CARDFREE

What CARDFREE does

CardFree is a San Francisco-based mobile commerce platform founded in 2012 by Jon Squire, with a founding team drawn from the engineers who built the original Starbucks and Dunkin' mobile apps. The company provides an end-to-end Order, Pay, and Loyalty platform for restaurants, hotels, breweries, and convenience retail, delivered through a Universal API and pre-integrated with 40+ POS, payment processor, loyalty, and third-party delivery partners including Clover, Toast, Square, PAR Brink, NCR, Oracle Micros, DoorDash, Uber Eats, Punchh, and Epsilon.

The platform's technical core is the patented Universal Payment Layer and One Tap/One Scan technology, which consolidate ordering, offers, stored value, loyalty, and payment into a single transaction payload, producing a cross-channel 'universal source of truth' for customer data. The product suite spans core modules (Order, Pay, Loyalty) and add-ons (Pay@Table, Handhelds mobile POS, Text-To-Pay, Checkout SDK, Kiosk, Drive-Thru, Smart AI Upsell, Digital Concierge). The platform is deployed at 20,000+ stores and has processed $4.2B+ in transactions for clients including Dunkin', Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar, Torchy's Tacos, Great Wolf Lodge, Blue Ribbon Restaurants, and Taco Bell.

CardFree monetizes via enterprise SaaS/licensing subscriptions (quote-based annual contracts), transaction processing fees, and custom development services, with an API-first go-to-market that enables both direct enterprise sales and partner-embedded deployments. In September 2025, CardFree was acquired by Fiserv to integrate its capabilities into the Clover POS platform and Commerce Hub ecosystem, at which point the company ceased to operate as an independent entity.

Name

CARDFREE

Legal name

CardFree

Website

https://cardfree.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CardFree provides an end-to-end mobile ordering, payment, and loyalty platform for restaurants, hotels, and hospitality, deployed at 20,000+ stores and processing $4.2B+ in transactions. The company was acquired by Fiserv in September 2025 to power Clover's hospitality capabilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant and Hospitality Mobile Commerce Platform

akta.pro primary industry

Card Issuing Platforms (Issuer Processing) (FSAGABAD)

Keywords

• Mobile ordering platform
• Restaurant payment solutions
• Hospitality loyalty software
• Mobile commerce platform
• Restaurant technology solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform/SaaS Licensing: CardFree provides mobile ordering, payment, and loyalty platform solutions as a SaaS/platform service. The platform is described as battle-tested at enterprise level with white-label/merchant-branded capabilities, suggesting a subscription or licensing model.
2. Transaction Processing: Processes payments through its Universal Payment Layer, handling credit cards, digital wallets, and stored value cards. Revenue likely includes transaction fees or take rates on payment processing.
3. Custom Development Services: Provides merchant-branded app development services with highly customizable turnkey ordering apps developed by award-winning team for deployment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CardFree provides an API-driven mobile ordering, payment, and loyalty platform for restaurants, hotels, breweries, and other hospitality merchants. The platform integrates ordering, payments (including tableside, mobile POS, kiosk, and SMS-based payments), loyalty programs, and offers into a single Universal Payment Layer, enabling omnichannel commerce across web, native apps, QR code, kiosk, drive-thru, and third-party delivery channels.

