What Chosen Payments does

Chosen Payments is a U.S.-based, privately held payments company operating the Flute platform — branded as an agent-friendly ISO targeting small and mid-sized businesses across the "everyday economy." The firm is headquartered in Moorpark, California with operational offices in Tempe, Arizona, and has been in business since 2008 with 51–100 employees. Its product surface spans a core payment processing engine supporting in-person, mobile, online, and embedded payment acceptance, augmented by a modular catalog: hardware (portable, mounted, mobile POS), dual pricing and surcharging, ACH, Level 2/3 B2B processing, dashboard/reporting, invoicing, recurring billing, instant payouts, network tokenization, and fraud protection. Underlying the product is an API-driven architecture with a public developer portal (developer.flute.com) and JavaScript SDK for SaaS/ISV embedded integration.

The business operates a multi-channel go-to-market: direct sales via flute.com, an ISO/agent partner program for merchant acquisition and portfolio management, an embedded SaaS platform partner program, and a large industry-association channel covering at least 14 verticals (beauty, fitness, childcare, pet care, death care, coffee, restaurants, mobile food, jewelry, consignment, legal, healthcare, veterinary, nonprofits, automotive, marine, powersports). Revenue is generated primarily through transaction-based processing fees on routed volume, with additional streams from hardware sales, recurring billing, and working capital financing. The firm is registered as an ISO and FSP across seven sponsor banks (Esquire Bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, Citizens Bank, KeyBank, Deutsche Bank, Merrick Bank, and Elavon/U.S. Bancorp), giving it processing redundancy across sponsor relationships.

Strategically, Chosen Payments has positioned itself as infrastructure rather than a direct acquirer — competing on partner economics, vertical specialization, and embedded integration rather than brand. The single recorded capital event is a $4 million self-funded round dated 2019-06-25, with no disclosed external venture backing. Richard Scalesse is identified as managing partner. The platform shows steady product investment over time but no disclosed international expansion, no major acquisitions, and no public-company trajectory.

Name

Chosen Payments

Legal name

Flute

Website

https://chosenpayments.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Chosen Payments operates the Flute platform, an agent-friendly ISO providing API-driven payment processing, hardware, and embedded financial tools to SMBs across diverse verticals including personal care, food and drink, retail, professional services, and automotive.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Merchant Payment Processing

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF), Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure (FSAGABAE), Vertical-Specific Merchant Acquirers (e.g., Hospitality, Healthcare, Education) (FSAMABAG), Payment Orchestration Platforms (FSAGABAA), Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB)

Keywords

• Merchant payment processing
• ISO agent services
• Embedded payments platform
• POS hardware terminals
• Working capital financing

Headquarters

HQ city

Moorpark

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing/Transaction Fees: Flute charges merchants transaction fees for processing payments across in-person, online, mobile, and ACH channels. The platform earns revenue through a percentage of each transaction processed plus per-transaction fees.
2. Hardware Sales: Sale of payment terminals and point-of-sale hardware devices including portable, mounted, and mobile POS options
3. Recurring Billing Services: Subscription and recurring billing capabilities for merchants to collect repeat payments and subscriptions
4. Working Capital Financing: Provides working capital loans to merchants to address cash flow needs, generating revenue through financing fees

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Chosen Payments operates Flute, a unified merchant payments platform that processes in-person, mobile, online, embedded, and ACH transactions for small-to-mid-sized businesses across multiple everyday-economy verticals. The company functions as an agent-friendly ISO (Independent Sales Organization) selling merchant accounts, hardware, embedded payment integrations, working capital financing, and value-added services such as dual pricing, invoicing, recurring billing, instant payouts, and fraud protection, distributed via direct sales, ISO/agent partners, SaaS platforms, and industry associations.

