CardConnect
CardConnect, a Fiserv subsidiary, provides cloud-based electronic payment processing through its CardPointe platform and proprietary CardSecure tokenization, serving Sales Agents, ISOs, SMB merchants, and software integrators across the United States.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersKing Of Prussia, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What CardConnect does
CardConnect, founded in 2006 and headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is a full-service provider of electronic transaction processing services that operates as a subsidiary of Fiserv following a 2019 acquisition. The company's core product is the CardPointe platform, a cloud-based payment processing system built on the Fiserv technology stack, complemented by CardSecure — a proprietary layer combining patented tokenization with PCI-validated Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) — that protects card data at the point of sale through its full lifecycle. The product portfolio spans CardPointe Gateway (REST API for online payments), CardPointe Virtual Terminal (browser-based MOTO), CardPointe Mobile App with Bluetooth EMV/NFC reader, CardPointe Terminal hardware (Desk 3500/5000/1500), CardPointe Integrated Payments for software vendors (SDKs and integrated terminals including Clover Mini and Ingenico devices), and the Clover POS suite with 300+ apps from the Clover App Market. CoPilot, the partner portfolio management portal, adds merchant onboarding tracking, line-item residual reporting, sub-partner performance monitoring, and a Merchant Churn Probability machine-learning algorithm for partner retention.
CardConnect generates revenue primarily through transaction fees on payment processing, supplemented by residual income shared with its channel of Sales Agents and ISOs (Independent Sales Organizations). It monetizes add-ons including Amex OptBlue acceptance, Clover Capital merchant cash advance, and Money Network payroll integration. The go-to-market combines a two-pronged distribution model: a channel partner program (Sales Agents, ISOs, ISVs, and Clover resellers) with a 93% partner application acceptance rate and dedicated account managers for all partners, alongside a direct merchant self-serve signup channel offering next-day funding and business-day onboarding. CardConnect is a registered ISO of Citizens Bank, KeyBank, Pathward, PNC Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank, and serves primary segments including Sales Agents and ISOs, small-to-medium merchants (retail, restaurants, online retailers, healthcare, hospitality), software providers/ISVs integrating payments, and Hispanic-owned businesses via the bilingual Conectados program.
CardConnect firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CardConnect
- Legal name
- CardConnect
- Website
- https://cardconnect.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- CardConnect, a Fiserv subsidiary, provides cloud-based electronic payment processing through its CardPointe platform and proprietary CardSecure tokenization, serving Sales Agents, ISOs, SMB merchants, and software integrators across the United States.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CardConnect industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Payment Processing
- NAICS
- Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus) (FSAMABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance (FSAMADAG), Payment PIN Pads, Card Readers & NFC Contactless Devices (HDACAKAG)
Keywords
Where CardConnect is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- King Of Prussia
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CardConnect business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Payment Processing Transaction Fees: CardConnect charges transaction fees for processing credit card payments. The company aggressively optimizes interchange rates and provides detailed breakdown of each transaction within monthly statements. This is the primary revenue stream from merchant customers.
- Partner Residuals and Commissions: Sales Agents and ISOs earn residual income based on merchant transaction volumes they onboard. Sub-partner performance tracking and line-item residual reporting is available through CoPilot.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Monthly | CardPointe Platform - Free Virtual Terminal with account |
| Freemium | Monthly | CardPointe Mobile App - Free download |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Surcharge Program for merchants |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
CardConnect product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CardConnect, a Fiserv company, is a full-service electronic transaction processing provider that sells merchant credit card payment processing through its CardPointe platform, CardSecure tokenization/encryption security, Clover POS hardware and software, and the CoPilot partner portfolio-management portal. It goes to market primarily through Sales Agents and ISOs who onboard and manage merchant accounts.
Product overview
CardConnect, a Fiserv company, offers a comprehensive payment processing ecosystem centered on the CardPointe platform. The core platform provides cloud-based credit card processing with CardSecure's patented tokenization and P2PE protection. The product portfolio includes CardPointe Gateway (API-based online payment acceptance), CardPointe Virtual Terminal (browser-based MOTO solution), CardPointe Mobile App with mobile card reader (on-the-go payments), CardPointe Terminal hardware (Desk series), and CardPointe Integrated Payments for software developers (SDKs and integrated terminals). Clover POS offers a complete point-of-sale system suite for restaurants, retail, and service businesses. CoPilot serves as the partner management portal with ML-powered churn prediction. Additional offerings include the Conectados bilingual partner program, LaunchPointe resource center, and add-on services like Amex OptBlue, Clover Capital merchant cash advance, and Money Network payroll integration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CardPointe: Comprehensive credit card processing platform for accepting, integrating, and managing payments.
