A two-day B2B festival in Oradea, Romania, connecting banks, fintechs, regulators, technology providers, and investors from Central and Eastern Europe and beyond to advance financial innovation, regulatory dialogue, and cross-border collaboration.
UNCHAIN Fintech Festival is an annual two-day B2B festival held at Oradea Fortress in western Romania, gathering financial institutions, regulators, fintech founders, technology providers, and investors from Central and Eastern Europe. The festival format combines conference programming with pitching competitions, startup showcases, and structured networking. Its fifth edition, held 17-18 June 2026, drew a record 1,000+ leaders from more than 43 countries, establishing it as one of the region's primary venues for banking, payments, and regulatory dialogue. The next edition's dates have not yet been announced by the organiser as of this verification.
UNCHAIN Fintech Festival addresses a gap in the European fintech calendar: a focused, regionally grounded gathering for decision-makers operating in Central and Eastern European markets. The 2026 edition drew representation from 43+ countries and 170 international speakers, bringing together parties whose daily work intersects around cross-border payments, embedded finance, banking transformation, and evolving EU regulatory frameworks including the Digital Euro, MiCA, and instant payments infrastructure. The festival setting, held within a historic fortress, is intended to support informal interaction alongside structured programming, including closed-circle high-level sessions and a Startup Tournament that gives early-stage companies structured access to investors and financial institutions. The 2026 edition also welcomed 250 organisations attending for the first time, according to post-event coverage, a signal of continued audience expansion into new institutions across the region.
170 international speakers took part across the 2026 programme in total, alongside central bank and regulatory representatives from Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Georgia among others, per post-event press coverage.
The 2026 edition's partner structure, confirmed through post-event reporting, was organised in tiers:
Whether this exact tier structure carries over to the next edition is not confirmed as of this verification; the organiser has not yet published 2027 partner materials.
Official media partners are not publicly disclosed as of verification. Attendees tracking regional fintech and CEE finance events elsewhere on the circuit also follow CEE VC Summit for regional private capital and Istanbul Blockchain Week for adjacent blockchain and digital-asset audiences.
Post-event coverage of the 2026 edition splits into distinct angles depending on outlet type, based on the confirmed examples below:
Journalist accreditation volume and total press-registration figures are not publicly disclosed as of verification.
Prior editions (first through fourth) are referenced by the "fifth edition" framing in 2026 press coverage but are not individually documented with dates, venues, or attendance figures in verified sources as of this pass.
| Attendees | 1,000+ (organiser and press figure, fifth edition) |
| Countries represented | 43+ (organiser and press figure) |
| International speakers | 170 |
| First-time organisations | 250 |
| Duration | 2 days |
| Format | Festival (B2B) |
| Venue | Oradea Fortress, Romania |
The festival is specifically structured around Central and Eastern European financial markets. Rather than a broad pan-European programme, it focuses on the regulatory, infrastructure, and cross-border challenges that are particular to CEE jurisdictions. The festival format, including closed-circle sessions and a Startup Tournament, is designed to facilitate deals and regulatory conversations rather than broadcast-style keynotes alone. Its fifth edition in 2026 drew central bank and regulatory representation from at least 18 countries, a scale of institutional participation that distinguishes it from purely commercial fintech trade shows.
Yes, to a degree. Speakers and sponsors include global institutions such as Visa, Worldline, Amazon Web Services, and TSYS, and the 2026 edition drew attendees from 43+ countries. However, the programme's primary framing is CEE-centric, which means participants without business interests or partnerships in the region may find the content less directly applicable. Organisations tracking blockchain and digital-asset activity adjacent to CEE fintech also compare the festival against Istanbul Blockchain Week.
Early-stage fintech companies can apply for a dedicated Startup pass at discounted rates. The Startup Tournament provides a structured pitching format with access to investors and senior bank executives; the 2026 cohort included Cryptoswift (Estonia), HackenProof (Ukraine), Processlab, and Okazio. Demo zones allow product demonstrations to a qualified audience. Specific criteria and application timelines for the next edition are not publicly disclosed as of verification.
Oradea Fortress, known in Romanian as Cetatea Oradea, is a historic fortification located in Oradea in the Bihor county of western Romania, close to the Hungarian border. The venue address is Piata Emanuil Gojdu 41, Oradea. The fortress has undergone restoration work in recent years and is used for cultural and public events. Its unconventional character relative to standard conference centres reflects the festival positioning of the event, and 2026 press coverage described the venue transitioning from a "Fintech Fortress" framing to a broader "Finance Fortress" identity as the programme expanded to cover insurance and central banking audiences alongside payments and banking. Specific capacity and technical infrastructure details for the venue are not publicly disclosed as of verification.
