Piedmont Payment Services
Piedmont Payment Services operates a transaction-fee payment platform that lets insurance agents collect voluntary benefits premiums via split direct deposit (PUSH) or payday EFT (PULL), bypassing employer payroll systems and serving SMB brokers, employers, policyholders, and carriers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersColumbus, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Piedmont Payment Services does
Piedmont Payment Services, LLC is a private US payment platform purpose-built for the voluntary benefits insurance market. The company provides insurance agents and brokers with two integrated premium collection methods — Direct Deposit Method (DDP, a PUSH flow where the employee's paycheck is split at deposit so the premium is automatically routed into a Piedmont Premium account on payday) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT, a PULL flow that drafts the employee's bank account on payday rather than monthly) — plus split direct deposit arrangements and segregated escrow accounts. The platform's defining structural feature is that it bypasses the employer's payroll-deduction system entirely, eliminating the need for a payroll deduction slot, employer-side billing, and invoice reconciliation; Piedmont then remits to carriers on a monthly cadence.
The company serves four intersecting constituencies: insurance agents and brokers (the primary GTM target, acquired through demo scheduling and self-serve agent registration), employers who want to offer voluntary benefits without administration overhead, policyholders/employees who pay weekly or per-paycheck, and insurance carriers that receive on-time, automated premium payments. Customer concentration is fragmented across SMB agents and brokers, and the company cites 15,000+ agents, 500,000+ policies generated, and $200MM+ paid premium processed through the platform cumulatively. The 2024 SOC 2 Type 2 audit (Johanson Group LLP) signals enterprise-readiness as the company pitches into insurance, financial services, and healthcare premium collection.
Piedmont's revenue model is transaction-based: policyholders pay a service fee ('as low as $1.39 per week'), with carriers and employers using the platform at no cost. Go-to-market is sales-led but increasingly hybridized via self-serve registration (1-business-day approval) and a 51-100 employee footprint operating from Columbus, GA (headquarters) and a Fortson, GA mailing address. The firm was founded circa 2012 (per copyright notice), with the founding story rooted in a payroll-deduction-slot failure for a 50-employee group that cost an agent $26,000 in commissions — an origin problem the platform's PUSH/PULL architecture was designed to solve.
Piedmont Payment Services firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Piedmont Payment Services
- Legal name
- Piedmont Payment Services, LLC
- Website
- https://piedmontpays.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Piedmont Payment Services operates a transaction-fee payment platform that lets insurance agents collect voluntary benefits premiums via split direct deposit (PUSH) or payday EFT (PULL), bypassing employer payroll systems and serving SMB brokers, employers, policyholders, and carriers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Piedmont Payment Services industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Insurance Payment Processing
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bank-to-Bank Transfers & Pay-by-Bank (Consumer & Merchant) (FSAMAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA), Recurring Billing, Subscriptions & Tokenized Payments (CRAFALAH)
Keywords
Where Piedmont Payment Services is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Columbus
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Piedmont Payment Services business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Premium Collection Services: Piedmont charges policyholders a fee for collecting and managing premium payments. The FAQ mentions costs as low as $1.39 per week per policyholder. Revenue is generated through transaction-based fees on premium collections processed through the platform.
- Payment Processing: The company processes premium payments on behalf of employers and policyholders, handling collection, reconciliation, and carrier payments. Revenue is derived from per-transaction fees embedded in the premium collection process.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Policyholder weekly rate |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Piedmont Payment Services product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Piedmont Payment Services operates a proprietary payment platform that enables insurance brokers and agents to collect voluntary benefits premiums from employees via direct deposit (PUSH) or electronic funds transfer (PULL) methods, eliminating the need for payroll deduction slots, employer billing, and invoice reconciliation. The platform handles premium collection, reconciliation, and payment directly to insurance carriers, charging policyholders a transaction-based fee as low as $1.39 per week.
Product overview
Piedmont Payment Services operates as a payment platform designed specifically for insurance brokers selling to companies. The platform provides two integrated payment collection methods: Direct Deposit Method (DDP) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Both methods eliminate the need for payroll deduction slots, bills, and employer reconciliation. The platform handles premium collection from employees on payday, performs bill reconciliation, and sends payments to insurance carriers automatically. Agents and brokers access the platform through a web portal and mobile app for client management and payment monitoring.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Piedmont Payment Platform A web-based payment platform designed for insurance brokers and agents selling voluntary benefits to companies. It removes billing barriers by handling premium collection, bill reconciliation, and policy payments through direct deposit or electronic funds transfer methods, allowing agents to access the platform via web portal and manage clients.
