Felix Payment Systems
Felix Payment Systems Ltd. is a Vancouver-based payment technology company that provides a 100% cloud-based SoftPOS platform, enabling NFC-enabled devices to function as certified EMV payment terminals via its Tap to Pay SDK and Felix.Terminal app for ISVs, acquirers, OEMs, and merchants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Felix Payment Systems does
Felix Payment Systems Ltd. is a Vancouver-headquartered payment technology company that has built what it describes as the world's first 100% cloud-based SoftPOS payment acceptance platform. Originally founded in Melbourne, Australia in 2016 and incorporated in North America in 2019, the company relocated its operations to Vancouver, BC. Its core technology, Felix.Cloud, is a patented cloud-based EMV kernel that relocates payment processing from hardware terminals to cloud infrastructure, enabling any NFC-enabled commercial off-the-shelf device — smartphones, tablets, kiosks, and POS terminals — to function as a certified contactless payment terminal. Felix holds PCI MPoC certification (achieved June 2025), EMV L2 certifications for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover, and EMV L3 pre-certifications with six major North American acquirers (Chase, Elavon, Fiserv, Heartland, North American Bancard, and TSYS).
The company offers three core products: a Tap to Pay SDK for ISVs, POS vendors, and software developers embedding contactless payments into their applications; a white-label Felix.Terminal Android application published on Google Play for merchants and ISO/reseller distribution; and the Felix.Cloud kernel-as-a-service platform that powers both. Multi-platform SDKs support Android, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Felix targets enterprise retailers (via the Accuvia Software Group and HP Engage hardware partnerships), ISVs, hardware OEMs (HP, Elo, oona, Seiko Instruments), banks and payment service providers, and merchants across retail, hospitality, healthcare, transit, field services, and petro/convenience verticals.
Felix monetizes through a combination of SDK licensing and royalty arrangements, per-transaction fees on cloud-processed payments, and enterprise platform subscriptions under custom quote-based multi-year contracts. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company operates a multi-channel distribution model combining direct enterprise field sales, ISV/SDK integration partnerships, ISO/reseller channels, hardware OEM partnerships, and pre-certified acquirer networks. Felix is privately held with a single seed financing round in July 2020 from strategic private equity investors; subsequent funding rounds are not disclosed. The team has grown to 60+ employees, and leadership includes CEO Andrew Cole (previously CFO, succeeding Owen Newport) and Chief Commercial Officer Ross Smith.
Felix Payment Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Felix Payment Systems
- Legal name
- Felix Payment Systems Ltd.
- Website
- https://payfelix.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Felix Payment Systems Ltd. is a Vancouver-based payment technology company that provides a 100% cloud-based SoftPOS platform, enabling NFC-enabled devices to function as certified EMV payment terminals via its Tap to Pay SDK and Felix.Terminal app for ISVs, acquirers, OEMs, and merchants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Felix Payment Systems industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)
- akta.pro primary industry
- POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure (FSAGABAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance (FSAMADAG), Smart Routing, Cascading & Payment Optimization (FSAMACAJ)
Keywords
Where Felix Payment Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Felix Payment Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- SDK Licensing: Felix provides its Tap to Pay SDK to ISVs, POS vendors, and software developers who integrate contactless payment acceptance into their applications. Partners embed the SDK and pay licensing fees or revenue share for transaction processing.
- Transaction Processing: Revenue generated from processing contactless payments through the cloud platform. Each transaction processed through the Felix kernel generates transaction fees, typically a percentage of transaction value.
- Enterprise Platform Fees: Enterprise retailers and large merchants pay platform fees for access to Felix's pre-certified payment gateway and SDK infrastructure, enabling rapid deployment at scale with reduced certification costs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom enterprise pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
Felix Payment Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Felix Payment Systems provides a cloud-native SoftPOS payment acceptance platform that enables contactless EMV transactions on any NFC-enabled commercial off-the-shelf device. Its core offering centers on a patented cloud-based EMV kernel (Felix.Cloud) exposed through Tap to Pay SDKs for Android, Windows, and Linux, a white-label Felix.Terminal app, and a pre-certified payment gateway connecting to major North American acquirers. The platform eliminates the need for dedicated hardware terminals by relocating all EMV processing to the cloud.