UNCHAIN MEDIA SRL is a Romanian event production agency founded in 2022 and headquartered in Brasov, Romania. The company employs between 2 and 10 people and specialises in fintech and financial technology conferences for Central and Eastern Europe. It produces the annual UNCHAIN Fintech Festival as its primary event; no other events are publicly listed in verified data. The festival is led by Alexandra Pollack, Founder and CEO, who described the 2026 edition's outcome directly: "This year's edition demonstrated that UNCHAIN Festival has become one of the most relevant dialogue platforms for the financial industry in Central and Eastern Europe. The fact that over a thousand leaders from more than 40 countries chose to attend the event in Oradea confirms the growing need for collaboration between financial institutions, authorities, fintech companies, and technology providers during a period of accelerated industry transformation."
Given its size and single-event focus, the organisation operates as a specialist producer for CEE fintech audiences rather than as a large multi-vertical events group. Its LinkedIn presence is maintained under the festival brand at the address listed in the Resources section.
UNCHAIN Fintech Festival occupies a specific and increasingly validated position on the European fintech calendar: a CEE-focused gathering that brings regulators, banks, and fintechs into the same room in a format that prioritises direct dialogue over broadcast programming. Its fifth edition's jump to 1,000-plus attendees and regulatory representation from 18-plus countries confirms genuine institutional demand in a region where EU financial regulation, from MiCA to the Digital Euro, is creating operational urgency for banks and fintechs alike. Organisations tracking the wider upcoming EMEA events calendar should note that the next edition's dates are not yet public.
Registration for the 2026 edition was open via the official ticketing page, with three pass categories. Confirmed 2026 pricing:
| Ticket type | Price (EUR) |
|---|---|
| Business Pass (early-bird) | 760 |
| Business Pass (standard) | 950 |
| VIP Pass (early-bird) | 1,950 |
| VIP Pass (standard) | 2,100 |
| Startup Pass | not publicly disclosed (application-based) |
The VIP pass includes additional perks, selected merchandise, and access to private invite-only events. The Startup pass is application-based, for early-stage fintech companies, with discounted rates available; the 2026 application deadline was 30 April 2026. Pricing for the next edition has not yet been published.
Registration URL: https://unchainfestival.com/tickets/
UNCHAIN Fintech Festival supports structured networking through a B2B matchmaking tool and advance meeting scheduling, allowing attendees to identify and book meetings with other participants before the event. An official festival app is available to support scheduling and communication on-site. Replay access to sessions is not available. The organiser publishes a newsletter on an ad-hoc basis for updates related to the festival and related topics.
The call for papers for the 2026 edition closed ahead of the June event. Submissions were invited for panel and roundtable proposals on fintech innovation topics. Whether a call for papers is open for the next edition, along with the submission URL and deadline, is not publicly disclosed as of verification. Prospective speakers and session facilitators are advised to check the official website for future submission details.
UNCHAIN Fintech Festival runs an industry awards programme alongside its Startup Tournament recognition. At the 2026 edition, mBank won Digital Bank of the Year, with Comarch, Paymentology, and Transfond also recognised among industry award categories; Cryptoswift (Estonia), HackenProof (Ukraine), Processlab, and Okazio were recognised among startup categories. Full award category definitions, eligibility criteria, and submission deadlines for future editions are not publicly disclosed as of verification.
Oradea is located in western Romania near the Hungarian border, approximately 150 kilometres from Cluj-Napoca and accessible by road and rail. Oradea International Airport (OMR) serves the city with connections to several European destinations. Attendees travelling from Western Europe may also route through Budapest or Cluj-Napoca airports. Specific travel guidance for the next edition is not publicly disclosed as of verification.
Yes, the official language of UNCHAIN Fintech Festival is English.
Startup passes are application-based and intended for early-stage fintech companies. Applications and eligibility criteria are managed through the official ticketing page; the 2026 edition's application deadline was 30 April 2026. Specific application requirements and timelines for the next edition are not publicly disclosed as of verification.
The organiser has not yet published dates for the next edition as of this verification (2026-07-04). The 2026 edition, the festival's fifth, ran 17-18 June 2026. Prospective attendees should monitor the official website directly, alongside the Events Index upcoming EMEA events calendar, for the announcement.
| Official website | https://unchainfestival.com/ |
| Register | https://unchainfestival.com/tickets/ |
| https://www.linkedin.com/company/unchain-festival/ | |
| Twitter / X | @UnchainF |
| Organiser website | https://unchain.media/ |
| Programme | not disclosed |
| CEE VC Summit (Events Index) | /events/cee-vc-summit.html |
| Istanbul Blockchain Week (Events Index) | /events/istanbul-blockchain-week.html |
| ECB Forum on Central Banking, Sintra (Events Index) | /events/ecb-forum-on-central-banking-sintra.html |
| Upcoming EMEA events (Events Index) | /upcoming.html |