How European neobanks and payments scale across borders

Finextra, in association with Visa Direct, will host a webinar based on Finextra’s upcoming 2026 State of Fintech in Europe report to examine how neobanks and fintech firms in payments, wealth and lending scale across Europe’s fragmented markets. The webinar will convene industry leaders to discuss expansion strategies, cross-border barriers and partnerships.

The session features Olga Ovchinnikova, vice president and head of Visa Direct Europe. Scott Hamilton, a global payments and liquidity expert, will moderate. Presenters will use findings from the 2026 report to focus on approaches to regional growth for neobanks and other fintech segments.

Organisers cite data from Finch Capital projecting European fintech market growth from $85.52 billion in 2025 to $94.14 billion in 2026. Panelists will address persistent scaling challenges, including market fragmentation, differing national regulations and uneven payments and financial infrastructure that complicate cross-border rollouts.

The webinar will examine how neobanks, payments firms, wealth platforms and lenders face different commercial and regulatory realities. Discussion topics include which expansion playbooks work for each segment, the impact of artificial intelligence and upgraded payments rails on product design and operations, and how growing use of digital assets is changing product roadmaps and customer offerings.

Speakers will consider when partnerships with incumbents, payments networks or local providers can accelerate market entry and when building internal capabilities is more effective. The conversation will cover operational matters such as compliance models, local licensing requirements and delivering consistent consumer experiences across jurisdictions.

The session will provide practitioners with examples of strategic choices for entering multiple European markets, comparing organic expansion, partnering and hub-and-spoke models. Background materials for the webinar include Finextra’s forthcoming State of Fintech in Europe report and analysis from Visa Direct. Organisers expect the event to bring together market participants to assess barriers to growth and options for cross-border expansion in 2026.