PayTech Vienna: a curated experience in the future of payments

Mirela Ciobanu, Lead Editor with The Paypers, attended PayTech in Vienna to explore how merchant infrastructure is being reimagined for a software-driven, AI-enabled era.

Who does not enjoy a fine dining experience? Not simply a good meal, but a carefully curated journey where every element has intention. The ingredients are selected with precision, the atmosphere is designed to engage the senses, and the service is seamless. Nothing is accidental. Everything contributes to a coherent whole.

That is the closest comparison I can find to describe PayTech, the event organised by Ingenico in early February in Vienna.

Hosted at the Hilton Vienna, PayTech brought together customers, collaborators, banks, merchants, technology partners and industry leaders from across the globe. The setting was structured yet fluid, divided into three main spaces: a conference area for keynotes and panels, an immersive Experience Centre for live demonstrations, and dedicated networking areas designed to encourage meaningful conversations.

But beyond the elegant venue and strong hospitality, the real value of the event lay in how it connected the dots between global payment trends, merchant realities, and Ingenico’s evolving strategy. If the event were a fine dining menu, the keynote on global forces shaping payments would be the opening course. It set the context.

The big picture: from traditional finance to the agentic economy

In his keynote, Panagiotis Kriaris, FinTech and Payments Leader, invited the audience to zoom out.

A decade ago, financial services operated under a relatively linear model. Banks offered products. Customers consumed them. Payments were infrastructure, often invisible and largely standardised. Then came Open Banking, APIs, platformisation and fintech acceleration. The separation of frontend and backend infrastructure allowed new entrants to build services on top of existing financial rails. Payments became embedded. Choice expanded. Ecosystems replaced silos.

Today, we are entering what Panagiotis described as the ‘agentic economy’.

Artificial intelligence is no longer just assisting with search or automation. AI systems are beginning to act as agents. They recommend, decide, and increasingly execute transactions. The shift is subtle but profound. Instead of consumers navigating options themselves, AI may soon intermediate decisions on their behalf.

This changes the competitive landscape.

The battle is no longer only about acquiring traffic or owning the checkout page. It is about being embedded in the decision layer. Whoever sits closest to the AI-driven decision point gains strategic advantage.

Panagiotis also outlined the multi-rail future of payments. Cards, account-to-account payments, Open Banking, stablecoins and potentially CBDCs will coexist. No single rail will eliminate the others. The real opportunity lies in orchestration. Managing complexity without exposing it to the end user.

This macro perspective framed the rest of the event. The question became clear: how do merchants and infrastructure providers adapt to this transformation?

What merchants actually need

While keynotes explored the structural evolution of payments, merchant representatives brought the discussion back to operational reality.

Across geographies, merchants face similar challenges. They want payment solutions that adapt to local market requirements while remaining scalable. They need systems that work even in areas with connectivity constraints. They want resilience against cybersecurity threats such as DDoS attacks. They require visibility into performance data, including acceptance rates and operational KPIs. Payment acceptance is no longer simply about processing transactions. It is about reliability, flexibility, and data intelligence.

Kaspar Situmorang, Head of Digital Innovation at PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, shared insights from the Indonesian market. Indonesia’s geographic complexity presents significant operational challenges. Managing millions of merchants across thousands of islands requires robust infrastructure.

Investment in Android-based payment devices has contributed to increased sales volumes and broader financial inclusion. In regions where connectivity may be inconsistent, infrastructure resilience becomes critical. The focus is not only on innovation, but on ensuring transactions function reliably around the clock.

His contribution highlighted an important theme: payments must work everywhere, every time. Innovation is meaningful only when supported by stability.

Large enterprises operating across multiple countries face another layer of complexity. Many use devices from different providers in different markets. What they increasingly seek is a unified cloud environment. A single platform where terminals, regardless of vendor, can run consistent applications or bespoke developments.

Reducing fragmentation while maintaining flexibility is one of the defining challenges of modern payment infrastructure.

Inside the Experience Centre: hardware meets software

If the keynote provided the theory, the Experience Centre demonstrated the execution.

Designed like a series of merchant stalls under blue ambient lighting, the space allowed guests to interact directly with Ingenico’s latest technology. The format was immersive and practical. Instead of static displays, visitors could test devices, simulate transactions and explore real-world use cases. Ingenico’s Android-based AXIUM terminals were central to the showcase. These devices reflect the broader industry shift from hardware-centric sales to software-driven ecosystems. Point-of-sale terminals are no longer standalone pieces of equipment. They are platforms.

