William Hatfield, Commercial Director at 10x Banking, visited Money Motion in Zagreb. He shares his reflections from Money Motion 2025 – a regional pulse on core banking transformation.
Banking in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has always been shaped by transformation, driven as much by socio-political shifts as by innovation. Emerging from the Soviet era in the 1990s, the region effectively built its financial sector from scratch. While this gave CEE banks a fresher technological foundation than their Western counterparts, many core systems remain sub-optimal today, a reality underscored by discussions at Money Motion 2025.
CEE banks face a unique challenge: modernizing the platforms, originally built during the region’s transition to becoming market economies, so they can meet the demands of a cloud-first, real-time and AI-accelerated world.
The region’s enduring appetite for innovation is unmistakable. CEE is a hub for innovation with global technology companies operating due to the calibre of technical and digital talent in region. CEE is also often an early adopter – Poland, for example, led the way on instant payments and embraced digital disruptors like Revolut early on. End-user customers in CEE are tech savvy too, expect cutting-edge customer experiences and services. This is somewhat in contrast to more traditional markets like Germany where, despite its status as a major European banking hub, paper-based processes persist, and cash is still widely used.
With this context in mind, I arrived in Zagreb last month with a sense of anticipation. And throughout Money Motion 2025, the region’s tech-first mindset was evident at every turn, and the event became a palpable reminder that CEE’s transformation story is far from over.
During coffee breaks and evening mixers, it was striking just how aligned everyone was against a common challenge: the burden of legacy technology. In almost every conversation I had or overheard, at every panel I attended, there was a clear recognition that legacy core systems are holding financial institutions back by limiting agility, increasing cost-to-serve, and failing to meet the demands of today’s customers.
The whole event buzzed with urgency as attendees discussed how the region can respond. Through it all, one thing became clear: to compete and win in this environment, banks need to modernize their core, not just tweak it. The region that has reinvented itself so often in recent decades is now on the cusp of another wave of change.
A standout session for me was the fireside chat between Charith Mendis, Head of Worldwide Banking at AWS, and Zorana Brankovic, COO at Banca Intesa Belgrade. Their conversation, “Banking in the Cloud: From Evolution to Revolution,” was refreshingly candid. They highlighted the cloud’s potential to help CEE banks leapfrog layers of technical debt – a unique advantage for a region less encumbered by decades-old infrastructure than its Western European counterpart.
What really resonated was their take on AI. AI is quickly becoming the brain of the modern bank, enabling hyper-personalized experiences, faster credit decisions, and smarter risk management. While this trend is global, adoption is accelerating rapidly in CEE.
A recent CMS study, which revealed that 47% of companies in the CEE banking and finance sector are already using AI systems. There’s an AI investment boom in the region too, with firms attracting €1.4 billion in funding so far. Poland, Greece, and Croatia are leading the charge, with Polish firms raising an impressive €171 million in 2024 alone.
Still, challenges persist. An EY survey showed that while 90% of European financial services organisations have integrated AI in some capacity, only 9% feel they’re ahead of the curve. Major hurdles include a shortage of skilled talent, regulatory ambiguity, and the breakneck pace of technological change.
Another highlight was the panel discussion, “Jumpstart to 2030 with Bank Leaders,” featuring Christoph Schoefboeck (CEO, Erste Bank Croatia), Marko Badurina (President of the Management Board, HPB), Mario Zizek (CEO, Addiko Bank Croatia), and Balazs Bekeffy, CFA (President of the Management Board, OTP Banka). Their conversation spanned a broad spectrum – from the hands-on role CEOs are taking in tech initiatives, to how banks are rethinking relationships with customers, securing digital currencies, and promoting financial education in an age when many are getting their information from the wild west of social media.
Their verdict: banking transformation isn’t optional anymore. It’s urgent.
As is often the case at events like these, one of the most valuable aspects was the chance to reconnect with partners. I particularly enjoyed catching up with Irina Olanescu, Head of Growth for CEE at GFT, one of our strategic systems integrator partners. We discussed the momentum building across the region and the ways we’re helping banks make meaningful progress in their modernization journeys.
There are strong parallels between today’s modernization drive and the economic transformation of the 1990s. Back then, CEE banks laid the foundations for a new era. Now, as we head into an age accelerated by AI, there is a need for new foundations that enable cloud-native, real-time and scalable platforms designed for speed, customer experience, and long-term resilience.
We’re working with several institutions in the region who are in the early phases of their transformation. Events like Money Motion are vital for deepening our understanding of the challenges these banks face, from legacy lock-in to regulatory complexity, and ensuring we’re delivering solutions that unlock the greatest possible value for their businesses and their end customers.
The event affirmed what we’ve long believed: CEE is a region that has navigating seismic change successfully with innovation in its DNA. Banks in CEE shouldn’t be held back by legacy systems. With the right core platform, the right partners, and the right mindset, a future of agile, cloud-native customer-centric banking is within easy reach.
If you’re ready to accelerate your core transformation journey, without the risk, get in touch. You can reach me at William.Hatfield@10xBanking.com or visit our website to learn more.