Commission Buddies

What Commission Buddies does

Commission Buddies is a credit card processing service that targets a structural inefficiency in the merchant acquiring industry. In traditional credit card processing arrangements, a sales agent typically collects a commission on every transaction processed. Commission Buddies removes this intermediary and pays those commissions directly to the merchant. The company serves small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that accept credit card payments, spanning retail, service, and e-commerce merchant categories.

The underlying product is a credit card processing platform augmented by a commission-redistribution mechanism. The platform is compatible with major e-commerce platforms, point-of-sale systems, and mobile processing devices, meaning merchants do not need to swap equipment or renegotiate rates to participate. Commission payouts are issued monthly via check or direct deposit, and the company does not require long-term contracts. A secondary feature is a referral program that lets existing customers earn ongoing commissions by introducing other businesses to the network.

Commission Buddies monetizes through credit card processing fees, retaining a portion of the amounts that would have flowed to a salesperson as commission while passing the savings to the business owner. The company operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market motion, relying on direct outreach to business owners and word-of-mouth referrals rather than a partner or reseller channel. The firm is based in San Luis Obispo, California, was founded by David Serwitz (who serves as Founder and CEO), and operates with a small team (1-10 employees). No external funding, partnerships, certifications, awards, named enterprise customers, or regulatory actions are present in the available data, and the company has no AI/ML capability disclosed.

Name

Commission Buddies

Legal name

Commission Buddies

Website

https://commissionbuddies.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Commission Buddies is a credit card processing service that redirects salesperson commissions directly to small and medium-sized business owners. Founded by David Serwitz in San Luis Obispo, it acquires SMBs through direct outreach and a customer referral program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Luis Obispo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Credit Card Processing Fees: Commission Buddies generates revenue through credit card processing fees. Instead of commissions being paid to salespeople, the company takes a portion of what would have been paid out and retains it as revenue while passing savings to the business owner.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Commission Buddies is a credit card processing service that removes the commissioned salesperson from the merchant's processing relationship and pays those commissions directly to the business owner. The service works with the merchant's existing rate and equipment, supports major e-commerce platforms, POS systems, and mobile processing devices, and pays out monthly commissions by check or direct deposit. It also includes a referral program that rewards merchants who bring other businesses into the network.

Product overview

Commission Buddies is a single unified credit card processing product. The service works by eliminating the commission that salespeople typically collect on credit card transactions and instead pays those commissions directly to the business owner. It supports major e-commerce platforms, point-of-sale systems, and mobile processing devices, and pays commissions monthly via check or direct deposit. The product also includes a referral program allowing businesses to earn additional commissions by referring others to the network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commission Buddies Credit Card Processing

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Square (Block): Square provides merchant credit card processing and POS hardware/software to SMBs with transparent, often flat-rate pricing. It is the most direct functional competitor to Commission Buddies, although it sells direct without a salesperson-commission structure to redirect.
• Stripe: Stripe processes online and in-person card payments for businesses of all sizes with developer-friendly APIs and transparent pricing. It competes directly for the same credit-card-accepting merchant base that Commission Buddies targets, particularly the e-commerce portion.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover is a Fiserv-owned POS-integrated merchant processing platform sold through ISO and bank partners to SMBs. Because it is heavily distributed via commissioned resellers, it is directly comparable to the type of processing relationship Commission Buddies seeks to intercept.
• Stax (formerly Fattmerchant): Stax provides subscription-based merchant credit card processing with transparent interchange-plus pricing to SMBs. It targets the same frustrated-merchant segment that Commission Buddies appeals to, though with a different value proposition (flat subscription vs. commission redirection).
• Helcim: Helcim is a merchant acquirer offering transparent interchange-plus pricing and direct-to-SMB processing with no long-term contracts. It is a directly comparable competitor positioned around fair, contract-free SMB card acceptance.
• Payment Depot: Payment Depot offers wholesale interchange-plus card processing to SMBs, eliminating markup typical of traditional processors. It competes for the same cost-conscious merchant that Commission Buddies targets via its commission-redistribution model.
• SumUp: SumUp provides low-cost mobile card readers and processing to micro and small merchants globally. While more international, it competes for the small-merchant card acceptance segment and uses transparent, low-fee pricing rather than commissioned sales.
• National Processing: National Processing is an ISO that sells credit card processing to SMBs, often via commissioned agents. As an incumbent ISO, it represents the type of commissioned processing relationship Commission Buddies' model is designed to intercept and redirect.
• Dharma Merchant Services: Dharma provides merchant card processing with transparent, no-hidden-fee pricing primarily to small and mid-sized businesses. It is comparable to Commission Buddies in its focus on SMB transparency and contract-free processing.

Broad incumbents

• PayPal: PayPal and its Braintree/PayPal Here/Zettle offerings provide merchant card acceptance alongside a broad consumer wallet and payments platform. It is an incumbent competitor in SMB processing, even though it does not use a salesperson-commission redistribution model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/commissionbuds

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 Commission Buddies