What PYMNTS.com does

PYMNTS.com is a privately held digital media and research company focused on the payments, fintech, banking, retail, and commerce ecosystem. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Boston, the company is operated by WHAT'S NEXT MEDIA AND ANALYTICS LLC under CEO Karen Webster and employs 101-250 staff. Its core platform is the PYMNTS.com website, which distributes daily news, analysis, and opinion supplemented by the PYMNTS Today newsletter, the "From the Block" podcast, PYMNTS TV video programming, and recurring virtual event series such as Summer School. The company serves financial institutions, payment networks, processors, fintechs, merchants, technology providers, and regulatory and compliance professionals.

The company's proprietary technology and intellectual property center on PYMNTS Intelligence, a research division that produces data-driven trackers (Checkout Paradox, Embedded Finance, Pay Later Ecosystem, Real-Time Payments, TechREG), trendscapes, the PYMNTS Data Lab, proprietary data studies based on thousands of consumer and business respondents, and the CE100 connected economy index. In October 2021, PYMNTS acquired Competition Policy International (CPI), a media company specializing in antitrust and competition policy whose newsletters, programming, and events reach over 30,000 antitrust experts globally. PYMNTS holds registered trademarks across PYMNTS, PYMNTS.com, Tracker, PYMNTS TV, TechREG, CE100, and "What's Next in Payments."

PYMNTS operates a hybrid revenue model combining freemium content with subscription-based premium access, sponsored content and advertising partnerships, sale of proprietary research reports via its Report Store, and events. The company has established ongoing research collaborations with at least 15 named partners across the payments and financial services value chain, including Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, FIS, Ingo Payments, Velera, Trulioo, The Clearing House, Galileo, and Green Dot, among others. No external institutional investors, private equity ownership, or parent holding company is identified in the available data, and the company is privately held with no public ticker.

Name

PYMNTS.com

Legal name

WHAT'S NEXT MEDIA AND ANALYTICS LLC

Website

https://pymnts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

PYMNTS.com is a digital media and research platform covering payments, fintech, and commerce for financial institutions, merchants, and technology providers, distributing proprietary research through its website, daily newsletter, podcast, TV channel, and virtual events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial News and Research Media

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Credit Bureaus (561450)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Budgeting & Cash-Flow Management (FSAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Personal Financial Management & Budgeting (PFM) (FSAGAAAH)

Keywords

• Payments news
• Fintech research
• Commerce intelligence
• Digital media reports
• Industry trackers

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Content Subscriptions: Free and subscription-based access to news, analysis and research content. Some premium content requires subscription.
2. Advertising and Sponsorships: Sponsored content and advertising partnerships with financial services companies, fintechs, and technology providers.
3. Research Reports: Producing and selling proprietary research studies, trackers, and data reports to industry participants.
4. Events: Virtual and in-person event series including Summer School and other industry conferences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PYMNTS.com is a digital media and research platform that publishes breaking news, analysis, and proprietary data-driven intelligence on payments, fintech, banking, retail, B2B, cryptocurrency, and AI. Its PYMNTS Intelligence division produces tracker reports, trendscapes, and proprietary survey-based studies, distributed through a freemium website model, premium subscriptions, newsletters, podcasts, video, and virtual events.

Product overview

PYMNTS.com is a media and intelligence platform offering a suite of products centered on payments, fintech, and commerce news and research. The core offering is the PYMNTS.com news website supplemented by PYMNTS Intelligence, which produces proprietary research including Trackers (such as Checkout Paradox, Embedded Finance, Pay Later Ecosystem, and Real-Time Payments Trackers), Data Lab studies, and the TechREG Tracker for regulatory coverage. The platform also includes PYMNTS TV for video content and a Report Store for purchasing research. In October 2021, PYMNTS acquired Competition Policy International (CPI), expanding its coverage of technology regulation and antitrust issues. The CE100 Index tracks connected economy companies. The overall architecture is a content and intelligence platform with multiple research products serving financial institutions, technology companies, and payment providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Competition Policy International (CPI): A media company specializing in antitrust and competition policy, acquired by PYMNTS in October 2021. CPI provides newsletters, programming, and in-person events for antitrust experts globally.

