If You’re Not Digital First, You’re Last: Insights From Money20/20 Europe

Digital-first is no longer a competitive differentiator for enterprises. It’s a baseline expectation in a digital economy where customers want fast, secure verification and onboarding wherever they are.

Yet beneath those slick digital experiences lies one of the hardest challenges in commerce: Enterprises have to balance speed, trust and compliance while keeping pace with evolving fraud threats.

A panel discussion at Money20/20 Europe 2025 – featuring leaders from Nium, Worldline, Paysafe and Trulioo – covered what it really means to build digital-first onboarding and verification at scale. The panel also explored the next steps for AI, automation and compliance strategies.

Here are three key insights from the discussion.

1. Fuel Secure Onboarding at Scale With Intelligent Automation 

Automation is critical in a digital economy of accelerating real-time payments and cross-border commerce. But automation for its own sake won’t cut it. 

The objective is intelligent automation, in which data, decision-making, fraud detection and compliance controls work together as one adaptive system.

“The regulations are changing, the fraud typologies are changing,” said Darek Paleczny, Worldline chief risk and compliance officer. “So it’s about being agile.”

The goal is to continuously evolve onboarding and compliance flows so they remain effective, efficient and trusted, even as risks shift and new regulations emerge.

2. Balance Speed With Smart Friction

Low-friction onboarding can seem like the goal in such fast-moving digital industries as payments. But panelists challenged that mindset, highlighting the value of purposeful friction.

Alexandra Johnson, Nium chief payment officer, said cutting back on friction isn’t always the right move. 

“We talk a lot about ‘remove the friction, remove the friction,’ but that’s not really what we should be saying,” she said. “It’s about having the right amount of friction.”

By introducing well-placed checks – such as confirming phone numbers during person-to-person payments – Nium builds user confidence, which is essential for higher-value, enterprise-grade transactions.

Similarly, Diana Zavoianu, Paysafe senior director, global consumer risk, said Paysafe’s machine learning models focus on detecting fraud and protecting good customers. Tailoring friction based on risk signals ensures trustworthy users enjoy smooth experiences, while suspicious activity faces stronger challenges.

3. Lean on AI for Smarter, More Efficient Verification

It’s no surprise AI and machine learning are transforming verification and fraud prevention. But the Money20/20 panel highlighted how quickly AI is becoming embedded across every layer of onboarding.

Nium uses large language models to streamline customer due diligence and reduce manual data collection. Paysafe applies AI to detect subtle fraud patterns before they escalate, enabling more proactive risk management.

AI and machine learning are at the core of how Trulioo delivers industry-leading verification rates and fraud detection performance. From intelligent data sequencing to dynamic risk scoring, the technology enables the Trulioo platform to adapt to each customer and market in real time so businesses can onboard more trusted users with less friction.

As fraud tactics become more sophisticated with deepfakes, synthetic identities and AI-powered fraud-as-a-service, platforms that commit to continuous AI innovation can remain competitive and protect their customers.

The Bottom Line: Trust Is at the Heart of Growth

The panel’s primary message was that trust is the true enabler of growth.

Without trust in onboarding processes, payments enterprises, financial services organizations and digital marketplaces face challenges scaling their operations. Without an intelligent, adaptive foundation, it’s harder to deliver secure, trusted experiences. Without compliance and fraud strategies that evolve as fast as the market, it’s difficult to maintain a competitive advantage.

Digital-first isn’t just about going faster. It’s about building trust with every interaction.