SwipeSum, the first merchant-centric online credit card processing marketplace, has raised $1 million in funding from notable angel investors in St. Louis.

Credit card processing is the second-highest operating expense to US businesses, a $7 billion burden to merchants annually. In the past, merchants have relied on commission-driven salespeople, banks, and online review sites to make payment partnership decisions. SwipeSum’s process puts the power in merchants’ hands for the first time.

After completing SwipeSum’s online consultation, businesses save an average of 55% on credit card processing fees.

Eliminating Merchant Fees

SwipeSum disrupts traditional merchant acquisition practices in the payments industry bringing savings to businesses of all sizes. SwipeSum’s online consultation platform understands a merchant’s payment setup, gathers competitive bids from credit card processors that readily integrate into that business’s existing processes, and provides them with the ideal solution at the best price for their unique setup.

The angel investors who led the round, Andrew Love and Laurence Schiffer, shared their confidence in SwipeSum’s solution in a press release saying, “Over twenty years ago, Mr. Schiffer and I helped found a major credit card processor that sold, as an NYSE-listed company, for a value exceeding $4.0 billion.”

“We have been active in credit card processing for decades through our bank. We believe SwipeSum has a process which offers a compelling value proposition for merchants and we are pleased to help position SwipeSum for further growth.”

SwipeSum also offers special premium services to St. Louis-based businesses, including quarterly audits, industry education, and integration assistance, free of charge. Laurence Schiffler added, “we believe that SwipeSum has dynamic potential, a belief which is further solidified given their recent recognition as a winner at the 2018 Arch Grants Global Startup Competition.”

Doubling Down on Downtown

SwipeSum Co-founder and CEO Michael Seaman plans to expand the company’s sales and marketing divisions and told EQ that he hopes to double the size of his 10-person team quickly.

“As we have reached the threshold of merchants we can help with our current team, I’m most excited about using the funds to fully automate the customer experience on SwipeSum.com,” Seaman explained to EQ. “By automating the process by which merchants connect with prospective payments partners, we can free up time for our team to assist businesses who are transitioning between payment systems and speed up the decision-making experience for the merchant.”

Starting January 1, 2019, the SwipeSum team will be housed in a newly-leased office space at Laclede’s Landing, within walking distance of St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch.