Stone

What Stone does

Stone Instituição de Pagamento S.A. is a Brazilian payment institution authorized by the Banco Central do Brasil as an acquirer (credenciadora) and electronic money issuer. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in São Paulo, Stone operates as the Brazilian operating subsidiary of StoneCo Ltd., a Cayman Islands holding company. The company serves more than 4.68 million entrepreneurs across 5,500+ cities in Brazil, positioning itself as an integrated "bank for entrepreneurs" (O Banco de Quem Empreende).

The product platform combines physical payment acceptance (Maquininha POS terminals across 10+ hardware models), mobile acceptance (TapStone NFC and Tap to Pay on iPhone), a free Conta PJ business bank account with Reserva Stone savings at 100% CDI, credit products (Capital de Giro working capital loans, Cartão Stone business credit card, FGI PEAC BNDES-backed financing, account credit limits, Pix e Boleto no Crédito), insurance products, and management tools (Minhas Finanças, Raio-X, Bate Ponto employee management). The developer-facing stack includes Connect Stone REST API, SDK Android, AutoTEF for self-service kiosks, Conciliação reconciliation API, and the Pagar.me online payment gateway subsidiary. Distribution operates through a hybrid model: digital self-serve via website, WhatsApp and phone (3004-9681); field sales agents for mid-market and franchises; a franchise network; and a Stone Partner Program with 2,500+ developers and tiered benefits (Official, Advanced, Master, Prime).

Revenue is generated through transaction fees on card/Pix payments (individualized take rates by merchant profile), interest income on credit products, commissions on insurance policies, hardware rentals (waivable based on sales volume), and online gateway fees from Pagar.me. Ton operates as a sub-brand targeting micro-entrepreneurs (MEI/autônomos) with simplified, lower-cost offerings. Strategic priorities evidenced by recent moves include portfolio refocus (divestiture of Linx to Totvs for R$3.05 billion in July 2025, exit of Dental Office stake to Capim in May 2026), expansion of MSME credit via $521.5 million in DFC and IDB Invest financing, and deepening the partner ecosystem. Brand-building investments include Luciano Huck ambassadorship and BBB25 sponsorship from 2025.

Name

Stone

Legal name

Stone Instituição de Pagamento S.A.

Website

https://stone.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Stone is a Brazilian payment institution authorized by the Banco Central do Brasil, serving more than 4.68 million entrepreneurs across 5,500+ cities with integrated POS card acceptance, PJ banking, credit, insurance, and API-driven software integrations under the Stone and Ton brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus) (FSAMABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

In-App / Online Checkout Wallets (FSAMAEAH), Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA), Merchant & Commercial Acquiring (POS/eCommerce acquiring for corporates) (FSABAIAH)

Keywords

• Payment processing
• Merchant acquiring
• POS terminals
• Online payments
• Business banking

Headquarters

HQ city

Jardim Paulista

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing / Transaction Fees: Stone charges merchants a take rate on every card transaction processed through its POS machines, online payment links, and Pix acceptance. Pricing is individualized based on merchant sales volume and business segment. The company also offers installment processing, with revenue shared across the card network, issuing bank, and acquirer.
2. PJ Account Services: Stone offers a free PJ (legal entity) account with optional paid services including boleto issuance (R$1.99 per boleto), and fee-based features for financial management. This creates a recurring relationship with merchants as their primary business banking relationship.
3. Credit Products (Capital de Giro, Account Limit, Credit Card): Stone provides credit lines including working capital loans (Capital de Giro), account credit limits, and business credit cards. Interest income on these credit products represents a growing revenue stream as Stone deepens its lending activity.
4. Insurance Products: Stone offers business insurance (store insurance), life insurance, and card protection insurance, earning commissions on policy sales as an intermediary.
5. Machine Rental / Hardware: Merchants receive payment machines with rental fees that may be waived based on sales volume. Stone also provides POS terminals with varying hardware specifications (Positivo L4, L3, Tectoy T8, S920, D210N, Q92, A8, MP35P, V240M, Sunmi P2).
6. Sales Anticipation (Antecipação): Stone allows merchants to receive future installment payments in advance, charging a fee/discount rate for early receipt of receivables.
7. Partner Program / Pagar.me: Pagar.me, a subsidiary, provides online payment gateway services (online transactions, recurring billing, split payments, wallet management) to e-commerce merchants, with transaction and subscription revenue flowing to StoneCo.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Stone is a Brazilian payment acquirer and fintech that sells card payment acceptance hardware (POS terminals known as 'Maquininha'), mobile tap-to-pay acceptance (TapStone, Tap to Pay on iPhone), Pix and boleto acceptance, a free PJ business bank account, credit products (working capital, business credit card, BNDES-backed FGI PEAC), insurance, and developer APIs (Connect Stone, SDK Android, AutoTEF, Pagar.me, Conciliação) for embedded payment integration. The offering is targeted at Brazilian entrepreneurs and MSMEs from individual MEI freelancers to multi-branch franchise networks, with Pagar.me serving online merchants. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction take rates, machine rentals, interest income on credit, and commissions on insurance.

