The curiosity among attendees was palpable.Would Money 2020 become one of the payments industry’s must-attendshows, or would it become just another dusty milepost on the annualconference circuit? One data point may not be sufficient todocument a trend, but the debut of Money 2020 definitely set a highbar for industry conferences-and for itself.
Most commendable was the mix of new entrants and incumbentsrecruited for the agenda, a formula which established a tone whichwas at once edgy and realistically grounded. Even regulators andattorneys were well-represented on the program. This mix ensuredthat there was plenty to discuss at the social events, as well assome new faces in the discussion. For those of us who useconferences to meet both clients and new organizations, the strongattendee list created the happy problem of multiple side meetings.If anything, the packed agenda might have benefitted from morebreaks for meetings and networking.
The conference announced a repeat performance in the same time slotand same venue next year, a smart move to ramp up interest in thenext program. Worth mentioning as well was the notable Aria venue,definitely a major cut above the usual Vegas conference fare.
With some 2,000 attendees at the inaugural show, it is hard toimagine year two. As one attendee put it, “What happens if they get5,000 attendees next year? How will they manage that?”
That is the kind of problem you like to have.