Partners in Payment

What Partners in Payment does

Partners in Payment is a US-based, privately held payment processing provider founded in 2009 and headquartered in New Orleans, operating with 11–50 employees. The company delivers a full-service payment acceptance platform built around dual pricing — the ability for merchants to post separate cash and card prices and thereby shift credit card processing fees onto card-paying customers. Its core product, PiP Zero, is a subscription-based dual pricing program offered at $49.95 per month for automotive dealers and complemented by a Flex rate-match plan at $34.95 per month for non-PiP Zero volume, with hardware (terminals, POS, swipers) sold at cost. Additional products include PiP Zero Automotive (a dealer-compliant variant with on-site support and a reconciliation data lake), PiP Virtual Terminal (web-based e-commerce, recurring billing, and pay-by-text acceptance), and Casa POS (a linked hospitality point-of-sale solution).

The underlying technology is a conventional payment processing platform supporting in-store contactless payments, virtual terminal transactions, POS integration, and dual-pricing workflows, with no disclosed proprietary AI, machine learning, or fraud-engine components. Partners in Payment serves SMB merchants across multiple verticals, with automotive dealers and retail stores as primary segments and non-profits, professional services, B2B, restaurants, churches, and pop-up/event operators as secondary segments. The go-to-market is a direct sales model executed through local representatives who guide merchants through solution selection, registration, and plug-and-play equipment installation, supplemented by a self-serve customer portal. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring monthly subscription fees on dual-pricing and Flex programs, transaction-based surcharge and convenience fees, and at-cost hardware sales — making the model largely subscription-driven with modest per-merchant economics.

Name

Partners in Payment

Legal name

Partners in Payment

Website

https://partnersinpayment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Partners in Payment is a US-based payment processing provider offering dual pricing (PiP Zero), automotive-compliant dealer programs, virtual terminal acceptance, and at-cost hardware to SMB merchants across automotive, retail, non-profit, professional services, and other verticals via direct local-rep sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Processing Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Integrated Payment Processors (PSP/Acquirer) (FSAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Card-Present Acquirers (Retail & POS Focus) (FSAMABAC), Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD), Merchant Payment Gateways (API/Hosted Checkout) (FSAMACAA)

Keywords

• Payment processing services
• Dual pricing programs
• Merchant payment solutions
• Card processing fees
• POS hardware sales

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Dual Pricing Program Fees: Merchants pay monthly subscription fees for dual pricing programs (PiP Zero) and save on processing costs by offering cash and card price differentials. Revenue comes from monthly service fees charged to merchants.
2. Flex Pricing Plan: Monthly subscription service with rate match guarantee for non-PiP Zero volume, charging $34.95 per month.
3. Hardware Sales: Terminals, POS systems, and card readers sold to merchants at cost, generating minimal margin.
4. Surcharge and Convenience Fees: Additional fee structures including surcharge, convenience fees, and service fees for various payment methods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Partners in Payment is a full-service payment processing provider selling subscription-based dual pricing programs (PiP Zero) that let merchants post separate cash and card prices to recover credit card processing fees. Offerings extend to an automotive-compliant dual pricing variant (PiP Zero Automotive), a web-based PiP Virtual Terminal for e-commerce, recurring, and pay-by-text transactions, the Flex rate-match program, payment hardware at cost, and the Casa POS hospitality solution. The company serves SMB retailers, automotive dealers, professional services, non-profits, restaurants, churches, and B2B businesses across the United States.

Product overview

Partners in Payment is a full-service payment processing provider offering a portfolio of solutions centered around dual pricing programs. The core product is PiP Zero, a dual pricing program that allows merchants to set different prices for cash and card transactions, recovering processing fees. PiP Zero Automotive extends this with dealer-specific compliance and support. PiP Virtual Terminal enables e-commerce, recurring payments, and pay-by-text functionality. Additional offerings include the Flex pricing program (rate match guarantee) and hardware at cost. Casa POS serves as a related point-of-sale solution for Casa/hospitality merchants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PiP Zero: Dual pricing program that allows merchants to offer cash and card prices, potentially eliminating processing costs.
• PiP Zero Automotive
• PiP Virtual Terminal

Products and services

• PiP Zero Dual pricing program allowing merchants to post separate cash and card prices, plus surcharge, convenience, and service fees, to reduce or eliminate credit card processing costs. Targets SMB retailers seeking margin protection.
• PiP Zero Automotive Automotive-compliant dual pricing subscription ($49.95/month) tailored for car dealers, including department-specific solutions, lower commission offsets, full reconciliation data lake, and dedicated on-site support from the Dealer Cost Control team.
• PiP Virtual Terminal Web-based payment processing solution supporting e-commerce plug-ins, pay-by-text, recurring payments, payment links, and B2B invoicing for non-profits, professional services, B2B firms, restaurants, churches, and pop-ups.
• Flex Monthly subscription ($34.95/month) offering a rate match guarantee for non-PiP Zero processing volume, providing competitive processing rates for merchants who do not adopt dual pricing.
• Hardware Payment terminals, POS systems, and card swipers sold to merchants at cost with no markup, available as plug-and-play equipment installed with rep support.
• Casa POS Related point-of-sale solution for Casa/hospitality merchants, offered as a sub-brand within the Partners in Payment family.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processing costs reduced to zero or near-zero through dual pricing

Named customers2 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Toast: Toast is a vertically-focused restaurant POS and payments platform. It is comparable as a verticalized POS-plus-payments platform similar in spirit to PiP's automotive specialization and Casa POS restaurant offering.

Direct peers

• Helcim: Helcim is a SMB-focused payment processor offering transparent interchange-plus pricing, virtual terminal, and POS tools. It overlaps directly with PiP's core payment processing, virtual terminal, and SMB merchant focus.
• Payment Depot: Payment Depot is a wholesale-style payment processor focused on SMB merchants with subscription and interchange-plus pricing. It is a close comparable in business model and target customer to Partners in Payment.
• National Processing: National Processing is a US SMB payment processor with dual pricing and surcharge programs and direct sales GTM. It is a directly comparable peer in dual-pricing positioning and target merchant base.
• Stax: Stax is a subscription-based payment processor targeting SMBs with monthly pricing models and interchange-plus transparency. It competes head-to-head with PiP's Flex subscription and dual-pricing positioning among cost-sensitive merchants.
• Dharma Merchant Services: Dharma Merchant Services is a US payment processor known for transparent pricing and dual-pricing/surcharge programs for SMBs. It directly parallels PiP Zero's cost-recovery value proposition.

Broad incumbents

• Square (Block): Square is a leading SMB payment processor and POS software provider offering integrated card-present processing, virtual terminal, and hardware. It is a broad incumbent in the same integrated POS-payments category Partners in Payment targets, with much larger scale.
• Clover (Fiserv): Clover, owned by Fiserv, provides integrated POS hardware and software with payment processing for SMBs. It is a broad incumbent competing with PiP's Casa POS and integrated processing offering.
• Stripe: Stripe is a leading payment processor with strong virtual terminal, online checkout, and developer-friendly APIs. It overlaps with PiP's PiP Virtual Terminal and e-commerce/recurring capabilities, particularly for B2B and online merchants.
• PayPal Zettle: PayPal/Zettle provides integrated card-present processing, POS hardware, and software for small merchants globally. It is a broad incumbent in the same integrated SMB payments space Partners in Payment addresses.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/partners-in-payment

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Partners in Payment