Electronic Merchant Systems

What Electronic Merchant Systems does

Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS), founded in 1988 and headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is a privately held merchant solutions and payments provider that operates primarily under the "Kurv" brand. The company serves over 30,000 businesses across the United States through a registered ISO/MSP model sponsored by four banking partners (BMO Bank, Central Bank of St. Louis, Esquire Bank, and Merrick Bank). Its product surface spans in-person, online, mobile, and self-service payment acceptance, supported by a gateway, virtual terminal, POS hardware (handheld and all-in-one terminals), Tap to Pay, QR-code, and Text-to-Pay flows, alongside recurring billing, invoicing, fraud prevention, and chargeback dispute resolution. EMS generates revenue primarily through transaction-based processing fees on credit card and ACH/eCheck volume, supplemented by hardware sales, gateway/software subscriptions, and business funding/financing ancillary services.

The Kurv platform is built around an integrated omnichannel stack rather than a single point product. Underlying technology includes AI/ML-based risk monitoring and fraud detection, automated chargeback prevention with dispute resolution, 3D Secure authentication for card-not-present flows, interchange optimization tools, and a merchant portal with real-time reporting. EMS extends the platform via a mobile merchant app on iOS and Android and offers developer-facing integration resources for embedded and white-label payment scenarios. Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales, inside sales for mid-market, a self-serve online application (with onboarding within 24 hours), and a multi-tier agent/ISO partner channel with a dedicated agent portal.

EMS operates across a broad vertical set including retail, eCommerce, restaurant and bar, petroleum/C-store (via the Peel Payments acquisition), B2B, healthcare, hospitality, health and wellness, field services, automotive, unattended/kiosk, and SaaS/marketplace. Growth has been driven primarily through acquisitions (Paysley in 2022, PaymentCloud in 2024, Peel Payments in 2025) and strategic investments (Payment Nerds and Pet Payments in 2025), with a recent partnership integrating Findustry AI's agentic chargeback management service. The company maintains PCI Level 1 & 2, GDPR, and CCPA compliance, holds an A+ BBB rating, a 4.8 Google rating with 1,000+ reviews, and Inc. 5000 recognition. Leadership includes Afshin Yazdian as CEO and Executive Chairman and Dan Neistadt as President and CEO, with a C-suite covering CIO, CRO, CFO, and COO functions.

Name

Electronic Merchant Systems

Legal name

Electronic Merchant Systems LLC

Website

https://emscorporate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Electronic Merchant Systems, operating as Kurv, is a Cleveland-based private payment processor and ISO/MSP serving over 30,000 US merchants across retail, eCommerce, restaurant, petroleum, healthcare, and B2B with omnichannel payment acceptance, gateway, POS hardware, fraud prevention, and business funding services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

akta.pro primary industry

Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers (FSAMABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA), Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD), Marketplace / Platform Acquiring (PayFac & Sub-Merchant Management) (FSAMABAF), Merchant Acquiring & Processing Platforms (BPAMAFAB), Unattended & Self-Service Payments (Kiosks, Vending, Parking, EV Charging) (FSAMADAE)

Keywords

• Merchant payment processing
• Credit card processing
• Payment gateway services
• POS terminal solutions
• Omnichannel payment platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Cleveland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing / Transaction Fees: Core revenue from processing credit card and ACH/eCheck transactions. Merchants pay per transaction based on volume and card type. The platform supports in-person, online, mobile, and recurring payment processing.
2. Hardware Sales: Revenue from sale of payment terminals, POS hardware, and card readers. Free terminal options available for new customers as promotional offers.
3. Gateway and Software Services: Additional revenue from payment gateway services, virtual terminals, invoicing tools, and white-label payment pages bundled with processing or as add-on services.
4. Business Funding / Financing: Revenue-generating ancillary service providing invoice financing, merchant cash advances, and purchase order financing to existing merchant customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Electronic Merchant Systems, operating under the Kurv brand, provides merchant payment processing services to over 30,000 businesses across retail, restaurant, eCommerce, petroleum, healthcare, hospitality, and B2B verticals. The company delivers an omnichannel payment platform combining a payment gateway, virtual terminals, point-of-sale (POS) hardware, mobile acceptance, and contactless/QR/text-to-pay options, bundled with AI/ML fraud prevention, chargeback dispute resolution, recurring billing, and ancillary business funding services.

