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CardFlight, The Stripe For Real-World Payments, Has Raised $1.6 Million

31 points by timsaunders 13y ago

satjot 13y ago
I have a friend who runs Zuldi Co has probably spent month and months (and thousands of dollars) looking for a solution like this. He sells point of sale ordering systems so waiters and waitresses can take orders and accept payment at bars/restaurants/casinos etc.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  Why not just use Square in this scenario?
  - manuela610 13y ago
    Most likely Zuldi probably wants to keep their own user experience, inventory, CRM etc. Using Square doesn't allow them to keep control of their brand.
Miyamoto 13y ago
> While other companies like Square and PayPal have provided businesses with the ability to collect payments with mobile credit card readers, businesses are reliant on the provider’s apps to process those payments. CardFlight provides its clients with card readers, and also gives them an SDK to build payment processing into their own branded apps. Does Square have any future intent to allow this?
- satjot 13y ago
  All signs point to no. Square wants to be a prominent brand in the eyes of SMBs and consumers (e.g. Square Register, Square Wallet.) They don't seem interested in offering APIs or other white-label tools that help app developers feature their own brands and experiences. Seems like Cardflight clients can integrate payments into their own app experience, rather than having to push CardFlight's, Square's or anyone else's brand.
dhyasama 13y ago
Congrats from ff, Tim! We're all looking forward to helping CardFlight grow.
jonahx 13y ago
I'm a bit confused about what these guys do even after reading that article. Could someone clarify?
- asabjorn 13y ago
  They provide an API for integrating credit card readers into Point of Sale Systems (POS) like e.g a grocery store checkout system or a mobile app to take payments when the card is present. Besides user convenience compared to entering the credit card information manually the transaction fees for card-present transactions are much lower due to reduced transaction-risk.
- nairteashop 13y ago
  Say you are a small retail chain that accepts credit card payments at the cash register, and you want to make things more efficient (Apple-store style) by also accepting payments via portable devices that your employees carry around. You have a couple of options: a. Invest in proprietary portable payment devices (what Apple does) b. Sign up for a service like Square and invest in iPods or iPhones Primary problems with (a) are cost and possibly an outdated interface. Problem with (b) is the payments are not tied into your existing infrastructure, and you have to live with Square's 2.75% fee, which may be higher than what you've already negotiated with your card providers. With CardFlight, you get a card reader like Square's, but you can use their SDKs to collect and send payments into your existing card infrastructure. Square is ideal for independent coffee shops and the like, but if you're a small business with a few locations, something like this is probably the better solution.
  - jonahx 13y ago
    tyvm, exactly the explanation I was looking for. So, to be clear, the responsibility would still be on you to use their SDK to create a custom app that would interface with the CardFlight card reader, correct?
    - nairteashop 13y ago
      Correct, or use their SDK to enhance your existing app with the ability to accept payments.
saym 13y ago
So, What's CardFlight's revenue model? Looks like a useful service.
- derekw1 13y ago
  [Disclosure: I work for CardFlight] We're still experimenting with different pricing models to figure out what makes the most sense for our clients. We typically pass the hardware expense through at cost and charge an all-inclusive monthly or annual fee per deployed device for the SDK, payment gateway, unlimited transactions, unlimited support, etc. One upside of using CardFlight is that clients can shop around and pick whichever processor they want for the lowest rates, easiest integration, best service, or whatever reason they wish, while using the CardFlight SDK for an easy technical integration. Our clients/developers can even work with multiple processors in parallel, or switch processors down the track without having to rebuild their back end.
fivethree 13y ago
Not really germane to the topic, but I really dislike people that pitch their company as, "<existing company> for <demographic>." I get it lets you easily convey what you do since it's really just an improve version of an existing thing. Let your product stand on it's own. Sell what it does and why it's better. Not, "Like this existing thing, but fit into this subset?"
skspeeds 13y ago
been following these guys for a while - wish we had this in the early days of our app when we did more on-the-ground sales to customers within our app.

