Ep. 9: What is the future of open banking? Stefano Vaccino of Yapily explains what comes next
EPISODE GUESTS
Stefano Vaccino is the Founder and CEO of Yapily, an open banking infrastructure business. He specialises in open banking and fintech innovation, with extensive experience across financial services and product leadership. Before founding Yapily, Stefano held senior positions including Chief Product Officer and Executive Director at Goldman Sachs.
SHOW NOTES
Key Topics Discussed:
Why the future of open banking will bring data and payments closer together
What needs to change for pay by bank to reach wider adoption
Consumer protection and the economics of open banking payments
Whether pay by bank can compete with card loyalty programmes
The role of premium open banking APIs in the market's next phase
How regulation is shaping open banking differently around the world
Why banks and fintechs need flexible open banking infrastructure
Yapily's approach to supporting customers as the market develops
Episode Summary:
This episode gets into the future of open banking, and why its next phase matters for banks, fintechs, merchants and payment providers. Stefano Vaccino, Founder and CEO of Yapily, joins Grant Evans at Money20/20 USA to discuss how open banking is moving beyond its early focus on data access and regulatory compliance.
Stefano describes the market as being in its teenage years: the foundations are there, but there is still work to do before open banking reaches maturity. His view is that the next stage will increasingly be shaped by the combination of open banking data and payments, with each making the other more useful.
Data can help inform how a payment is initiated or orchestrated. Payment activity can, in turn, enrich the data businesses have available. Add premium APIs and more commercially developed services into that mix, and the potential moves beyond basic account connectivity.
What does the future of open banking look like?
For Stefano, greater maturity depends on data and payment capabilities working together.
The first phase of open banking focused heavily on accessing banking data. The next opportunity is to use that information alongside payments to build products that offer clearer commercial and customer value.
Premium APIs also form part of that shift. Rather than open banking remaining centred entirely on regulatory requirements, the market can develop additional services built around customer and merchant needs.
For banks, fintechs, PSPs and platforms, that creates a different challenge. Having access to an API is only the starting point. Businesses need to work out which services solve a genuine problem and how those services can operate commercially.
What is holding back pay by bank?
One of the biggest questions surrounding pay by bank is consumer protection. Cards have established protection models that customers and merchants understand. Stefano agrees that pay by bank needs protection too, but argues that simply recreating the card model would miss an important part of the proposition.
The question is how much protection is required, who funds it and what it ultimately costs. If pay by bank carries exactly the same economics as cards, the incentive for merchants to adopt an alternative payment method becomes weaker. The industry therefore needs to find a level of protection that gives customers confidence without removing the commercial difference that makes open banking payments attractive.
That matters for PSPs, acquirers, merchants and payment platforms looking at pay by bank as more than another button at checkout. The protection model will help determine the economics of the payment method itself.
Can open banking compete with card loyalty?
Card rewards are another common argument against pay by bank adoption. Stefano does not see loyalty as an inherent weakness of open banking. Because open banking creates access to useful financial data, businesses can potentially use that information to support their own loyalty programmes, discounts and incentives.
The model may look different from a card scheme rewards programme. Specialist providers could build loyalty layers on top of open banking infrastructure rather than expecting infrastructure businesses to provide everything themselves.
That distinction matters. Open banking does not necessarily have to copy the card model feature for feature. It can use its own strengths, particularly data, to create different forms of customer value.
Will regulation or the market drive open banking innovation?
There is no single global answer. Stefano points to the UK and Europe, where regulation established much of the foundation before the wider ecosystem started developing additional commercial services. Markets including Brazil and India have taken different approaches, with regulators playing a significant role in creating the infrastructure from which innovation could develop.
The US remains less certain. For international fintechs and infrastructure providers, that makes open banking expansion a market-by-market decision. Regulation matters, but so do customer demand, local infrastructure, commercial incentives and the maturity of the wider ecosystem.
What role does Yapily play?
