With our AI, we create a unique debt collection experience for businesses and consumers.

Picture of CEO and Founder Stephan Stricker
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About us.

PAIR Finance positions itself as the technology leader in debt collection and has made it its mission to rethink debt collection. PAIR Finance has its roots in the digital marketing industry:

Intelligent marketing techniques based on digital data aim to sensitise potential customers to buy a product or service. The channel, the message and the timing are crucial components of success.

PAIR Finance takes a similar approach to the debt collection process. Consumers are sensitised to pay their outstanding debts.

The goal: We want to become vertical leader in our core industries in selected countries in Europe providing ONE international AI platform for debt collection for our clients.

Mission.

“We recover your open claims efficiently without putting a strain on your customer relationship.”

Vision.

“Our aim is to change the debt collection industry in Europe by making receivables management digital, efficient and customer-oriented on a sustainable basis.”

Milestones.

2016
Berlin View
PAIR Finance is founded in 2016. Our founder and CEO Stephan Stricker develops the idea and the concept for PAIR Finance together with the fintech company builder Finleap. In October 2016, the first business clients go live with PAIR Finance and our success story takes its course.
2017
Partner
On 16 November, PAIR Finance successfully closes a Series A financing round of €4.5 million with renowned investors such as Zalando, Finleap, IONIQ and EY Ventures. At this point, PAIR Finance already has +100 customers from various industries.
2021
Vienna View
On 15 October 2021, PAIR Finance starts its European expansion after the core market Germany also in Austria. Our Vienna office opens at Kohlmarkt.
2022
Pollen Street
On 11 October 2022, private equity investor Pollen Street acquires a majority stake in PAIR Finance. The partnership with Pollen Street marks an important milestone in PAIR Finance's young history, as it demonstrates confidence in our business and our strategic plans to make a lasting difference to the debt collection industry in Europe.
2023
Internationalisierung
In May, PAIR Finance expands into the Netherlands and hires industry expert Daniela Straube as Country Head. A few months later, PAIR Finance launches in Switzerland adding tech expert Marko Kusigerski as Country Head. Belgium and France follow. This means that in the third quarter, PAIR Finance is active in a total of six countries. Since December, the ONE Approach makes debt collection in Europe easier than ever for companies: from the contract to the reporting, everything is from one single source.
2024
Generative KI bei PAIR Finance
PAIR Finance is expanding into Spain and Sweden. Under the leadership of new Country Head Fredrik Green, the first office in Northern Europe will be established. Additionally, PAIR Finance is introducing its own generative AI technology, which answers incoming consumer inquiries, significantly increasing efficiency in customer service and sustainably improving the support experience. This makes PAIR Finance the first debt collection company capable of automating responses to consumer inquiries.

Awards.

Sifted 50: Germany Leaderboard

PAIR Finance has been included in the first Sifted 50: Germany Leaderboard, which recognises the 50 fastest-growing companies in Germany. This annual ranking showcases Europe's most dynamic companies.

Technology Fast 500 EMEA - 2023

We are delighted to announce that PAIR Finance was included in the 2023 Deloitte Technology FAST 500 EMEA ranking. With an average revenue growth rate of 404% over over a 3-year period, PAIR Finance ranks among the most innovative, fastest-growing tech companies across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

EY Scale-up Award 2024

The EY Scale-up Award recognises promising Austrian start-up and scale-up companies on a growth path. It's the second award for PAIR Finance Austria this year. Out of 250 applicants, we're thrilled that PAIR Finance Austria has been awarded a silver badge!

MOI Startup Award 2024

PAIR Finance Austria secured 2nd place at the MOI Startup Awards in Vienna. We are extremely proud, as this award is testament to exceptional innovation.

Deloitte Fast 50 - 2023

With a growth rate of 403.96 percent, PAIR Finance has made it to 29th place in the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 in 2023.

Fintech of the Year Award 2023

PAIR Finance wins in the category "Exit of the Year" at Payment & Banking's Fintech of the Year Award 2023. This honours the exit at the end of 2022, when private equity investor Pollen Street acquired a majority stake in PAIR Finance.

Deloitte Fast 50 - 2022

PAIR Finance is one of Germany's fastest growing technology companies in 2022 with a growth rate of 780 percent.

Tech Awards 2022

PAIR Finance wins in the FinTech category at the Tech Awards. The leading digital debt collection provider in Germany and Austria receives an award for the first time in 2022 at the Tech Awards Gala of WLOUNGE, one of the largest and most exclusive award ceremonies of the tech industry in Germany.

Top Startup Arbeitgeber 2022

In cooperation with Business Punk, Statista has identified the best start-ups as employers in Germany in 2022 in the study "Top Startup Employers". PAIR Finance secured the award for the second time in a row.

MPE Awards 2022

PAIR Finance has won the "Best Use of Data Analytics and AI" award at the "MPE Awards 2022". The MPE Awards are part of the Merchant Payments Ecosystem Conference, the largest payment conference for merchants in Europe.

Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award 2021

Vision, drive, innovation: PAIR Finance is awarded the Red Herring Top 100 Europe Award 2021.

