Intersect Cannes 2026 felt different from the moment I arrived.

Not louder. Not bigger. Just… sharper.

Maybe it was the setting — the South of France in spring, the Mediterranean light, the quiet confidence of Cannes.

Or maybe it was the feeling that the conversations happening on stage were no longer theoretical. Banking is changing fast, and everyone in the room knew it.

I once again had the pleasure of moderating Diebold Nixdorf’s Intersect Cannes 2026 — bringing together banking leaders, payment experts, ATM network operators, retailers, and innovators from across Europe, Africa, North and South America.

And what struck me most was this:
The old “physical versus digital” debate is over.

Nobody serious in banking still thinks the future is one or the other. The real conversation now is about orchestration — how to connect branches, ATMs, mobile, payments, cash, AI, regulation, customer experience, and operational resilience into one coherent ecosystem. That theme surfaced again and again throughout the event.

One moment we were talking about European payment sovereignty with STET CEO Régis Folbaum. The next, we were hearing how the Netherlands reimagined cash access through Geldmaat’s shared ATM model. Then Barclays joined the conversation around access to cash in the UK, while leaders from Slovenia, Colombia, Hungary, Italy, South Africa, and the United States showed how differently — and yet similarly — institutions around the world are approaching the same fundamental challenges.

And then there was Peter Hinssen.

His keynote, “The Never Normal,” landed perfectly in this context. Uncertainty is no longer a temporary phase. It’s the environment. The institutions that thrive won’t necessarily be the biggest or fastest — but the most adaptable.

I also loved seeing how often the conversation came back to human behavior.

Cash still matters — not just economically, but socially. Physical infrastructure still matters — not out of nostalgia, but because trust matters. AI matters — but only when it improves real customer experiences.

One of biggest advantages of an event like Intersect: in the span of a few hours, we moved from French payment systems to Colombian instant payments, from Scandinavian ATM operations to South African cash modernization and Hungarian branch innovation. The world felt both very large and very connected at the same time.

And somewhere between all those conversations, coffees, and keynote walk-ons, Cannes did what Cannes does best: it created atmosphere.

Not the red-carpet version. The human version.

Good conversations outside in the sun. People continuing debates long after the sessions ended. Dinner at Château de la Napoule overlooking the sea.

That’s the real value of events like this.

Not the slides. Not the buzzwords.

The conversations in between.

A huge thank-you to the entire Diebold Nixdorf team for the trust, the partnership, and the opportunity to be part of another Intersect event. And thank you to all the speakers and participants who brought openness, intelligence, humor, and perspective to the stage.

Cannes was a reminder that transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when people come together and ask better questions.