Franchise Payments Network (FPN)

What Franchise Payments Network (FPN) does

Franchise Payments Network (FPN), founded in 2006 by CEO Tom Epstein and headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a privately held, bootstrapped payments and software provider focused exclusively on the franchise industry. The company operates under Franchise Payments Network LLC and is registered as an Independent Sales Organization / Merchant Services Provider with PNC Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, giving it acquiring and banking infrastructure underwritten by major U.S. banks despite a headcount of roughly 30 employees. FPN's core product is a cloud-based payment processing platform that supports credit authorization, EMV, NFC, ACH, debit (PIN and signature), recurring transactions, and eCommerce with Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and PayPal acceptance, integrated with 50+ third-party systems including Verifone, NCR, Micros, Clover, Aloha POS, Brink POS, FranConnect, IFX, WaterFall, QuickBooks, OLO, Magento, and Microsoft Power BI.

On top of the payment rail, FPN sells a modular software suite: POLN8 (formerly FPN Loyalty), a sister-company loyalty platform reporting up to 17% ticket lift and 50% increases in customer visit frequency; FPN POS, a cloud-based multi-location point-of-sale with countertop, kiosk, and mobile variants; Automated Royalty Transactions (ART) for ACH-based franchise fee collection; gift card and text marketing programs; PCI DSS compliance management; and FPN Capital, a capital-on-demand funding offering for franchisees. The FPN Advantage Program layers in chargeback protection up to $1,000 and data-breach insurance up to $100,000.

Revenue is generated through transaction-based interchange-plus fees on payment processing, monthly subscription tiers of $59-$199 per location for loyalty and engagement software, ACH transaction fees (0.29% + $0.29 plus $10/month), PCI and statement portal subscriptions, and managed-services revenue from capital. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales to franchisors (with named endorsed-partner relationships at brands such as Nathan's Famous, OxiFresh, Mac Tools, Tutor Doctor, TeamLogic IT, Senior Helpers, JAN-PRO, PuroClean, CertaPro Painters, and Escapology), IFA preferred-vendor status, franchise trade-show presence, and a $100 referral program for franchisees. The company claims 220+ franchise brands served, 30+ million unique loyalty consumers, and five consecutive Entrepreneur Magazine Top Franchise Supplier awards (2018-2022), and has explicitly never taken outside investment.

Name

Franchise Payments Network (FPN)

Legal name

Franchise Payments Network LLC

Website

https://franchisepaymentsnetwork.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Franchise Payments Network is a bootstrapped, Orlando-based payment processor and vertical software provider serving 220+ U.S. franchise brands with credit/debit processing, loyalty (POLN8), cloud POS, automated royalty collection, and franchisee capital, sold primarily through franchisor-level endorsed-partner and IFA preferred-vendor channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment Orchestration Platforms (Multi-PSP Routing) (FSAMACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH)

Keywords

• Franchise payment processing
• Merchant services
• Loyalty programs
• POS systems
• Automated royalty collection

Headquarters

HQ city

Ocoee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Services: Transaction-based fees for credit/debit card processing, ACH transactions, and payment gateway services. Includes monthly service fees, per-transaction fees, and PCI compliance fees. Revenue from debit card processing typically under 1.65%, with 70% of debit transactions under 1.00% under Interchange Plus pricing.
2. Loyalty and Gift Card Programs: Monthly subscription tiers for loyalty programs ($59, $129, $199 per location), initial setup fees ($295 franchisor, $95 per franchisee), gift card programs, and mobile loyalty solutions. POLN8 loyalty platform for franchise brands.
3. Automated Royalty Transactions: Low-cost ACH-based automated royalty and advertising fee collection from franchisees, integrated with franchise management software platforms.
4. FPN Capital: Funding solutions for franchise businesses through capital-on-demand services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Franchise Payments Network provides payment processing, loyalty programs, POS systems, mobile solutions, and automated royalty collection services exclusively for the franchise industry. The company operates a cloud-based platform integrating with major POS systems, payment gateways, franchise management software, and accounting tools, serving over 220 franchise brands. FPN is registered as an ISO/MSP with PNC Bank, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, providing credit/debit authorization, EMV/NFC acceptance, eCommerce, recurring billing, and franchise-specific consulting.

Product overview

FPN offers a unified payment processing platform specifically designed for the franchise industry, combining core payment processing with a modular suite of products. The core Payment Processing service handles credit/debit authorization, EMV, NFC, and recurring transactions, which integrates with the FPN POS cloud-based system for point-of-sale operations. The POLN8 Loyalty module provides customer retention tools that generate measurable ROI through ticket lifts and visit frequency. Additional modules include Mobile Solutions for phone apps and mobile processing, eCommerce for online payments, Gift Card Programs with geo-fencing, Text Marketing for customer engagement, Automated Royalty Transactions (ART) for franchise fee collection, and QuickBooks Integration for accounting. FPN Capital provides funding solutions while PCI Security Compliance and The Advantage Program offer security and chargeback protection. The company is ISO certified through Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• POLN8: Loyalty program brand formerly known as FPN Loyalty, delivering loyalty solutions for franchise brands with proven ROI including up to 17% ticket lift and 50% increase in visit frequency.
• FPN Capital
• FPN POS

