Poynt

What Poynt does

Poynt, now operating as GoDaddy Poynt following GoDaddy's February 2021 acquisition, is an open commerce platform provider that designs and manufactures smart payment terminals and associated software services for small and mid-sized merchants. Founded in 2013 in Palo Alto, the company pioneered the smart terminal category in 2014 with the launch of its first device, featuring dual touchscreens, eight-hour battery life, and acceptance of swipe, chip, NFC, cash, check, and QR payments. Its technology stack is anchored by PoyntOS, an open Android-based operating system, and Poynt Commerce Services (PCS), which allows third-party OEMs to embed the Poynt ecosystem onto compatible Android POS hardware. Poynt was the first PCI PTS- and EMV-certified smart terminal available to all merchants in the United States (October 2015).

The company's portfolio includes multiple terminal models (PST3, P3301–P3303, Poynt 5, P61B, N910, and the CHB30 mobile card reader), complemented by Mission Control (cloud-based fleet management for resellers), the App Center (third-party business app marketplace), Poynt Capital (merchant cash advance financing), QuickBooks accounting integration, and GoDaddy Poynt Processing (omnicommerce payment processing). Poynt monetizes through hardware sales, recurring transaction-based fees, marketplace/app commissions, and referral commissions on financing products.

The go-to-market model combines authorized resellers as the primary channel, direct enterprise sales with dedicated account managers, self-service developer onboarding via docs.poynt.com, and—post-acquisition—GoDaddy's existing merchant base. Customer segments span merchants, resellers, independent app developers, and payment processors/OEMs, with international reach across North America, Europe, Brazil, India, and the UAE through processor partnerships (Elavon, Wirecard) and channel partners (Rede, POSDATA, LivQuik, Mashreq). The company is a Delaware LLC (Poynt, LLC) headquartered in Palo Alto with offices in Tempe, Arizona and a European data protection contact in Köln, Germany, employing 51–100 people.

Name

Poynt

Legal name

Poynt, LLC

Website

https://poynt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Poynt (GoDaddy Poynt) is an open commerce platform providing smart payment terminals and software for small and mid-sized merchants. Acquired by GoDaddy in February 2021, it monetizes via hardware sales, transaction processing, an app marketplace, and merchant cash advance financing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Smart Payment Terminals

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)

SIC

Computer Terminals (3575), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

POS Payment Software & Middleware (Terminal OS, Apps, Device Management) (FSAMADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

POS Terminal Hardware (Countertop, Mobile, PIN Pads) (FSAMADAA), Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD), POS Terminals & All-in-One Retail Computers (HDACAKAA)

Keywords

• Smart payment terminals
• Open commerce platform
• Point of sale hardware
• Payment processing services
• Merchant cash advance

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Sale of Poynt Smart Terminal devices including PST3, P3301, P3302, P3303, Poynt 5, and card readers like the CHB30 model. Devices sold to merchants directly or through reseller network.
2. Transaction Processing Fees: Per-transaction fees set by reseller organizations and processors. Fees visible on daily Deposit Report on terminal or Poynt.net for direct purchases.
3. Payment Processing: GoDaddy Poynt Processing offered as all-in-one solution with lowest rates in industry, zero hidden fees, and next day deposits.
4. Developer Platform/App Marketplace: Third-party app developers build and distribute apps through Poynt App Center. Platform provides APIs for payments, orders, products, inventory, customers, loyalty, and accessories.
5. Merchant Cash Advance (Poynt Capital): Resellers earn commissions ($600 average for turnkey marketing, $1,200 for full service lending) on merchant cash advance loans of $25k+ offered to existing Poynt merchants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Poynt designs and sells smart payment terminals (the flagship GoDaddy Poynt Smart Terminal plus PST3, Poynt 5, N910, P61B, and CHB30 readers) bundled with the PoyntOS-based open commerce software platform. The platform combines a developer app ecosystem (App Center), cloud-based merchant management (Mission Control), merchant cash advance (Poynt Capital), and licensable terminal software for OEM partners (Poynt Commerce Services), sold primarily to SMB and mid-market merchants, resellers, and OEMs.

