Payway

What Payway does

Payway, Inc. (formerly Edgil) is a privately held payment-processing company founded in 1984 and headquartered in Danvers, Massachusetts. The company specializes in payment processing for subscription- and recurring-revenue businesses, with claimed penetration of 75%+ of the top 100 US newspapers and additional exposure to education, healthcare, restaurants, and eCommerce. It is founder/CEO-led by Daniel R. Nadeau (joined 1991 as a software engineer) with Kimberly Miller as EVP of Strategy & Operations.

Payway's core product is the Payway Payment Solution, a RESTful API-based payment gateway supporting card-not-present and ACH transactions, tokenization, recurring billing, and integrations into subscription-management platforms (Chargebee, Vindicia, Sticky.io, Zoho, FlexCharge) and commerce platforms (WooCommerce). The stack is augmented by a P2PE-validated point-to-point encryption offering through a Bluefin partnership and a new analytics product, Payway Censalytics, with general availability beginning Q1 2026.

The business model combines interchange-plus/cost-plus transaction pricing at approximately 2.4% plus $0.10 per transaction with a flat monthly gateway subscription and optional P2PE add-on. Distribution is direct to mid-market and enterprise merchants and indirect through subscription-billing and eCommerce platform partners. The company maintains PCI DSS 4.0 validation (April 2025) and ten consecutive years on the Visa Global Registry of AIS-listed service providers, but does not disclose revenue, headcount, or funding.

Name

Payway

Legal name

Payway, Inc.

Website

https://payway.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Payway is a Danvers, Massachusetts-based payment processor founded in 1984 that provides a RESTful API gateway and recurring-billing infrastructure for subscription businesses, serving over 75% of the top 100 US newspapers plus education, healthcare, restaurant, and eCommerce merchants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

akta.pro primary industry

Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recurring Billing & AutoPay Management (FSAMAJAE), Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH)

Keywords

• Payment gateway services
• Subscription billing
• Recurring payment processing
• Card-not-present payments
• Merchant processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Danvers

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Processing Fees: Primary revenue from interchange-plus (cost-plus) pricing model where merchants pay the actual interchange rate published by card networks (Visa, Mastercard) plus a flat markup per transaction. For most transactions, charges approximately 2.4% plus $0.10 per transaction (using average card-not-present interchange rates). ACH transactions offered as lower-cost alternative to card payments.
2. Payment Gateway Services: Monthly payment gateway fee for access to Payway's payment processing platform, tokenization vault, reporting tools, and API access. Gateway features including Level 3 processing, Account Updater, and security tools are included in the base solution.
3. P2PE Add-on Services: Additional fees for Point-to-Point Encryption upgrade providing enhanced security and PCI compliance scope reduction through Bluefin partnership.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Payway operates as a payment gateway platform focused on card-not-present transactions for subscription-based and recurring revenue merchants. The company processes recurring payments and provides the technical infrastructure for automated subscription billing. It targets merchants running subscription and membership business models that require reliable ongoing card-not-present payment acceptance.

Product overview

Payway is a unified payment platform combining merchant services, a secure payment gateway, and 24/7 concierge support, specifically designed for card-not-present subscription and recurring revenue businesses. The core Payway Payment Solution is complemented by a suite of integrated modules and add-ons: the Recurring Payment Gateway as the central transaction engine; Virtual Payment Terminal for manual phone/mail processing; Level 3 Payment Processing for B2B rate optimization; Account Updater and Amex Cardrefresher for card data maintenance; Customer Payment Recovery via FlexFactor/Sticky.io/Vindicia; ACH Payments and QR Code Payments for alternative payment methods; Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal); Payment Tokenization with network token support; P2PE (via Bluefin) and 3D Secure (via PAAY) for security; Fraud Protection with BIN filtering; Payway Censalytics for business intelligence; and a Cash Discount Program for fee offsetting. Merchant Services and Cost-Plus Pricing provide transparent transaction costs. The Developer Portal offers a RESTful API with sandbox for integration. Add-on modules work together within the unified platform architecture, accessible through a single API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Payway Censalytics: Business intelligence platform for payments that delivers real-time, actionable data insights to help B2B companies optimize payment performance and reduce failed transactions.