Product overview

Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS) operates as Kurv, a next-generation omnichannel payment platform providing a comprehensive suite of payment solutions. The platform architecture consists of the core Kurv platform supporting multiple delivery channels including Payment Gateway, Virtual Terminal, and Point of Sale systems (Handheld Smart Terminal, All-in-One Terminal). Key product categories include in-person payments (Tap to Pay, Contactless Payments), online/eCommerce payments (Payment Gateway with QR codes), mobile payments (Text to Pay, Merchant App), and self-service/kiosk payments. The platform integrates fraud prevention with AI/ML risk monitoring and chargeback dispute resolution. EMS also offers financial services (Business Funding, Gift/Loyalty programs) and industry-specific solutions, particularly for petroleum/C-Store (via Peel Payments acquisition), retail, healthcare, hospitality, and restaurant verticals. Recent expansion includes strategic investment in Payment Nerds and Pet Payments ventures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kurv Payment Gateway

Quantifiable outcome

• Serve over 30,000 businesses
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments14 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Findustry AIcoreTechnology or Integration · 12 June 2026Kurv/EMS uses Findustry AI's AI-powered chargeback management service. The tool helps automate responses to card chargebacks including friendly fraud disputes, with the goal of increasing win rates and reducing labor costs for merchants.
• Peel PaymentscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2025EMS acquired Oklahoma City-based Peel Payments, a leader in petroleum vertical solutions. The acquisition aimed to enhance EMS's distribution channels and market reach in the petroleum/C-Store market by combining Peel Payments' vertical expertise with EMS's technology infrastructure.
• BMO Bank, NAcoreOthersEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for BMO Bank, NA (Cincinnati, OH)
• Central Bank of St. LouiscoreOthersEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for Central Bank of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
• Esquire Bank, NAcoreOthersEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for Esquire Bank, NA (Jericho, New York)
• Merrick BankcoreOthersEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for Merrick Bank (South Jordan, UT)

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Global payments infrastructure company dominant in online/eCommerce and increasingly expanding into in-person POS — overlaps with EMS/Kurv on gateway, embedded payments, and omnichannel acceptance, particularly for SaaS and marketplace merchants.
• Fiserv: Top-tier merchant acquirer and fintech incumbent offering Clover, processing services, and embedded finance — broader portfolio play that competes with EMS across gateway, POS, and acquiring services at a much larger scale.
• Global Payments: Major global merchant acquiring and payment processing company (including Heartland Payment Systems) — competes with EMS across SMB acquiring, gateway, and vertical solutions with similar ISO-channel models.
• Square (Block): Large incumbent payments and POS platform serving SMBs with hardware, software, banking, and lending — broad overlap with EMS on omnichannel SMB acceptance, though at vastly larger scale and with proprietary sponsor-bank infrastructure.

Direct peers

• Clover (by Fiserv): Integrated POS and payments platform from Fiserv serving SMBs across retail, restaurant, and services with hardware/software bundles — directly comparable product suite to Kurv's POS terminals and omnichannel offering.
• Dharma Merchant Services: Independent merchant services provider with transparent pricing, ISO relationships, and multi-vertical SMB focus — comparable peer in the independent payment processor segment targeting similar merchant profiles as Kurv.
• Helcim: Direct SMB payments processor offering transparent interchange-plus pricing, payment gateway, POS, and recurring billing — competes head-to-head with Kurv on transparent pricing and SMB omnichannel acceptance.
• Payment Depot: Membership-based merchant services provider offering wholesale processing rates, POS, and gateway services to SMBs — competes with Kurv in the SMB merchant acquiring segment with similar ISO-channel economics.
• Stax (formerly Fattmerchant): Subscription-based payment processor targeting SMB and mid-market with transparent pricing, omnichannel acceptance, and integrated POS — directly comparable go-to-market and pricing philosophy to EMS/Kurv.
• North American Bancard: One of the largest independent ISO/MSPs in the US, offering merchant acquiring, payment gateway, and POS solutions to SMBs across multiple verticals — closely mirrors EMS's business model, sponsor-bank structure, and SMB focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/emscorporate
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kurvpayments
• Facebookfacebook.com/emscorporate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emscorporate
• Instagraminstagram.com/kurvpayments
• TikToktiktok.com/@kurvpayments

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments4 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Electronic Merchant Systems