- Direct Deposit Method (DDP) A payroll-based premium payment method where each payday the premium is automatically sent to the employee's Piedmont Premium account, functioning as an apportionment of take-home pay rather than a payroll deduction. No payroll slot needed, no bill, no reconciliation required.
- Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) A bank draft premium payment method where Piedmont drafts the employee's bank account on payday rather than monthly, supporting bank draft, credit card, and debit card payments. Premiums are placed in a Piedmont Premium account and forwarded to the carrier each month.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 15,000 agents have used Piedmont to generate more than 500,000 policy sales and more than $200MM in paid premium
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Piedmont Payment Services
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Piedmont Payment Services technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Piedmont Payment Services partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Johanson Group LLPminorJohanson Group LLP served as the certification body for Piedmont's SOC 2 Type 2 audit. They specialize in SOC 2 audits and provide audit and professional services to public and private companies across various industries.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Piedmont Payment Services competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- One Inc: Digital payments platform purpose-built for the insurance industry (premium collection, claims payouts, agent commissions). One Inc competes head-to-head with Piedmont on the same PUSH/PULL premium collection wedge, just at carriers rather than agents.
- Dwolla: Account-to-account (A2A) payment processor enabling bank-to-bank transfers via ACH. Comparable as an infrastructure-level A2A payments provider; Piedmont's DDP/EFT methods are essentially a verticalized A2A implementation for insurance premium collection.
Broad incumbents
- Bill.com: SMB bill pay and accounts-payable automation platform with recurring billing capabilities. Comparable in the sense of digitizing recurring payments for SMBs, though Bill.com focuses on AP/AR for businesses rather than consumer insurance premiums.
- Plaid: Bank connectivity and account-verification infrastructure used by payments and fintech apps. Relevant as enabling infrastructure for the kind of bank-to-bank payment flows Piedmont relies on, and a potential alternative for any platform building similar premium collection.
- Melio: B2B payments platform for SMBs, including bill pay and ACH transfers. Comparable in digitizing SMB payments away from checks, though Melio serves AP use cases rather than consumer insurance premium collection.
- Gusto: Payroll, benefits, and HR platform serving SMB employers. Comparable as the embedded payroll/benefits layer that Piedmont aims to bypass; if Gusto added voluntary benefits deduction, it could disintermediate Piedmont's wedge.
- ADP: Largest US payroll and HR services provider, with deep employer relationships and benefits administration. Comparable as the incumbent payroll platform whose deduction infrastructure Piedmont's DDP/EFT methods are designed to circumvent.
- Modern Treasury: Payment operations platform for moving money via bank-to-bank rails. Comparable in operating sophisticated ACH, RTP, and bank-direct payment flows — adjacent infrastructure for anyone building recurring premium collection at scale.
- Paychex: Payroll, HR, and benefits administration provider focused on SMBs. Comparable as a payroll incumbent that could natively replicate Piedmont's split direct deposit capability, eroding the agent-side value proposition.
- Intuit QuickBooks: SMB financial software with bill management, recurring payments, and bank-to-bank transfers. Comparable in providing small businesses with recurring bill payment tooling, though QuickBooks targets broader SMB accounting workflows rather than insurance premium collection.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Piedmont Payment Services social profiles
Digital presencePiedmont Payment Services compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Piedmont Payment Services financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Piedmont Payment Services leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Piedmont Payment Services funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Piedmont Payment Services M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Piedmont Payment Services
What does Piedmont Payment Services do?
Piedmont Payment Services operates a proprietary payment platform that enables insurance brokers and agents to collect voluntary benefits premiums from employees via direct deposit (PUSH) or electronic funds transfer (PULL) methods, eliminating the need for payroll deduction slots, employer billing, and invoice reconciliation. The platform handles premium collection, reconciliation, and payment directly to insurance carriers, charging policyholders a transaction-based fee as low as $1.39 per week.
Is Piedmont Payment Services a public or private company?
Piedmont Payment Services is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Piedmont Payment Services founded?
Piedmont Payment Services was founded in 2012. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Piedmont Payment Services based?
Piedmont Payment Services is headquartered in Columbus, United States, in the North America region.
How does Piedmont Payment Services make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Premium Collection Services are the primary driver. The others are payment Processing.
Who are Piedmont Payment Services's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are One Inc and Dwolla. Broad incumbents are Bill.com, Plaid, Melio, Gusto, ADP, Modern Treasury, Paychex and Intuit QuickBooks.
Does Piedmont Payment Services have an API?
No public API is recorded for Piedmont Payment Services.
What industry is Piedmont Payment Services in?
Piedmont Payment Services's product category is Insurance Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMAFAC, Bank-to-Bank Transfers & Pay-by-Bank (Consumer & Merchant), with a secondary code of FSAMABAA, Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer). Its NAICS code is 522320.