MPE Awards 2021

PAIR Finance has received the Best Merchant Payment Initiative 2021 award, the only European award that recognises the best European merchant payment acceptance companies and their performance.

Diamond Star Digital Banking Award 2018

On 29 August, PAIR Finance is awarded the "Diamond Star Digital Banking Award" by Handelsblatt in the category Later Stage Fintech. The combination of machine learning and behavioural research is rated as highly innovative by the jury.

Deutscher Digital Award 2018

PAIR Finance is a winner in the bronze category of the German Digital Award (DDA) 2018. The German Digital Award honours innovative and creative projects that show the enormous potential of the digital world.

Banking IT-Innovation Award 2017

As a digital debt collector, PAIR Finance was one of the winners of the Banking IT Innovation Award 2017. The award honours companies and their technology-based innovations from various areas of the financial ecosystem.

Management team.

PAIR Finance CEO Stephan Stricker

Stephan Stricker is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of PAIR Finance, Germany's leading and multi-award winning fintech for debt collection. Previously, Stephan was involved in leading roles in the development of successful AdTech companies in San Francisco/USA and Sao Paulo/Brazil, among others.

Stephan
Stricker
Founder & CEO

Jan Gackenholz became CFO of PAIR Finance in 2024. He joined PAIR Finance from the software company Magix, where he was CFO & COO, responsible for the Finance department, as well as for the HR, Legal, IT and E-commerce areas. Previously, Jan Gackenholz was SVP Finance & Operations at SoundCloud and held operational roles at Paysafe Group and Roland Berger.

Jan
Gackenholz
CFO

Sven Schneider held various management positions at Riverty (formerly Arvato Financial Solutions) for 18 years. Before joining PAIR Finance, the experienced financial expert headed the European collection and receivables business in eleven countries. In his role as Managing Director, Sven Schneider led more than 1,500 employees in key areas such as Operations, Product Development, Data Science and the company's InnoLab.

Sven
Schneider
COO
PAIR Finance CTO

Dmitry Sharkov has been Chief Technology Officer at PAIR Finance since 2016. He graduated from the National Oles Honchar University in Dnipro with a master's thesis on neural networks. Dmitry started his career in software engineering before taking on various tech leadership positions in Germany.

Dmitry
Sharkov
CTO
PAIR Finance CSO Christian Zingel

Christian Zingel is Chief Sales Officer at PAIR Finance since 2020. Previously, he was Head of Sales at the leading German real estate online marketplace ImmobilienScout24 and held various senior positions in sales and digitalisation, including at Zalando, eBay and the US tech service provider Yext.

Christian
Zingel
CSO

Robert Witte joined the PAIR Finance team in 2016 and has been managing the area of international corporate development in the role of Director Corporate Development since 2022. His academic background in mechanical engineering led him to the University of Bayreuth and Arts et Métiers in Paris, followed by professional positions at Daimler in Stuttgart and Zurich Insurance in Frankfurt.

Robert
Witte
Director Corporate Development
Daniela Gaub

Daniela Gaub worked as a fully qualified lawyer at the BDIU from 2012 onwards and has headed the association's legal department since 2017. She not only has in-depth knowledge of the legal areas of receivables management, but is also familiar with a wide range of business and legal issues, including around digitalisation topics. After studying law at the University of Potsdam, Daniela Gaub obtained her 2nd state law examination at the Berlin Court of Appeal.

Daniela
Gaub
General Counsel & Head of Legal
Daniela Straube - Head of Benelux at PAIR Finance

Managing Director Benelux, Daniela Straube, is expanding the business in the Netherlands and Belgium since May 2023. Previously, she held senior positions at Riverty from 2007 to 2019, including Vice President Retail/ECommerce and Managing Director for the Benelux and France. She was also a board member of the Dutch collection association NVI and Managing Director Netherlands of the collection company Troy.

Daniela
Straube
Managing Director Benelux
Marko Kusigerski - Country Head Switzerland PAIR Finance

Managing Director Switzerland, Marko Kusigerski, has more than 15 years of experience in financial technology, business development and investment banking. He has developed and implemented successful growth strategies in B2B and B2C fintech start-ups in Europe and in listed companies and has worked for Banxware, Raisin and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, among others. At PAIR Finance's headquarters in the centre of Zurich, he is expanding the Swiss business.

Marko
Kusigerski
Managing Director Switzerland
Jennifer Isabella Schimanko

Managing Director Austria, Jennifer Isabella Schimanko, worked for 17 years in various positions prior to her role at PAIR Finance, most recently as Head of Sales Strategy at Allianz Austria. She was subsequently responsible for HR and strategy at Credi2 as Chief People and Strategy Officer. Jennifer graduated from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and received a Global Executive MBA from the WU Executive Academy, Vienna.

Jennifer Isabella
Schimanko
Managing Director Austria

Fredrik Green, Managing Director for Sweden, has held leadership roles in payments and e-commerce, including several years at Klarna, where he managed the Norwegian P&L. Before joining PAIR Finance, he spent over 8 years as CEO of 24Nettbutikk, a SaaS e-commerce platform. Now, from PAIR Finance's headquarters in central Stockholm, he is focused on expanding the Swedish business.

Fredrik
Green
Managing Director Sweden

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