Merchants are using Android-based devices not only to accept payments but to run loyalty programmes, customer surveys, inventory management applications and bespoke business tools directly at the checkout.

Ingenico’s Chief Product Officer, Erik Vlugt, presented the company’s AXIUM portfolio in an engaging keynote titled Building the Experience Portfolio. In a memorable moment, he quite literally pulled devices from his pockets to illustrate the breadth of the range. The AXIUM family now includes 11 devices designed to address different merchant environments, from mobility to countertop to unattended use cases. The message was clear. Form factors may differ, but they are unified by a common software and cloud architecture.

Among the demonstrations was a luxury-focused golden terminal concept, designed to meet aesthetic requirements in high-end retail environments. It was a reminder that payment devices are not only functional infrastructure but part of the customer experience.

The event also showcased emerging capabilities. Ingenico is enabling native stablecoin acceptance, including USDC and USDT, following partnerships that facilitate wallet-based transactions. Biometric innovations such as palm-vein authentication were also highlighted.

Behind the visible hardware lies the cloud layer. Ingenico’s cloud-based dashboards provide banks and acquirers with real-time visibility into device performance, transaction flows and merchant data. This data can be used to enhance predictive analytics, optimise acceptance rates and reduce churn.

The transition from selling devices to delivering an integrated SaaS ecosystem is well underway. SoftPOS, which transforms commercial Android devices into payment acceptance tools, is projected for significant growth through 2027. The broader shift across the industry is clear. Hardware remains essential, but value increasingly resides in software, services and orchestration.

Reliability as a strategic constant

Innovation was a dominant theme throughout PayTech. Yet one of the most grounded reflections came from Victor Urbaneja of Ingenico Managed Services.

Referencing a well-known question often attributed to Jeff Bezos, he suggested that while many focus on what will change in the next decade, an equally important question is what will not change.

His answer was simple: reliability.

Merchants will always expect payments to work. Consumers will always expect transactions to be processed securely and instantly. Banks will always demand stability. In a world of AI acceleration, multi-rail complexity and geopolitical uncertainty, reliability remains the constant. This perspective anchored the broader narrative of the event. The future of payments may be shaped by AI agents, digital currencies and platform ecosystems, but none of it functions without dependable infrastructure.

Connecting the courses

PayTech Vienna succeeded because it combined these layers into a coherent experience.

The macro vision of an agentic economy provided strategic context. Merchant representatives grounded the discussion in operational realities. The Experience Centre demonstrated tangible solutions. Informal conversations over coffee and during the evening gala dinner reinforced partnerships and opened new ones.

Guests even had the opportunity to explore Vienna’s city centre, visit St. Stephen’s Cathedral and enjoy traditional Austrian desserts such as Sachertorte and Apfelstrudel. These moments added cultural texture, but they also served a purpose. Business relationships are strengthened not only through presentations, but through shared experiences.

If I return to the dining metaphor, PayTech was not about a single impressive dish. It was about balance. Vision without execution can feel abstract. Technology without context can feel disconnected. Strategy without reliability lacks credibility.

Ingenico’s positioning throughout the event reflected an understanding of this balance. With more than 40 years in the market, the company emphasised durability and global reach. When a merchant invests in payment infrastructure, it is not a short-term purchase. It is a long-term operational commitment.

At the same time, Ingenico made clear that it is evolving. From devices to software. From software to data. From data to decisions. PayTech offered a glimpse into how this transition is unfolding, and how Ingenico intends to participate in it.

Like a fine dining experience, the event was carefully curated. Every element had its place. And when taken together, they formed a coherent narrative about the future of payments. A future where complexity increases, expectations rise, and reliability remains non-negotiable.

About author

Mirela Ciobanu is Lead Editor at The Paypers, bridging the knowledge gap between TradFi and DeFi. With a keen eye for industry trends, she is constantly on the lookout for the latest developments in crypto and blockchain.

Closely in contact with subject matter experts in the digital assets space, Mirela amplifies your voice through compelling interviews, webinars, reports, and articles. She aims to deliver informative and educational insights that help create the Web 3 ecosystem. To share more ideas and get inspired, connect with Mirela on LinkedIn or reach out via email at mirelac@thepaypers.com.