Payment management covers all processes related to accepting, booking, and managing the status of event ticket payments – from selecting payment methods and ensuring regulatory compliance (BaFin, KYC) to automatically syncing payment status with the ticketing system.
Regulated by: BaFin (in Germany), PSD2 (EU)
Typical methods: Credit card, PayPal, invoice, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Mandatory process: KYC for payment service providers
What is payment management for conferences?
Payment management is the interface between the ticketing system and the world of finance: it accepts payments, confirms their receipt, matches them to the corresponding tickets and feeds the data into accounting. Sounds simple – but operationally and from a regulatory standpoint it is one of the most demanding components of event management.
BaFin regulation and the KYC process
Anyone in Germany who accepts and forwards payments for third parties is potentially considered a payment service provider under the Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG) and is subject to supervision by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). In practice, this means that organizers may only collect ticket payments directly under strict conditions. The secure and legally compliant way to do this is via conference management platforms with integrated payment solutions. However, please note that these platforms—like Converia—must work with BaFin-regulated payment service providers.
All legally compliant service providers require a KYC (Know Your Customer) process before activation: the organizer's identity is verified, beneficial owners are disclosed, and the business model and expected transaction volumes are documented. The KYC process is legally required (Anti-Money Laundering Act) and must be completed before the first payment is accepted. Plan ahead, otherwise, your sales launch will be delayed (Converia has optimized this process for conference organizers, especially universities and other public institutions. Even so, please allow some time for it).
🚩 Red Flag: If your provider handles payment services without a KYC process, you should scrutinize them very carefully. If they cannot provide BaFin certification, you should terminate the contract, as your ticketing revenue is very likely not being handled securely.
Easy handling through integration
The greatest efficiency gain occurs when the payment status is automatically mirrored in the ticketing system:
- Successful payment → Ticket becomes valid immediately
- Pending payment (e.g., invoice) → Ticket remains in "unpaid" status. Organizers then decide whether access should still be granted.
- Cancellation → Refund is initiated, ticket becomes invalid
Instead of manual reconciliation between bank accounts, accounting, and ticket management, everything runs in a closed loop – saving hours each week and preventing booking errors.
Payment options at a glance
- Credit card (Visa, Mastercard): fastest method, immediate confirmation, higher fees
- SEPA transfer / Invoice: standard in the B2B sector, longer payment terms
- Apple Pay / Google Pay: mobile payment, high conversion on smartphones. Less common in the B2B sector. Currently used by approx. 6% of bookers.
The selection should match your target audience: scientific conferences with institutional payments require invoicing, while B2C events benefit from credit cards and wallet solutions.
Compliance beyond accounting
- PCI-DSS: For credit card acceptance – covered by certified service providers; never store card data yourself
- Tax compliance: Correct VAT reporting, reverse charge for B2B cross-border transactions
- Record-keeping obligation: GoBD-compliant archiving of all payment transactions. With Converia, everything is already documented correctly and transferred directly to accounting via the accounting interface.
- GDPR: Data minimization – payment data belongs to the service provider, not your own CRM
Payment management in Converia
Converia connects your ticketing system directly to BaFin-regulated payment providers. Payment statuses are automatically synced back to the ticket—once set up, everything runs without manual reconciliation. Includes multiple payment options, automated reminders, and full receipt matching.
Payments without the manual back-and-forth
With Converia, booking, payment, and confirmation happen in one seamless process—giving your accounting team a complete, transparent view of every transaction.
- Ticketing system – Ticketing & registration
- Event registration – Ticketing & registration
- Cancellation & rebooking – Ticketing & registration
Payment status automatically updated in the ticket—including BaFin-compliant processing via certified providers.