Product overview

Flute is a unified payments platform designed for growing businesses in the everyday economy. The platform operates on a modular architecture with a core payment processing engine that supports in-person, mobile, online, and embedded payments. Additional capabilities are delivered as integrated modules including hardware options, ACH and Level 2/3 processing, dashboard and reporting, invoicing, recurring billing, working capital, instant payouts, network tokenization, and fraud protection. The platform also offers dual pricing and surcharging capabilities, allowing merchants to optimize fee structures. All features are accessible through a developer API and SDK for platform integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payment Processing Core payment processing platform enabling businesses to accept payments in-person, online, and via mobile devices across the Flute ecosystem.
• In-Person Payments Accept payments in-person at the counter, table, or field using phones or point-of-sale devices, supporting swipe, tap, and contactless transactions.
• Mobile Payments Take payments from a phone or mobile POS with options for card, tap, QR code, and contactless payments.
• Online Payments Create PCI-compliant payment pages, set up recurring billing, and use a virtual terminal for manual order processing.
• Hardware Range of payment terminals including portable, mounted, and mobile POS options supporting swiping, tapping, and QR code scanning.
• ACH Payments Accept ACH bank transfers as a payment option for businesses, supporting recurring and one-time bank-based collections.
• Embedded Payments Embed payment and financial tools directly into software platforms via an API-driven stack, enabling SaaS/ISV partners to monetize payments.
• Level 2 & Level 3 Processing Specialized processing for B2B and government transactions with enhanced data requirements and lower qualified interchange rates.
• Working Capital Fast access to working capital funding for business expenses and growth investments, with no hidden fees, offered to merchants on the platform.
• Recurring Billing Subscription and repeat order billing with tokenized customer payment data stored in a secure customer vault.
• Invoicing Send customizable, on-brand invoices supporting multiple payment options including credit, debit, ACH, and digital wallets.
• Instant Payouts Immediate access to funds from transactions without waiting for standard settlement periods.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ICCFAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInternational Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association partnership to provide payment services to member businesses in the death care industry.
• NLAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAssociation partnership providing payment infrastructure to NLA member businesses.
• American Gym SocietyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to deliver payment solutions to fitness and training businesses under American Gym Society membership.
• CFDAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCouncil of Fashion Designers of America partnership for payment services to fashion and retail members.
• NBDAminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNational Bicycle Dealers Association partnership to serve bicycle retail and specialty goods businesses.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Stripe is a leading API-first payments platform targeting developers and SaaS/ISV platforms. Directly comparable to Flute's embedded-payments and API-led strategy, but at global scale with deeper software tooling, banking, and capital products.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover is a widely distributed SMB POS and payments platform sold through ISO/agent channels and bank sponsors — closely analogous to Flute's ISO-led distribution model. Overlaps across nearly all of Flute's SMB verticals.
• Block (Square): Block's Square is the dominant SMB payments and POS platform serving many of the same everyday-economy verticals (food, retail, services). Comparable in accepting in-person, online, and mobile payments for SMBs, but vastly larger in scale, software breadth, and capital.
• PayPal Zettle: PayPal/Zettle provides in-person and online SMB payment acceptance, hardware, and working-capital products. Comparable product breadth and SMB positioning to Flute, with materially larger brand, capital, and merchant base.

Direct peers

• SumUp: SumUp provides mobile and in-person payment acceptance plus online payments for micro and small merchants — overlapping with Flute's mobile POS, hardware, and small-merchant focus, particularly in food/retail verticals.
• Helcim: Helcim is a SMB-focused payments processor offering interchange-plus pricing, in-person/online/mobile acceptance, recurring billing, and an API — overlapping directly with Flute's modular platform and pricing philosophy.
• Toast: Toast is a vertical-specific acquirer and software suite for restaurants — overlapping directly with Flute's food & drink verticals (coffee shops, cafes, independent dining, mobile food). Comparable in combining payments with industry-specific SaaS.
• Stax by Fattmerchant: Stax is a subscription-based payment processor targeting SMBs with interchange-plus pricing and dual-pricing/surcharging tools — a near-direct functional comparator to Flute's pricing model and SMB focus.
• North (formerly North American Bancard): North is a large ISO/payments platform offering in-person, online, and mobile processing through an agent channel — closely comparable to Flute's ISO/agent-friendly model and SMB vertical breadth.
• Payment Depot: Payment Depot operates as an ISO/wholesale-rate processor for SMBs through agent and partner channels — directly comparable to Flute's ISO-led, agent-friendly distribution model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ChosenPayments
• Facebookfacebook.com/tryflute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tryflute
• Instagraminstagram.com/tryflute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 Chosen Payments