North

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.

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

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

• Payment processing services
• Merchant services
• Point of sale systems
• Credit card processing
• Payment gateway solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Troy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Gateway and Platform Fees: Monthly gateway fees for online payment processing and virtual terminal access for card-not-present transactions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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

Named customers2 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• VisacoreTechnology or Integration · 11 May 2026North 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 DiveflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 April 2026North 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 BakedminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 October 2025North 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.
• PayTracecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPayTrace, 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

Direct 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

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZFOxoVZTaSb_3jSniV6TlA
• Facebookfacebook.com/northabpayments
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northpayments
• Instagraminstagram.com/northpayments
• Xx.com/northabpayments

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A8 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about North