Kushki
Kushki is a Latin American omnichannel payments platform operating its own non-bank acquiring infrastructure across five LATAM countries, providing unified online, card-present, and disbursement services to high-transactionality enterprises, PSPs, and e-commerce merchants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersQuito, Ecuador
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Kushki does
Kushki is a Latin American omnichannel payments company founded in 2015 (per company history) in Quito, Ecuador, and incorporated under the legal entity Llapingacho LLC. It operates its own non-bank regional acquiring platform (Plataforma Adquiriente) across five LATAM countries — Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru — with locally registered entities such as Kushki Chile SpA (RUT 76.693.142-1) and Kushki Operadora S.A. The platform provides a unified API surface covering online payment acceptance (PayIns), in-person card-present acceptance (POS terminals, Kushki One, the mobile app, and the Card-Present Raw API), payment disbursements (PayOuts), and supporting products (Kajita hosted forms, Smartlinks, payment buttons, Kushki.js, and plugins for Shopify, VTEX, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop). It maintains PCI DSS compliance, 3DS 1.0/2.0 authentication, and a four-plus-layer security architecture.
The company's core technology is a cloud-native acquiring and gateway stack with multi-country local processing and fraud prevention. Its primary customers are high-transactionality enterprises and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) operating across LATAM; named enterprise clients include Cabify, Uber, Nubank, and Telefónica, with gaming & gambling operators and education listed as additional verticals. It also serves PSPs and ISOs through direct API access and a partnership with Akurateco that integrates Kushki's infrastructure into Akurateco's payment orchestration platform.
Kushki monetizes primarily through transaction-based fees (take rate) on payments processed across its platform, capturing the spread between wholesale interchange/merchant discount rates and merchant pricing as a regional acquirer. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with monthly billing cycles for enterprise and PSP relationships. Marketing and distribution blend a developer-led API self-serve motion (docs.kushki.com, GitHub, SDKs) with enterprise field sales, e-commerce plugin marketplaces, and PSP/channel partner distribution. As of the latest available data, Kushki has raised over $186M in total funding across Series B tranches, is valued at approximately $1.5B (Ecuador's first unicorn), and operates with 501–1,000 employees.
Kushki firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kushki
- Legal name
- Llapingacho LLC
- Website
- https://kushki.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Kushki is a Latin American omnichannel payments platform operating its own non-bank acquiring infrastructure across five LATAM countries, providing unified online, card-present, and disbursement services to high-transactionality enterprises, PSPs, and e-commerce merchants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kushki industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Crypto Merchant Acquirers & PSPs (Payment Service Providers) (FSADAIAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Crypto Payment Gateways & Checkout APIs (FSADAIAA), Cross-Border Payouts & Mass Disbursements (Pay-outs) (FSAMAIAJ), Marketplace & Platform Seller Payouts (FSAMAKAE)
Keywords
Where Kushki is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Quito
- HQ country
- Ecuador
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Kushki business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Payment Processing / Transaction Fees: Kushki charges transaction fees (take rate) on each payment processed through its platform, covering card payments (online and card-present), wire transfers, cash payments, and alternative payment methods. As a regional acquiring entity, it earns the spread between wholesale interchange/merchant discount rates and retail pricing to merchants.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Enterprise / High-Transaction Merchants and PSPs |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Kushki product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kushki provides a cloud-native, omnichannel digital payments platform for Latin America. It offers payment gateway services (PayIns) with multiple integration methods, a proprietary regional acquiring platform (Plataforma Adquiriente) covering five LATAM countries, card-present (POS) solutions including terminals and mobile app, and money disbursement services (PayOuts). The platform serves high-transaction businesses, payment service providers, and large enterprises with localized payment method coverage including cards, bank transfers, and cash.
Product overview
Kushki is a Latin American omnichannel payments company offering a unified platform with multiple integration options. The core product portfolio includes: PayIns (online payment API with multiple integration methods), the regional Acquiring Platform (unified acquiring infrastructure across LATAM), PayOuts (disbursement/payout services), and Card-Present solutions (POS terminals and mobile app). Sub-products include Kajita (hosted payment form), Smartlink (payment links), Payment Button, JavaScript library, and e-commerce plugins for Shopify, VTEX, and WooCommerce. The 2022 acquisition of Billpocket added card-present payment capabilities for Mexico. The platform serves high-transaction businesses and PSPs with multi-layer fraud prevention and 4+ security protocols.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- API de Pagos (PayIns) REST API enabling merchants to accept online payments through multiple integration methods including direct API, tokenized payments, and aggregator model. Supports card payments, bank transfers, and cash payments for online commerce.
- Kajita Customizable hosted payment form that merchants can embed with their logo and brand colors, providing a secure Kushki-branded checkout experience without bringing the merchant into PCI scope.
- Kushki.js / JavaScript Library Client-side JavaScript library enabling secure card payment collection with PCI DSS compliance, including Kushki.js Hosted Fields for front-end integration that keeps sensitive data off the merchant's server.
- Smartlink Payment link solution that lets merchants create and share customizable payment links via chat, email, or social media, accepting payments without any website integration.
- Botón de Pagos Payment button that redirects customers to a Kushki-hosted secure payment portal for card, cash, or transfer transactions without requiring merchant-side integration.
- Pagos Presenciales (Card-Present) In-person payment solutions including Card-Present Raw API, Kushki One POS terminal, and Kushki One mobile payment app for card-present transactions in physical retail locations.
