Over three hundred leaders from the banking sector, fintech industry, and financial services gathered in Dubai to participate in the Banking Innovation and Technology Summit (BIT) in 2026. The main goal of the event is to examine how artificial intelligence, digital currencies, and new forms of capital are changing the field of financial services.
Opening the summit, Ted Kemp, Content Director at Khaleej Times, noted that BIT was created to bring together decision-makers regarding the future of finance and to create a platform where industry leaders can openly discuss changes occurring in the sector.
Kemp emphasized that the summit focuses on the theme of 'reimagining financial services in a new world order.' Discussions cover capital, currency, and the growing role of AI in stimulating financial growth.
The opening sessions will focus on capital and currency, including an analysis of where global capital is actually being directed through various markets and financial corridors. As Kemp stated, 'This morning we will start with capital and currency, tracking where global capital is actually choosing to land.'
There will also be an examination of how funds move through digital channels, such as mobile wallets, and how technology expands access to credit for people who were previously excluded from the system. Kemp added, 'We are tracking money as it moves through corridors and mobile wallets, and then into credit that people couldn't get before.'
These trends emerge against the backdrop of increasing pressure on global financial institutions, forcing them to rethink traditional models of banking and payments. Meanwhile, fintech platforms and digital financial services continue to change how consumers and businesses access and move money.
The summit, organized by Airpay, will then move on to studying the changing nature of currency, including technologies that are moving beyond experimentation and beginning to be used in real financial operations. Kemp reported that discussions will include the use of stablecoins for actual transactions, as well as asset tokenization.
He specified, 'We will talk about how stablecoins are used to settle real transactions. We are talking about the tokenization of assets that were previously just sitting idle.'
The topics under discussion reflect a broader shift in the financial services sector, where digital assets, blockchain-based infrastructure, and artificial intelligence are viewed not merely as emerging technologies, but as tools capable of changing the principles of money, assets, and financial services themselves.