Alona Shevtsova, CEO of Sends, was recognised with the Woman Finance Leader of the Year at FinTech Week Dubai, one of the leading industry events in the MENA region, focused on payments innovation, security, and digital financial infrastructure.
The award was presented during the FinTech Week Dubai held on 17 February 2026 at the Radisson Blu Dubai Deira Creek, following two days of panels and keynotes with technology providers, regulators, and financial institutions to explore the future of payments and financial security.
During the event, Alona Shevtsova joined the panel discussion “Tokenization, Digital Identity & Secure Authentication”, where she explained how tokenisation, identity frameworks, and adaptive authentication are reshaping digital payments and helping institutions balance security with customer experience.
“Digital identity is moving from a one-time check to a living profile,” said Alona Shevtsova. “The future of payments lies in building systems where security runs in the background while customers remain fully in control.”
Sends focuses on delivering secure, compliant payment solutions for businesses that operate across borders. The company has been steadily expanding its capabilities in areas such as AI‑enabled risk monitoring, tokenised payment flows, and digital identity‑aware onboarding, always within a regulated, audit‑ready environment.
The Woman Finance Leader of the Year award recognises senior female executives who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, strategic impact and advocacy for innovation in financial services.
This latest distinction follows previous international recognition of Alona Shevtsova’s leadership in digital payments and compliance at FiNext conference earlier this month, underscoring her role in shaping the next generation of secure, regulated fintech infrastructure.
About Sends
Sends is a UK-based financial services provider. It offers a comprehensive range of payment solutions as an FCA-authorised Electronic Money Institution (EMI). The company continues to expand its international footprint, underpinned by a commitment to secure, scalable, and compliance-driven fintech innovation.
About FinTech Week Dubai
Organised by The People Events, FinTech Week Dubai is the second edition of a rapidly expanding series that has already gained global momentum, following a successful inaugural event in Singapore and ahead of the upcoming Amsterdam edition. With the theme “Payments, Security and Beyond,” the event focuses on the most pressing and transformative topics shaping the financial technology landscape today — from real-time payments and digital wallets to cybersecurity, compliance, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and digital identity solutions.
Designed to serve as a global hub for fintech dialogue and development, FinTech Week Dubai 2026 brings together a powerful and diverse audience of 700+ senior executives, including C-level decision-makers, founders, investors, regulators, and technology specialists. The event unites stakeholders from financial institutions, technology providers, startups, and public sector bodies to explore how innovation is driving the future of financial services. Across multiple stages and interactive formats, the conference delivers a rich program of keynote sessions, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and strategic roundtables. These sessions are curated to provide deep insights into evolving trends such as embedded finance, cross-border payments, cybersecurity strategies, regulatory frameworks like AML and PSD3, and innovations in digital banking infrastructure.
