The Portfolio-organised Financial IT 2026 conference will take place on May 28 at the Marriott Hotel in Budapest. The one-day event addresses the banking sector’s digital transformation, the practical adoption of artificial intelligence, fintech competition, payments trends and cyber threats.
Participants and focus areas
Attendees include bank executives, IT decision-makers, consultants, fintech founders and banking IT suppliers. Sessions cover AI use cases, payment market developments, fraud prevention and operational technology. Organisers have scheduled three staged debates and two cross-session Vibe Coding Workshops to provide more interactive formats.
Main sessions and topics
-
Session I – Fintech competition, digitalisation and the AI boom: the opening session looks at how banks move beyond AI pilot projects, the strategies traditional institutions follow to respond to fintech challengers, and how they accelerate digital transformation. Speakers include Sebők András (OTP Bank), Vinnai Balázs (MBH Bank, IVSZ), Harmati László (Erste Bank), Jendrolovics Péter (Gránit Bank), Márkus Gergely (Mastercard), John Ford (Paymentology) and Horányi Gergő (Wise).
-
Session II/A – AI and innovation in banks: this panel explores deeper AI applications, such as agentic AI and new business use cases. Panelists include Kaliszky András (Erste Bank Hungary), Prokop Péter (UNIQA Biztosító), Léder Tamás (MBH Bank), Vedran Bajer (Wonderful), Kisfalvi Bence (SMP Solutions), Mátyás-Kollár Gabriella (Shiwaforce) and Schenk Tamás (Deloitte Hungary).
-
Session II/B – Technology deep dive: practical implementation takes centre stage through case studies. Contributors include Ács Tamás (K&H Alapkezelő), Tihanyi Noémi (Clarity Consulting), Sallai Péter (Dorsum), Varga György (Shiwaforce) and Molnár Ádám (1337 Partners).
-
Session III/A – Payment trends in Hungary: this session discusses shifts in the payments market, from qvik adoption to card trends and payment sovereignty. The opening presentation, "Payment trends and plans — what does the MNB say?", will be delivered by Luspay Miklós (Magyar Nemzeti Bank). Other speakers include Czimer Gergely (Raiffeisen Bank Hungary), Zátonyi János (MBH Bank) and Marosi Bence (Giro).
-
Session III/B – Fraud and cybersecurity: experts examine cyber defence and anti-fraud measures, with specific attention to the growing threat of AI-driven attacks. Panelists include dr. Borókai Bence (OTP Bank), Halász Viktor (Nemzeti Nyomozó Iroda), Somkuti András (Netlock), Weissmüller Gábor (Citi) and Romics Attila (4iG Informatikai).
-
Session III/C – Vibe Coding Workshop part 1: an interactive workshop where participants use AI tools to implement a banking business use case. The workshop aims to accelerate corporate innovation and rapid idea testing without requiring deep prior technical knowledge. Facilitator: Gaál Norbert (1337.partners, AI Budapest) and team.
-
Session IV/A – Debate session: three debate matches will tackle questions such as whether AI truly displaces jobs, whether fintechs or banks will dominate the Hungarian market, and whether cryptocurrencies are a transformative asset or simply a speculative bubble. Debaters include Rab Árpád (NKE EJKK ITKI), Nagy-Józsa Dorka (Y2Y), Gyurcsik Attila (Accorde Alapkezelő), Fischer Bálint (Dorsum) and Bek-Balla László (Erste Bank).
Closing reception and networking
The conference concludes with a standing reception, allowing attendees to continue discussions and forge business contacts with senior bank leaders, fintech founders, consultants, regulators and IT providers.
Practical information
Financial IT 2026 takes place on May 28 at the Marriott Hotel in Budapest. The participation fee is 179,900 Ft + VAT. Registration and further information are available on the conference website.
The event aims to give participants a comprehensive view of the banking sector’s digital future, showcase hands-on implementation examples and enable direct networking with key industry players.
