P19 Payment Festival: Future-Ready Payment Ecosystems as a Lever for Economic Strength

The P19 Payment Festival 2025 demonstrated how closely economic strength, trust in digital systems and innovation are interconnected. At Vienna’s Sofiensäle, leading industry representatives discussed the future of payments – and Europe’s role in shaping it.

Vienna, 28 November 2025 – The P19 Payment Festival once again brought together hundreds of decision-makers from business, finance, technology, mobility, tourism and politics at the Sofiensäle in Vienna – and made one thing clear: Payment is far more than infrastructure. It is a strategic driver of competitiveness, location attractiveness and societal participation. The interdisciplinary nature of the festival – spanning retail, mobility, regulation, AI, crypto and the digital euro – showed how closely economic development and trustworthy payment systems are interconnected today. “P19 stands for exchange at eye level – that is exactly where relevance emerges. Payment shapes the economy, everyday life and innovation. It determines how trustworthy systems are perceived and how well Europe is prepared for the future,” says Birgit Kraft-Kinz, P19 initiator and CEO of KRAFTKINZ.

Broad Topics – One Message: Future Readiness Requires Collaboration

It became clear early on how essential payment processes are to economic reality. Voices from the retail sector such as Nicole Reitlinger (IKEA), Robert Nagele (BILLA) and Iris Thalbauer (WKO Handel) highlighted how efficient, secure and customer-centric payment solutions directly contribute to competitiveness. In the mobility sector, speakers like Gudrun Senk (Wiener Linien) and Christian Pettauer (Westbahn) emphasized that integrated digital payment systems have become a prerequisite for modern, connected infrastructure. Tourism experts, including Susanne Kraus-Winkler (WKO) and Alexandra Geyer (Falkensteiner), also stressed how closely service quality, international attractiveness and trustworthy payment processes are intertwined.

A strong European perspective ran through the entire day. Josef Meichenitsch (OeNB) provided deep insights into the current developments around the digital euro and underscored the importance of European sovereignty and interoperable payment infrastructures.

Strengthening Competencies, Strengthening the Economy: Focus on Financial Literacy

The festival’s fishbowl discussions further highlighted the sector’s momentum. Whether cybersecurity, regulation, artificial intelligence, crypto or instant payments – all discussions reflected the same goal: creating future-ready payment systems, minimizing risks and using innovation responsibly.

Financial literacy emerged as another key priority. Minister of Education Christoph Wiederkehr emphasized that financial competence is essential for societal participation, economic stability and sustainable growth. His message was clear: a strong economy requires financially literate consumers – and financial education is the foundation.

A Platform Actively Shaping Europe’s Payment Future

Innovative momentum also came from the start-up and tech community. The Shoptimizer pitch by Elias Danninger demonstrated how digital optimization solutions are already reshaping retail and customer behaviour. Sebastian Ludwig (coeo) showcased in his keynote how artificial intelligence can transform receivables management while strengthening fairness, efficiency and customer experience – an example of how technology can build trust rather than erode it.

Sustainability was another undeniable future standard. Christiane Brunner (CEOs FOR FUTURE), Werner Weingraber (Madaster), Katharina Herzog (money:care) and Natassja Cernko (OeKB) illustrated that payment processes across the value chain play a key role in driving a sustainable economy – from CO₂-reduced operations to enhanced data transparency.

Birgit Kraft-Kinz concluded: “The festival shows, year after year, how important it is to bring together perspectives from different sectors. Only then can Europe strengthen its role in the payments landscape.”

On 27 January 2025, the P19 New Year Event 2026 and the P19 Payment Awards 2025 ceremony will take place in Vienna.