# Jeff Thorness

> Jeff Thorness founded the payments business that became Forte Payment Systems in 1998. A software developer by trade, he bootstrapped the company, expanded its ACH roots into broader payment services and led it through its 2018 acquisition by CSG. He is the founder and former CEO of the business now known as CSG Forte.

- **Role:** Entrepreneur and software developer; founder and former payments-company CEO
- **Organizations:** Forte Payment Systems (originally ACH Direct; now CSG Forte), CSG, The Green Sheet advisory board (historical), NiceStrategy (listed on LinkedIn; title and dates unverified)
- **Known for:** Bootstrapped Forte from its 1998 founding to a reported 115-person company in 2014., Led Forte through its acquisition by CSG in October 2018., Forte reported processing over $16 billion in payments during 2013.

## Career timeline

- **Before 1998** — Worked as a contract programmer for financial-services companies.
- **1998** — Founded the business originally known as ACH Direct in Southern California.
- **2008** — As ACH Direct president, discussed Federal Payments card acceptance in government offices.
- **2013** — ACH Direct adopted the Forte name in early 2013; Forte announced its sixth consecutive Inc. 5000 appearance in September.
- **2014** — Reported 115 employees and a bootstrapped growth strategy; presented payment APIs at FinDEVr.
- **2015** — Presented at FinDEVr with Mithun Patel and Li Zhou.
- **2018-10-01** — CSG acquired 100% of Forte’s equity for approximately $85 million, about $80 million net of acquired cash, with potential earn-outs.
- **2020-04** — Identified as Forte president in an interview about government ACH payments.

## Achievements

- Bootstrapped Forte from its 1998 founding to a reported 115-person company in 2014.
- Led Forte through its acquisition by CSG in October 2018.
- Forte reported processing over $16 billion in payments during 2013.
- Forte announced its sixth consecutive Inc. 5000 appearance in September 2013.

## Latest updates

- **2020-04** — Discussed government ACH adoption, remittance data and payment security as Forte president.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffthorness
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/JeffThorness

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jeff-thorness
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27