Product overview
Felix Payment Systems offers a cloud-native, device-agnostic SoftPOS payments platform consisting of two core product lines: the Tap to Pay SDK (for ISVs, developers, and POS vendors embedding contactless payments into their own applications) and Felix.Terminal (a white-label, downloadable SoftPOS app for merchants and resellers). Both are powered by Felix.Cloud, the company's patented cloud-based EMV kernel that handles all payment processing in the cloud via Kernel-as-a-Service. The Pre-Certified Payment Gateway layer provides pre-certified L3 connectivity to major North American acquirers, eliminating integration and certification friction. The platform supports Android, Windows, and Linux operating systems and accepts all major contactless payment methods including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Felix.Terminal: Tap to Phone SoftPOS acceptance solution for merchants, offering functionality and security similar to traditional terminals with added mobility benefits.
- Felix.Cloud
Products and services
- Tap to Pay SDK Felix's flagship Software Development Kit that enables Android, Windows, and Linux application developers, ISVs, POS vendors, and mobile POS providers to integrate contactless Tap-to-Pay acceptance directly into their existing applications, turning NFC-enabled smartphones, tablets, kiosks, and POS devices into certified EMV payment terminals without proprietary card readers.
- Felix.Terminal Felix's white-label SoftPOS application available on the Google Play Store, allowing merchants to download and accept contactless EMV payments directly on NFC-enabled Android smartphones and tablets without external card readers or dongles. Fully branded and configurable for reseller and ISO partner distribution.
- Felix.Cloud Felix's proprietary, patented cloud-based EMV kernel platform that relocates all core terminal processing functionality to the cloud, enabling any NFC-enabled COTS device to process contactless EMV transactions. Provides Kernel-as-a-Service with centralized cloud-based kernel maintenance, EMV L2 certified for all major card brands.
- Pre-Certified Payment Gateway Felix's pre-certified payment gateway connects its cloud SoftPOS platform to the largest North American acquiring banks and processors (Chase, Elavon, Fiserv, Heartland, NAB, TSYS) through pre-certified L3 connections, removing traditional integration and certification friction for enterprise deployments.
- Windows SoftPOS Solution Industry-first Windows-based SoftPOS deployment integrating Felix's cloud SDK with HP Engage Go 10 mobile devices, enabling contactless payment acceptance via embedded NFC without traditional payment terminals for enterprise retailers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Eliminates all SoftPOS certification and maintenance requirements for customers and partners through cloud architecture
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Felix Payment Systems
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Felix Payment Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration19 records
Feature5 records
Felix Payment Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Accuvia Software GroupflagshipStrategic partnership to deliver production-grade Windows SoftPOS payments platform for enterprise retailers. The integrated solution combines Felix's cloud-based Tap-to-Pay capabilities with ASG's enterprise POS software deployed on HP Engage POS hardware. Positions ASG and Felix to capitalize on migration from hardware-centric to software-defined payment solutions in enterprise retail environments.
- HP Inc.coreCollaboration to enable SoftPOS payment experiences across HP Engage device portfolio including HP Engage One Pro G2 and HP Engage Go. Felix SDK integrates with HP devices to enable contactless payment acceptance without traditional terminals. HP Engage portfolio enables fixed checkout, kiosk integration, and mobile payment throughout retail stores.
- Chase Payment SolutionscorePre-certified EMV L3 connection enabling Felix merchants to process payments through Chase payment processing and merchant acquiring services.
- FiservcorePre-certified EMV L3 certification with Fiserv Rapid Connect, one of the largest payment acquirers in North America. Enables Felix SoftPOS services for Fiserv's expansive merchant network.
- ElavoncorePre-certified L3 connection through ViaConnex enabling transaction processing for Felix merchants using Elavon payment services.
- TSYS (Global Payments)corePre-certified L3 connection via MultiPass enabling Felix merchants to process payments through TSYS payment infrastructure.
- Heartland Payment SystemscorePre-certified EMV L3 connection through Portico enabling Felix merchants to process contactless payments via Heartland.
- North American BancardcoreEMV L3 certification with North American Bancard, the 6th largest independent acquirer in North America processing over $45 billion in transactions annually.
- oonaminorIntegration of Felix Tap-to-Pay SDK in oona Android tablets for enhanced payment functionality.
- Payment FoundryminorValue-add payment services provider selling Felix payment acceptance solutions to businesses.
- Mastercard EngagecoreAccepted into elite Mastercard Engage technology partner network, enabling enhanced market access and card brand support for Felix cloud payment solutions.
- ElominorIntegration of Felix Terminal cloud-based Tap to Pay solution into Elo interactive display devices.
