NEWS
David Birch provides content, advice and commentary on the rapidly changing world of digital financial services. Read his articles below.
KYA Now
KYA itself is not a new idea. What is new, though, is the mainstream recognition that KYA is fundamental to the evolution of commerce and therefore finance. Without digital identity, we can’t have nice things, and that is as true in the agentic world as it is for the virtual and the mundane.
Money 20/20 Europe 2026
Money 20/20 Europe 2026: I’ve been going for years now and I have to say that this year’s European edition, held in Amsterdam from 2–4 June, was the best organised that I can remember. Partly this is because it felt smaller, although I suspect it wasn’t. The layout seemed designed to encourage conversations rather than simply maximise footfall. There was room to think, room to meet people and, perhaps most importantly, room to bump into old friends
Money 20/20 USA 2025
Last month, David Birch was back in Las Vegas for Money 20/20 USA 2025 held at the Venetian Resort Conference Centre. This year, Dave’s sessions, which both took place on the packed Emergent Stage, were focused on AI and Know-Your-Agent (KYA).
Agentic Commerce & Stablecoins
Over the last few months, Dave Birch has been on the road a lot, from Azerbaijan to the USA, focused on how agentic commerce and stablecoins are converging to redefine the future of money and financial interaction. He has explored how intelligent agents will become active participants in the economy (agentic commerce), requiring new forms of digital identity, trust, and regulation.
Money 20/20 Middle East 2025
Last week, David Birch was back on the road at the first official Money 20/20 Middle East 2025 edition at the RECC, Malham, Riyadh, speaking about everything from resilience in payments to agentic commerce.
Tokens in 2050
Where do we go next with the new digital tokens of the post-industrial revolution? Noted Fintech investor Matt Harris, a partner at Bain Capital Ventures, predicted that fintech would mean the end of money as we know it. He wrote that in the future “our assets will be 100% invested at all times”
The History and Future of Stablecoins
There’s nothing inherently dodgy about stablecoins. But there is something inherently dodgy about banking, which is why countries build elaborate regulatory regimes to protect deposits — Brendan Greely, Financial Times (13th February 2022).
When I stood before the audience at Stablecoins Unblocked a few weeks ago, I wanted to make clear that we are in the middle of the transition from one kind of economy to another (very different) kind of economy, one which will require a different kind of money.
Money 20/20 Europe 2025
Last week, David Birch was back on the road at Money 20/20 Europe 2025 back on stage at the RAI, Amsterdam, speaking about everything from payments to digital identity to artificial intelligence (AI) with a host of friends new and old.
KYA KYB KYC in The Netherlands, Cyprus, Turkey & UK
Last month, David Birch was globe trotting again highlighting his new organising principle throughout KYA KYB KYC (know your agents, businesses and customers), this time from a zoo in the Netherlands to a hotel in Turkey via a festival in Cyprus!
AI in Payments: Bangkok to Toronto
These last few weeks, David Birch has been globe trotting from Thailand to Canada to talk about AI in Payments, particularly in the digital identity side as well as AI to AI (or robot-to-robot R2R) payments which he believes is where institutions should be focusing, saying that currently: “they are very focused on what they are going to do with AI, but actually their futures will be shaped more by what consumers will do with AI.”
Digital Identity Down Under 2025
On the (part 2 possibly in the autumn) Digital Identity Down Under 2025 Tour, David Birch’s stopped in Sydney and New Zealand with a brief stop in Singapore on the way back for another Payments Pub Quiz!
Merchant Payments Ecosystem 2025
Merchant Payments Ecosystem 2025: Last week, David headed to Berlin for one of his favourite events of the year Merchant Payments Ecosystem 2025! And what a busy week it was, from opening the show, to podcasts to roundtables and panel sessions and then closing the show with the infamous conference outcomes session.
Not A Strategic Reserve And A Government Bitcoin Hoard Makes No Sense
A strategic reserve is a stock of a systemically important input, which can be managed to mitigate economic disruption. The key example that we all think about is the US strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) which was created in response to the Arab oil embargo half a century ago.
World Economic Forum – Davos 2025
Dave was at Davos, or to give it its correct title “the 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland”. The WEF Annual Meeting “convenes global leaders to address key global and regional challenges.
Apple’s New Encryption Tool Is Important
Apple’s New Encryption Tool Is Important: Apple, boldly proclaiming that it believes privacy is a fundamental human right, has announced the use of “homomorphic encryption” in its products.
AI at Money 20/20 USA 2024
David Birch was back at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas last week talking all things AI which was exhausting! They now have a full day on Sunday as well as Monday and Tuesday and we stayed through Wednesday morning to have our last set of meetings.
Digital Identity Webinars
Digital Identity Webinars this week + Deepfakes, Fraud and Digital Signature: The Battle Against AI-driven Identity FraudIt’s been a week full of digital identity webinars for David Birch…about future technology trends, digital identity, tackling fraud and deepfakes to name but a few!
Digital Identity Down Under 2024: Part 2
Digital Identity Down Under 2024: Part 2 Wow! What a busy Digital Identity Tour Down Under it's been this year! With his global experience and extensive knowledge, everyone wanted to make the most of Dave's visit down under so he has barely stopped! Some highlights...
Digital Identity Down Under 2024 – Payments NZ
Payments NZ Visit Last week, David Birch was in Auckland, New Zealand, paying a visit to his friends at Payments NZ. While there, David took part in 3 impactful sessions on Digital Identity: As Strategic Project Lead at Payments NZ, Vanessa Ronan-Pearce pointed out,...
Podcasts: PayPod, The Banker, DPF and CNN TV!
Podcasts, podcasts and a bit of TV! David Birch has been super busy the last few weeks but has still managed to record a few podcasts, so many in fact we need to squash them all into one post! Oh and there was the appearance on CNN as well! PayPod: Digital Currencies...
Money 20/20 Europe 2024
What a fantastic event Money 20/20 Europe 2024 was this year in Amsterdam! Dave went home and slept for 12 hours straight! What a superb event!