Products and services

• PYMNTS.com News Website

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Competition Policy International (CPI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 October 2021PYMNTS completed acquisition of Competition Policy International (CPI) on October 26, 2021. CPI was a media company specializing in antitrust and competition policy. The acquisition expanded PYMNTS' content coverage on technology regulation and digital economy issues. CPI assets included newsletters, programming, and in-person events reaching over 30,000 antitrust experts globally. CPI continues as a branded division under PYMNTS.
• MastercardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnership producing reports on SMB payments, cross-border commerce, and payment preferences. Multiple joint studies including research on SMB global sourcing and payment provider needs.
• VisacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing research collaboration producing joint reports on real-time payments, disbursements, healthcare payouts, and merchant checkout trends. Multiple tracker and study co-productions.
• PayPalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on checkout innovation, AI-driven commerce, and consumer payment preferences. Joint Checkout Paradox Tracker report series.
• FIScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration producing reports on smart checkout, consumer rewards, embedded offers, and issuer decisioning. Multiple joint tracker and study publications.
• WorkWhilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration on Labor Economy research including the Wage to Wallet Index series examining hourly worker financial behavior, schedule volatility, and income instability.
• Ingo PaymentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on instant payments, money mobility, and payout optimization. Multiple collaborative reports on real-time disbursements and payment friction.
• VeleracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership focused on credit union digital transformation, AI adoption, BNPL integration, and member engagement. Multiple Credit Union Tracker Series reports.
• TrulioocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on identity verification, KYC/KYB practices, bot detection, and digital identity challenges. Multiple collaborative reports on fraud prevention.
• The Clearing HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on real-time B2B payments, RTP network adoption, and instant payment infrastructure. Multiple joint tracker reports.
• GalileocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on embedded finance, debit infrastructure, and payment platform modernization. Joint Embedded Finance Tracker series.
• Elan Credit CardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on credit card apps, mobile experience, and cardholder behavior.
• Green DotcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on embedded finance adoption across middle market and small businesses. Multiple joint surveys of senior leaders.
• WEXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on embedded payments, fraud prevention, and AI in financial services.
• ThreddminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on AI-powered credit decisioning, real-time transaction intelligence, and payment platform modernization.
• SpreedlyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on payment orchestration, operational complexity, and token portability.
• SplititminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on AI-driven Pay Later recommendations and consumer attitudes toward AI financing tools.
• MarqetaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on travel checkout, embedded finance, and digital wallet adoption in travel sector.
• i2cminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on SMB credit access, middle market financial infrastructure, and flexible credit solutions.
• TrustlyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on Pay by Bank, digital wallets, and account-to-account payments.
• PaymentologyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on card infrastructure, AI agents in payments, and installment payment adoption.
• PlAIDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on onboarding, instant bank account verification, and fraud detection.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Banker: Long-established B2B media brand covering banking, payments, and fintech for industry executives. Closely comparable to PYMNTS in target audience, sponsored research model, and subscription/event monetization, though broader in banking coverage.
• Finextra: Specialist news, research, and community platform for wholesale financial technology and banking. Directly comparable to PYMNTS in niche fintech/payments focus, news-plus-research content mix, and sponsor-supported revenue model.
• Tearsheet: B2B media and research outlet focused on fintech, banking, and wealth management. Comparable to PYMNTS in serving fintech decision-makers, producing proprietary research, and operating a sponsor/subscription revenue model.
• PaymentsDive: Industry publication covering payments, fintech, and banking for payments professionals. Comparable to PYMNTS in vertical focus on payments, news-and-analysis format, and trade audience.
• Digital Transactions: Long-running media outlet dedicated to electronic payments, fintech, and commerce. Comparable to PYMNTS in payments-only editorial focus, B2B audience, and coverage of merchants, networks, and processors.
• CB Insights: Subscription-based fintech and tech market intelligence platform with proprietary data and research. Comparable to PYMNTS Intelligence in selling proprietary research to enterprise buyers, though broader across tech sectors and more data-software oriented.
• Banking Dive: B2B media publication covering banking and financial services for industry leaders. Comparable to PYMNTS in editorial format, audience (banking and payments executives), and newsletter-driven distribution.
• The Financial Brand: B2B media, research, and events brand focused on retail banking, payments, and fintech marketing/strategy. Comparable to PYMNTS in audience (banking and fintech executives), sponsor-supported model, and content-plus-events mix.

Broad incumbents

• Forrester Research: Large, established research and advisory firm producing syndicated research and consulting across industries including financial services. Comparable to PYMNTS Intelligence as a research subscription business serving enterprise decision-makers, though far broader in scope and scale.
• Gartner: Global research and advisory powerhouse covering IT, finance, and adjacent verticals. Comparable to PYMNTS in monetizing proprietary research through enterprise subscriptions and events, though much larger and more diversified.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pymnts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pymnts
• Facebookfacebook.com/pymnts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PYMNTS.com