31 points by timsaunders 13y ago

I have a friend who runs Zuldi Co has probably spent month and months (and thousands of dollars) looking for a solution like this. He sells point of sale ordering systems so waiters and waitresses can take orders and accept payment at bars/restaurants/casinos etc.

toomuchtodo 13y ago
Why not just use Square in this scenario?
- manuela610 13y ago
  Most likely Zuldi probably wants to keep their own user experience, inventory, CRM etc. Using Square doesn't allow them to keep control of their brand.

Miyamoto 13y ago

> While other companies like Square and PayPal have provided businesses with the ability to collect payments with mobile credit card readers, businesses are reliant on the provider’s apps to process those payments. CardFlight provides its clients with card readers, and also gives them an SDK to build payment processing into their own branded apps. Does Square have any future intent to allow this?

satjot 13y ago
All signs point to no. Square wants to be a prominent brand in the eyes of SMBs and consumers (e.g. Square Register, Square Wallet.) They don't seem interested in offering APIs or other white-label tools that help app developers feature their own brands and experiences. Seems like Cardflight clients can integrate payments into their own app experience, rather than having to push CardFlight's, Square's or anyone else's brand.

dhyasama 13y ago

Congrats from ff, Tim! We're all looking forward to helping CardFlight grow.

jonahx 13y ago

I'm a bit confused about what these guys do even after reading that article. Could someone clarify?

asabjorn 13y ago
They provide an API for integrating credit card readers into Point of Sale Systems (POS) like e.g a grocery store checkout system or a mobile app to take payments when the card is present. Besides user convenience compared to entering the credit card information manually the transaction fees for card-present transactions are much lower due to reduced transaction-risk.
nairteashop 13y ago
Say you are a small retail chain that accepts credit card payments at the cash register, and you want to make things more efficient (Apple-store style) by also accepting payments via portable devices that your employees carry around. You have a couple of options: a. Invest in proprietary portable payment devices (what Apple does) b. Sign up for a service like Square and invest in iPods or iPhones Primary problems with (a) are cost and possibly an outdated interface. Problem with (b) is the payments are not tied into your existing infrastructure, and you have to live with Square's 2.75% fee, which may be higher than what you've already negotiated with your card providers. With CardFlight, you get a card reader like Square's, but you can use their SDKs to collect and send payments into your existing card infrastructure. Square is ideal for independent coffee shops and the like, but if you're a small business with a few locations, something like this is probably the better solution.
- jonahx 13y ago
  tyvm, exactly the explanation I was looking for. So, to be clear, the responsibility would still be on you to use their SDK to create a custom app that would interface with the CardFlight card reader, correct?
  - nairteashop 13y ago
    Correct, or use their SDK to enhance your existing app with the ability to accept payments.

saym 13y ago

So, What's CardFlight's revenue model? Looks like a useful service.

derekw1 13y ago
[Disclosure: I work for CardFlight] We're still experimenting with different pricing models to figure out what makes the most sense for our clients. We typically pass the hardware expense through at cost and charge an all-inclusive monthly or annual fee per deployed device for the SDK, payment gateway, unlimited transactions, unlimited support, etc. One upside of using CardFlight is that clients can shop around and pick whichever processor they want for the lowest rates, easiest integration, best service, or whatever reason they wish, while using the CardFlight SDK for an easy technical integration. Our clients/developers can even work with multiple processors in parallel, or switch processors down the track without having to rebuild their back end.

fivethree 13y ago

Not really germane to the topic, but I really dislike people that pitch their company as, "<existing company> for <demographic>." I get it lets you easily convey what you do since it's really just an improve version of an existing thing. Let your product stand on it's own. Sell what it does and why it's better. Not, "Like this existing thing, but fit into this subset?"

skspeeds 13y ago

been following these guys for a while - wish we had this in the early days of our app when we did more on-the-ground sales to customers within our app.