Cornerstone Payment Systems
Cornerstone Payment Systems is a Christian-owned Independent Sales Organization founded in 2001 that provides merchant credit card processing, donation gateways, EMV-compliant hardware, and payment gateway services to small and medium businesses and faith-based non-profits across the US and Canada.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersTustin, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cornerstone Payment Systems does
Cornerstone Payment Systems is a Christian-owned and operated Independent Sales Organization (ISO) in the merchant processing industry, founded in 2001 and operating through its legal entity Cornerstone West Inc., which is a registered ISO of Deutsche Bank, USA, New York, NY. The company is headquartered in Tustin, California, employs 11-50 people, and serves merchants across the United States and Canada. Its core product is a payment processing gateway—Cornerstone Gateway Solutions—underpinned by an authorization and settlement network spanning Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners, and Discover, with integrations to TSYS, Worldpay, First Data, NMI, Paya, and Clover. A suite of pre-integrated modules (Cornerstone Virtual Terminal, Shopping Cart, Product Catalog, and Recurring Payment Processing) is offered alongside EMV-compliant mobile and chip card hardware, fraud and chargeback protection, and SSL-encrypted online registration and order forms.
The company differentiates through a faith-based vertical focus rather than by technology alone. Cornerstone serves national Christian ministries and faith-based non-profits (Christian Churches Association, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Focus on the Family, The Gideons International, Trinity Broadcasting Network, HSLDA, among others) using the Cornerstone DONATE Now gateway, custom payment pages, and ministry-specific integrations to platforms such as Fellowship One, BVCMS, eTapestry, ServiceNetwork, DonorPro, Allegiance Software, and Memsys. It also serves conventional small and medium businesses with credit card processing, virtual terminal, shopping cart, and POS integrations (WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento, BigCommerce, Clover, Micros, Aloha). Pricing is quote-based and tailored per merchant, with a stated guarantee of lower processing rates than competitors and a 48-hour underwriting turnaround.
The business runs on a hybrid go-to-market of in-house direct sales and an agent office channel-partner model that recruits sales professionals with no required investment. Revenue is generated principally through transaction-based residual economics on merchant processing volume, supplemented by gateway and virtual terminal service fees and charges for custom-built payment pages. The Processing With A Purpose program ties merchant savings to ongoing non-profit support, and the 2020-01-31 acquisition of Move Your Mountain extended the company's footprint. There are no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or M&A activity beyond that single acquisition, and financial performance metrics such as revenue, ARR, or transaction volume are not publicly disclosed.
Cornerstone Payment Systems firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cornerstone Payment Systems
- Legal name
- Cornerstone West Inc.
- Website
- https://cornerstonepaymentsystems.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cornerstone Payment Systems is a Christian-owned Independent Sales Organization founded in 2001 that provides merchant credit card processing, donation gateways, EMV-compliant hardware, and payment gateway services to small and medium businesses and faith-based non-profits across the US and Canada.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cornerstone Payment Systems industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Merchant Payment Processing
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers (FSAMABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA), Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA), Payment Gateways & Orchestration (BPAMAFAA)
Keywords
Where Cornerstone Payment Systems is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tustin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cornerstone Payment Systems business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
Revenue model
- Credit Card Processing Fees: Merchant processing services that authorize and settle credit card transactions for businesses and non-profits. Revenue is generated through transaction processing fees based on card types and volume processed.
- Gateway and Virtual Terminal Services: Provides payment gateway, virtual terminal, shopping cart, and product catalog tools as pre-integrated features for merchants. Revenue derived from processing through these proprietary tools.
- Custom Payment Pages: Creation of styled payment pages customized to merchant websites, delivered by in-house team.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Custom Tailored Rates |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Cornerstone Payment Systems product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cornerstone Payment Systems operates as an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) providing merchant payment processing services for businesses and non-profits. The company delivers credit card authorization and settlement through its Cornerstone Gateway Solutions engine, complemented by a virtual terminal, shopping cart, and product catalog tools, along with donation processing for ministries and faith-based organizations.
Product overview
Cornerstone Payment Systems is a Christian-owned and operated independent sales organization (ISO) in the merchant processing industry established in 2001. The company offers a unified platform of payment processing solutions built around its Cornerstone Gateway Solutions as the core engine, which powers the Cornerstone Virtual Terminal and Shopping Cart modules. For non-profits and ministries, the Cornerstone DONATE Now platform provides specialized donation processing. The portfolio also includes custom payment pages, Processing With A Purpose (a charitable program), Core Donate (in partnership with iDonate), and EMV compliance solutions with specialized hardware. The company processes all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners, Discover) through its Cornerstone Payment Systems Network, offering 24/7 in-house support, guaranteed lower rates, and fraud/chargeback protection. The product integrates with 48+ third-party platforms including major e-commerce systems (WooCommerce, Shopify, Magento), church management software (Fellowship One, BVCMS, eTapestry), donation platforms (Qgiv, Kimbia, Click and Pledge), and POS systems (Clover, Micros, Aloha).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Merchant Processing Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Savings of over $7,000 per month for largest client
Companies that use Cornerstone Payment Systems
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Cornerstone Payment Systems technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration48 records
Feature5 records
Cornerstone Payment Systems partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- TSYS (Kansas City)coreProcessing partner providing authorization, capture services, and settling of merchant transactions with critical customer support functions.