- Kushki One POS Terminal POS terminal hardware for card-present payments with support for authentication, request encryption, and printing capabilities, sold to merchants in LATAM.
- Kushki One Payment App Mobile application for processing card-present payments using Kushki One terminals with support for refunds and PreAuth & Capture flows.
- Plugins E-commerce (Shopify, VTEX, WooCommerce, PrestaShop) Pre-built integrations for major e-commerce platforms including Shopify, VTEX, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop, enabling merchants to activate card, cash, and transfer payments without custom development.
- PayOuts / Dispersión de Pagos Payment disbursement service enabling businesses to distribute funds to suppliers, marketplace sellers, employees, or users via bank transfer, with 24/7 processing, real-time status via webhooks, and multi-country bank connectivity. Includes balance management and transaction status APIs.
- Plataforma Adquiriente Regional Kushki's proprietary omnichannel regional acquiring platform that consolidates card-present and online payments under a single LATAM infrastructure, optimizing acceptance rates and reducing fraud through a clean acquiring model.
- Billpocket Card-present payment solutions provider acquired by Kushki in 2022 to enhance Mexico operations, offering POS terminals and in-person payment processing to merchants.
Quantifiable outcome
- Kushki achieved unicorn status ($1.5B valuation) within 4 years of founding, validating market demand for its regional payment infrastructure.
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Kushki
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Kushki technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability2 records
Feature10 records
Kushki partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- AkuratecocoreAkurateco, a global payment orchestration software vendor, partnered with Kushki to integrate Kushki's payment infrastructure (local acquiring capabilities and alternative payment methods) into Akurateco's orchestration platform. The integration enables PSPs, merchants, and financial institutions to access the Latin American market through a single unified integration, optimizing payment performance and improving authorization rates across Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)supportingKushki holds an AWS partnership status, with documented AWS Lambda integration support. AWS provides the cloud infrastructure backbone for Kushki's payment platform operations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Kushki competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mercado Pago: Mercado Pago is the largest omnichannel payment platform in Latin America, offering acquiring, gateway, POS, and disbursement services. It is the most direct competitor to Kushki's full-stack LATAM payment model, though it benefits from Mercado Libre's marketplace distribution.
- dLocal: dLocal is a cross-border payments platform enabling global merchants to accept payments in emerging markets, including LATAM. It is comparable to Kushki's PSP-facing local-acquiring distribution model, with a strong overlap in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia.
- EBANX: EBANX is a LATAM-focused cross-border payment processor with local acquiring in Brazil and other regional markets. It targets global merchants and PSPs, directly competing with Kushki's PSP-channel distribution for cross-border volume.
- PayU: PayU is a global payment processor with deep LATAM presence, offering gateway, acquiring, and disbursements in markets including Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. It competes directly with Kushki's omnichannel offering for enterprise and PSP customers.
Regional players
- Clip: Clip is a Mexican card-present payment and POS provider, comparable to Kushki's Billpocket business unit. Both serve SMBs in Mexico with mobile POS terminals and compete for the same in-person merchant base.
- Conekta: Conekta is a Mexican online payment gateway and acquirer offering card processing, OXXO cash payments, and disbursements. It competes with Kushki for Mexican enterprise and PSP customers in the online payments space.
Broad incumbents
- PagSeguro: PagSeguro is a major Brazilian omnichannel payment platform offering POS, online gateway, and acquiring. While primarily Brazil-focused, its full-stack model is conceptually comparable to Kushki's LATAM-omnichannel positioning.
- Adyen: Adyen is a global unified payments platform offering acquiring, gateway, and POS services. It is comparable as a full-stack competitor for cross-border enterprise merchants that Kushki's PSP partners serve, and has been expanding into LATAM markets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Kushki social profiles
Digital presenceKushki compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Kushki financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kushki leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Kushki subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Kushki funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kushki M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kushki
What does Kushki do?
Kushki provides a cloud-native, omnichannel digital payments platform for Latin America. It offers payment gateway services (PayIns) with multiple integration methods, a proprietary regional acquiring platform (Plataforma Adquiriente) covering five LATAM countries, card-present (POS) solutions including terminals and mobile app, and money disbursement services (PayOuts). The platform serves high-transaction businesses, payment service providers, and large enterprises with localized payment method coverage including cards, bank transfers, and cash.
Is Kushki a public or private company?
Kushki is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Kushki founded?
Kushki was founded in 2015. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Kushki based?
Kushki is headquartered in Quito, Ecuador, in the Latin America region.
How does Kushki make money?
One revenue line is on record: payment Processing / Transaction Fees.
Who are Kushki's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mercado Pago, dLocal, EBANX and PayU. Regional players are Clip and Conekta. Broad incumbents are PagSeguro and Adyen.
Does Kushki have an API?
Yes. Kushki offers a public REST API for online payment processing. The API supports multiple payment methods including card payments (one-time, recurring, one-click), bank transfers, cash payments, and payment disbursements (payouts). Authentication uses Public-Merchant-Id and Private-Merchant-Id credentials. The API provides sandbox/uat environment for testing, webhook notifications for transaction updates, and supports both one-step and two-step payment flows. Code samples provided in JavaScript, Python, and PHP. The API documentation is available at api-docs.kushkipagos.com with separate reference documentation at docs.kushki.com. Developer documentation is at docs.kushki.com.
What industry is Kushki in?
Kushki's product category is Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAIAB, Crypto Merchant Acquirers & PSPs (Payment Service Providers), with a secondary code of FSADAIAA, Crypto Payment Gateways & Checkout APIs. Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 7370.