Product overview

Stone is a Brazilian fintech offering an integrated financial services platform for entrepreneurs, centered on payment acceptance and extended by business banking, credit, and management tools. The core offering consists of physical POS terminals (Maquininha) and mobile payment solutions (TapStone, Tap to Pay), supplemented by a Conta PJ business account that serves as the financial hub connecting payments, credit, and management features. Payment acceptance spans card transactions, Pix QR codes, payment links, and online payments via the Pagar.me gateway. Credit products include a business credit card, working capital loans (Capital de Giro), FGI PEAC BNDES-backed financing, and account credit limits. Management tools include employee scheduling/payroll, financial dashboards (Minhas Finanças, Raio-X), savings (Reserva), and insurance. For developers, Stone provides a Partner Program with APIs including Connect Stone (ERP/POS integration), SDK Android, AutoTEF, Pagar.me gateway, and a Conciliação API for automated financial reconciliation. Stone also operates Ton as a simplified sub-brand for micro-entrepreneurs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ton: A brand of Stone for autonomous professionals and micro entrepreneurs, with simpler and cheaper solutions for less complex businesses.
• Pagar.me
• TapStone

Products and services

• Maquininha Stone (POS Terminal) Physical card payment terminal that processes debit, credit, and voucher transactions across 50+ card brands, with Pix QR acceptance and installment plans up to 18x. For Brazilian merchants of all sizes.
• TapStone Mobile tap-to-pay solution that turns a smartphone into a payment terminal using NFC, accepting contactless card and wallet payments at the same rates as physical terminals. For Brazilian entrepreneurs and small merchants.
• Tap to Pay on iPhone NFC tap-to-pay functionality on iPhone allowing merchants to accept contactless card payments without additional POS hardware.
• Link de Pagamento Payment link solution for creating and sharing URLs via WhatsApp and social media to accept remote card payments without physical presence. For merchants selling remotely.
• Conta PJ Stone Free business checking account (PJ) serving as the financial hub connecting payments, credit, insurance, and management tools for Brazilian entrepreneurs. Includes unlimited Pix transfers, employee payment tools, and Reserva Stone investment at 100% CDI.
• Cartão Stone (Business Credit Card) Business credit card issued by Stone with limits based on merchant transaction history, offering credit for business growth with installment options.
• Capital de Giro Working capital loan product providing short-term financing to merchants based on transaction volume and receivables, with funds deposited directly into the Stone PJ account.
• FGI PEAC BNDES-guaranteed working capital credit facility offering subsidized rates for working capital and business investment, partially guaranteed by Brazil's national development bank. For qualifying MSMEs.
• Pix e Boleto no Crédito Credit product enabling merchants to make Pix transfers and pay boletos using their Stone credit line.
• Reserva Stone Business savings account yielding 100% CDI returns, integrated into the Conta PJ for automatic idle cash accumulation from merchant transactions.
• Seguros Stone Business insurance products including life insurance (Seguro de Vida), store insurance (Seguro de Loja), and card protection (Seguro Cartão) offered in partnership with insurance providers.
• Gestão de Funcionários Employee management suite including time tracking (Bate Ponto), payroll processing, and team management tools for merchant workforce administration.
• Catálogo Online Digital product catalog and online storefront integrated with Stone's payment infrastructure, enabling merchants to sell products online.
• Venda por Assinatura Recurring billing and subscription management solution enabling merchants to set up recurring charges for regular customers, with automated collection and reconciliation.
• API Connect Stone REST API enabling ERP, POS, and management platforms to integrate with Stone payment terminals, automate transaction initiation, capture authorization responses, and perform automatic financial reconciliation. For software vendors and developers.
• SDK Android Software development kit for Android enabling developers to build applications that integrate with Stone's Android POS terminals and Bluetooth PIN pad readers for custom payment solutions.
• AutoTEF Integration solution enabling self-service terminals (vending, parking, food ordering kiosks) to accept debit and credit card payments via PIN pad without manual entry.
• Conciliação Stone (Reconciliation API) API providing daily transaction and financial event files (XML format) for merchants to monitor and reconcile all transactions from capture through payment/liquidation, including split payments, cancellations, and chargebacks.
• Pagar.me (Online Payment Gateway) Online payment gateway providing e-commerce merchants with online transactions, recurring billing, subscriptions, split payments, and balance APIs. For online businesses and marketplaces.
