How Europe’s fintechs can scale across borders

Finextra and Visa Direct will host an online webinar examining how European fintechs can scale across fragmented national markets, differing regulation and uneven digital infrastructure. The session will feature Olga Ovchinnikova, vice president and head of Visa Direct Europe, and Scott Hamilton, contributing editor at Finextra and a global payments and liquidity expert; Hamilton will moderate.

The discussion is linked to Finextra’s upcoming 2026 State of Fintech in Europe report and will bring industry leaders together to consider expansion strategies for neobanks and fintech firms in payments, wealth and lending. The session will address cross-border growth challenges and practical steps for entering and scaling in multiple markets.

Panelists will examine what differentiates emerging fintech hubs in Europe, which scaling playbooks suit different business models, and the main barriers to expansion. Topics listed for the event include fragmented national markets, varied regulatory regimes, payment rails and levels of digital infrastructure, and the role of partnerships in supporting growth.

Finch Capital projects the European fintech market to grow from $85.52 billion in 2025 to $94.14 billion in 2026. Companies expanding across several countries must adapt to different rules, payment systems and varying levels of digital infrastructure.

The webinar will also look at how new technologies and infrastructure affect expansion choices. Advances in artificial intelligence, upgrades to payments infrastructure and wider use of digital assets are changing how firms build products, run operations and offer cross-border services. The panel plans to discuss whether firms can make those technical changes the basis for repeatable, regulated growth.

Finextra materials note different operational and regulatory challenges for neobanks compared with payments, wealth and lending firms. The event will cover how companies choose markets, structure partnerships and sequence regulatory steps when planning expansion. Interested participants can register through Finextra to join the online event.