North
North is a U.S.-based payment processing and merchant services provider founded in 1992, serving hundreds of thousands of merchants across retail, restaurant, specialty, and enterprise verticals with proprietary hardware, software, and developer APIs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1992
- HeadquartersTroy, United States
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What North does
North is a Troy, Michigan-headquartered payment processing and merchant services provider founded in 1992, operating as NorthAB, LLC. The company serves hundreds of thousands of merchants across the United States and processes over $100 billion in transactions annually, with exposure across restaurant, retail, specialty retail, big business, services, and ecommerce verticals. Its customer base spans SMBs served via self-serve onboarding and enterprise merchants served through a direct field sales force, with additional reach via an ISV and VAR channel.
The company's product stack includes the Payanywhere line of point-of-sale hardware (smart terminals, mobile readers, and accessories), the Payments Hub merchant portal and back-office management tool, and the North Developer platform exposing APIs, SDKs, and sandbox environments for payments, recurring billing, invoicing, and gift/loyalty. North also operates the PayTrace B2B accounts-receivable automation platform (acquired in 2022, processing $30B annually) and the EPX payment processor. Technical infrastructure includes PCI DSS-validated tokenization, point-to-point encryption, and gateway services; the company has held Switch G100 sustainability certification for seven consecutive years.
North generates revenue through transaction-based processing fees (advertised starting rate of 0.29% per transaction), hardware sales and leasing, software subscriptions under a freemium Payments Hub model, and gateway/API fees. Go-to-market combines direct field sales for enterprise accounts, self-serve SMB onboarding, and a developer/ISV channel program that won three 2025 DevPortal Awards categories.
North firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- North
- Legal name
- NorthAB, LLC
- Website
- https://north.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1992
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- North is a U.S.-based payment processing and merchant services provider founded in 1992, serving hundreds of thousands of merchants across retail, restaurant, specialty, and enterprise verticals with proprietary hardware, software, and developer APIs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
North industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF), Merchant-of-Record (MoR) & Payment Facilitation (PayFac) Infrastructure (FSAGABAE), Marketplace & Platform Seller Payouts (FSAMAKAE)
Keywords
Where North is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Troy
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
North business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Payment Processing Transaction Fees: North charges percentage-based transaction fees on all credit and debit card payments processed through its platform. Rates start at 0.29% per transaction with no cancellation fees. The company offers same-day and next-day funding options at no additional cost.
- Hardware Sales and Leasing: North provides payment hardware including smart POS systems, terminals, mobile readers, and card readers. Equipment is provided free with service agreements or available for purchase.
- Merchant Services Subscriptions: Premium merchant portal plans (Premium and Premium Plus) with additional features beyond the free Basic Plan. Includes reporting tools, customer tracking, and advanced functionality.
- Gateway and Platform Fees: Monthly gateway fees for online payment processing and virtual terminal access for card-not-present transactions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Entry-level processing rate starting at 0.29% per transaction |
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Basic Plan with premium upgrade options |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Same Day and Next Day Funding at no extra cost |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
North product offering
Product offeringCore offering
North provides end-to-end payment processing and merchant services for businesses, including credit and debit card processing, proprietary Payanywhere POS hardware, online and mobile payment acceptance, a Payments Hub merchant portal for back-office management, and the North Developer API platform for ISVs and VARs. The company processes over $100 billion in transactions annually and serves hundreds of thousands of merchants across retail, restaurant, specialty, big business, and services industries.
Product overview
North is a U.S.-based fintech company offering a comprehensive, end-to-end payment processing and merchant services platform. The portfolio spans proprietary hardware (Payanywhere Smart Terminal, Smart Terminal Mini, Smart POS+, Smart Flex, Smart PINPad Pro, and 3-in-1 Bluetooth Reader), software and services modules (North Billing Solutions, Inventory Management, Reporting, Gift & Loyalty, Fraud Prevention, Authorization Optimization, Back Office Tools/Payments Hub, Funding, Payment Links), vertical-specific industry solutions (Retail, Restaurant, Specialty, Big Business, Services), and the North Developer API platform. All products are managed through the Payments Hub merchant portal and unified reporting layer. Since 1992, North has partnered with hundreds of thousands of merchants and processes over $100 billion in transactions annually.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Payanywhere: A product line offering smart POS systems, terminals, and credit card readers including Smart POS+, Smart Terminal, Smart Terminal Mini, Smart Flex, and Smart PINPad Pro.
- North Developer
- Payments Hub
- EPX
Products and services
- Payanywhere Smart Terminal A wireless handheld smart credit card terminal combining hand-held mobility with full credit card machine functionality, capable of scanning barcodes and printing receipts. Preloaded with the Payanywhere app for merchants needing mobile payment acceptance.
