Kick off your conference day with some exercise on a 6-kilometre guided running circuit.
Meeting point: Main entrance to the hotel
Registration for the Prepaid-Run is required and is completed as part of the ticket booking process.
Prepaid Congress 2026 – The meeting place for the prepaid world
This is where the future of prepaid will be decided.
On 5 November 2026, those who bear responsibility, understand markets and shape the future will meet in Berlin. The Prepaid Congress 2026 will bring together decision-makers from retail, business, politics and regulation – for dialogue at eye level, clear positions and new impulses.
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Why you shouldn’t miss #PK2026
Experience the latest market developments, practical best practices and valuable insights first-hand – all in one compact day.
If you just watch, you miss the dialogue.
If you want to help shape the dialogue, you’re in the right place.
Secure your place at the Prepaid Congress 2026 now – and become part of the community that moves prepaid.
temporary Schedule #PK2026
Moderation:
Nadine Kreutzer MAIN STAGE & MARKETING STAGE
Christian Walz PAYMENT STAGE
| Maint entrance | 7:15-8:00 | Prepaid-Runsponsored by  | |
| Foyer | 8:00-8:45 | Morning Breakfastsponsored by  A culinary start to the conference day for all early-bird networkers. Meeting point: Foyer Registration for the Morning Breakfast is required and is completed as part of the ticket booking process. | |
| Foyer | 8:45-9:45 | Admission & Registration | |
| Main Stage | 9:45-10:00 | WelcomeWelcome to the 11th Prepaid Congress! A welcome from our presenter, Nadine Kreutzer, and Volker Patzak, Managing Director of the PVD | |
| Main Stage | 10:00-10:15 | Figures, data, factsWhere are we heading? E-money and other regulated prepaid products Current market data and innovative developments in Germany and Europe Prof Dr Malte Krüger, Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Law, Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences | |
| Main Stage | 10:15-10:30 | A means of payment or a flagship touchpoint?Gift cards and their influence on brand perception Evidence-based findings from the Multisense study, supported by the Markenverband Volker Patzak, Director of Business Development, epay | |
| Main Stage | 10:30-11:00 | Regulatory UpdatePSD3, PSR and AMLR Lots of abbreviations, lots of changes? Christian Walz, Rechtsanwalt and Partner at Annerton Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH | |
| Main Stage | 11:00-11:30 | On your marks, get set, AMLA!Priorities and expectations of the EU anti-money laundering supervisory authority What are the new European authority’s key priorities? Representative of the AMLA (to be confirmed) | |
| Foyer | 11:30-12:05 | coffee, smoothie & networkingsponsored by   | |
| Main Stage | 12:05-12:35 | Politic-TalkWhat the prepaid sector now needs from Berlin and Brussels A discussion on regulation, competitiveness and the political framework for further market development. Participants and moderator to be confirmed
| |
| Main Stage | 12:35-13:00 | KeynoteDiscounts, Coupons, Vouchers & More: What really triggers purchasing decisions in the mind and the shopping basket Prof. Dr. Michael Fretschner, Chair of Marketing & E-Commerce, NORDAKADEMIE Hochschule der Wirtschaft | |
| Foyer | 13:00-14:30 | Lunch BreakErweiterte Zeit für Networking und parallele DEEP-DIVE Sessions | |
| Event Space A | 13:15-14:00 | DEEP-DIVE Isponsored by  Global Brand. Local Gift Card Success: Understanding Consumer Behaviour, Market Dynamics, and Retail Growth Opportunities Across Regions Speaker folgt | |
| Event Space B | 13:15-14:00 | DEEP-DIVE II Title and speaker to follow | |
| Marketing Stage |  | 14:30-15:10 | The Best Practice Marketing Pitch with an audience voteThree companies present their innovative marketing use cases Participants to be confirmed Moderator: Nadine Kreutzer |
| Payment Stage |  | 14:30-15:10 | The Best Practice Paymnet Pitch with an audience voteThree companies present their innovative payment use cases Participants to be confirmed Moderator: Christian Walz |
| Foyer | 15:10-15:40 | coffee, smoothie & networkingsponsored by | |
