Payments brands are no longer just about moving money. From Klarna’s celebrity-driven campaigns to Airwallex’s Formula 1 activations, the sector is investing heavily in sponsorships, cultural partnerships, and authentic storytelling.

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For decades, consumer brands dominated marketing spend. Today, the balance is shifting. Financial services and tech companies are becoming the fastest-growing spenders worldwide, with fintech, trading, and software brands increasing spend far ahead of traditional sectors.

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Honch covers these new emerging sectors in such detail – because their dominance is increasing and the agencies and sports properties who understand them will future-proof their new business pipelines for years to come.

📘 Our Latest Honch List: 75 Payments Players in Focus

Our latest Honch List profiles the CMOs and CEOs across 75 key payments brands, including:

• Klarna – redefining shopping with “smoooth” experiential campaigns
• Curve – building purpose-driven loyalty through values-based sponsorships
• Airwallex – showcasing innovation through F1 and community-driven activations
• Wise – appealing to global citizens with borderless finance campaigns
• Chime – connecting with culture through NBA partnerships
• Stripe – sponsoring its own community through developer-led events

This research gives you the decision-makers, brand activity, and sponsorship strategies behind the sector’s fastest-growing companies.

🏟️ Targeting the New Sectors

Payments are just one of the B2B Battle Grounds we’re profiling at Honch. Sponsorships and brand activations are no longer the domain of big consumer brands – fintech, SaaS, trading platforms, and data companies are now outspending their rivals tenfold.

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For years, traditional consumer brands dominated global ad spend, often accounting for nearly a third of budgets. Now the tide has turned. Financial services and tech are the fastest-growing advertisers, with fintech and software expected to grow marketing spend by more than 70% over the next five years – compared with low double-digit growth for traditional consumer sectors. Fintech and crypto brands have already tripled their digital ad spend in just two years and are on track to overtake alcohol and traditional banking in social, search and streaming.

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These new sectors are focused on smarter, more targeted campaigns that deliver measurable ROI and cultural cut-through.

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That’s why we track them so closely. Honch ensures you know every key player – who the decision-makers are, what they’re investing in, and where the next sponsorship budgets are moving. Recent coverage has included:

• 💳 Global FinTech Giants
• 📈 Trading Platforms
• 🗄️ International Data Hosting Giants
• 🪙 Crypto Trading
• 📊 Marketing Technology Players
• 🐾 Pet Food Delivery
• 🔐 VPN Providers
• 🚚 Global Logistics Companies
• 📱 eSim Companies

💡 Final Thought

Payments brands are no longer back-office utilities. They’re on the pitch, on the catwalk, and in the cultural spotlight.

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The winners will be those who humanise finance, connect emotionally, and show up where culture happens. If you think you can help these fast-growing companies, access Honch today and pitch your case to their most senior marketers.

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