Yapily sits largely behind the scenes. Rather than trying to own every part of the customer proposition, the company builds the open banking infrastructure, tools and components its customers need to develop their own products.
Stefano says that approach is shaped by listening closely to customers and responding as the market changes. As new open banking use cases emerge, infrastructure providers need to give banks, fintechs and other businesses the components required to build them without trying to become every layer of the proposition themselves.
That becomes increasingly important as open banking moves from regulatory connectivity towards more sophisticated payment, data and commercial services.
The big takeaway: open banking's next phase depends on turning infrastructure and access into services that create genuine commercial value. For banks, fintechs, PSPs, platforms and merchants, that means getting the balance between data, payments, protection and economics right. Get that right, and open banking has a stronger route towards mainstream adoption. Get it wrong, and the industry risks building alternatives that offer too little reason for merchants or customers to change.
MEET THE HOSTS
Co-Host and Co-Founder of The Payments Shed Podcast
Grant Evans
Grant Evans is a leading voice in the fintech industry and the creator of the widely followed ‘The Payments Shed Newsletter’. With more than 15 years experience shaping commercial strategy and driving partnership growth, he is recognised for turning complex topics such as embedded payments, BNPL, unified commerce, and open banking into clear, actionable insights that resonate with global audiences. Named a LinkedIn Top Voice in both 2024 and 2025, Grant has built a community of over 27,000 engaged professionals, merchants, and innovators who look to him for commentary on the trends redefining global commerce. A sought-after speaker and panelist, his thought leadership is regularly featured in financial services publications and at flagship industry events including Money 20/20, FTT Fintech and the Global RegTech Summit.
Co-Host and Co-Founder of The Payments Shed Podcast
Justin Hanna
Justin Hanna was recently named the #1 Head of Sales Top Voice by the National Sales Conference for good reason: he’s redefining what sales leadership looks like in the modern era. With deep B2B sales experience and a people-first approach, Justin earns trust through insight and practical strategy, not tired tactics. A respected voice in payments, he’s also built a 22,000-strong LinkedIn following by making complex topics relatable and actionable. His influence has been recognised widely: a LinkedIn Top Payment Systems Voice (2024), one of the top 30 voices shaping the future of payments, banking, and fintech (2025), and celebrated by the National Sales Conference as the #1 Head of Sales Top Voice. Known for challenging the status quo, Justin’s unfiltered take on leadership, culture, and growth resonates because it’s honest, and his ability to lead with both expertise and empathy has made him one of the most influential sales voices today.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Grant Evans:
We’re on another walk and talk at Money20/20 USA. Today we’re joined by Stefano Vaccino, CEO and Founder of Yapily.
Stefano, welcome. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your role and Yapily as a business.
Stefano Vaccino:
I’m the Founder and CEO of the company, in the UK and Europe.
Grant Evans:
Okay, perfect. How would you describe the current state of play with open banking?
Stefano Vaccino:
I would say teenagers.
We are probably one or two years from maturity, but we can see the potential of it. The energy and the talent will flourish.
However, in one or two years, when we have maybe premium APIs working by the SLA, so yeah, teenager.
Grant Evans:
I think the first stage of open banking was very much about accessibility into data.
What’s driving the shift towards additional value-added services and open banking now?
It’s been a little bit slower in the adoption stage, but what do you see as those core products in the next move, back in this teenage stage?
Stefano Vaccino:
I think open banking will influence when data and payment work together.
Data will inform payment and help the orchestration of it, but then payment will enrich data as well.
As you mentioned, premium APIs coming next year, this is when really open banking, from a payment perspective, you see [unclear].
So I think the fusion of data and payment allows us to see the intervention.
Grant Evans:
Yeah, I think that’s a fair point.
In terms of some of those next steps, particularly around the payment side of things, we’ve talked on the show a lot about the consumer protection that comes with cards.
What kind of state do you think we’re in as far as whether we’re going to have consumer protection on pay by bank at some point?