| Marketing Stage | | 15:40-16:00 | Seen – Recognised – Not boughtWhat stops gift-givers from buying gift cards, and how a thoughtful gesture turns into engagement An exclusive insight into the latest Plentyco study Benjamin Bauer, Managing Director, Plentyco GmbH |
| Marketing Stage | 16:00-16:30 | Marketing-TalkGrowth category: Gifting! Innovations, trends and game-changers for increased sales at the POS Participants to be confirmed Moderator: Volker Patzak | |
| Marketing Stage | 16:30-17:00 | Award and closing ceremonyPresentation of the Best Practice Payment Audience Award. Conclusion of the stage programme by Nadine Kreutzer und Volker Patzak. | |
| Payment Stage | | 15:40-16:00 | Between the need for austerity and economic developmentMaintaining and developing non-cash benefits as a successful management tool Current debate on the tax treatment of workplace benefits Speaker to be confirmed |
| Payment Stage | 16:00-16:30 | Prepaid-Payment-TalkCaught between compliance, innovation and competition: What prepaid schemes will need to deliver in future Participants to be confirmed Moderator: Christian Walz | |
| Payment Stage | 16:30-17:00 | Award and closing ceremonyPresentation of the Best Practice Payment Audience Award. Conclusion of the stage programme by Christian Walz and Jörg Steinmetz, Chairman of the PVD Executive Board. | |
| Foyer | 17:00-18:00 | Champagne receptionA warm-up to the evening’s programme in the hotel foyer, | |
| Restaurant Fashion | 18:30-24:00 | Prepaid Community NightNetwork in a relaxed atmosphere at the FASHION restaurant, located within the Steigenberger Hotel, with views of the River Spree and the Chancellery. Registration for Community Night is required and is completed as part of the ticket booking process. |
Sponsors of #PK2026
Thank you for your support!
SILVER PARTNER
BRONZE PARTNER
EXHIBITORS
Speaker of #PK2026
Prof. Dr. Michael Fretschner
Prof. Dr Michael Fretschner is the programme director for the ‘Digital Marketing Management’ (M.Sc.) programme at NORDAKADEMIE University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg. In addition, as a managing partner at smart impact GmbH, he advises various well-known companies (including BOSCH, Antenne Deutschland, Ströer, WallDecaux, WPP, Jenoptik and GIK) on data-driven marketing and impact research, and acts as an advisor to several martech and fintech start-ups. Prior to his appointment as professor, he headed the Insight & Solutions department for Germany, Scandinavia and the Netherlands at News Corp’s Unruly Group as Vice President Northern Europe. He studied at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) and the University of Sydney, and obtained his PhD from LMU on the promotion of entrepreneurship in Germany. His work has been published in prestigious academic journals, including the *Journal of Small Business Management*, the *Journal of Media Economics*, the *International Journal on Media Management* and *Technology Analysis & Strategic Management*.
Prof. Dr. Michael Fretschner
NORDAKADEMIE
Nadine Kreutzer
Nadine Kreutzer is a journalist and presenter. She has been working in broadcasting for over 25 years and hosts congresses, conferences and dialogue events across Germany. As a qualified broadcast editor, she regularly covers events for federal ministries, companies, associations and cultural and scientific institutions. Her main areas of focus are the environment, climate, energy, the economy and research.
Nadine Kreutzer
Moderatorin / Journalistin
Prof. Malte Krüger
Malte Krüger has been a professor at Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences since 2011. He worked as a researcher at the Banco de España, the University of Western Ontario, the IPTS (Seville) and Durham University. This was followed by teaching posts in Karlsruhe and Frankfurt. For several years, he worked for PaySys Consultancy, a management consultancy specialising in card payments. Malte Krüger has published extensively in national and international journals on payment systems and other topics, and has contributed to several research projects on the subject of ‘payment systems’.
