Electronic Merchant Systems
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersCleveland, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
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.
Electronic Merchant Systems firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Electronic Merchant Systems industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Electronic Merchant Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cleveland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Electronic Merchant Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- 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.
- Hardware Sales: Revenue from sale of payment terminals, POS hardware, and card readers. Free terminal options available for new customers as promotional offers.
- 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.
- Business Funding / Financing: Revenue-generating ancillary service providing invoice financing, merchant cash advances, and purchase order financing to existing merchant customers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Merchant Processing |
| Hybrid | Monthly | Enterprise/Mid-Market Solutions |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Electronic Merchant Systems product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Electronic Merchant Systems
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments14 records
Electronic Merchant Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability5 records
Feature7 records
Electronic Merchant Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Findustry AIcoreKurv/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 PaymentscoreEMS 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, NAcoreEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for BMO Bank, NA (Cincinnati, OH)
- Central Bank of St. LouiscoreEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for Central Bank of St. Louis (St. Louis, MO)
- Esquire Bank, NAcoreEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for Esquire Bank, NA (Jericho, New York)
- Merrick BankcoreEMS operates as a registered Independent Sales Organization/MSP for Merrick Bank (South Jordan, UT)
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Electronic Merchant Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
Electronic Merchant Systems social profiles
Digital presenceElectronic Merchant Systems compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Electronic Merchant Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Electronic Merchant Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Electronic Merchant Systems subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Electronic Merchant Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Electronic Merchant Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&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
What does Electronic Merchant Systems do?
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.
Is Electronic Merchant Systems a public or private company?
Electronic Merchant Systems is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Electronic Merchant Systems founded?
Electronic Merchant Systems was founded in 1988. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Electronic Merchant Systems based?
Electronic Merchant Systems is headquartered in Cleveland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Electronic Merchant Systems make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Payment Processing / Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are hardware Sales, gateway and Software Services and business Funding / Financing.
Who are Electronic Merchant Systems's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Stripe, Fiserv, Global Payments and Square (Block). Direct peers are Clover (by Fiserv), Dharma Merchant Services, Helcim, Payment Depot, Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) and North American Bancard.
Does Electronic Merchant Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for Electronic Merchant Systems.
What industry is Electronic Merchant Systems in?
Electronic Merchant Systems's product category is Payment Processing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMABAB, Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers, with a secondary code of FSAMABAA, Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer).