What Payline Data, LLC does

Payline Data, LLC (legal entity Payline Data Services, LLC) is a U.S. payment processor headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, operating since 2010 as an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and Fifth Third Bank, N.A. The company provides merchant acquiring services across card-present, card-not-present, e-commerce, recurring billing, mobile, and high-risk verticals to over 20,000 merchant locations nationwide, supported by 100% U.S.-based 24/7 customer service. Its revenue is derived from interchange-plus transaction fees (2.9% + $0.30 card-present, 3.5% + $0.30 card-not-present), monthly hardware rental or sale, recurring subscription and account services, and ISO/partner residuals.

The product surface is modular: core payment acceptance (in-person, online, recurring, high-risk), Clover-branded and VP3300 hardware, a browser-based virtual terminal, no-code payment links, and recurring billing with stored card tokenization. Payline Connect is the company's embedded payments platform for software companies and SaaS ISVs, and Digital Merchant Onboarding exposes API-based, hosted, and partner-dashboard onboarding flows. Underlying technology is API-first with tokenization, QuickBooks integration, and sponsor-bank-provided settlement rails.

Go-to-market is hybrid: direct enterprise sales for franchises, associations, and large accounts; inside sales for mid-market; self-serve online application for SMBs; ISO/independent agent channel; and software-platform OEM/white-label integrations. Pricing is positioned as transparent interchange-plus with no early-termination, PCI, or statement fees, differentiating on clarity of cost and contract flexibility rather than headline rate. Disclosed cumulative external funding is approximately $7 million across 2015-2017 (including Recurring Capital Partners), with one disclosed acquisition (AcceptOn, April 2017), and no subsequently disclosed institutional rounds.

Name

Payline Data, LLC

Legal name

Payline Data Services, LLC

Website

https://paylinedata.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Payline Data is a Chicago-based payment processor and ISO of Wells Fargo and Fifth Third Bank that provides interchange-plus card acceptance (in-person, online, recurring, high-risk), Clover and mobile hardware, embedded payments APIs via Payline Connect, and merchant onboarding to over 20,000 U.S. SMBs, franchises, associations, and software partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

akta.pro primary industry

Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Alternative Payment Methods (APM) Enablement (Wallets, A2A, Local Rails) (FSAGABAJ), Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)

Keywords

• Payment processing services
• Merchant services
• Credit card processing
• POS terminals
• Payment gateway

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Processing Fees: Transaction fees charged as a percentage plus per-transaction fee on all card payments processed through the platform. Different rates apply for card-present vs. card-not-present transactions.
2. Hardware Sales and Rental:
3. Monthly Account Services: Monthly subscription fees for hardware rental and ongoing account services. Includes next-day funding and 24/7 support services.
4. Partner/Reseller Commissions: Commissions and referral fees earned through the partner program for independent sales agents (ISOs), software partners, and other referral sources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Payline Data is a Chicago-based payment processor that provides merchant accounts and payment acceptance services to U.S. businesses. It offers interchange-plus pricing for in-person, online, recurring, and high-risk card transactions, paired with Clover and VP3300 hardware terminals, a virtual terminal, payment links, and an API-driven embedded payments platform (Payline Connect). The company operates as an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) for Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Fifth Third Bank, N.A., and supports onboarding, agent/ISO channel sales, and software partner integrations.

Product overview

Payline Data provides a modular payment processing platform combining core payment services (in-person, online, recurring, and high-risk processing) with hardware terminals (Clover Compact, Clover Flex, VP3300 Mobile Reader, Clover Mini, and Clover Station Duo), software integration tools (Payline Connect API, Virtual Terminal, Payment Links), and merchant onboarding solutions (Digital Merchant Onboarding with API, Hosted, and Partner Dashboard options). The platform is designed for merchants, software companies, sales partners, agents, ISOs, and associations with Interchange-Plus transparent pricing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Payline Connect: Payment integration solution for software platforms that enables embedded payments through APIs.
• Payline Edge

