Invited by AfricaONE and the Moroccan Central Bank, along with the African banking and fintech community, to open this year's African Banking Summit in Marrakesh.
Matthew GriffinFounder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
G7 · G20governments advised
850+keynotes
102countries
17codexes
Finance and banking sessions forShawbrook BankStandard Chartered BankThe Institute of Internal AuditorsWolters KluwerCrown Prince CourtUAE Financial Markets Association
Featured inBloombergThe Wall Street JournalThe Telegraph
AfricaONE and the Moroccan Central Bank, along with the African banking and fintech community, invited Matthew to give the opening keynote at the African Banking Summit in Marrakesh, where the focus was firmly on the future of financial services across the continent.
Africa is a clear example of a continent innovating and adopting new technologies at very different rates. On one hand, 66% of Africans in the Sub-Saharan Sahel have no internet access and struggle to take part in financial services at all, let alone its future. On the other, communities in crypto, DeFi and payments are quite literally leading the world.
"Agentic AI will help create new banking business models and concepts such as the fully autonomous, adaptive bank."Matthew Griffin, Marrakesh, February 2025
The keynote was not recorded on the day, so Matthew re-recorded it in his studio. He examined the impact that mobile financial solutions are having on individuals and businesses across the continent, many of them life changing.
He then turned to Bank 5.0 and the impact of AI on everything from the user experience to core banking infrastructure. Finally he explored Bank 6.0, which he had also shown in Saudi Arabia a few months earlier: the point when agentic AI helps create new banking business models, such as the fully autonomous, adaptive bank. Provided regulators allow it, this new breed of bank could selectively aggregate different DeFi services and present them to customers as the ultimate in personalised experiences and services.
311 Intelligence
What this means for your leadership team
Prepare for banks run by agents.
Matthew's Bank 6.0 is a bank where agentic AI shapes the business model itself. Banks should decide now which decisions they would let software make.
Compete on personalisation.
An adaptive bank that aggregates DeFi services can tailor products to each customer. Incumbents need the data and partnerships to match that.
Design for uneven adoption.
Some markets lack internet access while others lead in crypto and payments. Strategies need to serve both ends at once.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
Which banking decisions would we trust an AI agent to make?
What would a fully personalised version of our products look like?
How do we serve customers at both ends of digital adoption?
The trends and technologies behind this session
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
What does Bank 6.0 mean for financial institutions?
It means business models shaped by agentic AI, highly personalised products built from many services, and new competitors that operate with far fewer people.
How does Open Banking relate to this keynote?
Aggregating services for customers depends on data sharing. The 311 Starburst tracks Open Banking widening into open finance as countries require banks to share customer data.
How do Central Bank Digital Currencies fit in?
They are part of the future of money the keynote explored. The 311 Starburst expects central bank digital currencies to be mainstream around 2032.
How can 311 brief our leadership team on this?
Through a private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector, in person first.
Bring this to your leadership teamA private executive briefing or leadership workshop, tailored to your sector. In person first, anywhere in the world.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s session and 311 data.
If Matthew gave this session today
Could whole industries soon be disrupted in a day?
The Future of Exponential Disruption examines the forces accelerating global disruption, the same forces that could see autonomous, AI-driven banks reshape financial services.
