Outlet profile

PYMNTS

U.S. fintech/payments industry trade

Owned byWhat's Next Media and Analytics, LLC, a private company founded and controlled by Karen Webster

FundingIndustry advertising, corporate sponsorships, sponsored research reports, and event sponsorships from payments and fintech companies; bootstrapped with no outside investment

On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

PYMNTS was founded in 2009 by Karen Webster, a payments-industry consultant and strategist who also runs Market Platform Dynamics, a fintech advisory firm. Webster built PYMNTS into one of the largest B2B media platforms covering the payments and digital-commerce ecosystem, with roughly 87 employees as of the mid-2020s. The outlet is owned through What's Next Media and Analytics, LLC, a private entity registered in California, and has remained bootstrapped — funded by advertising, sponsorships, and sponsored research from fintech and financial services companies rather than outside investors. Over time PYMNTS expanded beyond news into data and analytics, launching a research arm led by economist David S. Evans to produce proprietary consumer and market data reports, often co-sponsored by industry partners. Because its revenue depends on the payments industry, PYMNTS covers regulatory and policy developments — including the Trump administration's crypto-friendly posture and the federal shift to electronic disbursements — primarily through the lens of their commercial implications rather than political judgment. The outlet has not been associated with major editorial controversies; its main criticism from outside observers is that its sponsored-research model can blur the line between independent journalism and industry marketing. It functions more as a specialized trade publication than a general-interest news source.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-08-14; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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