Fintech has given merchants and customers more options for making payments, thanks to the wonders of payment processing companies.
Also known as payment processors, these payment companies allow customers to submit payment information through a payment gateway, such as a physical card reader, mobile phone reader or an online payment portal. They then verify payments with the customer’s card network, bank or other financial institution, initiating approved payment transfers into the merchant’s bank account. As a result, customers can complete payments with credit and debit cards, mobile wallets or Automated Clearing House (ACH) bank transfers, to name a few.
What Are Payment Processing Companies?
Fintech payment processing companies handle the logistics of accepting cashless payments for products and services. While they primarily provide software and back-end infrastructure, some payment processing companies also offer hardware, such as point-of-sale systems, credit card chip readers and screens.
While streamlined payments deliver a major boost to small businesses and merchants, larger organizations can also leverage payment companies’ technology to give their broad customer bases more flexibility when paying in person or online. Demand has only increased because of these competitive advantages payment processing tools offer.
To give you an idea of just how big this industry is, consider that the payment processing solutions market is on pace to reach over $314 billion by 2030. With a market that size, there are lots of players out there.
Some digital payment companies specialize in offering buy-now pay-later integrations for e-commerce companies trying to attract younger consumers, while others are peer-to-peer payment platforms that everyday people use to split checks and pay monthly dues. In any case, the goal for payment processing companies is largely the same: making transactions between customers and businesses faster, simpler and more secure.
To help you get oriented, we rounded up the top payment processors and online payment processing services you should know.
Top Fintech Payment Processing Companies
Founded: 1799
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Financial services company JPMorgan Chase serves consumers, corporations and government entities in more than 100 global markets. J.P. Morgan Payments’ offerings cover online and app-based payments, for example, and embedding banking services into a client’s platform. Its technology solutions are responsible for processing trillions of dollars in payments each day across 120-plus currencies.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Also a service of PayPal, Venmo is a mobile payment platform for users to digitally send money to one another and make purchases. The platform allows users to link cards or bank accounts so money can be transferred quickly to other users or merchants. Venmo even offers its own credit and debit cards, which come with perks like free ATM withdrawals, unlimited cash back and contactless shopping.
Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Scottsdale, Arizona
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Owned by the financial services company Early Warning Services, Zelle is a person-to-person payment application that sends money quickly. The application enables users to send money with an email address or phone number, even if the sender and recipient use different banks. More than 1,700 financial institutions have integrated Zelle into their mobile banking apps, so customers don’t need to download a separate app for Zelle.
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
Platform Type: Payment Gateway
What it does: Stripe provides financial and software services to companies with online businesses like subscription services, on-demand marketplaces and crowdfunding. Businesses can accept fast online payments, design user-friendly payment forms or adopt Stripe Terminal for POS transactions. With the ability to detect online threats via machine learning and transfer data into a company’s preferred data warehouse, Stripe also gives clients a clear view of their operations as well.
Founded: 2005
Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweeden
Platform Type: Buy-Now-Pay-Later
What it does: Klarna makes a buy-now-pay-later product that e-commerce companies use to cater to customers who prefer flexible payment options. With Klarna, shoppers can split large purchases into four installments without interest or fees, and even arrange a financing plan that spans up to 24 months. The company’s Klarna Card can also be used to earn redeemable points, fostering customer loyalty over the long haul.
Founded: 2013
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Zone builds payment software that plugs directly into NetSuite, a popular business management platform. It acts as an all-in-one financial assistant, automatically sending out bills, collecting customer payments, and tracking complex subscriptions or pay-as-you-go pricing plans. Instead of forcing finance teams to log into multiple bank accounts and software tools to match up invoices, Zone handles everything behind the scenes in one spot, saving businesses hundreds of hours of messy manual data entry.
Founded: 1983
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
Platform Type: Payment Gateway
What it does: Applied Systems’ tech solutions for the insurance industry include Applied Pay, a digital payments platform that offers flexible, secure payment options along with dashboards for viewing real-time data related to payment transactions. The technology is designed to integrate with Applied Systems’ other software products like Applied Epic and EZLynx.