Products and services

• Payway Payment Gateway Card-not-present payment gateway platform that processes transactions for merchants, with a specialization in accepting payments from customers who are not physically present at the point of sale.
• Subscription and Recurring Billing Processing Recurring payment processing service for merchants operating subscription, membership, and other recurring revenue business models, supporting automated ongoing billing through card-not-present transactions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 20% reduction in credit card processing fees vs bundled pricing
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration39 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ChargebeecoreTechnology or Integration · 14 May 2026Integration partnership announced May 14, 2026 at SubSummit 2026 to streamline subscription payments and reduce revenue loss. Chargebee is a leading subscription management platform, and the integration allows Payway to offer seamless recurring billing alongside its payment processing.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or Integration · 30 March 2026Integrated PayPal support added March 30, 2026 within Payway's RESTful API, enabling merchants to offer PayPal as a payment option without requiring a separate system. PayPal transactions processed, managed, and reported alongside all other payment methods in one platform.
• Global Payments (Portico Virtual Terminal)coreTechnology or Integration · 9 January 2024Integration with Global Payments' Portico Virtual Terminal announced January 9, 2024, extending Payway's capabilities for secure and efficient payment processing solutions to customers.
• VCI (Vericheck)coreTechnology or Integration · 19 December 2023ACH processing partnership with VCI, one of the largest ACH payment processing companies with more than 30 years of success, announced December 19, 2023. Enables Payway to offer robust ACH payment solutions.
• WooCommercecoreTechnology or Integration · 11 December 2023Launched Payway Payment Gateway plugin for WooCommerce on December 11, 2023, allowing customers to accept immediate payments from their online WooCommerce stores. Available as free download from WordPress plugin directory.
• FlexCharge (FlexFactor)coreTechnology or Integration · 15 September 2022Partnership with FlexCharge to integrate their failed payment recovery capability into Payway's platform, tackling payment failures for subscription companies. FlexCharge is described as the leading innovator tackling payment failures.
• Chargebacks911minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 April 2022Co-hosted webinar on optimizing chargeback management with 5 best practices for payments, demonstrating collaboration on payment optimization education.
• Green Business BureauminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 April 2022Partnership with Green Business Bureau to adopt sustainability framework demonstrating commitment to environmental responsibility and sustainable business practices.
• RAB2BminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 March 2022Partnership with award-winning digital B2B agency RAB2B to elevate Payway's brand in the market and develop campaigns reaching the software developer community.
• PAAYcoreTechnology or Integration · 18 May 2021Partnership to add PAAY's EMV 3D Secure authentication to Payway's gateway, providing chargeback liability shift to card issuers and increasing authorization rates for e-commerce merchants.
• Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 23 June 2020Partnership with RSPA to provide Payway's payment solutions to members of the association, which includes resellers, distributors, hardware providers, and ISVs in the retail technology space.
• ZohocoreTechnology or Integration · 7 April 2020Integration with Zoho CRM enabling merchants to process payments, simplify billing, reporting, and invoicing directly within Zoho's operating system platform.
• BluefincoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2019P2PE partnership with Bluefin providing PCI-validated Point-to-Point Encryption solution. Bluefin's secure card readers and PIN pads encrypt cardholder data immediately, keeping it inaccessible to merchants and helping achieve PCI DSS compliance.
• Sticky.iocoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment recovery partner in Payway's multi-partner recovery ecosystem. Sticky.io helps online merchants reduce failed payments and credit card declines through automated retries based on customer behavior.
• VindiciacoreTechnology or IntegrationPayment recovery partner in Payway's multi-partner ecosystem. Vindicia Retain is described as the global leader in payments recovery, partnering with enterprise payment teams to intelligently recover failed recurring payments.
• ePublishing (Multipub)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration with Multipub subscription management system for publishers. When used together, credit card numbers are entered in Multipub, encrypted, and sent to Payway for processing, with tokens linking subscriber profiles to payment information stored in Payway's vault.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stripe: Stripe is the dominant cloud-based payment gateway and subscription billing platform. Payway directly competes with Stripe in card-not-present processing for subscription and recurring revenue businesses, though Stripe operates at vastly larger scale and broader market reach.
• Authorize.Net: Authorize.Net is a long-standing payment gateway explicitly named in Payway's competitive comparisons. Both serve SMB and mid-market merchants with card-not-present recurring billing functionality, making them direct peers in the gateway space.

Broad incumbents

• Square (Block): Square offers a broad payments platform spanning in-person, online, and subscription billing (Square Subscriptions). It overlaps with Payway in card-not-present processing for small businesses and subscription merchants, though Square's broader portfolio goes well beyond Payway's recurring-billing niche.
• PayPal (Braintree): PayPal, through Braintree, is a global incumbent in payment gateway and recurring billing. Payway competes with PayPal/Braintree for card-not-present subscription merchants, and Payway now integrates PayPal as a payment option to extend its offering.
• Adyen: Adyen is a global enterprise payments platform offering unified online and in-person processing. While Adyen focuses on large enterprise merchants and global acquiring, it competes with Payway for high-volume subscription and recurring-billing accounts that demand cost transparency and global reach.

Emerging players

• Sticky.io: Sticky.io is a subscription billing and payment recovery platform integrated with Payway. While both serve subscription merchants, Sticky.io specializes in failed-payment recovery and recurring billing optimization, intersecting with Payway's Customer Payment Recovery module rather than competing head-to-head as a general gateway.
• Recurly: Recurly is a subscription management and recurring billing platform competing in the same subscription-economy segment as Payway. Recurly focuses on SaaS and DTC subscription billing with native payment orchestration, making it an emerging specialist competitor in Payway's target market.
• Chargebee: Chargebee is a subscription management platform that recently announced a partnership with Payway. While primarily a billing and subscription management layer, Chargebee increasingly integrates payment processing, intersecting with Payway's recurring-billing and merchant-agnostic positioning.
• Spreedly: Spreedly is a payment orchestration platform that sits above multiple gateways/processors to optimize routing, tokenization, and vaulting. It overlaps with Payway in merchant-agnostic vault and tokenization capabilities, though Spreedly serves a more developer-centric, multi-processor audience.

Regional players

• BlueSnap: BlueSnap is a payment gateway and merchant account provider offering international payment processing with subscription billing capabilities. It competes with Payway for cross-border recurring revenue merchants, though its primary market focus extends beyond Payway's North American publishing-centric base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PaywayComplete
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2g-3XWtzsZi6az5M52_4Iw
• Facebookfacebook.com/paywaycomplete
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/payway
• Instagraminstagram.com/gopayway

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Payway