Kilian Thalhammer
InvestorManaging Director, Global Head of Merchant Solutions - Fintech & Platform Sales at Deutsche Bank · Managing Director, Head of Merchant Solutions at Deutsche Bank at PICUS CAPITAL · Member of the Advisory Board - Europe at Mastercard Start Path
Munich, Germany
Writes $250K – $750K checks · typically $500K
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About
Kilian Thalhammer has spent over two decades in payments, fintech, e-commerce, and loyalty. After starting out at webmiles and spending more than a decade as Director Solutions at Swiss Post, he took product leadership roles at RatePay (Otto Group), PAYMILL (Rocket Internet), and iyzico before building global product management at Wirecard. Since 2020 he has been Managing Director and Head of Merchant Solutions at Deutsche Bank, overseeing the bank's global issuing, acceptance, embedded finance, and platform businesses. He is co-founder of the award-winning fintech blog and podcast Payment & Banking, sits on advisory and supervisory boards including Mastercard Europe and EURO Kartensysteme, and invests as a business angel and fund LP across fintech, loyalty, and SaaS startups.
Beyond investing
- Founded
- Co-founded the award-winning fintech blog and podcast Payment & Banking in 2016.
- Education
- Completed an Advanced Management Program in Strategy and Business Development at the University of St Gallen. Earned an MBA in Business Economics (General Management) at the University of Boston. Holds a Business Process Management MBA from Florida Gulf Coast University. Earned a Business Integration MBA at Julius-Maximilian University Würzburg. Holds a diploma in Civil Engineering Informatics from TU Munich.
- Boards
- Serves on the advisory board of Mastercard for Europe. Sits on the supervisory board of EURO Kartensysteme. Is a council member of Mastercard Strive, a philanthropic initiative supporting small businesses in the digital economy.
- Charities
- Mentors in the Innovation Accelerator of the United Nations World Food Programme since 2015.
- Communities
- Heads the development association at the House of Finance & Tech Berlin.
- Awards
- Won the comdirect finanzblog Award for Payment & Banking. Ranked ninth in it-daily.net's list of the ten most influential voices in the German tech scene.
- More
- Speaks German and English and gives keynotes in both languages on payments trends and strategy.
From Kilian's own website — common ground for a warm intro.
Experience
- Deutsche BankManaging Director, Global Head of Merchant Solutions - Fintech & Platform Salescurrent2020 — presentMunich
- MastercardMember of the Advisory Board - Europecurrent2021 — present
- EURO Kartensysteme GmbHMember Of The Supervisory Boardcurrent2022 — presentFrankfurt, Hesse, Germany
- Mastercard StriveCouncil Membercurrent2024 — presentNew York City Metropolitan Area
- House of Finance & Tech BerlinVorstand Förderverein House of Finance & Tech Berlincurrent2024 — presentBerlin, Germany
Skills & more
Languages English · French
From Kilian's professional profile.
Investments
Board seats
Stocard
Investor
42 CapBaufi24Consumer EdgeCreandumCyber DirectEmbatFilchaimFincompareFinCompare - Smarter Business FinanceForexfixGiesinger Biermanufaktur & Spezialitätenbraugesellschaft mbHIvyLoanLink24 MortgageLodgifyLoyalty PrimeMotive PartnersPeach PaymentsPenseoPicus CapitalPlanet A VenturesPossible VenturesQentnisSatoshi PaysavedroidStartup InsiderVantikYaxi
Sources: the investor's own website · curated public sources.
Podcasts & interviews
featuring Kilian ThalhammerExpedition150: Wir machen Marktplatz
Deutsche Bank
Writing
All posts ↗Recent posts cover European digital sovereignty via the Schwarz Group's STACKIT cloud, TikTok's plans to add P2P payments and become a financial super-app, and lessons from ECB payment statistics on cashless, contactless, and instant payments.
The launch of a new weekly deep-dive format, examining how the Schwarz Group's STACKIT cloud business succeeded at European data sovereignty by first serving Lidl and Kaufland's own demand.
TikTok plans P2P payments via direct message and aims to become a financial and super-app platform, facing regulatory hurdles especially in the EU.
Analysis of ECB payment statistics highlighting three trends: growing cashless payment, contactless becoming standard, and rising instant payments, and their implications for payment providers and banks.
Colleagues at Deutsche Bank
Network2
Investors connected to Kilian in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Kilian Thalhammer?
- Kilian Thalhammer has spent over two decades in payments, fintech, e-commerce, and loyalty. After starting out at webmiles and spending more than a decade as Director Solutions at Swiss Post, he took product leadership roles at RatePay (Otto Group), PAYMILL (Rocket Internet), and iyzico before building global product management at Wirecard. Since 2020 he has been Managing Director and Head of Merchant Solutions at Deutsche Bank, overseeing the bank's global issuing, acceptance, embedded finance, and platform businesses. He is co-founder of the award-winning fintech blog and podcast Payment & Banking, sits on advisory and supervisory boards including Mastercard Europe and EURO Kartensysteme, and invests as a business angel and fund LP across fintech, loyalty, and SaaS startups.
- Where does Kilian Thalhammer work?
- Kilian Thalhammer is Managing Director, Global Head of Merchant Solutions - Fintech & Platform Sales at Deutsche Bank.
- What check size does Kilian Thalhammer write?
- Kilian Thalhammer typically writes checks of $250K – $750K.
- What boards does Kilian Thalhammer sit on?
- Kilian Thalhammer holds tracked board seats at Stocard.
- What companies has Kilian Thalhammer invested in?
- Investments tracked here include 42 Cap, Baufi24, Consumer Edge, Creandum, Cyber Direct, Embat, Filchaim, Fincompare, FinCompare - Smarter Business Finance, Forexfix, Giesinger Biermanufaktur & Spezialitätenbraugesellschaft mbH, Ivy, and 15 more.
- Where did Kilian Thalhammer go to school?
- Kilian Thalhammer studied at University of St.Gallen (Advanced Management Program, Business/Commerce, General); The Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg (MBA, Business Integration).
- What awards has Kilian Thalhammer received?
- Won the comdirect finanzblog Award for Payment & Banking. Ranked ninth in it-daily.net's list of the ten most influential voices in the German tech scene.
- What has Kilian Thalhammer written?
- Kilian Thalhammer has 3 tracked posts on paymentandbanking.com, including "Was die Schwarz Gruppe über Souveränität weiß - und andere (vielleicht) noch nicht…", "TikToks große Payment–Pläne", "Was die Branche aus der EZB-Payment-Statistik lernen sollte".
- What podcasts and interviews feature Kilian Thalhammer?
- Tracked appearances include "Expedition150: Wir machen Marktplatz".
Same school
Also attended University of St.Gallen420
+ 414 more
Also attended The Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg35
+ 29 more