Prof. Malte Krüger
FH Aschaffenburg
Volker Patzak
As Business Development Director at epay/transct Elektronische Zahlungssysteme GmbH, Volker Patzak is responsible for expanding the prepaid product portfolio. The business administration graduate and customer loyalty expert has held various positions in the prepaid, payment and loyalty sector since 2000 and is a member of the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA).
At PVD, he holds the position of Managing Director, Deputy Spokesman of the Management Board and Head of the Marketing working group.
Volker Patzak
PVD
Jörg Steinmetz
Mr Jörg Steinmetz is the spokesman for the PVD. He has been working in the prepaid sector for more than 20 years and has been responsible for the finance and sales business areas in the respective companies in management positions for over 15 years. He has been Managing Director of M&M GmbH since the beginning of 2019.
Jörg Steinmetz
PVD
Christian Walz
Christian Walz is a founding partner of Annerton Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH. He advises national and international companies from the payment services, customer loyalty & vouchers, identity management and credit & finance sectors on all matters relating to payment services & payment services supervisory law, banking & banking supervisory law and money laundering law.
Christian Walz is general editor and author of the commentary on payment transaction law by Ellenberger/Findeisen/Nobbe, co-initiator and regular author of the blog ‘PAYMENT.TECHNOLOGY.LAW.’ (PayTechLaw) and regular host of the podcast format: ‘PayTechTalk’.
The Legal 500 recognised Christian Walz as a leading name in FinTech in its 2021 ranking for Germany.
Christian Walz
Annerton
Prepaid Community Night – the grand finale
… from 7.00 pm
Restaurant Fashion at Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt
Networking with style: Prepaid Community Night brings together industry professionals, decision-makers and innovators in a relaxed atmosphere.
Ticket prices
- Standard
ticket - 990 €
- Discounted ticket for
partners* - 890 €
- Discounted PVD
member-ticket - 400 €
- Free of charge
for politicians - 0 €
All prices plus 19% VAT
Not yet a PVD member? Then take advantage of our congress offer and have the participation fee credited to your annual PVD membership fee. This offer is only valid if you apply for membership within three months of the event.
*HDE, BVCNL, GCVA, IMA Europe, BVZI & PIF
Media Partners
Our partner hotel: Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt
It couldn’t be more central: our partner hotel is located right in Berlin’s government district – where political decisions, economic exchange and international perspectives converge. For participants of the Prepaid Congress, this location offers maximum efficiency and short distances.
The Bundeskanzleramt and the Reichstag, seat of the German Parliament, are in the immediate vicinity. Berlin Central Station is only a few steps away, making the hotel the ideal venue.
Room booking
The room allocation for the Prepaid Congress 2026 at the Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt has already been fully booked.
If you are interested in staying overnight, please contact the hotel directly to enquire about currently available rooms and rates.
Conditions
The booking is made subject to the hotel’s current terms and conditions. Information on payment, guarantee and cancellation terms will be provided at the time of booking.
Getting here and location
Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt
Ella-Trebe-Strasse 5
10557 Berlin
By train
Berlin Central Station (Washingtonplatz exit)
- Distance: 0.1 km
- Walking time: approx. 2 minutes
- Direct connection to S-Bahn, U-Bahn and long-distance rail services
From the airport
Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)
- Distance: approx. 30 km
- Direct connection from Berlin Central Station with RB14 and FEX (approx. every 15 minutes)
- Travel time: approx. 30 minutes
- Taxi (one way): approx. €65–75
By car
Underground car park directly at the hotel
- Access via Ilse-Schaeffer-Straße
- Prices: Hour: €9.00, each additional hour: €3.00, daily rate: €34.00
Stay up to date now
Don’t miss out on any news about the programme and registration: subscribe to the #PK2026 newsletter and stay informed!
See you on 5 November 2026 in Berlin!
Stay tuned!
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Organisation und Kontakt
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