Earnnest
Earnnest is a digital payment platform for real estate transactions, enabling fully digital earnest money deposits via ACH for agents, brokerages, title and escrow firms, lenders, homebuilders, and MLSs, and processing payments through embedded integrations with major transaction management platforms.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersGreenville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Earnnest does
Earnnest is a Greenville, South Carolina-based digital payment platform purpose-built for real estate transactions, founded in 2017 by Rick Altizer and Russell Smith. The company operates Earnnest, LLC with a wholly-owned subsidiary, Earnnest Escrow Services LLC, and self-describes as the largest digital earnest money service in the United States. Its core product, the Earnnest App, enables fully digital transfer of earnest money deposits — historically a check- or wire-based, fraud-prone process — via ACH payments governed by NACHA standards, with bank account verification handled through Plaid (covering 13,000+ banking institutions) and ACH processing through Dwolla.
The platform is delivered through mobile apps (iOS/Android), a web app, an admin dashboard for escrow-holding organizations, branded payment portals, and a growing set of embedded integrations with the dominant real estate transaction management and MLS systems: dotloop, Lone Wolf Transactions (zipForm Edition and TransactionDesk), MoxiWorks, Keller Williams Command, CoreLogic Matrix, Form Simplicity, CRMLS, FlexMLS, Paragon, and others. Earnnest Pro extends the same rails beyond earnest money to agent fees, commissions, rental payments, showing fees, and retainer fees, while an Escrow-as-a-Service rollout that began in February 2024 enables third-party businesses to offer escrow services on Earnnest infrastructure. Features such as irrevocable good funds, gated payments, built-in refunds, branded communications, and automated receipts address check fraud, wire fraud, chargeback exposure, and reconciliation friction across the transaction lifecycle.
Earnnest serves five primary customer segments: real estate agents and teams, brokerages, title and escrow companies, lenders, and homebuilders, with MLSs as an integration partner segment. The revenue model is transaction-based: free for agents and escrow holders, with a flat transaction fee paid by homebuyers/payers, and optional fee coverage by agents. Go-to-market combines a self-serve product-led motion (mobile and web apps, resource library, webinars) with enterprise sales to large brokerages, title firms, and MLSs, augmented by channel partnerships with transaction management platforms and CoreLogic's Real Estate Alliance Network. The company reports zero instances of fraud across digital transactions and holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification (third consecutive year) along with NACHA compliance.
Earnnest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Earnnest
- Legal name
- Earnnest, LLC
- Website
- https://earnnest.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Earnnest is a digital payment platform for real estate transactions, enabling fully digital earnest money deposits via ACH for agents, brokerages, title and escrow firms, lenders, homebuilders, and MLSs, and processing payments through embedded integrations with major transaction management platforms.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Earnnest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Real Estate Payments Software
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)
Keywords
Where Earnnest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Greenville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Earnnest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees (Homebuyer/Payer): Flat transaction fee charged to homebuyers/payers who make earnest money deposits. Agents and escrow holders use the platform free of charge. Fee structure enables agents to opt to cover processing fees.
- Earnest Money Processing: Digital earnest money deposit processing as primary revenue stream. Expanded to include all real estate payments including agent fees, commissions, rental payments, showing fees, and retainer fees through Earnnest Pro platform.
- Escrow Services: Escrow-as-a-service offering for organizations that hold escrow. Custom payment links, payment occasions, and branded experiences for escrow holders.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free for agents and escrow holders, flat fee for payers |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Earnnest Pro for comprehensive real estate payments |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels11 records
Earnnest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Earnnest provides a digital ACH-based payment platform that enables fully digital transfer of funds in real estate transactions, primarily earnest money deposits. The platform supports digital earnest money, agent fees, commissions, rental payments, and other real estate payments through mobile, web, and embedded integrations within transaction management platforms. Earnnest Pro extends the offering to all real estate payment types with branded portals and custom payment links.
Product overview
Earnnest is a digital payment platform for real estate transactions, founded in 2017. The platform operates as a product suite with two core products: Earnnest App (the largest digital earnest money service in the US for mobile-first earnest money deposits) and Earnnest Pro (a comprehensive platform for all real estate payments including rental fees, commissions, showing fees, and retainer fees). The suite includes multiple access points: Admin Dashboard (for organizations holding escrow), Web App (desktop-based for agents), Mobile App (for agents on the go), and Payment Portal (for homebuyers/payers). Additional modules include Branded Payment Portal, Custom Payment Links, Gated Payments, Built-In Refunds, Branded Emails, Processing Fee Coverage, and Escrow-as-a-Service. The platform uses ACH payments via the NACHA network and integrates with Plaid for bank connectivity and Dwolla for ACH processing.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Earnnest Pro: Platform for real estate agents offering branded payment portals and agent dashboard
Products and services
- Earnnest App The largest digital earnest money service in the United States, enabling fully digital ACH-based transfer of funds in real estate transactions. Used by agents and escrow holders to request, receive, and refund digital earnest money payments via mobile or web.
- Earnnest Pro Comprehensive platform for all real estate payments including rental fees, commissions, showing fees, and retainer fees. Built on the same security and convenience as the core earnest money product with custom payment links and matching invoices.
- Escrow-as-a-Service Service allowing organizations to offer escrow services to their clients with custom payment links, payment occasions, and branded experiences. Managed through Earnnest Escrow Services LLC.
Quantifiable outcome
- Zero instances of fraud across all digital payment transactions
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Earnnest
Customer profileNamed customers29 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Earnnest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
Feature8 records
Earnnest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, regional and minor.
- MoxiWorkscoreMoxiWorks partnership seamlessly integrates Earnnest's payment processing into the MoxiWorks platform. Howard Hanna Real Estate Services highlighted as key customer using the integration.
