Company timeline

See how we've grown from a simple idea and a passion for problem solving into the leading SaaS payment company for small businesses.
May 2013
First commercial product launched

CardFlight was founded in 2013 in New York City.

Our first product was the CardFlight Software Development Kit (SDK), which helped application developers integrate in-person payment acceptance into their own mobile applications.

The CardFlight SDK integrated with our PCI-compliant payment gateway and secure mobile card readers. The SDK gave a wide range of application developers an easy way to take payments within their own software.

Apr 2014
Product release: SwipeSimple Mobile App

As more merchant acquirers and Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) learned about the CardFlight SDK and payment gateway, they started asking for turn-key software that could be branded and sold to their small-business customers. The idea for SwipeSimple was born.

SwipeSimple was released in the iOS and Android app stores on April 8, 2014. It was designed to be exceptionally easy for our partner network of merchant acquirers and banks to sell, deploy, and support.

With SwipeSimple, small merchants were able to accept payments in remote and “on the go” business environments, like in-home service providers and pop-up retail businesses.

May 2014
Industry recognition: ETA Technology Innovation Award

CardFlight earned the 2014 Technology Innovation Award from the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the global trade association representing companies that offer electronic transaction processing products and services.

The Technology Innovation Award is presented annually to a company that makes significant advancements for the industry and has demonstrated results with a product currently available in the marketplace.

Mar 2015
Product release: EMV-ready chip card readers

CardFlight announced the availability of EMV-ready mobile card readers on March 26, 2015. This was well ahead of the liability shift that came several months later to encourage the United States to migrate to EMV chip card technology.

EMV compatibility put SwipeSimple at the forefront of the U.S. migration to chip-card technology, and enabled small businesses to take advantage of the new anti-fraud features and ensure optimal compliance with industry standards.

May 2015
Growth milestone: SwipeSimple merchants in all 50 states

As our merchant acquirer and bank partnerships grew, so did our footprint. We received consistent feedback that SwipeSimple was “easy... and just works!” from merchants and frontline sales teams.

Oct 2015
Growth milestone: CardFlight office established in Lincoln, NE

What started with hiring a single remote engineer in 2015, grew into CardFlight’s second office. Today, we have a sizable presence in Lincoln, Nebraska with a focus on software development, information security, and application infrastructure. The office remains a key part of our growth strategy. Learn more.

Oct 2016
Product release: Contactless card readers

CardFlight has a team of engineers that constantly update and add features to the solution to ensure small business merchants stay on the edge of modern payment technologies. In October 2016, we introduced a new generation of card readers that enabled small merchants to easily accept contactless payments like Apple Pay and what is today called Google Pay.

Mar 2018
Product release: EMV Quick Chip support

Quick Chip technology enables the authorization for an EMV transaction to take place in one step, instead of two. That means customers can dip and remove their card while products are still being scanned and added, saving valuable time for both the merchant and their customers.

EMV Quick Chip enables payments that are as fast as magnetic stripe swipes, but with the counterfeit fraud protection of EMV technology. Learn more.

Oct 2018
Industry recognition: Ranked fastest-growing company (Inc. 5000)

CardFlight was ranked #139 on the 2018 Inc. 5000 List, and in the top 5 in the Financial Services category. That same year, we earned a spot on Deloitte's 2018 list of fastest growing technology companies in North America.

Nov 2018
Product release: Virtual Terminal, Invoices, and more

SwipeSimple goes beyond mobile by adding support for web-based payments. Businesses with frequent repeat customers or who deliver services when cardholders aren't present gained access to Virtual Terminal, card on file, and scheduled payments.

We're committed to continually improve our products. In 2019 and 2020, SwipeSimple was upgraded to support Invoices sent via SMS text and Level II and III Interchange qualification.

Apr 2019
Product release: SwipeSimple Terminal

CardFlight announced its first smart terminal solution, taking the same problem-solving approach that helped scale SwipeSimple to 60,000 merchants, and applying it towards the market for traditional payment acceptance terminals.

By integrating SwipeSimple with devices from PAX Technologies like the A920 and A80, CardFlight brought the ease of use and robust feature set that SwipeSimple is known for to a line of Android-based smart terminals.

Jun 2019
Growth milestone: CardFlight team passes 50 people

The demands of constant product evolution and feature release drove the growth of our team. While we made strategic hires across the organization, more than half of the staff are in software engineering roles.

As we grew, company values were solidified to foster the same problem-solving and collaborative environment among larger teams and across two offices.

Aug 2019
Industry recognition: Ranked on the Inc. 5000 for second consecutive year

CardFlight's stellar growth and strong revenue was recognized by the Inc. 5000 for second year in a row. Published by Inc. Magazine, the list recognizes the top 5,000 fastest-growing privately held companies within the United States. Learn more.

Aug 2020
Industry recognition: Ranked on the Inc. 5000 for third consecutive year

In making the 2020 Inc. 5000 List, CardFlight joins a select group of top private companies nationwide that have received the award three times—less than ten percent of companies who have made the Inc. 5000 since its inception in 1982 have been able to achieve sustainable enough growth to make the list thrice. Learn more.

Nov 2020
Growth milestone: 70,000 merchants

More than 20,000 new merchants this year have begun using SwipeSimple since the start of 2020. Now used by more than 70,000 small businesses nationwide, SwipeSimple allows merchants the flexibility to meet today’s ever-changing market needs and accept payments on the go, in their stores, and at their computers, thanks to its omnichannel capabilities. Learn more.

Aug 2021
Industry recognition: Ranked on the Inc. 5000 for fourth consecutive year

In August 2021, CardFlight was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for the fourth year in a row. Learn more.

Apr 2022
Growth milestone: 100,000 merchants

New milestone: Now more than 100,000 small business merchants use SwipeSimple to accept payments. That's thousands of plumbers, trucking and storage companies, landscapers, beauty shops, veterinarians, barbers and salons, speciality food stores, and more that trust SwipeSimple to handle the payment acceptance for their business every day. Learn more.

Mar 2023
Growth milestone: 125,000 merchants

CardFlight, a leading SaaS payment technology company, announced today that more than 125,000 small business owners across the US now use SwipeSimple, the company’s easy-to-use, modern payment solution.

SwipeSimple, CardFlight’s signature product, enables small businesses to accept credit card payments across several types of devices and in a range of environments, from retail to remote locations. By offering the features that small businesses value most – delivered in a straightforward and easy-to-use way – SwipeSimple serves more than 350 different types of business verticals and industries. The product is respected in the industry because it is simple, works well and helps businesses grow.

Learn more.