Products and services

• Payment Links No-code payment solution enabling merchants to create secure payment links shareable via email, text, QR code, or website without requiring a website or custom integration.
• Recurring Payments Automated subscription billing platform that enables merchants to bill customers on flexible intervals (weekly, monthly, or custom) with card-on-file storage and automatic retry logic for failed charges.
• Online Payments Comprehensive e-commerce payment solution offering hosted checkout, virtual terminal, invoice and payment links, and custom API access for online transactions.
• In-Person Payments Point-of-sale payment processing solution supporting chip, tap, and swipe payments through modern, portable card terminals.
• High Risk Payments Specialized payment processing for high-risk and hard-to-place businesses including nutraceuticals, CBD, firearms, adult content, and subscription-based merchants.
• Virtual Terminal Browser-based point-of-sale system enabling manual card entry, refund processing, voids, authorizations, and settlements from any web browser without hardware requirements.
• Digital Merchant Onboarding Multi-channel merchant onboarding platform providing API integration, hosted onboarding applications, and partner dashboard for digital application processing, document collection, and real-time status tracking.
• Payline Connect Embedded payments integration platform for software companies enabling direct API embedding, white-label onboarding experiences, and revenue stream development through payment processing integration.
• Agents & ISO Program Sales partner program offering independent agents, ISOs, and sales organizations access to multiple processing partners, digital onboarding tools, underwriting support, and residual-based revenue sharing.
• Partner Program (Associations & Franchises) Partnership program for trade associations, franchises, and software companies enabling member payment acceptance with revenue-sharing models and modern onboarding technology.
• Clover Compact (Countertop Terminal) Space-saving countertop terminal with 3.6-inch touchscreen, chip, swipe, and contactless payment support, built-in thermal printer, and barcode scanner.
• Clover Flex (Smart Terminal) Portable all-in-one payment terminal with 6-inch HD touchscreen, built-in receipt printer, barcode scanner, and support for swipe, dip, tap, and contactless wallets with offline queuing capability.
• VP3300 Mobile Reader Compact 3-in-1 mobile card reader supporting magstripe, EMV chip, and NFC/contactless payments including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay with Bluetooth connectivity.
• Clover Mini (Basic POS) Compact countertop POS system with 8-inch touchscreen, built-in thermal printer, and barcode scanner supporting chip, swipe, contactless, PIN-debit, gift cards, and cash/check payments.
• Clover Station Duo (All-in-One POS) Dual-screen counter POS system with 14-inch HD merchant display and 8-inch customer touchscreen, integrated receipt printer, cash drawer, scanner, and NFC/fingerprint login capability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Next-day account funding for merchants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Wells Fargo Bank N.A.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayline Data Services, LLC operates as an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Concord, CA. This partnership enables Payline to provide payment processing services backed by Wells Fargo's banking infrastructure and regulatory standing.
• Fifth Third Bank, N.A.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPayline Data Services LLC is a registered ISO (Independent Sales Organization) for Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Cincinnati, OH, USA. This banking partnership provides regulatory backing and payment network access for Payline's merchant services.
• CardPointesupportingTechnology or IntegrationCardPointe is mentioned as an available payment processing platform for Payline merchants. CardPointe provides the underlying terminal and gateway infrastructure for card transactions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Clover (Fiserv): Clover, owned by Fiserv, provides SMB point-of-sale hardware and software (Clover Station, Flex, Mini, Compact) — the same hardware line that Payline resells. Clover competes in the same SMB merchant segment with its own ISO/channel program and offers merchant services through bank partners, putting it in direct competition with Payline's full stack.
• Payment Depot: Payment Depot operates an interchange-plus payment processing model for SMBs with membership-based pricing. It directly competes with Payline on transparency, SMB pricing, and ISO/agent distribution, with overlapping customer segments in retail, restaurants, and service businesses.
• Helcim: Helcim is a Canadian-headquartered payment processor that has expanded into the U.S. SMB market with a transparent interchange-plus pricing model and no hidden fees — a near-identical value proposition to Payline's. It serves SMBs and software partners via APIs and competes head-to-head for the same pricing-conscious merchant segment.
• Stax (formerly Fattmerchant): Stax is a subscription-based payment processor offering transparent pricing and integrated software solutions for SMBs. It directly parallels Payline's no-hidden-fee positioning and targets similar verticals (retail, restaurants, services) with a similar ISO/partner distribution model.
• National Processing: National Processing is a merchant services provider serving SMBs across the U.S. with ISO sponsorship through major banks. It competes directly with Payline on card-present and card-not-present pricing, ISO/agent channels, and SMB-targeted onboarding.

Broad incumbents

• PayPal (Braintree): PayPal, through its Braintree and PayPal Commerce Platform offerings, provides online payment processing and embedded payments infrastructure for SMBs and software platforms. It competes with Payline across online checkout, recurring billing, and software-API-driven payment acceptance.
• Block (Square): Block operates Square, the dominant SMB payment processor with hardware (Square Terminal, Reader), software (Square POS, Appointments), and embedded payments (Square APIs). It competes directly with Payline across in-person, online, and embedded payments for SMBs and software platforms, with substantially greater scale and capital.
• Stripe: Stripe is the leading online payment processor and embedded payments infrastructure provider, serving both direct merchants and software platforms via Stripe Connect and Stripe Terminal. It directly competes with Payline Connect on embedded software payments and with Payline Online Payments on e-commerce processing for SMBs.
• Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments): Heartland, owned by Global Payments, is a large U.S. payment processor and ISO sponsor serving SMBs through direct and partner channels. It competes with Payline across SMB card acceptance, ISO/agent programs, and software integrations, with substantially greater scale.

Emerging players

• SpotOn (formerly Dharma): SpotOn provides integrated payments, POS hardware, and software for SMBs in restaurants and retail — overlapping customer segments and product mix with Payline. Its transparent pricing and software-first approach parallel Payline's positioning, and its merchant services compete for the same SMB accounts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/paylinedata_
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/payline-data

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Payline Data, LLC