In the financial services industry, there have been several mainstay trade shows where bankers and service providers come together to learn about new products and technologies: Finovate, the ABA Annual Conference for Community Bankers and BAI Retail Delivery are all examples, and there is another emerging.

Today, Money 20/20 is making a big splash in the Fintech space. In just four years, it has garnered a great deal of attention and is drawing a large C-level audience. Money 20/20 isn’t a traditional banking/Fintech trade show, but bills itself as “the largest global event focused on payments and financial services innovation for connected commerce at the intersection of mobile, retail, marketing services, data and technology.” The first show in 2012 attracted 2,300 attendees, and in 2015 it pulled in more than ten thousand.

If you attend

If you’ve heard the buzz and are thinking of attending Money 20/20, here’s what you need to know. The show represents all facets of the financial technology ecosystem. This includes start-ups, large/medium companies and mobile/retail/integrated commerce sectors. It maintains a large C-level audience including EVP, SVP, VP and other equivalents. At the 2015 event, one popular area of discussion was focused on best practices for payments/commerce, and 8 out of 10 speakers were CEOs.

This year, the event will be held at the Palazzo and Sands Convention Center at The Venetian Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on October 23-26.

 Speaking opportunities

Money 20/20 will have more than 500 speakers at the 2016 show which might sound like a lot, but these roles are in high demand. Three types of speaking opportunities are available:

• Track sessions, which allow speakers to present to 300-700 attendees in a 50 -minute moderated panel or a 15-25 minute stand-up format
• StartupPitch180 Presentation, which allows entrepreneurs 180 seconds to present to a live audience that includes VC judges to win one of two cash prizes
• General session keynotes, which allow executives to address a large audience from the main stage

In general, speaking engagements should be a component of your overall financial services marketing/PR plan. It’s important to know that the process of getting selected takes time, so you will need to plan ahead. Usually, deadlines to submit proposals are 8-12 months prior to the show and speakers are selected about 4-6 months prior. But if you are selected, it’s worth it. Not only do speaking opportunities provide additional exposure to your company’s products and services, you are also able to follow-up immediately with prospects.

Speaking proposals for Money 20/20 may be submitted on their website. Good luck!

This is just one snapshot of many important Fintech trade shows to consider this year. To help you in your market planning, William Mills Agency has compiled a comprehensive listing of financial services trade shows by sector in our annual Trade Show Directory. We hope you find our directory useful in planning your trade show schedule for 2016!