BluePenguin

What BluePenguin does

BluePenguin Payments, Inc. is a private U.S. fintech founded in 2018 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, that provides B2B virtual-card-based payment automation for vendor invoice processing. The company's core product is its proprietary Aurora platform, launched in March 2020, which was built from scratch as a fully virtualized, microservices-based payments core with on-the-fly scaling, redundancy, and built-in support for multiple card networks (Visa, Mastercard) and payment types (virtual, physical, mobile cards plus ACH and digital/physical checks). Aurora includes a digital customer application, KYC and contract management, and a self-directed integration harness exposing a RESTful API with batch options. The product portfolio is organized as a platform plus modules (Cards, Automation, Visibility, Payouts) and is augmented by add-ons for payment automation, real-time reporting, security, and ERP/AP integrations.

BluePenguin sells to enterprise and mid-market businesses across at least eight named verticals — Construction, Healthcare, Higher Education, Logistics, Media & Ad Agencies, Retail & eCommerce, Software & Tech, and Travel & Hospitality — with named case-study customers spanning Waste Management, an ISO partner, a Logistics company, and an ISV partner. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales (demo requests and consultation forms) with an inside-sales self-service application flow, plus a structured channel program covering ISVs/Integrators (who embed the technology) and ISOs/Resellers (who refer business on commission). The company is PCI-DSS and SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, uses Pathward, N.A. as its sponsor bank, and runs its issuing/processing infrastructure on Galileo Financial Technologies.

The business model is transaction-based: BluePenguin earns interchange fees on virtual-card transactions and shares a portion of those rebates with customers, effectively turning outbound AP into a cash-back-generating activity for buyers. Pricing is quote-based, tied to payment volume and customer agreement terms, and billed on a pay-as-you-go cadence. The company also generates ancillary fee revenue on ACH and check payment rails used for vendors that do not accept cards. Per company-stated metrics, customers see 73% faster processing times and 81% lower processing costs relative to traditional methods, with case studies citing $550K to over $3M in annual cash-back rebates for individual enterprise customers. The company has raised at least $3,249,999 through an SEC Form D exempt offering (June 2022) and is led by a team of payments-industry veterans including co-founder and CEO Steve Boyer (co-inventor of the original electronic gift card, co-founder of ValueLink acquired by First Data), COO Jake Sterling (15 patents in transaction processing), President and Head of M&A Adam McDaniel, CRO Patrick McKay, CISO Paul Palmer, and CFO John Scariot (formerly CFO of Mastercard Worldwide's Global Technology & Operations division).

Name

BluePenguin

Legal name

BluePenguin Payments, Inc.

Website

https://bluepenguin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BluePenguin Payments provides B2B virtual-card payment automation and AP-automation software to enterprise and mid-market businesses across multiple verticals, running on its proprietary Aurora platform and earning interchange-based transaction fees with rebate-sharing economics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

B2B Payment Processing

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (522210), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Embedded Payments (Pay-ins, Pay-outs, Wallets) (FSAGALAB), B2B / Invoice-Based BNPL (Trade Credit at Checkout) (FSAGAIAC)

Keywords

• B2B payment processing
• Virtual card payments
• Accounts payable automation
• Commercial payment solutions
• Vendor invoice automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Alpharetta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Virtual Card Transaction Fees: BluePenguin generates revenue through interchange fees on virtual card transactions. When businesses pay vendors using BluePenguin virtual cards, the company earns a portion of the transaction interchange.
2. Rebate Sharing: BluePenguin shares a percentage of the interchange rebate with customers. Customers earn cash-back rebates on qualified vendor payments made through the platform.
3. ACH and Check Services: For vendors that don't accept cards, BluePenguin offers ACH, digital check and physical check payment services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BluePenguin provides a proprietary B2B payments platform (Aurora) that converts outbound vendor invoice payments into virtual card transactions, enabling businesses to automate accounts payable workflows and earn cash-back rebates. The platform supports multi-network virtual, physical, and mobile cards, integrates with ERP and AP systems via RESTful API, and delivers real-time payment visibility and reporting.

