TechCrunch Disrupt adds Smart Money Stage for 2026

Money is no longer limited to cash and bank accounts. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, a new Smart Money Stage will examine how fintech, payments and AI are reshaping financial services.

The stage will run from October 13–15 at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, with speakers from Circle, Robinhood, American Express, Plaid, Airwallex and other companies. Sessions will cover stablecoins, instant payments, AI agents making or assisting with financial decisions, and the infrastructure required to build regulated products for global markets.

Smart Money Stage sessions

The programming includes four sessions:

• The Future of Money Movement: Stablecoins, Instant Payments & What’s Next: Circle Chief Product & Technology Officer Nikhil Chandhok, TabaPay co-founder and CEO Rodney Robinson, and Emergence General Partner Lotti Siniscalco will discuss how stablecoins and instant-payment networks compare with traditional banking infrastructure. The session will also examine FedNow, private networks, regulatory changes and adoption challenges.

• Winning the Modern Financial Consumer: Robinhood Head of Product Abhishek Fatehpuria will discuss how the company expanded from a trading app into a platform spanning investing, banking, credit, crypto and prediction markets. Robinhood currently has a market capitalization of more than $90 billion.

• AI, Trust & Verification in Financial Services: Hannah Bozian, American Express' VP of Agentic Partnerships & Strategy; Pedro Sanzovo, Plaid’s Head of Fraud and Identity; and Victoria Zuo, a Partner at QED Investors, will explore agentic AI, human oversight, transparency, privacy, fraud prevention and identity verification.

• Building the Infrastructure for Global Commerce: Airwallex Founder and CEO Jack Zhang will outline how the company is building an AI-native financial operating system for cross-border payments, global financial management and embedded financial products. Airwallex is valued at $11 billion by its investors.

The stage is aimed at founders and operators working on payment rails, consumer finance, fraud and identity, and global financial infrastructure. Disrupt 2026 attendees will also receive access to networking, side events and the wider speaker lineup.

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