Interview by Carolina Oliveira
F6S Innovation
Marina Ideses is the Vice President of Business Development of PayAlly, a financial service that provides payment Processing, Payouts, Authentication, and other services. She has over 12 years of experience in Financial Services, SaaS, and Information Technology.
Marina, what are the biggest challenges facing fintech startups in Europe today, particularly those focused on digital payments and banking? How can these challenges be overcome through greater cross-country collaboration?
Despite Europe is not as complex and large as US and many countries being part of the EU there are still differing rules and licensing requirements in each country which makes very challenging for Startups offer solutions in more than one country. This limitation also impact the possibility of startups to scale their operations which requires more funds and investors.
Perhaps a centralised collaboration framework that allows the creation of a pan-European regulatory sandbox for testing global solutions and consequently promote innovation may be a great way to overcome the challenge.
What steps is the banking and digital payments industry taking to address gender disparities, and how successful have these initiatives been so far?
I don’t mean to sound overly negative, but I struggle to see real, effective initiatives addressing gender disparities. There’s a lot of pink-washing, where large corporations invest in marketing campaigns to showcase their commitment to gender equality, yet the actual results remain limited. While reports highlight that banking has more women CEOs compared to other industries, the digital payments sector still lacks strong female representation.
Real impact requires more than just visibility—it demands tangible, measurable progress in areas like hiring, pay equity, and leadership opportunities, particularly in fintech and digital payments. Until companies commit to structural change rather than optics, the gender gap will persist.
What are the most striking differences in consumer behavior towards digital payments between Western and Eastern Europe?
Probably the biggest difference is the usage of cash versus digital payments. While Western Europe is largely a cashless society with widespread use of mobile wallets, digital banking, and contactless payments, cash remains dominant in Eastern Europe, especially in countries like Romania and Bulgaria, where reliance on cash is still high.
Another key difference is the fintech ecosystem. In Western Europe, digital banking and neobanks are widely adopted, while in Eastern Europe, fintech is booming, but trust in traditional banks remains strong, which affects digital banking adoption in some countries.
In your opinion, what are the key regulatory and technological hurdles hindering the seamless flow of digital payments across European borders? How can these hurdles be addressed through harmonized regulations and shared infrastructure?
The seamless flow of digital payments across European borders is hindered by regulatory fragmentation, technological disparities, and interoperability challenges.
A great example of of this is the differences in fraud prevention standards and risk management frameworks that creates inefficiencies in handling cross-border transactions.
How can digital payment systems be more inclusive to minority groups who might face barriers to traditional banking services?
Digital payment systems can promote financial inclusion for minority groups and homeless individuals who face barriers to traditional banking by focusing on accessibility, affordability, and trust-building initiatives. An example of this limitation is the challenge homeless individuals encounter when trying to open a bank account without a fixed address, banks should work with the government and charities to allow a registration in a fix address or Mailbox.
What are the potential benefits and risks of increased cross-border collaboration in the European digital payments and banking sector? How can policymakers and industry stakeholders mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits for consumers and businesses?
Cross-border collaboration in European digital payments offers faster, more affordable transactions, fintech innovation. However, risks include regulatory fragmentation, cybersecurity threats, and currency and interoperability issues. To mitigate these, policymakers should focus on harmonizing regulations (e.g., PSD3), strengthening cybersecurity through unified fraud detection, and enhancing payment infrastructure (e.g., SEPA Instant Payments and API standardization).
What role do banks and fintech companies play in making investing more accessible for first-time investors, especially women and minorities?
It is interesting to see how some banks and fintech are offering innovative solutions that lower barriers to entry, build financial literacy, and promote inclusivity, for example, by allowing new investors to start with small amounts and low cost portfolios. For women and minorities there is little focus and no real impact.
