Shaping the cash cycle of the future

Dr. Andrzej Nowak is Head of Open Innovation at SICPA. His current focus includes the future of currency – whether in physical or digital form, privacy-preserving digital trust, fintech, and innovation systems. He contributes to the Bretton Woods Committee working groups on the Future of Finance and on AI, and serves as an expert for Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation agency.

Earlier, Andrzej led an innovation lab at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. There, he defined and put in place new elements of CERN’s 10-year technological horizon, led several Open Source efforts and founded educational initiatives for young scientists and engineers.

Andrzej also held roles in management consulting in private banking, at the chip maker Intel, as a founder of a fintech company, and as an evaluator for the EU Research Executive Agency. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Barry is student of the evolution and economics of payments and cash, the fundamentals which drive cash behaviour and economics, and works to apply this to make a difference at the intersection of traditional payments, emerging payments and cash. He has been involved in the industry since 2002, for 15 years with Standard Bank as Head: Cash Services.

In 2018 he started Rohrs and Associates and advises Cash Ecosystem participants (Fintechs, Banks, Cash In Transit companies). Barry participates in industry think tanks and assist clients optimising payments and cash operations and developing new solutions at the intersection of cash and digital.

He maintains an extensive network in the cash industry across Africa and internationally.

Diederik Bruggink is Senior Director at the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) where he is responsible for all payments topics worldwide. In that role, he also advocates the associations’ positions on payments with policymakers, regulators, standardisation bodies, industry associations, and enabling a constant member dialogue on developments, with a particular focus on innovation. He is Chair of the Cash Efficiency Working Group of the European Payments Council (EPC) and he was co-chair of the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) working group on access to and acceptance of cash. He is also a Member of the Board of the European Payments Council and he is a member of the European Commission’s Payments Systems Market Expert Group and he was a member of the European Central Bank’s Market Advisory Group on the Digital Euro, to name a few.

Matthee le Cointre is strategist at Geldmaat, where he drives innovation across the cash value chain. He leads initiatives in payments strategy, exploring alternative transactions and digital currencies, and contributes to policy development around the digitale euro. His work includes strategic foresight on the future of cash, scenario planning, and shaping Geldmaat’s long-term positioning in the payments landscape.

Sina Grebrodt is a Senior Strategic Initiatives Expert and part of the Central Bank Solutions team at Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions, where she works at the intersection of currency innovation, central bank strategy, and sustainable cash management. With a focus on how cash supports financial inclusion and literacy, Sina explores the evolving role of physical currency. Her work bridges technology, policy, and social impact — highlighting how resilient, accessible cash systems remain essential for empowering individuals and fostering trust in the broader financial ecosystem.

Pascal Wicht is a strategic systems researcher and designer studying how societies adapt to technological, social and environmental transitions globally. A specialist in adoption and systemic change, his work examines the invisible architectures that shape trust, sovereignty and the circulation of value, with a particular focus on cash and its interactions with mobile money and fintech innovations, especially in the Global South.

In parallel to his international research and consulting work, he also teaches at the University of Lausanne and ECAL Art and Design School, where his courses connect strategic design, social sciences and future thinking to explore how infrastructure, economies and societies can evolve within planetary boundaries and strong social foundations.

Stefan Wikman is a senior European leader in the cash management and cash logistics industry, with nearly three decades of operational and executive experience. He is currently Head of Cash Operations at Bankomat AB, where he leads operations and delivery. Prior to this, Stefan spent more than 15 years in key leadership roles at Loomis, including Executive Director of Operations for Loomis UK, Regional Operations Director, Vice President of Operations in Sweden, and Head of Global Operations, driving performance, efficiency and transformation across multiple markets. Earlier in his career, he held management roles at Securitas Värde AB and served as CEO of Cash Flow Security AB. Stefan’s career reflects deep expertise in secure logistics, operational excellence, and leading large-scale, mission-critical service organizations across Europe.

Malte Krueger is Professor of Economics at the University of Applied Sciences in Aschaffenburg (Germany) and works as a consultant for PaySys Consultancy (Frankfurt). He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Cologne (Germany) and has worked as a research fellow for the Bank of Spain, the University of Western Ontario, the University of Durham, the University of Karlsruhe, the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt and the European Commission. Consulting projects have focused on payments – including internet payments - and the list of clients includes banks, processors, merchants, card schemes, payment service providers, government institutions and others, in Germany and other European countries. Academic research has focused on payments in general, two-sided markets, monetary economics and exchange rates. Malte has published widely in academic and industry journals.