Fiserv on Collaboration Driving Global Payments Progress

At SIBOS Frankfurt 2025, Rossana Thomas of Fiserv reflected on decades of progress in the payments industry — and why collaboration remains the key constant amid rapid change.

Thomas’s relationship with Fiserv spans much of her career, from her early days working on ACH solutions at the U.S. Clearing House to her later involvement with Dovetail, a startup whose payments hub was eventually acquired by Fiserv. Today, she helps shape the evolution of Fiserv’s Enterprise Payments Platform, drawing on years of experience in both technology and infrastructure innovation.

Looking across the global payments landscape, Thomas sees no single leader — but rather a growing web of shared learning among jurisdictions. “When you look at instant payments,” she explained, “countries are learning from one another — understanding what worked, what didn’t, and applying those lessons.” Standardisation efforts such as ISO 20022 have accelerated this collaboration, allowing markets to exchange data more intelligently and consistently.

However, she warned that technical alignment alone isn’t enough. Regulatory harmonisation remains a major hurdle to achieving seamless cross-border payments. Each jurisdiction’s unique framework for consumer protection, privacy, and financial stability must be respected while still promoting global interoperability.

For Thomas, events like SIBOS embody the industry’s spirit of co-creation. “You have the largest banks, smaller institutions, vendors, and infrastructure providers all in one place,” she said. “That collaboration leads to better solutions and real progress.”

After attending SIBOS since 1991, Thomas has seen the industry reinvent itself many times — yet one thing hasn’t changed: the need for connection. “Every year, the problems evolve,” she noted, “but the answer always begins with collaboration.”