The Future of Finance: Insights from Finnovex 2026

Sends was proud to take part in Finnovex Middle East 2026 as a Bronze Sponsor, joining financial services leaders, banking professionals and technology innovators in Dubai to discuss the developments shaping the future of finance.

Representing Sends, our CEO Alona Shevtsova took part in two panel discussions on 10 November, contributing her perspective on the changing role of banks, the evolution of payment infrastructure and the importance of trust in an increasingly connected financial ecosystem.

Rethinking the future of banking and customer experience

The first discussion, “The UAE Bank of 2027: From Channels to Customer Experience Value”, explored how banks can move beyond traditional service channels to deliver experiences that create genuine value for customers.

The conversation considered the role of digital innovation, artificial intelligence and changing customer expectations in shaping the next generation of banking. Panellists discussed how financial institutions can turn technology investment into practical improvements, from more accessible services to simpler and more efficient customer journeys.

Alona Shevtsova highlighted the importance of looking beyond the technology itself. A modern banking experience should not be measured simply by the number of digital channels available or how often customers use an app. What matters is whether people and businesses can complete their financial tasks efficiently, understand the services they use and access support when they need it.

For financial institutions, like Sends, this means focusing on outcomes: reducing unnecessary steps, improving transparency and making financial services work more naturally around customers’ everyday needs.

Building trust in the next generation of payments

“New Rails, New Responsibilities: Payments, Tokenisation and Trust” panel examined how the growth of digital payments, new payment rails and tokenisation is changing the responsibilities of financial service providers.

The discussion brought together perspectives from banking, payments and insurance, exploring what is needed to make digital transactions faster, safer and more dependable.

Contributing to the conversation, Alona addressed a particularly important challenge in cross-border payments: accountability when a transaction involves several banks and payment providers. She emphasised that customers should not have to navigate a complex payment chain to understand where their money is or resolve a problem. While every provider must take responsibility for its part of the transaction, customers should have a clear point of contact, transparent information and regular updates if something goes wrong. This principle applies throughout the payment journey. Before sending money, customers need to understand the total cost, the amount the recipient will receive and the expected delivery time. Once a payment has been made, they need visibility of its progress and clear information if there is a delay.

As payment systems become more interconnected, cooperation between providers and greater transparency will be essential to maintaining customer confidence.

Alona Shevtsova on the future of financial services

Commenting on the discussions, Alona Shevtsova, CEO of Sends, said:

“The future of financial services is not just about making payments faster or introducing new technologies. It is about building an ecosystem that people and businesses can rely on. Customers need transparency, predictable outcomes and confidence that someone will take responsibility when something goes wrong. Innovation will only deliver its full value when it makes financial services simpler, more connected and more accessible.”

Supporting dialogue and innovation across the financial sector

Finnovex Middle East 2026 provided an opportunity to exchange perspectives on the priorities facing the financial services industry, including digital transformation, customer experience, emerging payment technologies and the development of more connected financial infrastructure.

As a Bronze Sponsor, Sends was pleased to support the event and contribute to discussions bringing together different parts of the financial ecosystem.

For Sends, participation reflects the company's commitment to supporting the evolution of payments through practical, customer-focused solutions and stronger connections between financial institutions, businesses and the people they serve.

The conversations in Dubai reinforced an important point: the future of finance will depend not only on the technologies introduced, but also on how effectively the industry works together to make them useful, reliable and trusted.