- Seiko Instruments USAminorPartnership for retail payment solutions at Retail Now event, enabling Tap to Pay on Seiko Instruments hardware.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Felix Payment Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Adyen: Adyen is a global payments incumbent offering in-person acceptance (terminals, SoftPOS pilots) alongside its enterprise gateway. Its scale, acquirer relationships, and enterprise salesforce make it a direct competitive threat to Felix's enterprise retail strategy.
- Verifone: Verifone is a global POS terminal incumbent now pushing software-defined and SoftPOS offerings. Its enterprise retail footprint overlaps directly with Felix's HP Engage-anchored enterprise retail push.
- Mastercard (Mastercard Cloud Tap on Phone): Mastercard's Cloud Tap on Phone program offers a competing cloud-EMV acceptance solution. Despite Felix being a Mastercard Engage partner, Mastercard's network-led program represents a strategic ceiling on Felix's category positioning.
- Visa (Visa Tap to Phone): Visa operates its own Tap to Phone / Visa Cloud-based program that competes architecturally with Felix's cloud kernel and has the strategic weight to steer acquirers toward its branded program.
- PAX Global Technology: PAX is a major POS hardware manufacturer investing in Android-based SmartPOS and SoftPOS. Its scale and OEM relationships in retail make it a competitor for Felix.Terminal-style deployments and embedded SDK wins.
Direct peers
- Stripe: Stripe offers Stripe Terminal and Tap to Pay on iPhone/Android, providing cloud-orchestrated payment acceptance that competes head-to-head with Felix's SDK and Tap to Phone stack, especially for ISVs and platforms embedding payments into their software.
- SumUp: SumUp is a SoftPOS-first payments provider in Europe and increasingly North America, offering Tap to Pay on phone and integrated acquiring. Its merchant acquisition model and contactless-only focus overlap directly with Felix's Felix.Terminal proposition.
- Block (Square): Square's Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android and its broader seller ecosystem directly compete with Felix's SoftPOS value proposition for SMB and mid-market merchants, particularly in North America.
- PayPal (Zettle): PayPal's Zettle Tap to Pay on iPhone and Zettle Reader hardware target the same contactless acceptance use cases as Felix.Terminal and Felix's SDK, especially for SMBs and ISV-led distribution.
Regional players
- Nexi: Nexi is a leading European payments provider with a SoftPOS proposition. It is comparable as a SoftPOS/acceptance-platform peer but is primarily focused on the European market rather than Felix's North American core.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Felix Payment Systems social profiles
Digital presenceFelix Payment Systems compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance9 records
Felix Payment Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Felix Payment Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Felix Payment Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Felix Payment Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Felix Payment Systems
What does Felix Payment Systems do?
Felix Payment Systems provides a cloud-native SoftPOS payment acceptance platform that enables contactless EMV transactions on any NFC-enabled commercial off-the-shelf device. Its core offering centers on a patented cloud-based EMV kernel (Felix.Cloud) exposed through Tap to Pay SDKs for Android, Windows, and Linux, a white-label Felix.Terminal app, and a pre-certified payment gateway connecting to major North American acquirers. The platform eliminates the need for dedicated hardware terminals by relocating all EMV processing to the cloud.
Is Felix Payment Systems a public or private company?
Felix Payment Systems is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Felix Payment Systems founded?
Felix Payment Systems was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Felix Payment Systems based?
Felix Payment Systems is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Felix Payment Systems make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. SDK Licensing is the primary driver. The others are transaction Processing and enterprise Platform Fees.
Who are Felix Payment Systems's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Adyen, Verifone, Mastercard (Mastercard Cloud Tap on Phone), Visa (Visa Tap to Phone) and PAX Global Technology. Direct peers are Stripe, SumUp, Block (Square) and PayPal (Zettle). Nexi is listed as a regional player.
Does Felix Payment Systems have an API?
Yes. Felix provides a developer portal with a transaction API (doTransaction) that enables contactless EMV payment processing via the SDK. The API supports transaction types, amounts, attestation results, receipt data, and payment data. Developers integrate the SDK into their existing applications; all that is required to activate is an MID and TID from a supported payment processor. No separate gateway API documentation or public sandbox URL is listed on the developer portal.
What industry is Felix Payment Systems in?
Felix Payment Systems's product category is Payment Processing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGABAO, POS, SoftPOS & In-Person Acceptance Infrastructure, with a secondary code of FSAMADAG, EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.