- Payanywhere Smart Terminal Mini
- Payanywhere Smart POS+
- Payanywhere Smart Flex
- Payanywhere Smart PINPad Pro
- Payanywhere 3-in-1 Bluetooth Credit Card Reader
- Tap to Pay on iPhone
- North Developer
- PayTrace Spokane, Washington-based B2B payment solutions provider acquired by North American Bancard. PayTrace processes over $30 billion annually and is certified on NAB's EPX payment processor, offering B2B payment solutions to enterprise merchants.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $100 billion in annual transaction volume processed
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use North
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
North technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature9 records
North partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- VisacoreNorth partnered with Visa to offer three enterprise-grade payment innovations: Visa Network Token Service for enhanced security through tokenized identifiers, Visa Real Time Account Updater (RTAU) for automated card information updates, and Visa Account Name Inquiry (ANI) for fraud and chargeback reduction. The partnership makes these tools accessible to businesses of all sizes from small merchants to large enterprises.
- Payments DiveflagshipNorth collaborated with Payments Dive, a payments industry publication operated by Informa TechTarget, to produce a joint thought leadership playbook titled 'The Hidden Cost of Fragmented Payment Systems.' The playbook authored by Payments Dive journalist Sylvie Tremblay with contributions from North experts argues that businesses using multiple payment providers incur higher costs and complexity.
- Half BakedminorNorth partnered with Half Baked, a startup-focused brand, to publish a guide on success in the gig economy. The report emphasizes the growth of side hustling and the importance of reliable payment solutions for entrepreneurs amid economic challenges and expanding market opportunities.
- PayTracecorePayTrace, a Spokane, Washington-based provider of B2B payment solutions, was acquired by North American Bancard (NAB). With this acquisition, PayTrace became certified on NAB's payment processor EPX and processes over $30 billion annually. North supports PayTrace operations and has integrated its B2B payment capabilities.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
North competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Clover (Fiserv): Clover is Fiserv's SMB POS and payments platform with a hardware-plus-software stack similar to North's Payanywhere + Payments Hub model. Both serve restaurants, retail, and services with integrated hardware, software, and merchant acquiring.
- Square (Block): Square is a direct competitor in SMB payment processing, mobile card readers, POS hardware, and merchant software. Block's broader ecosystem (Cash App, banking) is a differentiator, but the core Square seller business directly overlaps with North.
- Toast: Toast is a vertically integrated restaurant POS and payments platform. North's Restaurant segment (quick-service and full-service) is the same beachhead Toast has scaled, making it the most relevant comparable in the restaurant vertical.
- Helcim: Helcim is a direct competitor to North in SMB and mid-market merchant acquiring with transparent interchange-plus pricing, virtual terminal, and POS integrations. Comparable in scale and customer profile to North's mid-market offering.
- Stax (Fattmerchant): Stax is a subscription-based payment processor targeting SMBs with a software-and-hardware bundle similar to North's Payments Hub and Payanywhere stack. Direct overlap in vertical-segment SMB acquiring.
- Lightspeed Commerce: Lightspeed provides POS, payments, and commerce software for retail and restaurant SMBs — directly comparable to North's Retail and Restaurant industry solutions and Payments Hub merchant tools.
- Payment Depot: Payment Depot is a wholesale-style SMB payment processor offering membership pricing, directly competing with North's transaction-fee model for cost-sensitive small businesses.
Broad incumbents
- Stripe: Stripe is a broad incumbent in online and integrated payments. While Stripe's SMB card-present footprint is smaller than North's, Stripe Terminal and Stripe's developer tools compete directly with North Developer and the integrated/e-commerce use cases.
- Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments): Heartland, now part of Global Payments, is an established SMB acquirer with a comparable ISO/sales-led distribution model and similar merchant services portfolio. It represents the legacy incumbent comparable for North.
- Chase Payment Solutions: Chase Payment Solutions is the SMB acquiring arm of JPMorgan Chase, offering card-present, e-commerce, and integrated payments to North's same customer segments with the backing of a top-5 U.S. bank.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
North social profiles
Digital presenceNorth compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
North financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
North leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
North subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
North funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
North M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A8 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about North
What does North do?
North provides end-to-end payment processing and merchant services for businesses, including credit and debit card processing, proprietary Payanywhere POS hardware, online and mobile payment acceptance, a Payments Hub merchant portal for back-office management, and the North Developer API platform for ISVs and VARs. The company processes over $100 billion in transactions annually and serves hundreds of thousands of merchants across retail, restaurant, specialty, big business, and services industries.
Is North a public or private company?
North is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was North founded?
North was founded in 1992. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is North based?
North is headquartered in Troy, United States, in the North America region.
How does North make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Payment Processing Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales and Leasing, merchant Services Subscriptions and gateway and Platform Fees.
Who are North's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Clover (Fiserv), Square (Block), Toast, Helcim, Stax (Fattmerchant), Lightspeed Commerce and Payment Depot. Broad incumbents are Stripe, Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments) and Chase Payment Solutions.
Does North have an API?
Yes. North offers APIs and SDKs through North Developer (developer.north.com) enabling merchants, ISVs, and VARs to integrate payment solutions into mobile apps, websites, and POS systems. Product-specific APIs include In-Person Payment APIs for Retail, B2B API, and Integrated Payment APIs. Developer documentation is at developer.north.com.
What industry is North in?
North's product category is Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMADAD, Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms), with a secondary code of FSAMABAF, Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management). Its NAICS code is 522320.