What Tidal Commerce does

Tidal Commerce is a U.S.-only payment processing and merchant services provider operating as a Registered ISO/MSP of Westamerica Bank and a subsidiary of Quantum ePay, formerly known as Premier Payments. The company delivers credit and debit card acceptance, a payment gateway, and the Waves POS system to small and mid-sized merchants across retail, restaurant, hospitality, nonprofit, and small-clinic verticals. Its product stack combines three core offerings (Merchant Account, Payment Gateway, Waves POS) with feature modules including Cash Discount, Pay at Table, PCI Compliance, and U.S.-based 24/7 technical support. The platform supports all major card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express) and integrates through eight distinct distribution channels spanning direct sales, ISO agents, banks, credit unions, trade associations, referral partners, and ISV embedded payments.

The business model is anchored on transaction-based interchange-plus pricing supplemented by monthly account, statement, regulatory, and compliance fees, plus POS hardware revenue. Customer acquisition combines inside sales, a free savings-analysis conversion tool, and a multi-channel partner program that pays residuals to referring institutions and independent agents. Marketing is content-driven through an educational blog covering payment processing, EMV, PCI, and POS topics. Headcount is reported at 11-50 employees, the company has processed two acquisitions (Impeccable Digital in 2016, Merchant Bancard Processing in 2021), and disclosed funding totals approximately $4.2M across a 2017 and 2019 round. Operations are confined to the United States by the company's stated terms of service.

Name

Tidal Commerce

Legal name

Tidal Commerce

Website

https://tidalcommerce.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tidal Commerce is a U.S.-only payment processor and ISO/MSP of Westamerica Bank that provides credit card acceptance, payment gateway, and Waves POS solutions to SMBs across retail, restaurant, hospitality, nonprofit, and small-clinic verticals, distributed through direct sales and an eight-channel partner program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Brook

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Services: Transaction-based fees charged to merchants for processing credit card and debit card payments. Revenue derived from percentage of transaction value plus per-transaction fees. Pricing includes interchange rates, processor fees, and card brand fees.
2. Merchant Account Services: Monthly account fees including statement fees, regulatory fees, and compliance fees for maintaining merchant accounts.
3. POS Hardware and Software: Waves POS point-of-sale system providing payment processing and business management features.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tidal Commerce is a payment processing and merchant services provider that enables businesses to accept credit card, debit card, and electronic payments. The company delivers three core products—Waves POS (point-of-sale system), Merchant Account, and Payment Gateway—supplemented by features such as Cash Discount programs, Pay at Table technology, PCI Compliance tools, and 24/7 U.S.-based technical support, distributed via direct sales and a multi-tier partner channel.

Product overview

Tidal Commerce offers a unified payment processing and merchant services platform comprising three core products: Waves POS (point of sale system), Merchant Account (enabling card acceptance), and Payment Gateway (for online transactions). These integrate with feature add-ons including Cash Discount, Pay at Table, PCI Compliance tools, and 24/7 technical support. The company also provides industry-specific solutions for retail, restaurants, hotel and hospitality, and nonprofit sectors, alongside partner programs for banks, credit unions, associations, ISO agents, and ISV integrated payments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Waves POS: The point of sale solution with features to grow your business.

Products and services

• Waves POS Proprietary point-of-sale solution with inventory management, appointment scheduling, payment processing, and real-time reporting for retail and restaurant merchants.
• Merchant Account Merchant account enabling businesses of all sizes to accept credit cards, debit cards, and electronic payments, with transparent interchange-plus pricing and no hidden fees.
• Payment Gateway Online payment processing gateway enabling eCommerce transactions for merchants processing card-not-present payments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Merchants save over 30% on credit card processing fees when switching to Tidal Commerce
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Premier PaymentsminorOthersFormerly known as Premier Payments. Testimonial from Pivot 10 Results references 'Premier Payments, now Tidal Commerce' indicating brand evolution through acquisition or rebranding.
• Card Brands (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with all major card brands for payment processing. Services support transactions across Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express networks with published interchange rates and card brand fees.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stax (formerly Fattmerchant): Stax offers subscription-based payment processing plus a payments platform with omnichannel capabilities to SMB and mid-market merchants, competing on transparency and pricing model.
• Payment Depot: Payment Depot provides wholesale/interchange-plus credit card processing specifically targeting SMBs, directly overlapping Tidal's cost-saving positioning for small merchants.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover offers integrated POS systems and merchant processing through bank and ISO partner channels, directly competing with Waves POS and Tidal's bank partner program model.
• Square (Block): Square provides integrated POS hardware/software and payment processing to SMBs across retail and restaurants, directly competing with Tidal's Waves POS plus processing bundle.
• Helcim: Helcim is a direct SMB payment processor offering interchange-plus transparent pricing, online sign-up, and POS tools, closely mirroring Tidal's value proposition of honest, lower-cost processing.
• National Processing: National Processing is an SMB-focused ISO/MSP offering credit card processing with rate-match guarantees, directly comparable to Tidal's ISO/MSP structure and free savings analysis motion.
• Flagship Merchant Services: Flagship Merchant Services is an SMB payment processor with transparent pricing and ISO/reseller programs, directly comparable to Tidal's processing and partner program offerings.
• Dharma Merchant Services: Dharma provides transparent interchange-plus processing to SMBs with a focus on nonprofits and small businesses, directly overlapping Tidal's nonprofit vertical and transparent pricing positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Stripe is a large incumbent payments platform serving businesses from SMBs to enterprise with developer-first APIs; while its core is online, its SMB and partner ambitions overlap with Tidal's payment gateway and ISV ambitions.
• PayPal: PayPal is a broad incumbent offering card processing (PayPal Zettle, PayPal Braintree) and POS hardware to SMBs, competing with Tidal across retail, online, and restaurant segments.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tidalcommerce
• Facebookfacebook.com/TidalCommerce
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tidal-commerce

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tidal Commerce