FinTech Milano Hub: Third Call for Proposals - Closing Meeting of the Support Activities

31 October 2025

On 30 October, Banca d'Italia hosted the closing meeting of the support activities for the 11 projects selected under the third Call for Proposals at the Milano Hub Innovation Centre. This edition focused on instant payments and, more broadly, on digital payments as drivers of innovation in banking, financial, and insurance services and products.

The event offered valuable opportunities for networking and discussion, and provided a platform to share insights gained throughout the support process. It brought to light cross-cutting themes and key challenges faced by operators wishing to launch innovative initiatives in the payments ecosystem.

The importance of adopting a systemic approach to developing payment solutions - spanning both traditional and innovative instruments, such as electronic money tokens (EMT) - emerged clearly during the six-month programme. Equally crucial was the need to foster broad collaboration among market participants to fully and effectively implement the open banking paradigm and, looking ahead, to advance towards open finance, an area that still faces practical and operational challenges.

The support activities also revealed how payments - now a driver of innovation - may in some cases require adjustments to various regulatory frameworks (e.g. tax regulations) to fully seize the opportunities offered by rapid technological change.

The support period at Milano Hub proved meaningful and productive: participants benefited from Banca d'Italia's multidisciplinary teams, while the Bank gained a front-row view of the development of new products and services. This privileged observatory enables the Bank to detect emerging trends and market directions at an early stage. The experience reaffirms the value of maintaining an open space for dialogue and for jointly shaping shared operational practices.