• Ton Stone sub-brand for MEI micro-entrepreneurs and autonomous professionals offering simplified, lower-cost financial and payment solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,680,875+ entrepreneurs served across Brazil
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Capim (Dental Fintech)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Capim, a fintech serving the dental sector, acquired Stone's Dental Office stake as part of Stone's portfolio restructuring. Stone exited its approximately 20% stake (acquired 2020-2021) at a reported EV/EBITDA multiple above 20x. The transaction connects Dental Office's clients to Capim's financial solutions across 12,000+ dental clinics.
• Totvs (Linx sale)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025Stone sold its Linx stake to Totvs for R$3.05 billion in July, exiting its ERP/integration business as part of portfolio restructuring following business difficulties. This represents an exit/disinvestment rather than an active partnership.
• Pagar.mecoreTechnology or IntegrationPagar.me is Stone's online payment subsidiary providing e-commerce merchants with a complete payment gateway — online transactions, recurring billing, split payments, and wallet management. Integrated into Stone's product ecosystem under the same brand umbrella. Core to Stone's online payments strategy.
• Rv TecnologiaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRv Tecnologia is a long-standing channel partner of Stone, reselling Stone's payment solutions as part of its broader technology portfolio, helping expand Stone's reach to SMB merchants.
• Core Alliance (Payment Networks)coreTechnology or IntegrationStone is a member of Brazil's card payment network ecosystem, processing transactions across 50+ card brands including Visa, Mastercard, Elo, American Express, and voucher programs (Sodexo, Ticket).
• Luciano Huck (Brand Ambassador)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerLuciano Huck, one of Brazil's most prominent TV presenters and entrepreneurs, serves as Stone's brand ambassador starting in 2025. His involvement amplifies Stone's brand reach and credibility among Brazilian consumers and entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• PagSeguro / PagBank: Brazilian payment acquirer and digital bank offering POS terminals, Conta PagBank, credit, and Pix acceptance for SMBs — the closest direct competitor to Stone with near-identical product breadth and target customer (Brazilian entrepreneurs).
• Mercado Pago: Fintech arm of Mercado Libre offering POS acquiring, merchant credit, online payments, and a consumer wallet across Latin America — directly competes with Stone across physical and online payment acceptance plus SMB credit in Brazil.
• SumUp: Global SMB-focused payment acquirer with strong Brazil presence offering mobile card readers and merchant accounts — directly competes with Stone in the MEI/micro-merchant segment with a similar product-led growth model.
• Block (Square): Global SMB payments and financial services platform (Square/Cash App) — directly comparable business model combining POS hardware, merchant acquiring, banking, and lending, though operating primarily in the U.S./U.K./Australia rather than Brazil.

Broad incumbents

• Cielo: Brazil's largest legacy card acquirer (Banco do Brasil/Bradesco affiliated) processing transactions for merchants of all sizes — competes with Stone in card-present acquiring with deeper bank-distribution reach but slower innovation cadence.
• Getnet (Santander): Santander's merchant acquiring arm offering POS terminals and payment processing in Brazil and across Latin America — competes with Stone in card-present acquiring with parent-bank distribution advantages.
• Rede (Itaú): Itaú Unibanco's acquiring subsidiary providing POS terminals and payment processing across Brazil — competes with Stone in card-present acquiring and can leverage Itaú's banking base for credit cross-sell, similar to Stone's PJ account strategy.

Regional players

• Clip: Mexican SMB payment acquirer offering mobile POS terminals and merchant services — operates the same product-led SMB-acquiring playbook as Stone but in Mexico rather than Brazil, useful as a regional peer benchmark.
• EBANX: Latin American payment processor enabling cross-border commerce and local payment method acceptance — comparable to Stone's Pagar.me subsidiary for online/e-commerce payment gateway services across Latin America.

Emerging players

• Nubank: Brazil's largest digital bank offering consumer accounts, credit cards, and increasingly merchant/business banking products — overlaps with Stone's PJ account, credit, and Pix ambitions, particularly as it expands into SMB banking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/stonepagamentos
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCk4L4JykgoDkN8YeuxkNqIQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/stonepagamentos
• LinkedInbr.linkedin.com/company/stone-co
• Instagraminstagram.com/stone

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

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

M&A4 records

Investments6 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Stone