Sonet

What Sonet does

Sonet (legal entity: SONET, společnost s.r.o.) is a Czech Republic-headquartered payment technology company founded in 1991, operating as a member of the Payten multinational payment solutions group (part of the broader ASEE group). The company provides end-to-end payment infrastructure services to banks, payment service providers, system integrators, and merchants across Central and Southern Europe, with branch offices in Slovakia and Hungary. Sonet's core offering is organized into three product pillars: (1) supply, installation, and management of more than 80,000 attended and unattended payment terminals in Central Europe; (2) card acceptance applications integrated with leading point-of-sale systems, including the SoftPOS mobile payment application for accepting cards via mobile phone; and (3) supplementary software services comprising custom payment software development, a customer support center serving large acquirers, and ASEE group products covering 3D Secure authentication servers, mobile and web payment applications, and merchant portals processing global payment data.

The company is privately held as a Czech limited liability company (společnost s.r.o.) under Payten group control, with no public listing or external venture capital or private equity ownership signals. Sonet holds PCI DSS Service Provider certification and ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System certification, which qualify it to handle cardholder data and satisfy enterprise bank procurement requirements. Its go-to-market is a hybrid of direct enterprise field sales to financial institutions and large merchants, complemented by product-led deployment of custom payment software and SoftPOS. Revenue is generated through four streams: terminal management services (managed services model), custom software development and support center operations (professional services), terminal hardware supply, and recurring service contracts. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Named enterprise customers include Raiffeisen Bank International (RPC Merchant Portal), VÚB Banka (Terminal as a Service / POS outsourcing), UniCredit Bank (SoftPOS), Komerční banka / KB Smart Pay (call center and unattended terminal servicing), and 365.bank, alongside a broader merchant base served indirectly through acquirers. The company is led by CEO Jan Pistelak with Karel Zemene as COO, supported by heads of Sales & Marketing, Service, Customer Solutions Development, and POS Applications Development.

Name

Sonet

Legal name

SONET, společnost s.r.o.

Website

https://sonet.cz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sonet is a Czech payment technology company and Payten group member that supplies, installs, and manages 80,000+ payment terminals and develops card acceptance, 3D Secure, and SoftPOS software for banks, acquirers, and merchants across Central and Southern Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Technology Services

NAICS

Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (3341)

SIC

Computer Terminals (3575), Services-Computer Rental & Leasing (7377)

akta.pro primary industry

Payment Gateways & Orchestration (BPAMAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA), Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA), Merchant Acquiring & Processing Platforms (BPAMAFAB)

Keywords

• Payment terminal services
• Card acceptance software
• Payment technology solutions
• POS management services
• Cashless payment processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Brno

HQ country

Czechia

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Terminal Management Services: Comprehensive management and operation of payment terminals including maintenance, support, and servicing for financial institutions and merchants
2. Software Development: Custom payment software development for local markets, acquirers, and merchants including mobile applications and web portals
3. Payment Terminal Supply: Supply and installation of wide range of attended and unattended payment terminals from leading global manufacturers
4. Support Center Services: Professional telephone and administrative customer support for payment terminals and technologies for large acquirers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sonet provides comprehensive payment technology services to banks, payment service providers, integrators, and merchants across Central and Southern Europe. The company supplies and installs payment terminals from leading global manufacturers, manages over 80,000 attended and unattended terminals in Central Europe, develops card acceptance and SoftPOS applications, and operates a customer support center for large acquirers. As a member of the Payten multinational group, Sonet also delivers authentication software, 3D Secure servers, mobile payment apps, and merchant portals.