Founded: 2021
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Bilt offers a loyalty rewards program that allows users to earn points by paying for rent and other expenses on its branded cards. Its points can be transferred one-to-one to major airline and hotel programs or used toward rent payments, shopping, fitness or even a down payment on a home. The company’s members also get access to member-only experiences and credit-building benefits.
Founded: 2018
Headquarters: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Moov Financial oversees the entire money movement process through its all-in-one payment processor. With the processor, businesses can add the API to accelerate process tools and efficiently scale with cloud-native features. The company also offers Moov Wallets for automatic ledger movement in real time. The feature supports instant transfers, card disputes, payment history and more.
Founded: 2015
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: DailyPay allows for employees to decide when, and how often, they get paid. Employees build up an available balance for each hour they work. Then, they can choose to withdraw the money instantly at any time. When it becomes time for the official company payday, the amount the employees have already withdrawn is automatically reduced from their overall check. By using DailyPay, industries have reported improvement in employee turnover.
Founded: 2021
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Stablecoin and International Payments
What it does: Rain offers a full-stack stablecoin payments platform that makes assets usable wherever Visa is accepted. Its services are specifically designed for Web3 and crypto-native companies. The company allows users to actually spend stablecoins on real-world expenses.
Founded: 2006
Headquarters: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Platform Type: Payment Gateway and Fraud Prevention
What it does: Adyen has a fintech platform with payment processing capabilities. It enables businesses to accept payments via websites, mobile apps and in-person transactions. The company also offers features to protect businesses and their customers, including authentication to streamline user verification and tools for preventing, detecting and responding to fraud.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Platform Type: International Payments
What it does: Ripple uses blockchain technology to process and secure their RippleNet payment network. With RippleNet, customers have access to a global network of banks and financial institutions, and they can make cross-border payments instantaneously. The company’s blockchain helps to encrypt each payment and allows for each money transfer to be easily traceable.
Founded: 1986
Headquarters: Riverwoods, Illinois
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Discover has been around since 1986 connecting consumers with financial services solutions such as home loans and credit cards that let them earn travel miles and cash back rewards. The company has built a vast global payments network that encompasses more than 200 countries and supports millions of Discover cardholders.
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Seattle, Washington
Platform Type: International Payments
What it does: Remitly is a fintech company that aims to simplify international money transfers and payments. Through its thousands of global banks, mobile money and cash-pickup partners, Remitly enables recipients to have money sent directly to a bank account or collect it in cash. Whether sending money online or through a simple mobile application, Remitly users benefit from tracking capabilities, plus more choices for speed and price of transfer.
Founded: 2005
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Platform Type: Payment Gateway
What it does: 8am (Formerly AffiniPay) offers industry-specific payment platforms and gateways for professionals working in law, accounting, medical care and associated industries. The platform features open APIs, cybersecurity measures and in-house support to ensure a quality experience for all users, allowing them to schedule recurring payments, link payments to their website and dive into payment analytics to improve finances across the business.
Founded: 2001
Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: Billtrust is a payment cycle solution that automates the invoice-to-payment process. The company provides a range of solutions from credit management and invoicing to virtual payments and cash flow automation. Billtrust works largely with companies in the manufacturing, distribution, transportation, business services and machinery industries.
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Platform Type: International Payments
What it does: Flywire helps craft personalized fintech payment platforms for a variety of international industries, including travel, education and healthcare. Flywire’s global collection network fully reconciles global payments, and even allows for refunding, while keeping all involved parties up-to-date in real time. The University of Pittsburgh and UCLA health are customers who have benefitted from Flywire’s technology.
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Platform Type: Payment Gateway
What it does: ePayPolicy serves businesses in the insurance industry, providing them with a solution for accepting online payments. Its technology is designed to be mobile friendly and can integrate with agency management and accounting systems. The company’s CheckMate feature also streamlines processing for paper checks.
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Platform Type: Payment Gateway
What it does: Commerce is a platform that allows small businesses and e-commerce shops of all kinds to build powerful online marketplaces and maintain them with ease. The cloud-based design platform includes both responsive templates or the option to build a fully customizable site from scratch, with WordPress integration, mobile optimization, digital wallets and additional capabilities, including the ability to process payments in over 100 currencies.
Founded: 2019
Headquarters: London, England
Platform Type: Point-of-Sale
What it does: Teya provides small and medium-sized businesses with an integrated payments platform encompassing both hardware and software solutions. It provides point-of-sale terminals for in-store cashless payments, along with software that enables small businesses to use their phone as card readers. Teya also provides payment gateways to simplify digital payment.
Founded: 2016
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Payment Processor
What it does: LeafLink operates a software marketplace platform for wholesale cannabis purveyors, including brands, distributors and retailers. These purveyors rely on LeafLink to conduct wholesale transactions, ship goods, process payments, track orders, market products and perform other critical business functions. The company has processed more than $1 billion in payments and offers fast digital payment options with an array of terms.
Founded: 2013
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Stablecoin Payments
What it does: Circle works with the digital currencies USD Coin and Euro Coin, so businesses can tap into the capabilities of blockchain. As a result, companies can settle transactions almost instantly, add an extra layer of protection to payments and invest funds outside of typical banking hours. Businesses can also compile transaction and treasury reports, making it easy to manage digital assets and keep track of expenses.
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: London, England
Platform Type: International Payments
What it does: Wise, a fintech company focused on innovating how individuals and businesses move and manage money, offers solutions for international money transfers, spending abroad and international business payments. Founded in 2011, Wise serves millions of customers, helping make global finance more transparent and convenient.
Founded: 2021
Headquarters: New York, New York
Platform Type: Payment Processor and Business Financing
What it does: Gynger offers a digital payment platform that allows users to finance, seamlessly pay and manage tech expenses from a single dashboard. More specifically, its tools can be used for invoicing, financial transactions and payment processing. It also helps buyers spread their payments out and avoid large bills upfront.
Founded: 2006
Headquarters: Wellington, New Zealand
Platform Type: Payment Gateway
What it does: Xero is a fintech company that provides software solutions for small business accounting. With its payment software, users can add a “pay now” button to online invoices, allowing customers to pay in fewer steps and helping businesses get paid up to twice as fast.
Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Austin, Texas
Platform Type: Fraud Prevention
What it does: Closinglock offers real estate fintech that prevents fraudulent transactions by securely processing payments and deposits. It specializes in collecting earnest money, which is a good-faith deposit that a prospective home buyer puts down to essentially reserve a property while they are being vetted for a mortgage. This money then goes toward the buyer’s down payment. Closinglock also provides identity verification, payment securing, payoff verification, e-signatures, document exchange and wire transfer facilitation.
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Platform Type: Buy-Now-Pay-Later
What it does: Affirm offers e-commerce shoppers the ability to pay off their purchases over an extended period. With different payment plan options, shoppers can buy everything from vacations to shoes and cars, and pay them off over a few weeks or months instead of all at once. Affirm also lets customers know upfront the total amount they’ll owe and includes no late fees, keeping plans transparent and more affordable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a payment processing tool?
A payment processing tool is a software or hardware solution — such as an online checkout portal, mobile wallet integrator or physical card reader — that allows businesses to accept cashless payments. It acts as the bridge between a customer’s submitted financial information and the backend networks required to authorize a sale. Ultimately, these tools are designed to make transactions faster, simpler and more secure for both merchants and consumers.
How does payment processing work?
When a customer submits their card or digital wallet info at checkout, the payment processor securely routes that data through a payment gateway to the customer’s card network and bank to verify available funds. Once the financial institutions approve the transaction, the processor handles the logistics of securely transferring those approved funds into the merchant’s business account. This entire complex verification and communication loop happens automatically behind the scenes in just a few seconds.
What are payment processing fees?
Payment processing fees are the transactional costs that merchants pay to payment processors and financial institutions in exchange for safely handling and authorizing cashless sales. These costs typically combine a small flat fee per transaction with a percentage of the total purchase amount. The fees cover the backend tech infrastructure, data encryption and fraud prevention measures required to move money reliably.
