# Index

> Index was a San Francisco retail-software company that slipped a cloud payment layer between an enterprise retailer's cash register, card terminal and processor. It began with a marketing thesis - make physical shops recognize customers as well as websites do - then built semi-integrated payments, tokenization, analytics, e-receipts and loyalty tools around the checkout. Its best-known product cut the cardholder's EMV dip to about one second. Index raised $26 million, served national grocers, restaurants and apparel chains, and was acquired by Stripe in March 2018 for an undisclosed price; its in-person payments expertise fed into the world Stripe Terminal entered later that year.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** San Francisco, United States
- **Founders:** Marc Freed-Finnegan (Co-founder and CEO), Jonathan Wall (Co-founder and CTO)
- **Products:** Commerce network and SDK, Customer analytics and personalized marketing, Semi-Integrated Payments, Hosted Gateway, 1-Second EMV
- **Notable:** Raised $26 million across two disclosed rounds., Reportedly reduced Fairway Market's gateway cost by 35% while providing secure data transmission., Built an EMVCo Level 2-certified kernel and reduced the customer card-dip interaction to about one second.

## Products & services

- **Commerce network and SDK** — Early software for opt-in shopper recognition, digital preferences, offer redemption and personalized service inside stores.
- **Customer analytics and personalized marketing** — Tokenized payment-card histories, line-item purchase data, campaign measurement, recommendations, loyalty and e-receipts.
- **Semi-Integrated Payments** — PIN-pad software that kept sensitive card data out of the POS path, reducing PCI scope and making EMV, P2PE and new tender types easier to deploy.
- **Hosted Gateway** — A cloud, PCI Level 1 gateway connecting varied POS environments to First Data, Vantiv, Chase Paymentech and Worldpay while preserving processor choice.
- **1-Second EMV** — An EMVCo Level 2-certified kernel and checkout flow supporting Quick Chip and M/Chip Fast so customers could dip at any time and remove a card in about one second.

## Achievements

- Raised $26 million across two disclosed rounds.
- Reportedly reduced Fairway Market's gateway cost by 35% while providing secure data transmission.
- Built an EMVCo Level 2-certified kernel and reduced the customer card-dip interaction to about one second.
- Deployed across named national retailers in grocery, apparel and quick-service restaurants.
- Acquired by Stripe in March 2018; most employees were reportedly offered roles.
- Helped establish the in-person payment expertise that preceded Stripe Terminal's September 2018 launch.

## Latest updates

- **2018-03** — Stripe acquired Index for an undisclosed amount; most Index employees were reportedly offered new roles.
- **2018-09** — Stripe launched Terminal, combining SDKs and APIs, pre-certified card readers and cloud device management for in-person payments.
- **2022-01** — Stripe said Terminal payment volume had grown sixfold over the prior year and announced the acquisition of reader maker BBPOS, showing the scale of the in-person category Index had helped Stripe enter.

## Links

- Website: http://www.index.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/index
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/index
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/index

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/index
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-24