Pineapple Payments
Pineapple Payments is a Pittsburgh-based payment processing technology company founded in 2016 that provides multi-channel payment acceptance for SMB merchants in both brick-and-mortar and online environments. It pursues an acquisition-led growth strategy, having completed six deals between 2017 and 2021, backed by PSG Equity.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersPittsburgh, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Pineapple Payments does
Pineapple Payments is a U.S.-based payment processing technology company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Pittsburgh. The firm provides payment processing services for both brick-and-mortar and online businesses, positioning itself as a multi-channel merchant acquirer serving SMB merchants across the United States. Its go-to-market combines direct merchant sales with what appears to be a partner/Sales Agent and ISO distribution model consistent with the broader card-present and card-not-present acquiring industry.
The company's strategic posture is defined by an aggressive acquisition-led roll-up strategy executed between 2017 and 2021. Backed by a $35 million growth equity investment from PSG Equity in September 2017, Pineapple Payments completed six acquisitions in approximately four years: Payline Data (October 2017), TRANSAX (August 2018), AthleteTrax (January 2019), CardChamp (June 2019), Paystri (December 2019), and 1st Payment Systems (January 2021). These deals extended its merchant portfolio, added vertical-specific processing capabilities (notably into sports/recreation via AthleteTrax), and broadened its geographic and product footprint.
The company is led by founders Brian Shanahan (CEO) and Jon Halpern (President), with a finance team including a Director of Financial Analysis. It operates with a 51-100 employee base. Note that a significant portion of the provided input data pertains to CardConnect (a Fiserv company) rather than Pineapple Payments directly; Pineapple Payments' own proprietary technology stack, product portfolio detail, and current revenue are not disclosed in the available sources.
Pineapple Payments firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pineapple Payments
- Website
- https://pineapplepayments.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Pineapple Payments is a Pittsburgh-based payment processing technology company founded in 2016 that provides multi-channel payment acceptance for SMB merchants in both brick-and-mortar and online environments. It pursues an acquisition-led growth strategy, having completed six deals between 2017 and 2021, backed by PSG Equity.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pineapple Payments industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus) (FSAMABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA), Merchant Acquiring & Processing Platforms (BPAMAFAB)
Keywords
Where Pineapple Payments is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Pittsburgh
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pineapple Payments business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Payment Processing Services: Transaction-based payment processing revenue from merchants accepting credit card payments in-person, online, and mobile environments. Revenue generated through interchange fees and processing rates with interchange optimization to reduce merchant costs.
- Partner Program Revenue: Revenue from Sales Agents and ISOs through the partner program, including residual payments based on merchant portfolio performance and transaction volumes.
- Software/ISV Integration Fees: Revenue from integrated payments for software providers and ISVs embedding payment functionality into existing platforms
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Standard merchant processing rates |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Pineapple Payments product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pineapple Payments provides payment processing technology for both brick-and-mortar and online businesses, enabling merchants to accept card payments across in-store, online, and mobile channels. The company sells through a partner program targeting Sales Agents, ISOs, and software providers/ISVs, offering patented payment solutions backed by the Fiserv payments platform, complemented by Clover POS hardware and the CoPilot partner portfolio management portal.
Product overview
CardConnect operates as a payment solutions partner program offering a unified platform with CardPointe as the core payment processing engine, complemented by the CardPointe Gateway for integration, CardPointe Terminal for hardware, CardPointe Mobile and Virtual Terminal for flexible acceptance channels, and CardPointe Integrated Payments for software providers. The product suite is extended through CoPilot for partner portfolio management, Clover POS for customizable point-of-sale needs, the Conectados program for Hispanic market outreach, and LaunchPointe for partner education. The entire ecosystem is backed by a Fiserv payments platform with CardConnect serving as a registered ISO of multiple banking institutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CardPointe
Quantifiable outcome
- Boarding new merchants with CoPilot takes minutes where other platforms takes days
Companies that use Pineapple Payments
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Pineapple Payments technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature6 records
Pineapple Payments partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- FiservcoreCardConnect is a Fiserv company backed by the Fiserv payments platform. CardConnect leverages Fiserv's infrastructure to deliver payment processing, CardPointe, and merchant services. The partnership enables CardConnect to offer patented solutions backed by Fiserv's global payments network.
- ClovercoreCardConnect offers exclusive Clover and CoPilot Integration enabling partners to more easily manage Clover merchant accounts. The integration provides access to customizable POS solutions with 300+ app library and flexible hardware options.
- Citizens Bank, N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO (Independent Sales Organization) of Citizens Bank, N.A., Providence, RI.
- KeyBank N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of KeyBank N.A., Cleveland, OH.
- Pathward N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of Pathward N.A., Sioux Falls, SD.
- PNC Bank, N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of PNC Bank, N.A., Pittsburgh, PA.
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Pineapple Payments competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Toast: Vertically integrated restaurant payments + POS platform. Comparable in the integrated-payments-plus-software model targeting SMB merchants, though concentrated in restaurants.
- Finix: Payment infrastructure provider enabling software platforms and ISOs to embed and own payment experiences. Comparable to Pineapple's ISV/integrated payments offering but infrastructure-layer focused.
- Lightspeed Commerce: Retail and restaurant POS with integrated payments. Comparable in the combined software-plus-payments value proposition for SMB merchants.
Direct peers
- Payment Depot: Interchange-plus SMB payment processor with a partner/ISO program. Directly comparable GTM and pricing approach to Pineapple Payments.
- Helcim: SMB-focused payment processor offering in-person, online, and integrated payments with transparent interchange-plus pricing. Competes head-to-head with Pineapple in the SMB merchant acquiring segment.
- Stax Payments: Subscription-based payment processor targeting SMBs and ISOs/agents with interchange-plus pricing. Directly comparable business model to Pineapple Payments in the SMB acquiring space.
Broad incumbents
- Fiserv (Clover/First Data): Owner of CardConnect and Clover; provides the underlying processing rails Pineapple resells. Competes broadly with Pineapple in SMB acquiring and POS.
- Stripe: Global payments platform with growing in-person/terminal offering and strong ISV/SaaS-integrated payments franchise. Competes with Pineapple on online, mobile, and embedded payments.
- Block (Square): Square's seller ecosystem provides in-person, online, and software-integrated payments plus Clover-competitive POS hardware. A much larger incumbent competing for the same SMB wallet.
- PayPal (Zettle/Braintree): Global payments incumbent offering in-person (Zettle) and online (Braintree/PayPal) processing. Competes with Pineapple across SMB card-present and integrated software channels.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pineapple Payments social profiles
Digital presencePineapple Payments financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pineapple Payments leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Pineapple Payments funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pineapple Payments M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A6 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pineapple Payments
What does Pineapple Payments do?
Pineapple Payments provides payment processing technology for both brick-and-mortar and online businesses, enabling merchants to accept card payments across in-store, online, and mobile channels. The company sells through a partner program targeting Sales Agents, ISOs, and software providers/ISVs, offering patented payment solutions backed by the Fiserv payments platform, complemented by Clover POS hardware and the CoPilot partner portfolio management portal.
When was Pineapple Payments founded?
Pineapple Payments was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Pineapple Payments based?
Pineapple Payments is headquartered in Pittsburgh, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pineapple Payments make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Payment Processing Services are the primary driver. The others are partner Program Revenue and software/ISV Integration Fees.
Who are Pineapple Payments's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Toast, Finix and Lightspeed Commerce. Direct peers are Payment Depot, Helcim and Stax Payments. Broad incumbents are Fiserv (Clover/First Data), Stripe, Block (Square) and PayPal (Zettle/Braintree).
Does Pineapple Payments have an API?
Yes. Developer-facing API for payment integration. The CardConnect developer portal provides integration support for software providers and ISVs to integrate credit card payment processing into their existing platforms. Developer documentation is at developer.cardpointe.com.
What industry is Pineapple Payments in?
Pineapple Payments's product category is Payment Processing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMABAC, Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus), with a secondary code of FSAMACAA, Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout).