Highlights of Ukraine Fintech Week 2026

This week brought together regulatory dialogue, talent development, payment solutions, digital lending, HR and technology, professional discussions, and recognition of market achievements.

Five event-packed days brought together over 1,000 people, 50+ speakers, and 45+ hours of active dialogue among representatives of the banking sector, the fintech ecosystem, technology companies, startups, young talent, regulatory bodies, and international experts. Among the top speakers last week were representatives from the IFC and the World Bank Group: José M. Moreno de Barreda; the NBU: Andriy Podderyogin, Olga Vasyleva, Serhiy Savchuk; the Verkhovna Rada: Anatoliy Ostapenko, Olga Vasilevska-Smaglyuk; bank representatives: Serhiy Makarenko, Oleksandr Shcherbaha, Inna Tyutyun, Nadiya Kiriak, Serhiy Yaroshenko, Yevhen Shulika, Khrystyna Karmazina, Maksym Volchenko, and others.

Talent & Resilience in the Financial Sector.

The week kicked off with the dialogue “FinMon 2026: Trust as the New Currency of the Financial Market”—a discussion that set the tone for the rest of the Ukraine Fintech Week 2026 program. The discussion featured experts from the financial sector, representatives of government institutions, and members of the banking community. The focus was on the transformation of financial monitoring amid digitalization and the rise of cyber risks. Participants analyzed how approaches to KYC and AML are changing, which standards are becoming the new norm for the market, and why effective data exchange between banks and payment providers is becoming one of the key factors of trust in the financial system.

The second day of Ukraine Fintech Week 2026 began with a landmark event—the first-ever Fintech Job Fair for students in the Ukrainian financial sector. UAFIC succeeded in creating a unified space that brought together over 10 leading companies and more than 200 students and young professionals. A key feature of the event was its highly practical format: participants had the opportunity to speak directly with employers, undergo quick interviews, and learn more about career opportunities and the specifics of working in the fintech industry. For companies, this, in turn, provided an opportunity to discover new talent and showcase their employer brand. The Fintech Job Fair became not just a career event, but a full-fledged platform for exchanging knowledge, experience, and motivation, making a significant contribution to the development of human capital in the financial sector.

As Anna Kuzenkova, Managing Partner at Odgers Ukraine, noted: “Today we see a clear trend: companies are increasingly investing in engaging with young professionals while they are still in school. This is no longer just about recruitment, but a long-term strategy for building a talent pipeline.

Initiatives such as the Fintech Job Fair build the right bridge between business and young people—helping students better understand the market and their opportunities, and helping companies find motivated candidates and build a strong employer brand.

In today’s environment, the organizations that succeed are those that know how not only to hire but also to systematically work with talent, develop it, and attract it to the industry at the early stages of their careers.”

The second part of the day was dedicated to the meeting of HR-Tech Committee No. 11, which brought together HR professionals from banks, financial companies, and technology teams. The central theme was “Talent & Resilience in the Financial Sector 2026: AI, Recruitment, and Retention Amid War-Related Challenges.” Participants discussed new approaches to talent management, the role of artificial intelligence in HR processes, and tools to support teams during periods of high turbulence. The event served as a platform for sharing practical case studies, relevant solutions, and establishing cooperation, particularly in the context of creating a nationwide map of HR initiatives in the financial sector.

Overall, the second day of Ukraine Fintech Week 2026 demonstrated that the industry’s development today is impossible without investment in trust, technology, and, most importantly, people.

New rules of the game: how payments, lending, and financial inclusion are changing.

“During the discussion, we will focus on the key challenges of implementing open banking, as well as hear practical insights from companies that are already actively working with these solutions.

A separate focus will be on digital lending, which is now an important component of the financial system, as it is directly linked to supporting citizens during periods of turbulence. This segment is developing dynamically, and we are seeing the emergence of new approaches—from B2B solutions and import financing to the launch of innovative products.

This year, we are paying special attention to consumer protection—in particular, access to financial services for various population groups. Lending to veterans and military personnel will be an important part of the discussion. This is a complex issue that currently exists partly in a “gray area,” and our task is to work with the market to develop practical solutions,” noted Rostyslav Dyuk, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Association of Fintech and Innovative Companies.

During the discussion, special attention was paid to the role of alternative financing solutions in supporting businesses, particularly in those segments that remain outside the scope of traditional bank lending.

Alla Papaika, Head of Investments at Done, added: “We don’t compete with banks—our role is to complement them and prepare clients for bank financing. In fact, we help businesses grow to a level where they become attractive and eligible for bank lending.

We do not finance the company as such—we work with specific commercial transactions, providing businesses with working capital and managed logistics. Typically, these are companies that do not yet meet bank criteria: small businesses, those without a sufficient track record, or those with a more complex financial structure.

In this context, banks can refer such clients to us, and we, in turn, help them scale up, grow, and gradually reach a level where they can already work with banking products.”

Continuing the discussion on the role of open banking in market transformation, the panelists focused specifically on the balance between regulatory initiatives and the development of private-sector services, as well as on how new tools are impacting the payment infrastructure.

As Andriy Podderyogin, Director of the Payment Systems and Innovative Development Department at the NBU, noted: “We must not replace services created by the private sector and market participants. Our task is to complement them only where it truly brings benefits. First and foremost, this is important to avoid fragmentation, which entails unnecessary costs, as market participants are forced to repeatedly create the same solutions.

