iVertical Payment Network

What iVertical Payment Network does

iVertical Payment Network (iVPN) is a Boca Raton, Florida-based private fintech founded in 2004 that builds merchant-branded private label debit card solutions for the gas station and convenience store industry. Its flagship product, Approved Fleet (launched in 2024), is a fleet debit card program that uses PIN debit rails and ACH-based real-time fund verification rather than traditional credit underwriting, enabling fuel retailers to serve the segment of small and community-based businesses that are typically declined by mainstream fleet credit card issuers. The company is certified as a direct processor on the PULSE and NYCE debit networks and leverages a proprietary "Decoupled Debit" architecture that bypasses Visa/Mastercard credit interchange, lowering transaction costs. Through iVPN and its CEO's prior ventures (including National Payment Card Association, now Zipline), more than $60 billion in transactions have been processed historically.

The company's core technology stack — Decoupled Debit, PIN debit rail processing, real-time ACH verification, and direct processor certification on PULSE/NYCE — allows merchants to onboard without modifying POS or pump controller systems, requiring only the addition of a BIN to existing configuration. This is paired with next-day settlement through the merchant's existing processor. Revenue is generated via per-transaction fleet fees (positioned as the lowest in market) and optional per-gallon merchant discounts, with the company adding a Fleet Loyalty Program module for driver engagement. The go-to-market is direct-sales-led, targeting US fuel retailers and convenience stores, with CEO Joe Randazza driving merchant acquisition through personal outreach and industry podcast appearances. No institutional investors, funding rounds, customer logos, or revenue figures are disclosed.

Name

iVertical Payment Network

Legal name

iVertical Payment Network

Website

https://iverticalpaymentnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

iVertical Payment Network is a Boca Raton-based fintech whose Approved Fleet product offers merchant-branded fleet debit cards for fuel retailers, using PIN debit rails and ACH-based real-time fund verification to serve small businesses declined by traditional fleet credit providers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment Processing & Acquiring Infrastructure (FSAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA)

Keywords

• Fleet debit cards
• Payment processing
• Merchant services
• Private label cards
• Fintech solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Boca Raton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction/Fleet Fees: The company charges merchants a per-transaction fee for processing fleet debit card transactions. The company claims to offer the lowest per-transaction fleet fee available in the market.
2. Merchant Discounts: Participating merchants may offer per-gallon discounts at their discretion. This drives additional transaction volume to merchants while creating value for fleet customers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

iVertical Payment Network (iVPN) operates the Approved Fleet program, a merchant-branded private label fleet debit card solution that uses PIN debit rails to process fuel transactions. The platform bypasses traditional Visa/Mastercard credit interchange, performs real-time ACH-based fund verification in lieu of credit underwriting, and delivers next-day payment settlement through existing merchant processors without requiring POS or pump controller integration.

Product overview

iVertical Payment Network (iVPN) operates as a fintech innovator and neo-fleet card issuer offering a unified merchant-branded private label debit card platform for the gas station and convenience store industry. The core product is the Approved Fleet debit card program, which includes an integrated Fleet Loyalty module. The platform eliminates the need for POS or pump controller integration by riding PIN debit rails, and processes transactions through PULSE and NYCE debit networks with ACH-based settlement. Over $60 billion in transactions have been processed through iVPN's payment ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PULSE: Debit network used for transaction processing and next-day payment settlement.
• NYCE

Products and services

• Approved Fleet iVPN's flagship merchant-branded fleet debit card and payment loyalty solution designed to eliminate credit underwriting requirements for community businesses operating light-duty vehicles. The platform uses PIN debit rails for real-time fund verification via ACH, bypassing traditional credit-based systems, and rides the PULSE and NYCE debit networks for next-day settlement. It is targeted at gas stations and convenience stores seeking to issue fleet cards under their own brand without POS or pump controller integration.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 70% of local businesses that are declined by traditional fleet providers can now be served
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fleetio: Fleetio is a fleet management and fuel card platform serving SMB and mid-market fleets with software plus integrated card issuance. Comparable as a modern alternative to legacy fleet cards serving community businesses.
• Coast: Coast issues fleet fuel debit cards that similarly bypass credit underwriting and target underserved SMB fleets. It is the closest fintech-native peer to Approved Fleet's no-credit-check, merchant-funded card model.
• AtoB: AtoB provides a modern fleet card platform focused on trucking and SMB fleets, often without traditional credit underwriting. Directly comparable to iVPN's value proposition of democratizing fleet card access.

Others

• P97 Networks: P97 provides mobile commerce and acceptance infrastructure at fuel retail and convenience stores. Comparable as an enabler of in-person payment experiences in the same c-store/fuel channel iVPN targets.
• Quorum / BridgePay (payment orchestration): Payment orchestration and merchant processing infrastructure providers serving retail and fuel merchants. Comparable as adjacent fintech infrastructure used by fuel retailers that iVPN's Approved Fleet integrates alongside.

Broad incumbents

• WEX Inc. WEX is the dominant fleet card issuer and payment processor in North America. It represents the legacy, credit-underwriting-based incumbent model that iVPN's Approved Fleet is explicitly positioned against.
• Visa Fleet: Visa issues commercial and fleet card products and underpins the credit interchange system iVPN seeks to bypass. Comparable as the dominant network whose economics Approved Fleet's PIN-debit architecture competes with.
• Element Fleet Management: Element is one of the largest global fleet management and card providers. Comparable as an established incumbent offering fleet cards, financing, and management services to commercial fleets.
• Mastercard Fleet: Mastercard operates commercial and fleet card programs over its network. Relevant as the credit-interchange-based rail that iVPN's Decoupled Debit architecture explicitly bypasses.
• FleetCor (Comdata / Fuelman / Voyager): FleetCor operates multiple large fleet card brands (Comdata, Fuelman, Voyager) and is a direct competitor in the fuel retail fleet card market. Comparable as a broad incumbent iVPN must displace or coexist with at fuel retailers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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 iVertical Payment Network