The Oscilar team just wrapped three incredible days at Money 20/20 Europe, and the message from 8,500+ fintech leaders couldn't be clearer: traditional risk operations are fundamentally broken, and AI represents the solution everyone desperately needs.

Here’s what we’re keeping top of mind as we return from the conference.

The Industry's Inflection Point

Walking the halls of the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, many conversations revealed the same underlying tension. Financial institutions—from challenger banks to established players—are grappling with legacy risk systems that generate false positive rates of 90% or higher. Manual review processes that take weeks. Partnership onboarding cycles that stretch beyond a year.

Banks and fintechs are racing to transform their risk operations, seeking solutions to reduce false positives from 90% to under 10%, unify fragmented data sources, and orchestrate seamless customer journeys from onboarding through compliance and fraud detection. Most importantly, they want AI solutions - not buzzword applications wrapped around existing processes.

Startup Spotlight Recognition

Our selection as one of the most promising startups at Money 20/20 Europe was both humbling and validating. Our Chief Product Officer, Saurabh Bajaj, had the opportunity to present Oscilar's vision for purpose-built AI risk management to over 30 reporters and industry leaders during the Startup Spotlight session.

The questions we fielded and the discussions following confirmed what we've believed from day one: the industry needs intelligent risk solutions banks and fintechs want to implement, not theoretical AI applications looking good in demos but failing in production.

The validation came not just from the selection committee, but from the steady stream of visitors to Booth #1H70 throughout the three-day event. Risk leaders, compliance officers, and fintech founders shared remarkably consistent stories about their current pain points and future aspirations.

From Competition to Collaboration

One of the most striking themes throughout the conference was the evolution of the "banks versus fintechs" narrative. What we're seeing instead is a recognition that collaboration, not competition, will define the next chapter of financial services innovation.

Every meaningful discussion confirmed this shift: risk operations are becoming the bridge connecting traditional finance with fintech innovation. Banks bring regulatory expertise, established compliance frameworks, and scale. Fintechs contribute agility, user experience innovation, and technological sophistication. The winners in this new landscape will be those who master the dance between these complementary strengths through intelligent risk orchestration.

This collaboration imperative was evident in panel discussions, networking sessions, and even casual hallway conversations. The most successful partnerships we heard about weren't traditional vendor-client relationships, but true collaborations where both parties contributed core competencies to solve shared challenges.

The AI Reality Check

Amsterdam delivered a much-needed reality check on AI implementation in financial services. While AI buzzwords were everywhere, the substance behind many implementations was disappointingly thin. Too many companies are offering "AI wrappers"—basic models claiming to solve complex risk problems with minimal customization or domain expertise.

Gartner's prediction that 30% of AI projects will be abandoned by 2025 resonated strongly with conference attendees who've experienced the gap between AI promises and AI delivery. The distinction between performative AI and transformative AI became a recurring theme in our conversations.

But real breakthroughs are happening. The companies seeing genuine transformation aren't deploying AI tools; they're reimagining their entire risk infrastructure around intelligent automation. We heard concrete success stories: 80% reductions in false positives, partnership onboarding cycles compressed from 12 months to 90 days, and customer satisfaction scores improving dramatically as friction disappears from previously cumbersome processes.

Community and Connection

Beyond the formal conference programming, our Lending & Risk Reception with This Week in Fintech became a highlight of the event. Over 150 risk leaders, compliance experts, and fintech innovators gathered at Cantina L'Esquina for what turned into far more than networking—it became a working session on the future of risk management.

The energy was extraordinary. We found ourselves in deep discussions about real implementations, regulatory challenges, and partnership successes. Risk officers shared specific use cases where AI had transformed their operations. Compliance leaders discussed practical approaches to regulatory approval for new technologies. Fintech founders explored partnership strategies with traditional institutions.

These organic discussions often proved more valuable than formal presentations, revealing the genuine challenges and opportunities driving decision-making in our industry.

The Path Forward: Risk Orchestration

The central question emerging from Amsterdam wasn't whether AI will transform risk operations—this transformation is already underway. The question is how to capture the massive opportunity in intelligent risk systems through comprehensive orchestration rather than point solutions.

The answer lies in unifying data, decisions, AI, and automation into a single intelligence layer. At Oscilar, this philosophy drives everything we build: an AI risk platform that unifies disparate data sources into real-time risk intelligence, embeds AI-powered decision-making across the entire customer journey, deploys intelligent automation that reduces manual review requirements, and delivers experiences that are simultaneously fast and protected.

We're not building another risk tool; we're redefining how financial services deliver intelligent, secure experiences at customer speed.

Looking Ahead

Amsterdam showed us the future of risk operations isn't a distant possibility—it's happening now. The financial institutions that will thrive in the next decade are those embracing this transformation today, building partnerships that combine traditional strengths with innovative capabilities, and implementing AI solutions that deliver measurable business outcomes rather than just technological novelty.

The discussions we had at Booth #1H70, during our reception, and throughout the conference halls will continue long after the Amsterdam venues have returned to normal. Because the challenge of intelligent risk operations is too important and too urgent for any single company to solve alone.

The AI risk revolution is here. The question isn't whether to participate—it's how quickly you can begin.