Banking's Future Isn't at Banking Conferences: Why SXSW Matters in 2025

We have long believed that every bank should send a rotating cast from their senior leadership team to SXSW each year, starting with the CEO. Not because the breakfast tacos are transcendent (though they are), but because glimpsing the future requires stepping outside the echo chamber of traditional banking conferences.

My cofounder Jason Henrichs wrote about this two years ago, drawing from his 12+ years of experience as an advisory board member, attendee, speaker, podcaster, and the host of parties where banking executives occasionally let their hair down enough to reveal they actually have some.

This year we will again be hosting Fintech House, an exclusive space at SXSW for fintech pioneers and cross-industry experts to connect, collaborate, and recharge— without having to endure yet another panel discussion titled "The Future of Banking" featuring five middle-aged men in blue suits.

We will also be hosting our famous Fintech Luminaires, our exclusive happy hour event for the game changers of the industry. Neither of these are a place to shake the hands, make the rounds, and move on. Each year we carefully curate the guest list to facilitate meaningful conversations to make it easier to make the right connections amongst the throngs of “fintech curious”.

Apply to get on the guest lists here:

?? Fintech House: https://lu.ma/crtq8qv8

?? Fintech Luminaires: https://lu.ma/47qzyqgb

Invitations are non-transferable, and walk-ups and plus-ones cannot be accommodated because of capacity constraints.

Here’s why you should consider it:

The Banking Presence: From Virtually Absent to Merely Underrepresented

With a few notable exceptions, financial institutions have historically treated SXSW like a vegetarian treats a steakhouse— technically aware it exists but seeing no reason to show up. Then fintech became the hot new thing, and suddenly banking's innovation tourists appeared, armed with freshly printed business cards and a mandate to "find something digital."

While banks have increased their presence, they're still severely underrepresented, typically sending only corporate venture or innovation teams as delegates— the equivalent of sending junior scouts to explore a new continent while the leadership stays safely at home reviewing PowerPoint decks about the journey. This is a missed opportunity for many, and your opportunity to leap ahead.

Why SXSW Transcends the Typical Banking Conference Circuit

Yes, SXSW still features high-profile speakers and lavish parties hosted by tech giants where the kombucha flows like water. But here's what banking executives need to understand:

• Banking transformation requires looking beyond banking. Financial services are means to other ends: conducting commerce, financing purchases, building wealth, and managing risk. These ends are evolving exponentially faster than the means traditional institutions provide.
• Banking innovation isn't happening in isolation. At industry-specific conferences like Money2020 or Finovate, you hear from others facing the same challenges— valuable, but insufficient. At SXSW, you witness how emerging technologies are converging to reshape customer expectations in the real world, across all industries, before they become expectations in banking.

What Banking Leaders Will Actually Discover at SXSW 2025

Recently SXSW has been showcasing how embedded finance, AI, and augmented reality are being deployed in practical applications that directly impact banking's future:

• Commerce platforms integrating financial services so seamlessly that banking becomes invisible—like oxygen, only noticed when absent
• AI-driven experiences that anticipate financial needs before customers articulate them, making the "apply now" button seem as antiquated as a fax machine
• Digital experiences merging with physical spaces through AR and VR, reshaping what "branch banking" could become beyond just smaller boxes with more tablets
• Emerging technologies that challenge fundamental assumptions about identity, security, and trust— the very foundations upon which banking has rested for centuries, and a future we are working hard to shape.

The Stakes: Adapt or Fade Into Irrelevance

Customer expectations aren't being set by incremental improvements to online banking platforms. They're being set by transformative experiences that make traditional banking processes feel increasingly like visiting the DMV— dreaded, even if sometimes necessary.

Banks that want to thrive must think beyond the banking box. Sending your digital team or innovation officers is a good start, but CEOs and other C-suite executives need to directly experience this future to lead meaningful transformation. SXSW isn't just another conference— it's your window into where the world is heading and how banking must evolve to remain relevant.

The institutions that understand this will lead the industry; those that don't will find themselves increasingly marginalized as customers migrate to experiences where financial services are seamlessly integrated rather than standalone products— becoming utilities rather than relationship centers.

Don't wait until next year to prioritize this essential perspective. Your customers certainly aren't waiting— and neither are your toughest competitors, who may not even be banks at all.

Samer Saab Kelsey Landau Amber Frye Madeline Fredin