The Banking Scene

What The Banking Scene does

The Banking Scene is a privately held B2B media, events, and community platform serving the Benelux banking and financial services industry. Founded in 2016 by Rik Coeckelbergs and headquartered in Mechelen, Belgium, the company operates primarily as a content and convening business rather than a software product company. Its core offerings consist of Insights & Opinions (an editorial library of 100+ articles, interviews, and whitepapers covering banking technology, fintech, payments, fraud prevention, AI in banking, and open banking), Events & Meetups (the #TBSCONF flagship conferences in Brussels and Luxembourg, plus BBQ Nights and afterwork sessions), Membership (a two-tier program: 'I work in a bank' for banking professionals and 'I work with banks' for technology vendors and service providers), and Resources (whitepaper publications including 'AI and The Agentic Future of Banking'). Underlying infrastructure is conventional event-and-media technology: a WordPress/web platform at thebankingscene.com, an event app with QR badge scanning for contact sharing, HubSpot for marketing automation and web-interactive CTAs, plus YouTube and podcast distribution channels and LinkedIn groups ('The Banking Scene' and 'Innovation in Payments') for community engagement. The business model combines recurring corporate membership subscriptions from ~10 named enterprise members (SAS, SWIFT, Visa, FICO, NTT Data, Ping Identity, Finshape, Isabel, Expleo, MSG), annual conference ticket and sponsorship revenue from flagship events expected to draw 450+ senior financial services professionals, and newsletter-based lead generation. Customer concentration is on the vendor side (enterprise technology and payments vendors), while demand-side engagement comes from senior professionals at major Benelux banks (ING, KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis, Rabobank) and European banks such as Cecabank. The company has also executed flagship-tier content collaborations with Cognizant and Microsoft on Agentic AI in banking. The legal entity is recorded as The Banking Scene, Inc., with no disclosed institutional investment, parent company, or external shareholders.

Name

The Banking Scene

Legal name

The Banking Scene, Inc.

Website

https://thebankingscene.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Banking Scene is a privately held B2B media, events, and membership platform founded in 2016 that serves senior banking professionals, major Benelux banks, and financial technology vendors through flagship conferences (#TBSCONF), editorial content, white papers, and a corporate membership program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B Banking Media & Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Finance & Investment Conferences (MPAGAGAG)

Keywords

• Banking industry events
• Financial services media
• B2B conferences
• Corporate membership programs
• Banking thought leadership

Headquarters

HQ city

Mechelen

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Conference Tickets: Revenue from ticket sales for flagship events including #TBSCONF26BXL in Brussels and other regional conferences. Events target senior financial services professionals with premium pricing for full conference access.
2. Corporate Membership: Tiered membership programs for companies that work with banks. Provides visibility, thought leadership positioning, brand exposure to banking decision-makers, and access to networking opportunities. Members include technology vendors, fintechs, and professional services firms.
3. Event Sponsorships: Sponsorship packages for conference events allowing technology vendors and financial services companies to showcase solutions to senior banking audiences. Sponsors gain visibility through badge scanning and contact sharing at events.
4. Newsletter and Communications: Newsletter distribution with opt-out capability. Contact details shared with event participants, sponsors, and partners under consent-based framework.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Banking Scene is a B2B media and events company that operates a content, membership, and conference platform serving the Benelux banking industry. It produces articles, podcasts, videos, whitepapers, and research aimed at banking professionals, and convenes the sector through an annual flagship conference plus smaller meetups. Revenue is generated via conference tickets, corporate memberships, event sponsorships, and bespoke content/newsletter production for banking institutions and the vendors selling into them.

Product overview

The Banking Scene is a B2B media and events platform serving the Benelux banking and financial services industry. The company operates as a content and community platform rather than a software product company. Its core offerings consist of: Insights & Opinions (editorial content, interviews, and analysis on banking technology topics), Events & Meetups (flagship conferences including #TBSCONF series in Brussels and Luxembourg, plus BBQ nights and afterwork sessions), Membership (two-tier program serving both banking professionals and vendors/suppliers working with banks), and Resources (whitepapers and research publications). The company facilitates industry dialogue on topics including AI in banking, open banking, payments innovation, fraud prevention, and regulatory compliance through its events and content platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insights & Opinions

Quantifiable outcome

• 450+ senior financial services professionals expected at flagship conference
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• SAScoreTechnology or IntegrationCorporate member providing thought leadership content on Agentic AI, analytics, and banking innovation. SAS contributes expert perspectives including interview with Wesley Wuyts on Agentic AI governance in banking.
• SWIFTcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate member and regular content contributor covering cross-border payments, instant payments, and SWIFT strategy. Featured in interviews and opinions on payment infrastructure evolution.
• VisacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorporate member providing perspectives on payment innovations, tokenization, and digital payments. Featured in content on payment experiences and travel spending.
• NTT DataminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCorporate member providing consulting and technology integration perspectives for banking digital transformation.
• ExpleominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCorporate member contributing engineering and technology consulting perspectives for banking transformation.
• CognizantflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Think Tank session in Brussels on Agentic AI governance, scaling, and competitive advantage. Contributed to white paper research alongside Microsoft partnership.
• MicrosoftflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-convened Think Tank on Agentic AI in collaboration with Cognizant and Microsoft. Contributed to research on AI in banking and enterprise value creation.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Finextra: B2B financial services news, research, and community platform serving banks and fintechs globally. Highly comparable to The Banking Scene in target audience (banking decision-makers), content-led model, and community/events monetization.
• Bobsguide: B2B fintech media and events platform covering banking technology, payments, and core banking. Closely comparable in editorial-thought-leadership, vendor lead-generation focus, and event-driven audience model.
• Finovate: Long-running fintech conference and media brand focused on banking and financial services innovation. Comparable through its conference series, demo-day format for vendors, and banking-decision-maker audience.
• Efma: European financial services industry association hosting events, awards, and research for banks and insurers. Directly comparable as a pan-European banking community/events/research platform, though association-structured.
• Global Banking & Finance Review: Banking and finance media platform featuring editorial content, awards, and insights targeting global banking professionals. Comparable in content/thought-leadership positioning and bank-vendor audience.

Broad incumbents

• Money 20/20: Large-scale global fintech and payments event series owned by Ascential. Comparable as a banking/fintech conference business targeting similar vendor sponsors and bank attendees, but at materially larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• The Banker (Financial Times): Established banking industry publication and awards platform under the FT. Comparable in audience (senior banking executives) and content/recognition monetization, though much larger and broader in geographic scope.
• Sibos (SWIFT): Annual premier banking and payments conference organized by SWIFT. Comparable as a flagship banking-industry conference brand; notable that SWIFT is also a corporate member of The Banking Scene, indicating overlap in audience and sponsor base.

Emerging players

• Bank Innovation: B2B media and events brand focused on retail banking technology and digital transformation. Comparable in editorial coverage of AI, core banking, and fintech, and in serving US-centric bank-vendor communities.
• Bank Automation Summit: Conference and media brand focused on automation, AI, and digital transformation in banking. Comparable in topic focus (AI, core modernization), event-driven monetization, and senior-bank audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TheBankingScene?sub_confirmation=1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-banking-scene
• Xx.com/TheBankingScene

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The Banking Scene