Products and services

• Payment Processing Core payment processing service for the franchise industry including credit authorization, EMV, NFC, debit processing, and recurring transactions. Handles credit/debit authorization for franchise merchants with interchange plus pricing.
• POLN8 Loyalty Loyalty program platform that delivers up to 17% ticket lift and 50% increases in customer visit frequency for franchise brands. Includes mobile solutions, text marketing, and geo-fencing capabilities.
• FPN POS Cloud-based point-of-sale system for franchises with multi-location capability, available as countertop, kiosk, and mobile solutions. Integrates with major POS systems and franchise management software.
• Mobile Solutions Mobile payment and processing solutions including phone apps, online ordering, and mobile processing for franchise operations. Supports smartphone and tablet-based transactions.
• FPN Capital Capital funding solutions for franchisees to support business growth, offering capital-on-demand services.
• eCommerce Solution Online payment processing solution with integrated web cash register, ACH capability, recurring payments, and fraud protection. Supports Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and PayPal.
• Gift Card Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Franchise brands save up to 30% on payment processing costs
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration60 records

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Franchise Association (IFA)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2022FPN named IFA's preferred vendor for electronic payments and loyalty program services. FPN CEO Tom Epstein (CFE) has been IFA member for 22 years. IFA Chair Catherine Monson endorsed FPN publicly. FPN serves as IFA's endorsed merchant services provider providing low-cost credit authorization, payments, eCommerce, QSR processing, PCI compliance, loyalty, mobile solutions, and POS solutions for franchise brands.
• PNC BankcoreOthers · 1 January 2006FPN is a registered ISO (Independent Sales Organization) of PNC Bank, N.A., Pittsburgh, PA. Provides banking relationship for payment processing services.
• Bank of AmericacoreOthersFPN is a registered ISO/MSP of Bank of America, N.A. providing payment processing banking infrastructure.
• Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.coreOthersFPN is a registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Concord, CA providing payment processing banking infrastructure.
• POLN8coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPOLN8 is FPN's sister company providing loyalty program platform. FPN Loyalty is now rebranded as POLN8. The two companies work together to provide combined payment and loyalty solutions to franchise brands, with POLN8 focusing on loyalty while FPN handles payments.
• USAePaycoreTechnology or IntegrationUSAePay is the primary payment gateway used by FPN for payment processing. FPN Mobile/Gateway Login directs merchants to secure.usaepay.com. Gateway supports password management, security profiles, and merchant authentication.
• QuickBooks (Intuit)coreTechnology or IntegrationQuickBooks integration allows FPN merchants to streamline payment reconciliation, automate billing, process recurring payments, and lower overdue invoices by 40% while getting paid 15 days faster.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Toast: Toast is a cloud-based payment processing and POS platform purpose-built for restaurants, with strong penetration in franchise systems. Like FPN, it offers integrated payments, POS, and loyalty; unlike FPN it is software-led and restaurant-focused rather than franchise-agnostic.
• SpotOn: SpotOn provides integrated payment processing, POS, and marketing/loyalty software primarily to restaurants and small-business franchises. Closely comparable to FPN in bundling payments with vertical-specific software, and competes for the same franchisor endorsements.
• Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments): Heartland is a large-scale payment processor (now part of Global Payments) that competes with FPN for franchise system-wide processing contracts. Comparable in core service (merchant acquiring, POS integrations, loyalty), with materially greater scale and bank sponsor resources.
• Stax Payments: Stax is a payment orchestration and subscription-based processing platform offering interchange-plus pricing, software integrations, and transparent pricing models directly comparable to FPN's franchise-focused offering, though not vertical-specific.
• ParTech (PAR): ParTech provides restaurant POS and integrated payment solutions (including Brink POS, which FPN integrates with) to franchise and chain customers. Directly comparable on the POS-integration dimension and competes for franchise brand technology contracts.
• FreedomPay: FreedomPay is a commerce platform providing payment gateway and orchestration services that integrates with FPN, and operates in adjacent verticals (hospitality, lodging) where FPN has explicit service offerings. Comparable on payment gateway and integration breadth.

Broad incumbents

• Block (Square): Square is a broad-spectrum payment processor and POS provider serving SMBs including franchisees, and is explicitly named by FPN in its comparison marketing. Competes on payment processing and POS, though it does not focus exclusively on the franchisor-franchisee dynamic.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover is Fiserv's cloud-based POS and payments platform used heavily by franchise systems and integrated with FPN's payment processing. Competes with FPN by bundling software and processing, while FPN offers itself as a POS-agnostic alternative.
• Worldpay (FIS): Worldpay is a top-tier global payment processor explicitly benchmarked against FPN in Entrepreneur Magazine's rankings. Competes for the same enterprise franchise processing contracts at materially larger scale.

Emerging players

• Electronic Payments Inc. (EPI): EPI is a mid-sized ISO providing payment processing, POS, and cash advance services to SMBs including franchisees. Directly comparable as an ISO competitor in the franchise/SMB segment, though with less vertical specialization.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/franpaynet
• Facebookfacebook.com/FranchisePayments

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Franchise Payments Network (FPN)