CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Banking, payments and financial technology leaders from across Africa and other regions will gather in Cape Town from 20 to 22 October 2026 for BPC’s Client Conference, which will examine how technology, digital banking and payment infrastructure could shape the next decade of financial services.
The conference, themed “The N.E.X.T. Decade”, comes as financial institutions face growing pressure to modernise legacy systems, strengthen fraud prevention and meet rising customer expectations for faster and more convenient digital transactions.
BPC, which provides payment and banking technology, is hosting the gathering as it marks 30 years of developing payment infrastructure for emerging markets. The event is expected to bring together industry leaders and decision makers from more than 140 countries.
Africa will feature prominently in discussions on the future of payments, with developments in Ethiopia and South Africa’s digital banking market providing examples of how technology is changing financial services on the continent.
Ethiopia’s national instant payment system operates on BPC infrastructure, while GoTyme has expanded from a start-up into a digital bank serving 12 million customers, according to information provided ahead of the conference.
These developments come as banks, payment providers and national payment switches seek systems capable of supporting instant transactions, real time fraud detection and increasingly interconnected financial services.
Modernising banking and payments
The conference programme will cover payment card issuing, merchant services, instant payments, digital banking, artificial intelligence, cloud technology, cybersecurity and regulatory compliance.
The first day, on 21 October, will open with a welcome address by BPC founder and president Anatoly Loginov, followed by a keynote presentation from Avil Ruthipaul, chief information officer for lending products at Standard Bank.
Zil Bareisis, head of retail banking and payments research at Celent, will discuss emerging trends in card issuing, setting the stage for conversations on how banks can adapt their products and infrastructure to changing market demands.
The morning programme will also feature a presentation on Algeria’s postal and financial services sector by Mohamed Missoum Boudour, adviser to the chief executive of Algérie Poste.
Jimmy Sounes, managing executive for card strategy at GoTyme, will participate in a fireside chat, while a panel of banking and technology specialists will consider how card issuing must evolve to meet future demands.
The panel will be moderated by Colin Iles, founder of Colin Iles Media, and will include Tumelo Ramugondo, head of credit cards at Standard Bank; Vivek Yadav, senior vice president and regional chief technology officer at Security Bank in the Philippines; Sebastien Couturiaux, chief technology officer at Monizze; and Ashley Seeboruth, head of card and digital products at FCSSB.
Discussions will examine the modernisation of card services and the technologies required to support new payment experiences.
The afternoon sessions will turn to payment infrastructure and merchant acceptance. Irfan Ahmed, BPC’s global head of presales and consulting, will present the company’s merchant acquiring platform, followed by a case study from Mulugeta Bekalu, senior manager for card channels administration at Ethiopia’s national payment switch, EthSwitch.
Former Springbok rugby player Bryan Habana, a member of South Africa’s 2007 Rugby World Cup winning team, is also scheduled to participate in a keynote fireside chat.
Another panel will examine the development of modern merchant payment ecosystems, bringing together representatives from banks, technology companies and consulting firms.
Participants will include Jawwad Hafeez, head of acquiring at UBL; Nigel Sabga, executive director at ANSA; Dinh Viet Hung, head of the information technology department at TP Bank; Juan Salamanca, technology consulting partner at EY; and Avinash Luthria, executive vice president and business head at Worldline India.
The day will conclude with sessions on digital transformation and instant payments, including a presentation by Ali Imran Khan, general manager and chief information officer at Meezan Bank, and Geoffrey Tunbridge, BPC’s head of presales for the Asia Pacific region.
African markets in focus
The second day, on 22 October, will examine regional developments, digital ecosystems and emerging approaches to delivering financial services.
Usama Elsayed, BPC’s managing director for the Middle East and Africa, will provide a regional overview before Maxim Pavlov, the company’s chief technology officer and head of delivery, discusses its future direction.
The programme will also examine how digital platforms are changing customer experiences and the relationship between everyday banking, investment services and other financial products.
Imran Vilcassim, BPC’s global chief commercial officer for digital banking, is scheduled to contribute to discussions on digital banking platforms alongside executives from financial institutions in Asia.
The session will feature Nisala Kodippili, chief information officer at Union Bank; Rashid Jahangir, chief executive of Samba Bank; Gauthami Niranjan, vice president for cards at HNB; and Oknha Ly Sopheap, a member of the board of directors at SBI Bank.
A presentation by Nguyen Trung Anh, deputy head of the policy division in the Payment Department of the State Bank of Vietnam, will address initiatives to prevent payment risks and fraud, drawing on the Vietnamese experience.
The conference will then turn to digital ecosystems and the changes taking place across different payment markets.
A panel moderated by Colin Iles will bring together Ahmed Nafie, chief executive of modupay; Gertrude Kadumbo, chief executive of National Switch Limited; and Alison Browne-Ellis, chief executive of Payce Digital.
The discussion will consider how payment systems and providers are responding to different market conditions while developing services that can accommodate changing consumer and business needs.
For African economies, the development of reliable digital payment infrastructure is increasingly relevant to financial inclusion, electronic commerce and the delivery of services across borders. National switches, banks and fintech companies play a central role in connecting customers, merchants and financial institutions.
Artificial intelligence and fraud prevention
Artificial intelligence, cloud technology and payment processing will form another major part of the second day’s programme.
Vasily Grigoriev, executive vice president and managing director of BPC Processing, will discuss artificial intelligence in processing and the emergence of agentic commerce, an area involving AI systems that can undertake tasks and interact with commercial services.
Konstantinos Krokos, head of acquiring business at Tora Wallet, will present a customer case study, while Tokhir Abdukadyrov, BPC’s senior vice president and head of digital social and infrastructure solutions, will discuss O-CITY, the company’s mobility and payment technology offering.
Shihan Hilaldeen, senior training consultant at BPC Academy, will also present on the company’s training initiative.
Brett Johnson, described in the programme as the founder of ShadowCrew and a former United States most wanted cybercriminal, will deliver a keynote presentation on the second day.
The programme will subsequently examine fraud management and compliance, including technologies designed to detect suspicious transactions and protect financial institutions and customers.
Maxim Kuzin, head of BPC’s fraud monitoring department, will present the company’s fraud management solution.
A panel moderated by Colin Iles will discuss approaches to protecting payment systems, with participation from Dr Yaya, group head of fraud operations at FBN; Kristina Krasteva, head of security of electronic payment channels and fraud prevention at DSK; and Imran Farooqui, chief operating officer at Habib Metro Bank.
BPC representatives will deliver a further keynote before Usama Elsayed gives the closing remarks.
The conference programme also includes networking dinners and opportunities for participants to engage with executives from banking, payments and technology organisations.
A changing financial services landscape
BPC’s conference takes place as financial institutions face the challenge of balancing technological innovation with security, regulatory requirements and the need to maintain reliable services.
The company says its technology connects financial institutions and other service providers across more than 150 countries on five continents, working with over 500 institutions.
Its services span banking, payments, commerce, digital identity and mobility, with partnerships extending into sectors such as transport, healthcare and government.
The company has also described a broader shift towards platform based financial services, in which payments become part of interconnected digital experiences rather than operating as standalone transactions.
For African markets, the discussions are expected to provide an opportunity to examine how global developments in payment technology can be adapted to local needs, including differences in regulation, infrastructure, customer behaviour and the maturity of digital financial services.
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