5 Takeaways from Money20/20: What We Learned in Las Vegas

Last week, the SLC team wrapped up four days at Money20/20 in Las Vegas, and if there's one thing that's clear, it's this: the industry has moved from talking about innovation to executing it.

Over 11,000 attendees from 85 countries filled the Venetian, and our team spent the week in deep conversations, walking the floor, in sessions, and in countless hallway meetings—listening to where fintech leaders see the industry heading, and more importantly, what's holding it back.

Here's what stood out to us.

1. Infrastructure Beats Apps—Every Time

The biggest conversations at Money20/20 weren't about the next consumer fintech app. They were about what's underneath: real-time settlement networks, cloud-native banking systems, and identity infrastructure that can actually scale.

The infrastructure-focused sessions throughout the conference made it clear—from discussions on cloud-native banking systems to AI-powered financial tech stacks, everyone's finally admitting that you can't build the future on legacy rails.

This validated everything we've been saying about SIM-based identity as foundational infrastructure. The industry is ready for solutions that work at the hardware layer, not just another software patch on top of old systems.

2. AI-Powered Fraud Is Forcing a Hardware Reckoning

Social engineering attacks, deepfakes, sophisticated credential theft—it's all accelerating, and the industry's response has been software-focused.

But here's what we kept hearing in side conversations: software-only solutions aren't cutting it anymore. When cloud identity providers can be breached, you need a hardware root of trust.

Ben Coon, Chief Intelligence Officer at Unit 221B, emphasized the need for continually upgrading fraud protections and even suggested that business competitors work together to combat fraud, given the enormity of the challenge.

The SIM card came up more than we expected—as the tamper-resistant secure element that's already in 5 billion pockets. This was the number one topic in our conversations throughout the week. CTOs and CISOs kept asking: "How do we authenticate without creating another cloud vulnerability?" That's when we'd explain how SIM-based identity verification works at the network level, before credentials can be stolen or sessions hijacked.

3. Stablecoins Are Real Now, But Identity Infrastructure Isn't Ready

With the GENIUS Act passed in July 2025, the first major US legislation to regulate stablecoins, digital assets are moving from speculation to actual payment infrastructure. More than a dozen panels explored what mainstream adoption looks like and what rules will support it.

But here's the gap no one's solved yet: how do you verify identity for cross-border stablecoin transactions without creating massive compliance friction?

Traditional KYC doesn't scale for digital assets. It's too slow, too expensive, and too fragmented across jurisdictions. SIM-based identity could be the universal, hardware-backed bridge, already distributed globally. It provides the trusted verification layer that regulators need without adding friction that kills the user experience.

4. The Remittance Gap Hasn't Closed—And It's Still About Trust

Real-time payments and cross-border discussions focused heavily on financial inclusion. Executives from Ripple, Bank of America, and Thunes spotlighted how these technologies are powering global competitiveness.

But the same problem persists: high-friction corridors like Sub-Saharan Africa and small island states still pay 9%+ fees because fraud risk and identity verification slow everything down.

The tech exists to move money instantly, but the missing piece is trusted identity at the edge.

In our remittance article, we explored how digital adoption lowers costs in corridors like Gulf-to-South Asia (3-5% fees), while legacy infrastructure keeps prices stubbornly high elsewhere. Money20/20 confirmed this divide isn't closing on its own; it requires new infrastructure. That's our lane.

This resonated deeply with our team because it's exactly the problem we've been tackling. When we showed executives how SIM-level verification can reduce identity friction in high-cost corridors, the response was immediate—"Why isn't everyone doing this already?" The answer: because most of the industry is still thinking in software-only terms.

5. Everyone Agrees: Trust Is the New Currency

Whether it was fraud prevention panels, open banking debates, or infrastructure discussions, the theme was consistent; without trust in the system, none of this works.

Consumers need to trust that their money is safe. Regulators need to trust that transactions are compliant. And institutions need to trust the person on the other end is who they claim to be.

Identity is the linchpin.

And as the conference made clear, software-only identity solutions create single points of failure. When your identity provider gets breached, your entire operation stops. Hardware-rooted identity is the only way forward.

The Bottom Line

Money20/20 confirmed what we've been building toward. The industry is ready for infrastructure that solves identity at the hardware level.

Our team left Vegas energized by the urgency we heard from financial institutions, remittance providers, and payment platforms. They're not looking for solutions in five years—they need them now.

Thanks to everyone who connected with us. For those we missed, let's talk. The conversation's just getting started.

Want to discuss how SIM-based identity infrastructure can address these challenges? Reach out to us.