Product overview

Poynt (now GoDaddy Poynt) is an open commerce platform provider that offers a comprehensive portfolio of payment and business management solutions. The core offering is the GoDaddy Poynt Smart Terminal family (including PST3, N910, P61B, Poynt 5, and various P3301-P3303 models) - all-in-one payment terminals running on PoyntOS that accept swipe, chip, NFC contactless, cash, check, and QR payments. The platform is complemented by Mission Control (reseller device management), Poynt Capital (merchant cash advance financing), App Center (third-party app marketplace), and Poynt Commerce Services (OEM software for hardware partners). Integration ecosystem includes QuickBooks accounting sync, multiple payment processors (Elavon, FirstData, TSYS, and others), accessory peripherals (EPSON/STAR printers, cash drawers, scanners), and third-party apps (order ahead, POS, timesheets, pay-at-table, gift cards, loyalty). The platform provides APIs and developer tools for building and distributing business applications globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GoDaddy Poynt Smart Terminal Flagship all-in-one smart payment terminal that accepts every major payment type (EMV chip, contactless/NFC, QR code, magstripe) and runs PoyntOS for apps, payments, and business operations; sold to SMB and mid-market merchants.
• Poynt Smart Terminal 3 (PST3) Third-generation smart payment terminal in the Poynt lineup, running PoyntOS with multi-payment acceptance, App Center support, and Mission Control integration for merchants.
• Poynt 5 Terminal Smart payment terminal in the Poynt 5 family, running PoyntOS and accepting EMV, contactless, QR, and magstripe payments for merchants.
• Poynt N910 Terminal Android-based smart payment terminal in the Poynt N910 family, running PoyntOS for in-person payment acceptance and commerce apps.
• Poynt P61B Terminal Poynt P61B smart payment terminal running PoyntOS for in-person payment acceptance across EMV, contactless, QR, and magstripe.
• Poynt Card Reader CHB30 Compact Poynt card reader (CHB30) for chip-and-signature card acceptance, sold as a companion device to Poynt terminals or for lighter mobile use cases.
• PoyntOS Proprietary open operating system from Poynt that powers all Poynt smart terminals and is licensable to OEMs and partners via Poynt Commerce Services, providing the payments, security, and app runtime layer.
• Mission Control Cloud-based merchant management dashboard for configuring Poynt terminals, viewing transactions, managing device fleets, and running back-office operations.
• Poynt Capital Merchant cash advance product from Poynt that advances working capital to merchants on the platform, with repayment automatically deducted from their transaction processing flows.
• App Center App Center marketplace embedded in Poynt terminals where third-party developers publish commerce, loyalty, inventory, and vertical apps that merchants install on their Poynt devices.
• Poynt Commerce Services (PCS) Licensable PoyntOS terminal stack for OEMs, ISVs, and resellers that enables partners to ship their own branded, PCI-certified payment terminals and commerce software built on Poynt's platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• No-hassle cash loans with next day funding for merchants
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration29 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, regional and core.

• GoDaddyflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2021GoDaddy completed acquisition of Poynt in February 2021. The acquisition expanded Poynt's distribution reach through GoDaddy's existing merchant customer base and small business tools ecosystem. Poynt operates as GoDaddy Poynt brand.
• LivQuikregionalTechnology or Integration · 31 July 2019Future Group affiliate LivQuik partnered with Poynt to provide merchants across India with access to Poynt's commerce platform.
• POSDATAregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 4 January 2019Partnership to bring connected commerce to merchants across North America through POSDATA's distribution network.
• MashreqregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 3 June 2018Mashreq bank launched Poynt Smart Terminals in UAE, expanding Poynt's presence in the Middle East.
• AlipaycoreTechnology or Integration · 18 April 2018Partnership to provide Chinese travelers seamless payment acceptance on Poynt Smart Terminals across North America, expanding acceptance for merchants.
• WirecardcoreTechnology or Integration · 12 October 2017Partnership to bring Poynt terminals to merchants across Europe and Asia through Wirecard's payment infrastructure.
• ElavoncoreTechnology or Integration · 29 June 2017Payment processor partnership bringing Poynt Smart Terminals to merchants in Canada and Europe. Elavon offers Poynt as a best-in-class smart terminal for small and mid-sized businesses.
• RederegionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 October 2016Partnership to bring Poynt Smart Terminals to merchants in Brazil through Rede's payment network.
• QuickBookscoreTechnology or IntegrationQuickBooks integration allowing Poynt to automatically synchronize all transactions and streamline accounting for merchants.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Square (Block): Square is the dominant direct competitor in SMB smart-terminal hardware and integrated payments. Like Poynt, Square offers all-in-one payment terminals with a developer-friendly ecosystem and bundled payment processing — making it the most comparable peer on product, customer (SMB), and business-model dimensions.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover, owned by Fiserv, is a leading Android-based smart POS terminal platform serving SMB merchants through bank and ISO reseller channels. It competes head-to-head with Poynt on hardware form factor, App Market, and integrated processing, making it a close direct peer.
• Stripe Terminal: Stripe Terminal offers card-reader hardware and an integrated software platform for in-person payments, targeting developers and SMBs/mid-market merchants. Its API-first, developer-platform approach parallels Poynt's open-platform positioning.

Emerging players

• Toast: Toast provides Android-based smart POS terminals and software focused specifically on the restaurant vertical. While restaurant-specialized, it overlaps with Poynt on terminal hardware, app marketplace, and integrated processing economics for SMBs.
• Lightspeed Commerce: Lightspeed provides cloud-based POS hardware and software for retail and hospitality SMBs, including payment processing. Comparable to Poynt in target customer and omnichannel commerce approach.
• Shopify POS: Shopify POS provides smart-terminal hardware and integrated payments for retail SMBs already on Shopify's commerce platform. It is comparable to Poynt on omnicommerce (in-store + online) and SMB focus.

Broad incumbents

• Verifone: Verifone is a global incumbent in payment terminals with extensive certifications and bank/reseller distribution. It overlaps with Poynt on hardware devices and payment integrations, though Verifone's portfolio is broader and less developer-centric.
• Ingenico (Worldline): Ingenico, now part of Worldline, is a long-standing global POS terminal manufacturer serving banks and acquirers. It is comparable to Poynt on payment-terminal hardware and processor-channel distribution.
• Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments): Heartland, part of Global Payments, distributes POS hardware and payment processing through ISO/reseller channels to SMBs. Its channel-led GTM model directly parallels Poynt's authorized reseller strategy.

Regional players

• SumUp: SumUp provides mobile card readers and smart POS terminals to SMBs primarily in Europe. It is comparable to Poynt on hardware-plus-processing model and SMB focus, and competes in the European geographies Poynt has targeted via Elavon/Wirecard partnerships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/poynt
• Facebookfacebook.com/poynt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poynt

Compliance11 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors9 records

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 Poynt