What PBA Experts does

PBA Experts GmbH, operating under the trade name Payment & Banking, is a Munich-based independent media company founded in 2010 that covers fintech, payments, banking, digital assets, and artificial intelligence in finance for the German-speaking (DACH) market. Its core platform, paymentandbanking.com, is a Ghost CMS-based editorial site publishing news, analysis, columns, infographics, and podcasts for an audience of fintech founders, banking executives, investors, and consultants. The company supplements editorial with a recurring events business including the Payment Exchange, Banking Exchange, KI Exchange, and the jointly organized DigiFin conference with Bitkom, plus the annual Fintech des Jahres industry award.

The company's product portfolio functions as an integrated media, events, and thought-leadership ecosystem. Content is distributed across the website, a newsletter, two podcast series (AI in Finance and 3x3=10), and social channels on LinkedIn and Instagram, with audience scale cited at 600,000+ annual page views and 350,000+ cumulative podcast plays. Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed but the visible monetization surface includes sponsorship (a dedicated "Sponsoring" tab on the site), ticketed event attendance across the four flagship conferences, and editorial-adjacent products such as downloadable infographics. The company is privately held by six shareholders drawn from the German fintech industry, including founder and editorial lead Maik Klotz and publisher André M. Bajorat, with Nicole Nitsche serving as Managing Director since August 2021. There is no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent company involvement.

Name

PBA Experts

Legal name

PBA Experts GmbH

Website

https://paymentandbanking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PBA Experts GmbH operates Payment & Banking, an independent German-language media and events platform covering fintech, payments, banking, and AI in finance for DACH founders, executives, and investors via editorial, podcasts, conferences, and industry awards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Industry Media

akta.pro primary industry

Fintech & Payments Content & Compliance Screening (KYC/AML-related content, fraud signals) (BPAAALAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fintech & Payments Partner / ISO Referral Networks (FSAEAMAK)

Keywords

• Fintech media
• Banking industry news
• Payment industry events
• Financial podcasts
• Industry editorial

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

PBA Experts GmbH operates Payment & Banking (paymentandbanking.com), an independent German-language media platform covering fintech, payments, banking, digital assets, and AI in finance. The company produces editorial news and analysis, two podcasts (AI in Finance and 3x3=10), four industry conferences (Payment Exchange, Banking Exchange, KI Exchange, and the jointly-run DigiFin with Bitkom), and the annual Fintech des Jahres award, serving the DACH fintech and banking professional community.

Product overview

PBA Experts GmbH operates Payment & Banking (paymentandbanking.com), a unified media platform comprising a news and analysis website covering fintech, payments, and banking topics; two podcast shows (AI in Finance hosted by Sascha and Maik, and 3x3=10 hosted by Julian Prüfer and Marvin Vortkamp on financial cooperations); four flagship events (Payment Exchange, Banking Exchange, KI Exchange, and the jointly-organized DigiFin with Bitkom); and the annual 'Fintech des Jahres' award. The company also produces specialized content products such as the AI Compliance Infografik. The portfolio functions as an integrated media, events, and thought leadership ecosystem for the German-speaking fintech and banking community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AI in Finance: Podcast series covering AI in the financial sector, hosted by Sascha Dewald and Maik Klotz
• 3x3=10
• Banking Exchange
• Payment Exchange
• KI Exchange
• Fintech des Jahres
• DigiFin

Products and services

• Payment & Banking (paymentandbanking.com) One of Germany's leading independent media platforms for the finance and fintech industry, covering topics including payment, banking, fintech, digital assets, and AI in finance for industry professionals.
• AI in Finance Podcast

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BitkomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partnership with Bitkom to co-host DigiFin conference in Berlin, combining their respective expertise in digital finance and technology association representation

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IBS Intelligence: B2B research and media firm covering banking technology, fintech, and payments with news, analyst reports, and rankings. Comparable to PBA Experts' combination of editorial coverage, banking/payments verticals, and industry awards.
• Fintech Finance (ffnews): Independent fintech media brand combining a daily news site, video content, and the Fintech Awards / Fintech Talents events — a near-mirror of Payment & Banking's news-plus-events-plus-awards model.
• Finextra Research: Long-running independent B2B news and research outlet covering banking, payments, and fintech globally. Directly comparable in mission and product surface (news site, research, events, awards) to Payment & Banking, though with broader geographic scope.
• The Paypers: Global payments-industry media platform with news, white papers, webinars, and industry events. Closely comparable to Payment & Banking's payments content and event products such as Payment Exchange.
• Finanz-Szene.de: German-language online media outlet covering fintech, insurtech, and digital banking. Direct competitor in the same German-speaking market with overlapping audience of fintech founders, investors, and executives.
• Finance Magnates: Global news and events media brand covering online trading, payments, fintech, and digital assets. Comparable news-plus-events operating model serving fintech decision-makers.

Emerging players

• Bits & Pretzels: German-founded startup and tech event/media brand with growing fintech programming. Comparable as a DACH-rooted events-plus-media platform, though broader than just fintech.

Regional players

• Bankstil / Bankenverlag media titles: German banking-and-finance media titles (e.g., Bankmagazin, IT-Finanzmagazin) serving the same DACH banking professional audience as Payment & Banking, with overlapping coverage of digital banking and core IT.

Broad incumbents

• Sifted: Financial Times-backed European startup and fintech media with newsletters, events, and awards. Comparable as a B2B fintech news/events brand, though broader in scope (not just financial services) and English-language.
• Handelsblatt: Leading German business newspaper with extensive fintech, banking, and payments coverage plus flagship events. Not a specialist fintech outlet but a meaningful competitor for fintech professional attention and sponsorship in the DACH market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeopen.spotify.com/show/2VuLIA8GuKaXQhTv0CXE3H
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paymentandbanking
• Instagraminstagram.com/paymentandbanking
• Xx.com/paymentbanking

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 PBA Experts