Maha El Dimachki

Chief Executive Officer, GFTN Solutions

Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)

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Maha is Chief Executive Officer, GFTN Solutions. GFTN (Global Finance and Technology Network) bridges policy, capital and technology to build resilient, efficient and inclusive ecosystems.

Prior to this Maha served as Centre Head, BIS Innovation Hub Singapore. The centre develops public goods in the technology space to support central banks in how they discharge their roles in a digital economy and improve the financial system using emerging technologies.

In the UK, Maha joined the Financial Conduct Authority to set up the first Payments Department and deliver Open Banking and PSD2. This followed by setting up Early and High Growth Oversight department, leading the FCA's response to the Kalifa review of Fintech. She served as Chief Payments Officer at Pay.UK on secondment from the FCA, responsible for running the payments operations of the UK’s payment operator.

Maha is the author of Fintech Regulation in Practice. A book that provides a clear, hands on guide to the practical considerations that fintechs, banks adopting fintech and other key players in the fintech ecosystem need to take into account when embedding regulation.

She serves as the independent reviewer of the Australian Regulatory Sandbox, appointed by the Australian Treasury.

Maha has a Degree in Commerce from Macquarie University and a Masters in Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Speaking at SFF 2026

10:45–11:15amWed 18 NovFestival StageHall 1, Singapore EXPOPremiumModerator
Policy Rewiring

Policymakers’ Dialogue: The Next Chapter in Financial Innovatio

Festival StageHall 1, Singapore EXPOPremiumModerator
About this session

Europe has taken important steps to shape its financial future, from advancing integrated payments and digital financial regulation to exploring tokenised markets and the next generation of financial infrastructure. As AI and new forms of digital money reshape the financial landscape, central banks must continue to navigate their responsibilities for monetary and financial stability while responding to the opportunities and risks that innovation presents.

This dialogue brings together European central bank leaders to reflect on what Europe’s experience so far reveals about navigating financial innovation, how different approaches have emerged across markets, and what the next phase will require. As technology advances at an accelerating pace, is policy keeping up - and should it move faster? The discussion will explore how central banks should approach their role in this environment, and whether trade-offs between innovation, stability and sovereignty are inevitable.
1:45–2:15pmWed 18 NovCatalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
Talent Rewiring

MUFG Young Innovators Showcase

Catalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
- Osamu AbeChief of Staff, APAC & Regional Chief Data OfficerMUFG Bank Ltd.
- Maha El DimachkiChief Executive Officer, GFTN SolutionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
About this session

Nine MUFG Young Innovators from Odisha step onto a global stage.

Made possible through MUFG's support, this session brings students from India's emerging FinTech ecosystem, who have undergone the Certificate in FinTech and InsurTech programme, before an international audience of industry leaders, investors and policymakers. The session features a live showcase from the cohort's winning team, presenting the work that earned them their place here.

A demonstration of what happens when talent is met with opportunity and a look at where the next generation of financial innovation is coming from.
2:15–2:20pmWed 18 NovCatalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpen
Talent Rewiring

Global FinTech Hackcelerator Opening

Catalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpen
- Maha El DimachkiChief Executive Officer, GFTN SolutionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)
- Yasminne ChengMediacorp PersonalityMediacorpModerator
About this session

The Global FinTech Hackcelerator (GFH) is SFF’s flagship innovation programme, organised by MAS and GFTN. Innovators from around the world answer real problem statements set by leading financial institutions, and up to 20 shortlisted teams are brought to Singapore to pitch live on stage. This opening starts an afternoon of three challenge finals on the Catalyst Stage, presented with GXS Bank, Julius Baer and Zurich Insurance. One winner will be crowned in each category and take home SGD 80,000 in cash.
2:45–3:15pmWed 18 NovPolicy StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
Policy Rewiring

Cross-Border Connectivity: How Regional Blocs are Building Their Own Financial Integration

Policy StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
About this session

Not every country can build global-scale financial infrastructure alone. Across the world, groups of countries are pooling resources, coordinating oversight, and interlinking systems regionally, choosing collective action over waiting for a single global standard or going it alone.

This panel brings together three different models of that regional playbook. The discussion works through what it takes to build financial cooperation at the bloc level: how these regional mechanisms actually got built, what kept smaller or newer members willing to join in, and where this collective model succeeds — or strains — compared to a single institution building alone. Attendees leave with a practical view of when banding together beats going it alone, and what it costs to make that work.
1:30–2:30pmThu 19 NovSide ProgrammesGFTN Lounge (Hall 4)Invite-Only
Others

Learn, Stack, Advance: Building the Next Generation of FinTech Talent

Side ProgrammesGFTN Lounge (Hall 4)Invite-Only
- Maha El DimachkiChief Executive Officer, GFTN SolutionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)
- Prof. Shonali KrishnaswamyDirector of Monash AI InstituteMonash University, Australia
About this session

Monash University and the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) announce a strategic partnership to build the talent that the digital economy needs.