- CoPilot
- CardSecure
- Clover
- Conectados
- LaunchPointe
Products and services
- CardPointe Comprehensive cloud-based credit card processing platform enabling businesses to securely accept, integrate, and manage transactions in-person, online, or on-the-go, with real-time reporting and interchange optimization.
- CardSecure Proprietary security layer for CardPointe that protects credit card transactions through patented tokenization and PCI-validated point-to-point encryption (P2PE), keeping sensitive data off merchant systems.
- CoPilot Merchant portfolio management portal for ISOs and Sales Agents to track application processing, monitor risk, manage merchant support and equipment, report residuals, and predict merchant churn via a machine-learning algorithm.
- Clover POS Point-of-sale and business management hardware/software suite (Station Solo, Station Duo, Mini, Go, Flex, Compact, Kiosk) with a 300+ app market, designed for restaurants, retailers, and service businesses.
- CardPointe Gateway Payment gateway with developer-friendly REST APIs enabling secure online or in-store credit card acceptance and integration into proprietary applications or third-party systems such as Oracle and SAP.
- CardPointe Virtual Terminal Browser-based POS system for desktop, laptop, or mobile enabling mail order/telephone order (MOTO) payments; comes complimentary with a CardPointe account.
- CardPointe Mobile App Mobile app that turns smartphones or tablets into payment acceptance devices, supporting EMV chip, NFC/contactless, and mobile wallets via a Bluetooth mobile card reader; free to download for CardPointe customers.
- CardPointe Terminal Plug-and-play EMV and NFC-enabled credit card payment terminals (Desk 3500/5000 and Desk 1500 Pin Pad) for processing card-present transactions with point-to-point encryption.
- CardPointe Integrated Payments Cloud-based payment integrations for software companies and ISVs to add secure card-present acceptance to any software environment, including integrated terminals (Clover Mini/Flex, iSMP4, Ingenico Lane), Mobile SDK, and Desktop SDK.
- CardPointe Hosted Payment Page Secure, customizable checkout page for accepting credit card payments online or from websites with quick setup and no developer requirements.
- CardPointe Mobile Credit Card Reader Portable Bluetooth-enabled mobile card reader compatible with the CardPointe Mobile App, supporting EMV chip, MSR, and NFC contactless payments; sold separately.
- Amex OptBlue Program giving businesses an easy, affordable way to accept American Express cards by bundling Amex with other major card brands.
- Clover Capital Merchant Cash Advance program that turns future credit card sales into working capital with clear payback terms for business investment and growth.
- Money Network Payroll tool that simplifies payroll and optimizes costs with up to 100% electronic payment delivery, giving employees access to wages via Money Network check, debit card, and mobile app.
- Conectados Bilingual (English/Spanish) partner program helping Sales Agents and ISOs serve the Hispanic and Latino business community with Spanish-translated forms, sales resources, customer service, and Clover products in Spanish.
Quantifiable outcome
- 326,000+ Clover devices deployed
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use CardConnect
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CardConnect technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability2 records
Feature5 records
CardConnect partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- 100GROUPcore100GROUP received the 2025 Circle of Excellence Award from Fiserv and CardConnect. National FinTech leader in payment processing and business concierge services with 15-year partnership with CardConnect. CEO Jeff Brodsly stated recognition reflects company's dedication to leveraging technology.
- FiservcoreCardConnect is a payments platform of Fiserv, operating as a subsidiary. The partnership provides CardConnect with access to the full Fiserv technology stack, global payment networks, and enterprise-grade infrastructure. All CardConnect products and services are backed by the Fiserv payments platform.
- Citizens Bank, N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO (Independent Sales Organization) of Citizens Bank, N.A., Providence, RI. Banking partnership for payment processing services.
- KeyBank N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of KeyBank N.A., Cleveland, OH. Banking partnership for payment processing services.
- Pathward N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of Pathward N.A., Sioux Falls, SD. Banking partnership for payment processing services.
- PNC Bank, N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of PNC Bank, N.A., Pittsburgh, PA. Banking partnership for payment processing services.
- Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.minorCardConnect is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Concord, CA. Banking partnership for payment processing services.
