What CMS Payments Intelligence does

CMS Payments Intelligence (CMSPI) is an independent payments advisory firm that helps Global 500 and Fortune 500 merchants reduce payment costs, improve authorization rates, and optimize the performance of their payments supply chains. Founded by Brendan Doyle in 2011 (following his initial payments venture in 1991), the company serves hundreds of the world's largest merchants across six industry verticals: Digital & Subscription, Fashion & Accessories, Food/Drug/Mass/Club (FDMC), Gas & C-Store, QSR & Dining, and Travel, Booking & Ticketing. CMSPI analyzes roughly 87 billion transactions annually — approximately 1 in 7 consumer payment transactions worldwide.

CMSPI's technology stack rests on two proprietary pillars: the Dynamic Data Fabric, which aggregates trillions of data points from billions of enterprise merchant transactions across issuers, acquirers, gateways, and networks, and the AI and machine learning-powered Payments Intelligence Engine, which identifies transaction-level inefficiencies and generates actionable recommendations. Supporting assets include proprietary Bank Identification Number (BIN) tables for issuer-level analysis and the Check Out Alignment Tool (CAT) for payment-method optimization. These capabilities are packaged into three solution areas: Cost Solutions (interchange, scheme fees, PIN/PINless routing, cross-border), Growth Solutions (authorization rate optimization, false decline reduction, fraud strategy), and Intelligence Solutions (real-time monitoring via proprietary dashboards and APIs).

CMSPI's commercial model is performance-based advisory and consulting delivered through multi-year engagements — the firm states it is not paid until it delivers results. Revenue streams include managed services/retainers, time-boxed Sprint Engagements (12–16 weeks targeting specific KPIs such as subscription resilience or wallet optimization), and end-to-end managed RFP/RFI services for acquirer and gateway selection. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales targeting merchant payments, product, finance, and data functions. The firm is headquartered in Manchester, UK (registered) with its primary North American operations in Atlanta, and additional offices in San Diego, Düsseldorf, and Sydney. CMSPI is privately held and backed by Inflexion, a private equity investor that funded the business in 2024 to support advanced analytics development.

Name

CMS Payments Intelligence

Legal name

CMS Payments Intelligence Limited

Website

https://cmspi.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CMS Payments Intelligence (CMSPI) is an independent payments advisory firm that helps Global 500 merchants reduce payment costs and improve authorization rates using an AI-powered analytics platform analyzing 87 billion transactions annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payments Advisory and Optimization Consulting

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment Orchestration Platforms (FSAGABAA)

Keywords

• Payments optimization consulting
• Merchant payment advisory
• Payments cost reduction
• Authorization rate optimization
• Payments data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Consulting Services: CMSPI provides payments advisory services through retainer and managed services engagements. Their commercial model emphasizes mutual success - they don't get paid until they deliver results. Services include forensic transaction analysis, routing optimization, authorization rate improvement, and ongoing strategic consultation.
2. Sprint Engagements: Time-boxed, outcome-based engagements typically lasting 12-16 weeks aimed at high-value digital use cases such as subscription resilience, marketplace payouts, or wallet/AltPay optimization. Combines CMSPI benchmarks, analytics, and expert consulting to deliver specific KPIs.
3. Managed RFP/RFI Services: CMSPI manages end-to-end RFP processes for multi-acquiring and gateway/orchestrator selection, from preparation through implementation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CMS Payments Intelligence (CMSPI) is an independent payments advisory firm that partners with Global 500 merchants to reduce payments costs, improve authorization rates, and optimize the end-to-end payments supply chain. Its offering combines senior-led advisory services with two proprietary technology pillars — the Dynamic Data Fabric (aggregating trillions of data points across issuers, acquirers, gateways, and networks) and the AI/ML-powered Payments Intelligence Engine — delivered through Cost, Growth, and Intelligence solution areas. Engagements are typically retainer-based managed services, time-boxed sprints, or end-to-end managed RFP/RFI processes under a performance-based commercial model.

Product overview

CMSPI offers a unified Smarter Payments Intelligence platform built on two core technology pillars: the Dynamic Data Fabric (aggregating trillions of data points from billions of enterprise merchant transactions across issuers, acquirers, gateways, and networks) and the AI-powered Payments Intelligence Engine (leveraging machine learning to rapidly identify inefficiencies and generate actionable solutions). The platform delivers three integrated solution areas: Cost Solutions (for interchange, scheme fees, and routing optimization), Growth Solutions (for authorization rates, fraud reduction, and acceptance tactics), and Intelligence Solutions (for real-time monitoring via dashboards and APIs). Supporting features include the Check Out Alignment Tool (CAT) for payment page optimization. The company serves Global 500 merchants across six industry verticals: Digital & Subscription, Fashion & Accessories, FDMC, Gas & C-Store, QSR & Dining, and Travel & Ticketing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CMSPI Payments Intelligence Engine

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to $20M+ in annual cost savings for enterprise merchants
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Strawhecker Group (TSG): US-based payments consultancy serving merchants, acquirers and processors with strategy, benchmarking and analytics advisory. Closest direct competitor in merchant-side payments advisory.
• Glenbrook Partners: Payments strategy consulting firm focused on issuers, networks and merchants across cards, real-time payments and digital wallets. Comparable boutique advisory with deep payments expertise.
• Edgar, Dunn & Company: Global independent payments consulting firm advising banks, merchants and fintechs on strategy, pricing and market entry. Overlaps with CMSPI on merchant payments optimization advisory.
• PayGility Advisors: Specialist payments consultancy focused on merchant-side cost optimization, interchange and routing advisory. Most direct peer in the merchant payments cost-reduction niche.
• Aite-Novarica Group: Financial services research and advisory firm covering payments, banking and fintech. Comparable independent advisory serving enterprise clients with data-driven payments insights.
• Mercator Advisory Group: Payments-focused research and advisory firm serving merchants, issuers and processors. Similar business model of advisory plus research publications for the payments ecosystem.
• Datos Insights: Financial services research and advisory firm (successor to Aite-Novarica's financial services practice), covering payments, banking and capital markets. Comparable in delivering enterprise advisory backed by proprietary research.

Broad incumbents

• Bain & Company: Global management consulting firm with a dedicated payments and digital practices serving banks, networks and merchants. Represents a broad incumbent that competes for enterprise payments advisory mandates.
• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting firm with banking and payments practices advising on strategy, operations and transformation across the payments value chain. Broader incumbent competitor for large enterprise clients.
• Visa Consulting & Analytics: Internal advisory arm of Visa that offers payments strategy, optimization and analytics services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Represents a payments network incumbent with overlapping merchant advisory capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cmspay
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cmspi

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CMS Payments Intelligence