- NMI (Network Merchants Inc.)corePayment gateway platform enabling acceptance of all payments across ecommerce, retail, mobile, and unattended transactions on any device.
- PayacoreLeading supplier of electronic payment services, merchant accounts, and merchant accounting services.
- WorldpaycorePayment gateway offering many features and options that can be tailored to specific merchant business models.
- First DatacoreGlobal payment technology solutions company providing enterprise-level solutions for all processing needs.
- ClovercoreReliable, easy-to-use point-of-sale (POS) and business management solutions for merchants with cloud-based software. Cornerstone also offers Clover Donation Platform integration.
- Deutsche Bank, USAcoreCornerstone West Inc. is a registered ISO (Independent Sales Organization) of Deutsche Bank, USA, New York, NY.
- iDonate / Core DonatestrategicPartnership offering the world's first 'Donate Now' form that processes cash and non-cash transactions in a unified system for non-profits.
- 50+ eCommerce Platform IntegrationscoreIntegrations with major platforms including WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Shopify, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, 3DCart, and ministry-specific platforms like Classy, Fellowship One, and BVCMS.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Cornerstone Payment Systems competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS): EMS is a US-based ISO offering merchant processing, POS, and payment gateway services to SMBs and non-profits. Highly comparable direct peer with a similar ISO/reseller model and broad vertical coverage including faith-based organizations.
- National Processing: National Processing is an ISO that resells card-present and card-not-present processing on top of major bank and processor rails, with a SMB and non-profit focus. Closely mirrors Cornerstone's ISO structure and merchant segments.
- Dharma Merchant Services: Dharma is a values-aligned ISO that explicitly excludes certain merchant categories (e.g., firearms, adult, gambling) and serves non-profits and progressive SMBs. Most direct peer given the values-driven merchant exclusion policy and ISO model.
- PaymentCloud: PaymentCloud is an ISO focused on high-risk and SMB merchant processing with a broad integration catalog. Comparable as an ISO reseller leveraging multiple processing partners and competing for the same small-to-mid merchant accounts.
- Host Merchant Services: Host Merchant Services is a US ISO offering interchange-plus pricing, virtual terminal, and gateway services to SMBs. Direct peer with similar technology stack (gateway + virtual terminal) and SMB target segment.
Broad incumbents
- Stax: Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) is a subscription-based payment processor targeting SMBs and ISVs with developer-friendly APIs. Broader incumbent overlap given shared SMB and SaaS-integrated payments market, though Stax operates its own acquiring rather than reselling.
- Clover Network (First Data / Fiserv): Clover is a major POS and merchant services platform from Fiserv. Direct technology partner to Cornerstone and overlapping SMB merchant base; competes for the same point-of-sale wallet share at much larger scale.
- Square (Block): Square provides integrated card acceptance, POS, and software services to SMBs across verticals. Broad incumbent competing for the same SMB merchant with a more comprehensive, self-serve stack.
- Stripe: Stripe is a leading payment infrastructure provider serving SMBs, platforms, and enterprises with developer-first APIs. Represents the long-term competitive threat in API-driven and embedded commerce, despite operating primarily online.
Emerging players
- iDonate: iDonate is a digital fundraising platform for non-profits that processes cash and non-cash gifts in a unified donor experience. Partnered with Cornerstone on Core Donate but also a competitor in the faith-based donation-processing niche.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Cornerstone Payment Systems social profiles
Digital presenceCornerstone Payment Systems financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cornerstone Payment Systems leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cornerstone Payment Systems funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cornerstone Payment Systems M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cornerstone Payment Systems
What does Cornerstone Payment Systems do?
Cornerstone Payment Systems operates as an Independent Sales Organization (ISO) providing merchant payment processing services for businesses and non-profits. The company delivers credit card authorization and settlement through its Cornerstone Gateway Solutions engine, complemented by a virtual terminal, shopping cart, and product catalog tools, along with donation processing for ministries and faith-based organizations.
Is Cornerstone Payment Systems a public or private company?
Cornerstone Payment Systems is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cornerstone Payment Systems founded?
Cornerstone Payment Systems was founded in 2001. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Cornerstone Payment Systems based?
Cornerstone Payment Systems is headquartered in Tustin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Cornerstone Payment Systems make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Credit Card Processing Fees are the primary driver. The others are gateway and Virtual Terminal Services and custom Payment Pages.
Who are Cornerstone Payment Systems's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS), National Processing, Dharma Merchant Services, PaymentCloud and Host Merchant Services. Broad incumbents are Stax, Clover Network (First Data / Fiserv), Square (Block) and Stripe. iDonate is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cornerstone Payment Systems have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cornerstone Payment Systems.
What industry is Cornerstone Payment Systems in?
Cornerstone Payment Systems's product category is Merchant Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMABAB, Merchant Acquiring Banks & ISO/MSP Acquirers, with a secondary code of FSAMACAA, Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 7370.