Giv Local

What Giv Local does

Giv Local is a privately held, B Corporation-certified merchant-services company operating as a registered Independent Sales Organization (ISO) of PNC Bank, N.A. The company, founded in 2017 and headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, resells payment-processing infrastructure to small and mid-sized U.S. merchants including restaurants, retailers, nonprofits, e-commerce operators, freelancers, and local government entities. Its technical stack is conventional for the category: EMV chip and contactless acceptance, end-to-end card-data encryption, tokenization, address verification, AVS-based interchange optimization, and PCI-DSS compliance tooling — with no proprietary core processing engine or AI/ML components disclosed. The differentiator is commercial rather than technical: Giv Local donates 20% of processing revenue annually to a local nonprofit of each merchant's choosing, funded out of retained processor spread, and markets this as the only B-certified socially responsible payment offering in the United States.

The company monetizes exclusively through transaction fees under multiple pricing constructs — Interchange-Plus, Flat-Rate, Surcharge (passing ~3% to credit-card customers), Cash Discount, and Custom/Hybrid models — with onboarding targeted at 48-72 hours and 1-2 business-day settlement for most merchants. Go-to-market is sales-led, combining direct outreach (free processing-statement audits, dedicated account managers) with a channel-partner program that supplies referrals from local banks, business chambers, corporations, and community organizations. PNC Bank ISO status provides regulatory backing and access to PNC's merchant distribution network; an embedded partnership with Kish Bank extends this through a "gift back" community-giving program. The pricing structure, channel depth, and donation mechanic together shape a business that is relationship- and mission-driven rather than volume-driven.

Giv Local has not raised institutional capital, has no parent company, and operates with a 1-10 person team. Founder ownership rests with three co-founders — Shizuka Buckley, Sam Buckley, and Christian Baum — who lead the company from State College, PA. Operational footprint is U.S.-only, with integrations to QuickBooks (Online/Desktop) via Clover, Chargezoom, Authorize.net, and NMI. Recent activity (the November 2025 State College Food Bank fundraising effort with Valhalla Business Advisors, the 2020 B Corp certification, and the Kish Bank partnership) indicates a stable, mission-led operating posture rather than aggressive scale-up.

Name

Giv Local

Legal name

Giv Local LLC

Website

https://givlocal.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Giv Local is a B Corporation-certified U.S. payment processor (ISO of PNC Bank) serving small and mid-sized merchants that donates 20% of its processing revenue to local nonprofits of each customer's choosing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

State College

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing Fees: Giv Local generates revenue through payment processing fees charged to merchants. The company offers multiple pricing models: Interchange-Plus (fixed markup above card network cost), Flat-Rate (single predictable rate per transaction), and Surcharge Pricing (passes ~3% fee to customers). The company donates 20% of all processing revenue back to nonprofits of each customer's choosing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Giv Local is a B-Certified merchant servicing company that provides payment processing solutions to businesses, retailers, restaurants, and digital media. The company offers in-person, e-commerce, and keyed/voiced payment acceptance, and uniquely redirects 20% of its processing revenue to local nonprofits chosen by each merchant customer. It operates as a registered ISO of PNC Bank, N.A.

Product overview

Giv Local is a B-Certified payment processing company offering a unified platform of payment acceptance solutions. The core product portfolio includes In-Person Payment Processing (EMV/chip, swipe, contactless), Invoicing & Keyed Payments (virtual terminal for phone/mail orders), eCommerce Payments (online gateway integrations), and the Community Giving Program (20% of processing fees donated to customer-chosen nonprofits). The company differentiates itself through transparent pricing models (Interchange-Plus, Flat-Rate, Surcharge, and Custom/Hybrid) and PCI-compliant security measures including tokenization, encryption, and fraud prevention tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Person Payment Processing

Quantifiable outcome

• 20% of processing revenue donated to local nonprofits of each customer's choosing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kish BankcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 July 2020Giv Local partnered with Kish Bank (State College, PA) to offer a 'gift back' program. Businesses using Kish Bank's credit and debit card processing services now benefit from Giv Local's payment solutions. A portion of each business's card processing fees is redirected as a donation to a verified nonprofit of the company's choosing. As an additional benefit, Giv Local's rates are competitive and can match or beat what a partnered business would pay for a different processor. Both companies share a commitment to community impact and local giving.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Stripe processes online and in-person payments for businesses of all sizes and competes for the same SMB and e-commerce merchants Giv Local targets, while also offering a much broader software/developer ecosystem.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover, owned by Fiserv, is a major POS and payments platform distributed through sponsor banks and ISOs. Highly comparable distribution model to Giv Local's PNC ISO arrangement.

Direct peers

• Dharma Merchant Services: Dharma is a mission-driven payment processor historically focused on nonprofits and ethical businesses. Closest peer given the overlap in nonprofit/socially-conscious merchant segments and values-based brand positioning.
• SumUp: SumUp provides mobile card readers and payment processing for micro-merchants and SMBs in multiple markets. Competes for the same low-volume/small-ticket end of Giv Local's merchant base.
• Helcim: Helcim is a Canadian-headquartered payment processor competing on transparent Interchange-Plus pricing for SMBs in North America. Closely comparable to Giv Local's pricing philosophy and merchant-acquisition approach.
• PaymentCloud: PaymentCloud is an SMB payment processing ISO that targets similar high-risk and small-business segments through direct sales. Comparable channel model and merchant-acquisition strategy.
• Stax: Stax (formerly Fattmerchant) competes on subscription-based, transparent payment processing for SMBs. Similar positioning around transparent pricing and direct sales to mid-market merchants.
• Block (Square): Block's Square is the dominant SMB payment processor and POS system in the US. Direct overlap with Giv Local's core offering of card acceptance for small businesses, but with vastly larger scale and resources.
• Toast: Toast is the leading restaurant-specialized payment processor and POS system in the US. Directly competes for the restaurant merchant segment that Giv Local explicitly targets.

Others

• Authorize.net: Authorize.net is a major payment gateway used by Giv Local as an integration endpoint. Listed because Giv Local routes its e-commerce processing through this gateway, making it a critical infrastructure partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/givlocal

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Giv Local