Product overview

BluePenguin offers a unified platform-plus-modules architecture for B2B payment automation. The core BluePenguin Platform serves as the foundation, powered by the proprietary Aurora Platform launched in March 2020. The solution portfolio centers on Virtual Cards (multi-network, multi-product cards across virtual, physical, and mobile formats) as the primary payment instrument. Supporting modules include Payment Automation for AP workflows, Reporting and Operations for transaction visibility, Security for encryption and fraud protection, and Integrations for ERP/AP system connectivity. The platform modules (Cards, Automation, Visibility, Payouts) are designed as standalone components that can be assembled and configured to meet specific business needs, enabling customers to implement exact solutions without costly customization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aurora: Proprietary B2B payments platform launched in March 2020, featuring completely virtualized, automatically deployed core system enabling on-the-fly scaling and redundancy, with microservices design philosophy.

Products and services

• BluePenguin Platform
• Aurora Platform
• Virtual Cards
• Payment Automation
• Reporting and Operations
• Security
• Integrations

Quantifiable outcome

• 73% faster processing times for vendor payments
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Galileo Financial TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 1 September 2020Galileo is BluePenguin's API-based payments platform partner. BluePenguin leverages Galileo's technology for card issuing and digital banking capabilities. The partnership was expanded in 2020 to support BluePenguin's growth and rapid solution development.
• MastercardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 2019Strategic partnership to deliver Virtual Commercial Payment transactions through BluePenguin's reseller channels to Mastercard merchants. BluePenguin's proprietary platform enables small and medium sized businesses to pay vendor bills easily to Mastercard merchants.
• Pathward, National AssociationcoreTechnology or IntegrationPathward is the sponsoring bank for BluePenguin's card and ACH services. Pathward is a member bank in the Mastercard and Visa payment networks and provides ODFI sponsorship services to the ACH network. BluePenguin acts as Program Manager for payment card services and Third-Party Sender for ACH services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Melio: Melio provides B2B payments for SMBs, including bill pay by ACH and card, with AP automation. Competes with BluePenguin in the SMB/mid-market segment for vendor invoice payment digitization.
• Bill.com: Bill.com is the leading B2B AP/AR automation platform with virtual card payment capabilities, serving SMBs and mid-market. Direct competitor to BluePenguin in bill pay automation and vendor invoice processing, with broader AP/AR functionality.
• Ramp: Ramp provides corporate cards and automated AP/spend management for businesses. Competes with BluePenguin in B2B virtual cards and bill payment, with stronger direct-sales distribution and capital base but less vertical depth in B2B supplier payments.
• Brex: Brex issues B2B corporate cards and offers AP automation, expense management, and bill pay. Overlaps with BluePenguin on virtual commercial cards and AP automation, targeting enterprises and tech-forward SMBs.
• Plastiq: Plastiq enables businesses to pay vendor invoices (including those not accepting cards) via credit card, monetizing interchange. Closest direct competitor to BluePenguin's virtual-card-for-invoices value proposition with similar card-based vendor payment mechanics.
• AvidXchange: AvidXchange offers AP automation and bill payment solutions for mid-market businesses, including virtual card payments. Direct competitor in automating vendor invoice workflows across multiple verticals.
• Tipalti: Tipalti provides AP automation, global mass payouts, and supplier management. Competes with BluePenguin's AP automation and Payouts module, especially for businesses with international vendor networks.
• Airbase: Airbase offers corporate cards, AP automation, and spend management for mid-market and enterprise. Overlaps with BluePenguin on virtual cards, bill pay, and approval workflows.

Broad incumbents

• Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions: Citi offers commercial card programs (Citi Virtual Card Payments) and integrated B2B payment solutions. A broad incumbent competitor in the virtual commercial card space with deeper enterprise relationships and balance sheet, but not specialized in SMB/mid-market AP automation.
• US Bank Voyager Network: US Bank's commercial card programs (including Voyager Fleet and virtual card solutions) compete with BluePenguin's virtual commercial cards for vendor payments. Larger incumbent with full banking stack but narrower focus on virtual-card-led AP automation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bluepenguin-payments

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 BluePenguin