- CoreLogic (Real Estate Alliance Network)coreEarnnest joined CoreLogic Real Estate Alliance Network as exclusive provider of escrow management services. Integration with Matrix platform provides embedded payment capabilities.
- EXIT RealtymajorEarnnest became EXIT Realty's newest Premier Partner, providing digital payment solutions to EXIT Realty agents and clients.
- Global MLSregionalIntegration with Global MLS expanding secure digital transactions in the real estate industry for MLS members.
- TransactlyregionalStrategic partnership and integration with Transactly providing transaction services and tech-enabled transaction coordinators.
- CRMLSregionalStrategic collaboration with CRMLS (California Regional MLS) to streamline earnest money transactions for CRMLS members.
- dotloopcoreDotloop partnership enables secure and convenient digital earnest money deposits directly within dotloop's transaction management platform. Users can request and receive payments without leaving their workflow.
- Keller WilliamscoreKeller Williams partnership brings secure digital earnest money deposits directly inside Command platform. 215 KW Market Centers and 8,000 KW Agents actively using Earnnest. Gary Keller endorses the integration.
- Lone Wolf Transactions (zipForm Edition)coreTransactions (zipForm Edition) partnership enables secure earnest money deposits directly within the transaction management software. Expanded partnership in 2025 for full TransactionDesk integration.
- Form SimplicitycoreIntegration with Form Simplicity's secure online forms and transaction management platform for embedded earnest money payments.
- TransactionDeskcoreFull integration with TransactionDesk (Lone Wolf) powering digital earnest money across the full transaction suite.
- Matrix (CoreLogic)coreIntegration with Matrix real estate agent software powered by Cotality for embedded payment capabilities.
- FlexMLS (FBS)regionalIntegration with FlexMLS fully mobile MLS system powered by FBS for MLS members.
- Paragon (Black Knight)regionalIntegration with Paragon MLS platform with integrated tools for agents and brokers.
- CotalitycorePartnership with Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) for Matrix platform integration and Real Estate Alliance Network membership.
- PlaidcorePlaid provides one-time tokenized bank account access through their network of 13,000+ verified banking institutions. Uses AES-256 encryption and TLS for secure data transfer.
- Move ConciergeminorReferral partner network offering utility and home services coordination for homebuyers using Earnnest.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Earnnest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Plaid: Bank account verification and connectivity infrastructure provider that Earnnest relies on. Not a competitor but a critical enabler — Plaid's 13,000+ banking institution coverage directly supports Earnnest's verification and payment initiation flow.
- Dwolla: ACH payment processing infrastructure provider that powers Earnnest's fund movement. Not a competitor but a core dependency for Earnnest's transaction processing and settlement.
Broad incumbents
- Snapdocs: Digital closing platform for mortgages and real estate. Broader eClosing ecosystem that includes earnest money and closing fund flows, providing alternative infrastructure for the same transaction ecosystem Earnnest serves.
- MoxiWorks: Real estate platform serving brokerages with CRM, marketing, and transaction tools. Earnnest is embedded within MoxiWorks, but MoxiWorks could expand its own payment capabilities, positioning it as both partner and potential competitor.
- Qualia: Digital closing and title production platform. Competes in adjacent real estate fintech infrastructure space and could expand into earnest money and escrow payment flows that overlap with Earnnest's core product.
- dotloop: Major transaction management platform and Earnnest integration partner. While currently a distribution channel, dotloop could in theory expand into payments, making it a potential competitor as well as a partner.
- Lone Wolf Technologies: Real estate software suite provider (zipForm, TransactionDesk, BrokerWolf) and core Earnnest integration partner. Comparable in customer base and overlap with brokerage/title workflows, with payments increasingly adjacent to its software stack.
Emerging players
- CertifID: Wire fraud prevention and identity verification platform for real estate transactions. Competes on the security/verification layer of earnest money flows, overlapping with Earnnest's NACHA-compliant identity verification and fraud-prevention claims.
Direct peers
- Closinglock: Direct competitor providing digital earnest money deposits and wire fraud prevention for real estate transactions. Targets the same title, escrow, and agent segments with comparable fraud-prevention value proposition.
- Paymints.io: Direct competitor offering digital earnest money and real estate payment solutions. Competes head-to-head with Earnnest for the same agent, brokerage, and escrow holder customer base using similar ACH-based payment infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Earnnest social profiles
Digital presenceEarnnest compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Earnnest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Earnnest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Earnnest subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Earnnest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Earnnest M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Earnnest
What does Earnnest do?
Earnnest provides a digital ACH-based payment platform that enables fully digital transfer of funds in real estate transactions, primarily earnest money deposits. The platform supports digital earnest money, agent fees, commissions, rental payments, and other real estate payments through mobile, web, and embedded integrations within transaction management platforms. Earnnest Pro extends the offering to all real estate payment types with branded portals and custom payment links.
Is Earnnest a public or private company?
Earnnest is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Earnnest founded?
Earnnest was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Earnnest based?
Earnnest is headquartered in Greenville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Earnnest make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees (Homebuyer/Payer) is the primary driver. The others are earnest Money Processing and escrow Services.
Who are Earnnest's main competitors?
Others on record are Plaid and Dwolla. Broad incumbents are Snapdocs, MoxiWorks, Qualia, dotloop and Lone Wolf Technologies. CertifID is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Closinglock and Paymints.io.
Does Earnnest have an API?
No public API is recorded for Earnnest.
What industry is Earnnest in?
Earnnest's product category is Real Estate Payments Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGALAB, Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets), with a secondary code of BPAMAFAF, Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms. Its NAICS code is 52232 and its SIC code is 7372.