovate
Finovate is a large trade show that takes place this fall in New York City from September 11 to September 14. There are two days of demonstrations on the latest in fintech technology followed by a day and a half of industry analysis and discussion. They also have events in California, Hong Kong and London each year.
15. Money 20/20
Money 20/20 will be held from October 22 to October 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada and has grown to become the largest finance and technology conference in the world. It showcases hundreds of speakers, exhibitors, and industry leaders as well as features a hackathon and massive exhibit floor. There are numerous networking events and parties that make for one of the most memorable fintech conferences. My company Due presented last year.
16. Fincon
Fincon will be held from October 25 to October 28 in Dallas, Texas. This fintech conference brings together the best and brightest in the financial and media worlds, connecting and collaborating on where both industries meet. Everyone from fintech entrepreneurs to bloggers and money experts should attend this conference. This was one of the best conferences I've ever attended to help my payments blog find amazing writers.
Related: 25 Payment Tools for Small Businesses, Freelancers and Startups
17. Empire Startups Fintech SF
The Empire Startups Fintech SF conference brings together Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach entrepreneurs and executives to share their insights on various topics like Robo-advisors, blockchain, payment technology and security, insurance and real estate technology.
The remaining conferences have already happened this year but will be held around the same time of year in 2018.
18. POST/bank
POST/bank is a fintech hackathon that was held January 19 in Frankfurt, Germany. It is an event that includes developers, students, startup founders, entrepreneurs and developers to work together on issues that are impacting digital banking.
19. London Blockchain Week
London Blockchain Week was held January 20 to January 26 in London, England. The conference covered topics like cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, the public blockchain, blockchain, and DLT in hybrid and public ledgers.
20. Blockchain Expo
Blockchain Expo was held January 23 and January 24 in England, coinciding with Blockchain Week. The event included industry leaders from the fintech space that delivered keynotes, panel discussions, and case studies that addressed the trends, issues, and opportunities in this segment of fintech.
21. Strategic Venturing & Partnerships Between Fintech and Financial Institutions Conference
The Strategic Venturing & Partnerships Between Fintech and Financial Institutions Conference is an important event that brings together traditional banks with fintech entrepreneurs and thinkers. It was held January 25 and January 26 in New York City. Among the topics covered were alternative lending, wealth management, blockchain, and crowdfunding.
Related: 12 Top Fintech Companies to Watch
22. Digital Finance World 2017
Digital Finance World 2017 was held March 1 and March 2 in Frankfurt, Germany, home to two central banks, which play a pivotal role in the global adoption of fintech solutions. The two-day event included thought leaders, entrepreneurs, founders, blockchain experts, and analysts.
23. fintech: Code - Defining the Dev in Finance
The fintech: Code - Defining the Dev in Finance conference took place March 16 and March 17 in London, England. It hosted developers and IoT industry experts who explored various fintech issues and case studies involving key segments and applications. Keynote speakers and panels, as well as networking activities, rounded out this conference geared to developers and IT and security experts.
24. Montgomery Summit
Montgomery Summit occurs each year at the start of March. This year, it was held March 8-9, offering participation from first look companies, emerging firms, and growth businesses. There were keynotes, panels, and sessions over the course of two days, including topics like cybersecurity, regulatory issues, and technology solutions.
25. FinDEVr New York 2017
FinDEVr New York 2017 occurs March 21 to March 22 in New York. The two-day conference will provide access to the latest tools, platforms, and case studies geared at the hundreds of fintech developers scheduled to attend.
