Registration is officially open for NextGen Nordics 2027, as the leading banking and payments event returns to Stockholm for its 10th anniversary.
Editorial
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On 15 April 2027, leaders from banks, fintech firms, payment providers and technology companies will gather at the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre to debate who will control the next era of payments.
For a decade, NextGen Nordics has brought together senior decision makers to explore the innovations shaping financial services across the region. As the Nordics enter a new chapter in payments, the focus is shifting from how transactions move to who controls where they begin – and, ultimately, the customer relationship.
A cutting edge agenda
Under the theme Who Controls Payment Initiation? The Battle for the Customer, the Payment Relationship and the Future of Payments, the 2027 agenda will examine how digital wallets, merchant platforms, fintechs, mobile apps and AI agents are reshaping the payments ecosystem.
As payment initiation moves closer to the customer, control over the initial interaction could determine who captures valuable customer data, transaction economics, and long-term engagement. This raises fundamental questions for banks, card networks, and payment providers about their roles in an increasingly competitive landscape.
The full-day programme will open by reflecting on 10 years of Nordic payments innovation, from near-cashless societies and mobile payments to instant payments and agentic AI, before examining the challenges that will define the next decade.
Sessions will tackle the evolving competition between cards and account-to-account (A2A) payments, with findings from Finextra’s 2027 Nordic Payments Survey exploring the consumer and merchant behaviours that will influence adoption. Executive interviews and debates will also examine who owns the checkout experience as banks, wallets, merchants and technology platforms compete to become the customer’s preferred payment interface.
Beyond the customer experience, the agenda will explore the future of Nordic payment infrastructure and the balance between global scale, open competition, strategic autonomy, and resilience. Discussions will consider the role of initiatives such as Wero, Swish, Vipps and TIPS, alongside the industry's efforts to strengthen collaboration and combat financial crime.
Looking further ahead, attendees will explore how embedded finance, tokenised credentials, biometric authentication and AI-powered commerce could make payments increasingly invisible. As AI agents begin to initiate transactions on behalf of consumers, new questions emerge around trust, security, customer ownership and who ultimately benefits from each payment.
Why you should be in Stockholm
Attendees can connect with peers throughout the day, with networking over breakfast, lunch, coffee breaks and the evening drinks reception, as well as live FinextraTV interviews from the event floor.
Marking a decade of NextGen Nordics, the event will conclude by looking towards 2030 and asking what the Nordic payments model should stand for: open or sovereign, global or regional, and how the industry can balance innovation, resilience and consumer choice.
Register here to join us at Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre on 15 April 2027 and be part of the conversation, shaping the future of payments in the Nordics.