Product overview

Sonet offers a unified platform of payment technology solutions comprising three core product pillars: (1) Payment Terminals including hardware supply, installation, and management of over 80,000 terminals across Central Europe; (2) Card Acceptance Applications providing solutions for processing payment and non-payment cards with POS system integration; and (3) Supplementary software services including custom development, support center operations, and specialized ASEE Group products (authentication software, 3D Secure servers, mobile/web payment apps, and merchant portals). The portfolio serves banks, integrators, and merchants across Central and Southern Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PaytenPOS: Product for ordering thermal paper rolls for payment terminals
• POSMan Suite
• DokladOnline
• CharitativniKiosek
• ParkujRychle

Products and services

• Payment Terminals (Platební terminály)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of customer calls answered within 30 seconds
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Payten GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSonet is a member of the Payten group, a multinational organization providing thousands of payment solutions across many countries in Europe and Latin America. The group includes presence in Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, North Macedonia, Spain, Portugal, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Colombia.
• IngenicocoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of payment terminals including ICT220, IWL221, IWL222, DESK3200, MOVE2500, and Tetra series terminals. Sonet supplies, installs, and manages these terminals for clients.
• WorldlinemajorTechnology or IntegrationEuropean payment services provider. Listed among Sonet's partner logos.
• Global PaymentsmajorTechnology or IntegrationGlobal payment technology provider. Listed among Sonet's partner logos.
• Raiffeisen Bank InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRPC Merchant Portal development for clients and banks of RBI group in Central and Southern Europe focused on payment card acceptance.
• VÚB BankamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPOS outsourcing partnership - Terminal as a Service providing payment card acceptance on rented terminals.
• UniCredit BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSoftPOS application development for accepting card payments via mobile phone in Czech Republic and Slovakia.
• Komerční banka (KB Smart Pay)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCall center services outsourcing and terminal servicing partnership including value-added services for unattended terminals.
• SiemensminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorListed among Sonet partner logos.
• E.ONminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEON Drive partnership for payment solutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Worldline: Worldline is a top European payment service provider offering acquiring, processing, terminal solutions, and digital services. It owns Ingenico and competes with Sonet's acquirer customers (RBI, UniCredit) for end-to-end payment stacks in the same CEE/Southern Europe geographies.
• PAX Global Technology: PAX is a leading global POS terminal manufacturer with strong presence in EMEA, CEE, and emerging markets, supplying banks, acquirers, and ISVs. It is a broad incumbent alternative to the Ingenico-led stack that Sonet integrates and resells.
• Nexi Group: Nexi (incorporating Nets) is one of Europe's largest payment technology and acquiring groups, providing POS, processing, and merchant services across multiple European markets. It is a broad incumbent peer comparable to the Payten group's pan-European ambition.
• Ingenico (Worldline): Ingenico, now part of Worldline, is the global leader in payment terminals and a key hardware supplier for Sonet. While Sonet is a customer/integrator, Ingenico's terminal management and acquiring-adjacent services compete for the same European bank and acquirer RFPs.
• Verifone: Verifone is a global incumbent in payment terminals and integrated POS solutions, supplying hardware, terminal management, and commerce software to banks, acquirers, and merchants. It overlaps directly with Sonet's Ingenico-distributed terminal line and competes for the same Tier-1 banking customers at much larger scale.

Emerging players

• Newland Payment Technology: Newland is an Asia-headquartered provider of POS terminals and payment solutions with growing EMEA presence, often competing on price against established terminal vendors like Ingenico. It is an emerging challenger in the same hardware and terminal-management category as Sonet.

Direct peers

• Computop: Computop is a Germany-headquartered payment service provider offering gateway, fraud prevention, and omnichannel payment processing to merchants and acquirers. It is a direct peer to Sonet's card-acceptance and merchant portal layer.
• CCV: CCV is a Netherlands-headquartered payment solutions provider offering payment terminals, SoftPOS, and merchant acquiring services to banks and merchants across Benelux and DACH. It is a direct regional peer to Sonet, matching the terminal-management, SoftPOS, and acquirer-support model in a similar European footprint.
• Planet (weareplanet): Planet provides integrated payment processing, POS terminals, and gateway services to banks, ISVs, and merchants primarily across Europe. It is a direct peer offering a similar multi-country, multi-acquirer payment technology stack to banks.

Others

• Asseco Poland (Asseco SEE): Asseco is the parent group of Payten and operates banking and payment software businesses across CEE and SEE. While not a direct competitor at the local services layer, it is the strategic parent ecosystem that shapes Sonet's mandate and constraints.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sonetcz
• Facebookfacebook.com/sonetcz

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Sonet