That is why one of the key initiatives we are implementing together with market participants is the introduction of open banking in Ukraine.

Speaking of current trends, instant payments are most actively used today in transactions from individuals to businesses—primarily for goods and services. At first glance, it may seem that this is demand driven by merchants, but a deeper analysis reveals a different picture.

In reality, the driver is the supply from banks, which by default offer customers the option to make instant credit transfers. In other words, we are currently observing not so much a conscious demand from businesses for instant payments as a gradual replacement of traditional transfers due to the convenience and speed of the new tools.

“To promote the widespread use of instant credit transfers by users, a shared goal of payment market participants is to develop elements of an open ecosystem (in particular, standardized methods for exchanging account details and uniform names for payment transactions in mobile apps).”

A separate segment of the discussion focused on competition and the future market structure in the context of open banking, where both technological capabilities and the investment potential of market players will play a significant role.

Ivan Stepanets, Director of Innovation at iPay.ua, noted that in the context of open banking, we will certainly see both competition and partnerships. Smaller banks will try to “take a bite” out of the market share of larger ones, while major players will have an advantage due to their resources and ability to invest in development.

However, in daily banking, the winner will be whoever offers consumers the best digital customer experience. This means a user-friendly mobile app and extensive functionality, such as a high-quality and intuitive PFM (personalized financial manager)—the ability to view all your accounts, deposits, and financial overview in one place—with personalized tips on how to effectively manage funds, pay off debt, or grow your capital.

In theory, such solutions can be created by both banks and non-bank players. However, it is important to understand that developing a fully-fledged system—not just mobile banking, but multi-banking—requires significant investment, and without substantial resources or the entry of major international players, it will be difficult to implement.

Transformation of the financial system: technology, trust, and accessibility

“To briefly characterize the EU payment landscape, it is currently shaped by several key trends. The first is the evolution of the regulatory framework: from PSD2 to the upcoming PSD3, which sets new rules of the game for the market. The second is the regulation of instant payments in the EU, which are gradually transitioning from a ‘premium service’ to a basic standard for financial transactions.

It is also worth mentioning the development of the digital euro and its potential impact, particularly on the Ukrainian market, as well as the broader trend toward open finance, which opens up new opportunities for the integration of financial services.

In terms of scale, the EU payments market is enormous: we’re talking about approximately 240 trillion euros in annual transactions (2024 data). And importantly, already today about 92% of all payments in Europe are fully digital, which clearly demonstrates the level of maturity and digitalization of this ecosystem,” noted José M. Moreno de Barreda, Global Digital Finance & Fintech Expert, IFC, WBG.

Continuing the discussion on internal transformations within financial institutions, the panelists also highlighted organizational approaches to implementing change and the role of teams in executing new initiatives.

Inna Tyutyun, a member of the Management Board at Sense Bank, added: “We operate using cross-functional teams—this is our core approach to project implementation. These teams include specialists who work with SMEs, individual customers, and payment solutions. These are different areas, but they come together around common goals, with the involvement of IT teams that ensure technological implementation.

As a state-owned bank, we take a very pragmatic approach to resources. Assigning separate teams makes sense when it directly impacts profitability and return on investment. Currently, however, in terms of meeting regulatory requirements, we are effectively managing with our existing cross-functional teams, without the need to create separate structures.”

The final day of this busy week began with a series of lectures for students focused on key topics in the development of financial technology. Over 100 students attended the event, gaining a unique opportunity not only to acquire up-to-date knowledge but also to hear about practical experiences from representatives of banks, fintech companies, and the technology sector. The lectures covered topics such as building a career in fintech, the role of digital technologies in the financial system, and current trends shaping the industry’s future. The event’s particular value lay in its open format, which allowed students to ask questions, receive practical advice, and better understand market demands.

The final stage of Ukraine Fintech Week 2026 was an international roundtable that brought together representatives of fintech associations from various European countries. Participants discussed key challenges and prospects for the industry’s development, including the harmonization of regulatory approaches, the implementation of innovations, and the creation of conditions for effective cross-border cooperation. Special attention was paid to the role of partnerships in shaping a unified European fintech space and integrating the Ukrainian market into the international ecosystem.

The final day served as a logical conclusion to the week, underscoring the importance of combining education, international dialogue, and practical cooperation for the further development of Ukraine’s fintech industry.

Ukraine Fintech Week 2026 was held with the support of the IFC and the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Sense Bank served as the banking partner; Done and Odgers were strategic partners; Identomat was the international strategic partner; Moneyveo was the fintech partner; Artellence was the special partner; and IPay.ua was the payment partner. DowithUA served as the traditional ecosystem partner.

Media support was provided by Fintech Insider, ua.news, Scroll Media, Marketer, SPEKA, and The Finance Data, while the event’s information partners were NABU, MTBSU, Kharkiv IT Cluster, and Diia.City United.

Ukraine Fintech Week 2026 confirmed that Ukrainian fintech today is a mature, dynamic, and globally open ecosystem capable not only of adapting to challenges but also of setting new standards for the financial sector’s development.

This is no longer just a series of events. It is a platform that shapes the market, brings ideas together, and drives transformation. And most importantly, it is yet another proof that the Ukrainian financial sector continues to move forward, shaping the future of financial technologies even under the most challenging conditions.