Join us to learn more about this new credit-bearing, certificate pathway. Hear how the pathway works and how partners can get involved in growing the next generation of FinTech talent.
11:20am–12:05pmFri 20 NovFestival StageHall 1, Singapore EXPOPremiumModerator
Policy Rewiring

A Multi-Rail Future: What Should Come First?

Festival StageHall 1, Singapore EXPOPremiumModerator
About this session

We are moving towards a multi-rail, multi-money world, where different forms of money and payment systems coexist. Interoperability matters, but so do the integrity and resilience of the financial system. How can policymakers advance these priorities together, and are there trade-offs to be made?

This session examines what it will take to build a trusted multi-rail financial system, and whether interoperability, inclusion, consumer protection and resilience can advance together — or whether some priorities must come first. With financial systems developing at different speeds across markets, the discussion asks where policymakers should focus their efforts today to deliver the greatest benefits for users and businesses.
1:00–1:30pmFri 20 NovPolicy StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
Policy Rewiring

A Multi-Rail Future, Part II: Making Many Monies Work Together

Policy StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
- Tommaso Mancini-GriffoliHead of the Innovation HubBank for International Settlements
- Jonathan GreensteinDeputy Under Secretary for International AffairsU.S. Treasury
- Maha El DimachkiChief Executive Officer, GFTN SolutionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
About this session

The financial system is evolving towards a world where different forms of money coexist and move across increasingly interconnected networks. Fiat money and commercial bank deposits continue to underpin the global financial system, while new forms and representations of money — including tokenized deposits, payment stablecoins and central bank digital currencies — are introducing different characteristics, capabilities and ways of transacting. As traditional finance, with its established institutions, infrastructure and scale, intersects with a growing decentralised finance ecosystem, the challenge is to ensure these different forms of money and financial systems can work together.

Building on the morning’s discussion of what should come first, this panel turns to the practical realities of a multi-money, multi-rail world. How can different forms of money connect across traditional and decentralised financial systems? What infrastructure, standards and regulatory approaches are needed to enable interoperability across borders, while safeguarding monetary sovereignty, financial stability and trust?
2:30–3:30pmFri 20 NovCatalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
Technology Rewiring

C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase

Catalyst StageHall 3, Singapore EXPOOpenModerator
- Probe (Multiply AI)C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase
- Agent Reliability Profile (ML Commons)C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase
- Team Axiom (State Bank of Pakistan)C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase
- Rwanda Anti Scams Team (National Bank of Rwanda, Proto and FNA)C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase
- YU-SAM POWER (University College London)C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase
- Team Phoenix (Securities and Exchange Board of India)C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase
- Maha El DimachkiChief Executive Officer, GFTN SolutionsGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
- Bryan ZhangExecutive Chair, Financial Innovation for Impact; Executive Director, Cambridge Centre for Alternative FinanceUniversity of CambridgeModerator
About this session

AI agents are already executing workflows and making decisions at machine speed across financial systems and digital markets. Supervisors are being asked to oversee them with tools built for a slower world.

The Cambridge Digital Innovation and Regulation Initiative (C:\>DIR), hosted by Financial Innovation for Impact launched the Global 'Agentic Regulator' Hackathon in September this year.

The hackathon brought together multidisciplinary teams from the public and private sectors to work on that gap, building explainable, deployable prototypes across six priority areas:
- Agentic Financial and High Stakes AI Advice (supported by Moneybox)
- Agentic Payments, Commerce & their Oversight (supported by Ant International)
- Decentralised Market Infrastructure, Smart Contracts & AI Agents (supported by the Ethereum Foundation)
- AI-Driven Fraud and Scams
- Know Your Agent (KY-A), Digital Verification and Digital Public Infrastructure
- Market Manipulation, Agentic Herding & Stability

The winning teams now bring their work to the Catalyst Stage at the Singapore FinTech Festival. Come and see what the future of supervision could look like.

Speakers

Maha El Dimachki

Speaking at SFF 2026

Policymakers’ Dialogue: The Next Chapter in Financial Innovatio

MUFG Young Innovators Showcase

Global FinTech Hackcelerator Opening

Cross-Border Connectivity: How Regional Blocs are Building Their Own Financial Integration

Learn, Stack, Advance: Building the Next Generation of FinTech Talent

A Multi-Rail Future: What Should Come First?

A Multi-Rail Future, Part II: Making Many Monies Work Together

C:\>DIR Agentic Regulator Showcase

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