- BPminorBP service station operators have partnered with Fiserv/CardConnect to warn store owners not to deal in illegal vapes, as part of a broader compliance enforcement crackdown backed by state attorneys general.
- Marathon PetroleumminorMarathon Petroleum service station operators have partnered with Fiserv/CardConnect to warn store owners not to deal in illegal vapes, as part of compliance enforcement.
- ValerominorValero service station operators have partnered with Fiserv/CardConnect to warn store owners not to deal in illegal vapes, as part of compliance enforcement.
- PaychexcorePaychex scales merchant services growth with CardConnect, boarding approximately 2,500 merchant accounts annually. Paychex expanded from 3 teams and 36 sales reps to 5 teams and 60+ reps. Nick Ruggeri states 'CardConnect has been a huge part of that' growth.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CardConnect competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Square (Block): Square operates a vertically integrated merchant acquiring and POS platform targeting SMBs with transparent flat-rate pricing. It is a direct competitor to CardConnect's CardPointe and Clover offerings across in-store, online, and mobile acceptance.
- Toast: Toast is a restaurant-focused POS and payments platform, overlapping with CardConnect's Clover Restaurant vertical. Both sell integrated hardware, software, and merchant acquiring into SMB food-service merchants.
- Stax: Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) sells subscription-based payment processing to SMBs and ISOs, competing with CardConnect on transparent pricing and partner economics for Sales Agents and ISVs.
- Stripe: Stripe provides online and integrated payment processing with developer-first APIs that compete head-on with CardPointe Gateway and CardPointe Integrated Payments for ISVs and software platforms.
- Payment Depot: Payment Depot offers interchange-plus pricing and an ISO/agent program that competes directly with CardConnect's channel partner model and residual-based revenue structure.
- Helcim: Helcim is a payment processor competing in the same transparent-pricing SMB acquiring space as CardConnect, with interchange-plus pricing and direct merchant onboarding that mirrors CardConnect's value proposition.
Broad incumbents
- Clover Network (Fiserv): Clover is the sibling Fiserv POS business that CardConnect distributes through its partner channel. They share the same parent and overlapping product portfolio, making Clover a structural internal counterpart rather than a pure external competitor.
- PayPal: PayPal's Braintree and PayPal Commerce platforms provide online and omnichannel payment acceptance that overlaps with CardPointe Gateway and CardPointe Integrated Payments for ISVs and online merchants.
- Worldpay: Worldpay is a large global merchant acquirer providing payment processing at enterprise scale. It competes with CardConnect in mid-market and enterprise acquiring while also serving SMBs through partner channels.
- Chase Payment Solutions: Chase Payment Solutions offers merchant acquiring through bank-direct and ISO channels, competing with CardConnect for mid-market and enterprise merchants as well as ISOs seeking sponsor-bank alternatives.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CardConnect social profiles
Digital presenceCardConnect compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
CardConnect financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CardConnect leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
CardConnect funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CardConnect M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CardConnect
What does CardConnect do?
CardConnect, a Fiserv company, is a full-service electronic transaction processing provider that sells merchant credit card payment processing through its CardPointe platform, CardSecure tokenization/encryption security, Clover POS hardware and software, and the CoPilot partner portfolio-management portal. It goes to market primarily through Sales Agents and ISOs who onboard and manage merchant accounts.
Is CardConnect a public or private company?
CardConnect is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was CardConnect founded?
CardConnect was founded in 2006. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is CardConnect based?
CardConnect is headquartered in King Of Prussia, United States, in the North America region.
How does CardConnect make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Payment Processing Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are partner Residuals and Commissions.
Who are CardConnect's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Square (Block), Toast, Stax, Stripe, Payment Depot and Helcim. Broad incumbents are Clover Network (Fiserv), PayPal, Worldpay and Chase Payment Solutions.
Does CardConnect have an API?
Yes. The CardPointe Gateway API allows web or software developers to integrate secure, online, credit card payments with any eCommerce application. Developer-friendly REST APIs enable merchants to integrate payment acceptance, secure tokenization, and reporting features into virtually any proprietary application or third-party business system, such as Oracle and SAP. Supports integration support, developer-friendly APIs, and protected data. Developer documentation is at developer.cardpointe.com.
What industry is CardConnect in?
CardConnect's product category is Payment Processing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMABAC, Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus), with a secondary code of FSAMADAG, EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance. Its NAICS code is 5223.