Who will be responsible for covering that?
Is that still one of the biggest hurdles you face when you’re comparing pay by bank to card payments?
Stefano Vaccino:
It is definitely one of the hurdles, but it’s not whether you need it or not. It’s what level, and at what price ultimately.
If you want to have something which is different, you need to have a different level of protection at a different price.
You cannot have a like-for-like, otherwise it will end up costly and there will not be a lot of incentive for merchants.
But I think nobody disputes that we need it.
It’s just making sure the ecosystem agrees on how much of it is needed and how much is going to be paid.
Grant Evans:
I think one of the other pushbacks we get when you compare it to cards is the loyalty programmes and points that you get with card scheme programmes.
Is that another gap that we’ve got for pay by bank at the moment?
Stefano Vaccino:
I don’t think it’s a gap because you have the data.
You can leverage the data to power your schemes. It’s just, again, a question of doing things differently.
Now, with premium APIs that will come, you can get data in the payment and then especially automatically apply discounts and schemes.
Grant Evans:
Is that something that businesses build themselves, though, or do you think that’s something that buyers like yourselves make?
Stefano Vaccino:
Most likely there will be companies focusing on that.
Ultimately, it is such a huge space with a lot of levels of sophistication.
I don’t think an open banking infrastructure company should also be a loyalty scheme. They’re trying to create two different companies.
Grant Evans:
Exactly. Why not then expand your [unclear]?
Fair enough.
The other big question I wanted to pick your brain on, while we’re very lucky to have you on the show today, is regulation and innovation.
Obviously, the two kind of go hand in hand.
Do you think that regulators in various markets are going to be the ones leading further innovation in open banking?
Stefano Vaccino:
Every country has seen this mix in a different way.
Some countries, like the UK and Europe, regulation was the foundation and now, obviously, the ecosystem will come together for the premium aspect.
In other countries, like Brazil or India, we’ve seen the regulator doing so much that a lot of innovation already came through them.
In the US, it’s still difficult to understand what’s going to happen.
So I think it is a balance. Every country is getting it differently.
There are 80 countries [unclear] open banking, so I think everybody will have their own mix and match.
Grant Evans:
And to talk about Yapily then, how are you guys really helping banks and fintechs to drive innovation in open banking?
Stefano Vaccino:
We are trying to build all the tools and components that our customers need to build the whole solution, always quite behind the scenes.
We’re trying to focus on giving them the best infrastructure.
Ultimately, it is their product.
As the market evolves, the market is telling us what components and tools they need.
We listen quite a lot to our customers. We try to respond quickly and this allows us to build them.
Ultimately, we are building [unclear], but our customers may need that for the next week.
Grant Evans:
We’re obviously in America at Money20/20 USA.
The USA market for you guys, obviously you had the new announcement with Google recently. Congratulations again on that partnership.
Why is Money20/20 such an important event for you guys, particularly in the US? What’s happening here?
Stefano Vaccino:
[Unclear.]
For us, like anything, ultimately the US will be a destination at some point.
We’re always here trying to understand when is the time for us and meeting partners.
We have lots of customers. Our first customers [unclear].
Grant Evans:
Fantastic.
We have one final question. Thanks for joining us on the show today.
There’s a little section we end every chat that we have with guests on the show.
We ask you to nominate something from payments, fintech, the industry or business in general for the Shelf of Shame.
What have you got today?
Stefano Vaccino:
I guess the name that has been used in banking.
I think [unclear].
Every time you have to explain something about the space, we need to get all the “open” together in a room to agree what the new names are going to be.
Potentially people understand that and can actually impact [unclear].
So yeah, I think the naming convention.
Grant Evans:
The naming convention will likely have been on before. I don’t think that’s the last time you’ve had that nominated.
Thanks for joining us on the show today. Enjoy the rest of Money20/20 USA.
Stefano Vaccino:
Thanks so much for having me.
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