The Conference That Runs European Payments: MPE Is Back in Berlin

MPE 2026 Is Set to Be the Most Important Gathering in the Merchant Payments Calendar

Every industry has its moment — a point in the year when the people who actually shape the sector stop moving and start talking. For European merchant payments, that moment is MPE. And in 2026, it’s bigger, bolder, and more relevant than ever.

🎟️ ICODA readers save 10% on registration with code «icoda10»
📍 InterContinental Berlin | March 17–19, 2026 — Register here

Taking place at the InterContinental Berlin from March 17–19, the Merchant Payments Ecosystem conference is returning for what promises to be a landmark edition. As an ICODA media partner, we’ve taken a close look at what’s on offer — and if you work anywhere in the payments space, here’s why this event deserves your full attention.

Nearly Two Decades of Building the Industry’s Most Valuable Room

MPE didn’t become Europe’s #1 merchant payments conference by accident. Over nearly 20 years, it has earned that status by doing something deceptively simple: consistently putting the right people in the right room and giving them a real reason to talk.

The result is an event that feels less like a trade show and more like a working session for the industry as a whole. Deals get done. Partnerships form. Ideas that matter get pressure-tested by people who know what they’re talking about.

What’s on the Agenda: The Topics Shaping Payments in 2026

The MPE 2026 agenda is built around four interconnected pillars that reflect where the merchant payments industry actually is right now.

⚡ Technology & Product dives into the questions keeping CTOs and product leaders up at night. Artificial intelligence is reshaping payments operations faster than most organisations anticipated — from fraud detection to dynamic checkout optimisation to customer authentication. Sessions here will also cover orchestration strategies, tokenization, cybersecurity, and the practical implications of PSD3 and PCI compliance for merchants of all sizes.

💼 Commerce & Customer takes the merchant’s perspective front and centre. Digital wallets continue to fragment across markets, POS innovation is accelerating as physical and digital commerce converge, and embedded finance is moving from a buzzword into actual infrastructure. Instant payments and cross-border settlement are reshaping what customers expect — and what merchants need to deliver.

⚙️ Infrastructure & Rails tackles the underlying plumbing that makes modern payments possible (or impossible). Open banking and account-to-account (A2A) payments are maturing rapidly, particularly as PSD3 reshapes the regulatory landscape across Europe. CBDC developments and the rising legitimacy of stablecoins mean that the definition of “payment rail” is being rewritten in real time. B2B payments and cash lifecycle management round out a track that rarely gets its due attention at other conferences.

📊 Strategy & Context brings the wider world into the conversation. Geopolitics is no longer a background concern for payments professionals — sanctions regimes, cross-border restrictions, and market access questions are front-of-mind for anyone operating internationally. Regulatory strategy, investor dynamics, and long-term positioning complete a track designed to help senior leaders navigate the environment, not just the technology.

MPE 2026 at a Glance

The MPE Difference: 100% Business, No Filler

A lot of conferences say they’re focused on networking and business outcomes. MPE actually builds its format around delivering them. The event is explicitly designed around what it calls “100% business” — a commitment to making every session, every interaction, and every hour of the programme worth showing up for. That means:

• Curated 1:1 meetings matched by relevance and intent, so every conversation has a reason to happen
• Buyer-hosted meetings that create genuine commercial conversations between vendors and decision-makers
• Closed-door roundtables where senior leaders can speak candidly off the record
• Networking dinners that extend the dialogue beyond the conference floor
• Community peer roundtables designed for real knowledge exchange, not broadcasting

This isn’t incidental — it’s structural. The programme is shaped to move people from introduction to conversation to potential collaboration within the same three-day window.

New for 2026: MPE NXT

One of the most interesting additions to this year’s programme is MPE NXT — a dedicated initiative for startups, scaleups, and the next generation of payments professionals.

The payments industry has no shortage of established voices. What it sometimes lacks is a structured space for emerging companies and early-career leaders to access the kind of insight, mentorship, and peer community that the industry’s veterans take for granted. MPE NXT is designed to fill that gap.

The format is deliberately intimate: fireside chats, skill-building growth clinics, peer roundtables, and a mentoring programme that connects rising talent with experienced leaders. For a startup trying to understand how enterprise merchants actually make vendor decisions, or a scaleup looking to expand into new European markets, access to this kind of unfiltered experience is genuinely hard to put a price on.

Merchants at the Heart of Everything

What distinguishes MPE from most fintech and payments events is the deliberate, sustained focus on merchants as participants — not just as the implied end-users of someone else’s pitch. With 500+ global merchants in attendance, every major vertical is represented:

• Retail & eCommerce — from global platforms to regional omnichannel operators
• Travel & Hospitality — airlines, OTAs, hotel groups, and booking platforms
• Food & Beverage — QSR chains, delivery platforms, and restaurant groups
• Mobility — ride-hailing, EV charging, fleet management, and micro-mobility
• Gaming & Entertainment — iGaming operators, streaming platforms, and ticketing
• Financial Services — banks, neobanks, and embedded finance providers

This balance is what creates the conditions for genuine business conversations rather than polished sales presentations. When the merchant is in the room, everything becomes more grounded.

The MPE Awards: Recognising What Actually Matters

Running alongside the conference is the MPE Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner — one of the merchant payments industry’s most respected recognition programmes.

Unlike awards judged by opaque internal processes, the MPE Awards are reviewed by an independent jury of 23 global leaders across categories spanning products, services, and innovation. There’s also a People’s Choice Award, adding a democratic dimension to the recognition. The gala itself takes place in Berlin during the conference, giving winners genuine visibility in front of 1,600+ senior professionals.

For companies looking to build credibility and profile in the European payments market, the MPE Awards represent a meaningful signal. Community recognition from peers carries a different weight than self-promotion. More information on categories and nominations is available at merchantpaymentsecosystem.com/awards.

Why 2026 Is a Particularly Important Year to Be in the Room

There’s a case to be made that MPE 2026 comes at an unusually consequential moment for the industry.

PSD3 is moving from legislative text to operational reality. AI adoption in payments is accelerating beyond pilot programmes into production systems — with all the fraud, compliance, and operational complexity that entails. Stablecoins have moved from the fringes of the conversation into mainstream treasury and settlement discussions. A2A payments are beginning to challenge card rails in ways that would have seemed optimistic three years ago.

Each of these shifts is individually significant. Together, they represent a structural reorganisation of how payments work — who the winners are, what infrastructure is worth building on, and which business models survive. The conversations that will shape the industry’s next five years are being had right now, by the people who will be at MPE in March.

What Others Say About MPE

Andrew Cullen, Global Strategic Account Manager, IXOPAY:

“One of the best, if not the best, payments conferences globally. The venue is perfect and the organization is top-notch. Great speaker panels and unlimited networking opportunities. An absolute must for any serious merchants looking to expand their payment horizons!”

David Birch, International keynote speaker, author, advisor and investor:

“MPE cemented its place in my calendar of must-attend events! The quality of the presentations, the excellent networking and above all an atmosphere of learning and collaboration makes it pretty much unique in our industry.”

Register Now — and Save 10%

ICODA community members can register for MPE 2026 with an exclusive 10% discount using code icoda10, saving €375 on the ticket price. The discount is valid until March 17.

📍 InterContinental Berlin | March 17–19, 2026
🔗 merchantpaymentsecosystem.com/event-registration

If merchant payments is part of your world — whether you’re a merchant, an acquirer, a technology provider, an investor, or a regulator — this is the event to be at. The agenda is built around what the industry actually needs to discuss. The format is designed to generate results. And the room will be full of the people whose decisions will shape the next chapter of European payments.

We’ll see you in Berlin.