Product overview

CardFree is a comprehensive mobile ordering, payment, and loyalty platform for restaurants and hospitality. The platform operates as a unified system with three core products—Order (mobile ordering), Pay (payments), and Loyalty—along with specialized solutions for Quick Service Restaurants, Full Service Restaurants, On-Premise, Off-Premise, Drive-Thru, and Hotel Services (Digital Concierge). Key add-on modules include Pay@Table (tableside QR payment), Handhelds (EMV/tablet mobile POS), Text-To-Pay (SMS payments), Checkout (platform-agnostic payment interface), Kiosk (self-service ordering), and Smart AI Upsell (AI-powered recommendations). The platform features a Universal Payment Layer and Universal API for integration with existing tech stacks, enabling omnichannel operations across web, mobile apps, kiosk, QR code, and third-party delivery platforms. CardFree was acquired by Fiserv in September 2025 to expand Clover's hospitality capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Order Omni-channel mobile ordering platform for restaurants supporting dine-in, order-ahead, and drive-thru channels via web, native apps, kiosk, tablet, QR code, and EMV-enabled mobile POS, with menu management, smart upsell, cross-sell, and third-party delivery integration.
• Pay Frictionless payment platform offering Handhelds (EMV/tablet mobile POS), Pay@Table tableside payments, Text-To-Pay SMS payments, and universal checkout, with support for Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit/debit, and gift cards at PCI Level 1 compliance.
• Loyalty Customizable restaurant loyalty platform with multi-tier rewards, membership tiers, banked points, campaign management via SMS/email/push notifications, geolocation-enabled triggered offers, and gift card support.
• Pay@Table Tableside mobile order and pay solution via QR code or web link that enables guests to add items, split checks, and pay via mobile device without app download, with charge-to-room support for hotels.
• Handhelds (Mobile POS) EMV device or tablet-based mobile POS platform for tableside, curbside, or line-busting orders and payments, supporting staff-directed or guest-directed ordering, custom marketing screens, loyalty enrollment, and P2P encrypted payments.
• Text-To-Pay SMS-based mobile payment platform that sends payment links to customers for phone orders and curbside pickup, with PCI Level 1 compliance and loyalty integration.
• Checkout Platform-agnostic, standalone payment interface embeddable via SDK or API in third-party native apps or web solutions, supporting digital wallets, built-in 3D-Secure fraud protection, and integrating regardless of digital ordering provider, POS, or payment processor.
• Kiosk Touchscreen self-service ordering and payment kiosk with POS integration, deployable for QSR, drive-thru, hotels, and brewery operations, with complex modifiers, combos, smart upsell, loyalty integration, and multiple payment options including Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Drive-Thru Modernized drive-thru order and pay system with mobile POS (EMV Pay, EMV Order & Pay, iPad Order & Pay), kiosk, and mobile pay options, including single-scan payment with loyalty accrual and offer redemption.
• Smart AI Upsell AI-powered upsell feature that analyzes real-time cart data to suggest perfectly paired items based on customer behavior and preferences.
• Digital Concierge Hotel-specific digital ordering and payment solution with charge-to-room, geolocation-enabled delivery, room service, catering/event ordering, kiosk solutions, mobile tipping, and loyalty integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% average increase in ticket value on digital orders
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration47 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FiservcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2025CardFree was acquired by Fiserv in September 2025 to integrate its order, payment, and loyalty solutions into the Clover point-of-sale platform and Commerce Hub ecosystem. This acquisition significantly expands CardFree's distribution and integration capabilities.
• ClovercoreTechnology or IntegrationCardFree has direct POS integration with Clover, one of the leading restaurant POS platforms. Integration enables CardFree's mobile ordering, payment, and loyalty solutions to work seamlessly with Clover hardware and software.
• PAR Technology (Brink POS)coreTechnology or IntegrationPAR Technology partnered with CardFree to bring next-level digital ordering to PAR's Brink POS system, announced March 2022. Enables restaurants using Brink POS to access CardFree's full ordering and payment suite.
• Toast POScoreTechnology or IntegrationCardFree integrates with Toast POS platform, enabling restaurants using Toast to deploy CardFree's mobile ordering and payment solutions.
• Oracle (Micros/PMS)coreTechnology or IntegrationCardFree integrates with Oracle Micros POS systems and Opera PMS for hotel property management, enabling broad enterprise deployment.
• NCRcoreTechnology or IntegrationNCR is one of the major POS providers integrated with CardFree, enabling enterprise restaurant deployments.
• Apple PaycoreTechnology or IntegrationCardFree supports Apple Pay digital wallet payments across all its ordering and payment solutions, even if merchant's processor doesn't yet support it directly.
• Google PaycoreTechnology or IntegrationCardFree supports Google Pay digital wallet payments across all solutions, providing broad mobile wallet compatibility.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Paytronix: Paytronix is a restaurant loyalty, gift, and engagement platform that competes directly with CardFree's Loyalty product and is integrated with the same POS and ordering ecosystems.
• Punchh (PAR Technology): Punchh is an enterprise restaurant loyalty platform now owned by PAR Technology. It is a partner and direct competitor to CardFree's Loyalty 2.0 offering for multi-unit restaurant chains.
• ChowNow: ChowNow is a direct-to-restaurant online ordering platform emphasizing commission-free ordering, similar in focus to CardFree's Order product. Both target independent and multi-unit restaurants seeking first-party digital channels.
• Olo: Olo is a direct restaurant digital ordering SaaS serving brands like Shake Shack and Sweetgreen via API-first ordering, similar in GTM and integration model to CardFree's Universal API. CardFree is more diversified into payments and loyalty but targets the same enterprise restaurant buyer.

Broad incumbents

• Square for Restaurants (Block): Block's Square offers an integrated POS, payments, and ordering stack aimed at SMB and mid-market restaurants. CardFree integrates with Square but is positioned against Square's native loyalty and online ordering modules.
• Toast: Toast is a leading restaurant POS platform that bundles native online ordering, payments, and loyalty. CardFree integrates with Toast but competes with its first-party ordering and loyalty modules at the same enterprise customers.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover is Fiserv's SMB POS and commerce platform that acquired CardFree in September 2025. CardFree's ordering/pay/loyalty modules are being integrated into Clover, and Clover-native ordering and loyalty capabilities overlap with CardFree's product set.
• PAR Technology (Brink POS): PAR Technology provides the Brink POS platform and acquired Punchh for loyalty, forming an integrated restaurant tech stack. PAR partnered with CardFree for Brink integrations but now competes across loyalty and ordering.

Emerging players

• Lightspeed Restaurant: Lightspeed Restaurant offers POS, payments, and ordering for full-service and quick-service restaurants with a comparable API/integration architecture and a similar enterprise mid-market positioning.
• Revel Systems: Revel Systems is an iPad-based POS with integrated online ordering and payments for restaurants and hospitality. It targets similar QSR and full-service segments with a comparable omnichannel ordering pitch.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CARDFREE_Inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cardfree

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CARDFREE