i3 Verticals, Inc. provides integrated payment and software solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses and organizations in education, non-profit, public sector, and healthcare markets in the United States. It operates in two segments, Merchant Services, and Proprietary Software and Payments. The company offers payment processing services that enables clients to accept electronic payments, facilitating the exchange of funds and transaction data between clients, financial institutions, and payment networks. The company also licenses software; and provides ongoing support, and other point of sale-related solutions. It offers its solutions to clients through direct sales force; distribution partners, including independent software vendors, value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations; and referral partners, such as financial institutions, trade associations, chambers of commerce, and card issuers. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.
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Here are 1-3 brief analogies for i3 Verticals (IIIV):
- Like a Square for specialized industries such as government, education, and healthcare.
- A payment processor similar to Fiserv or Global Payments, but specializing in integrated software for niche industries.
- Constellation Software for payment-enabled vertical market software companies.
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- Payment Processing Services: Facilitates secure credit card, debit card, and ACH transactions for businesses across various industries.
- Integrated Software Solutions: Provides specialized software, often bundled with payment processing, tailored for specific vertical markets like healthcare, education, or public sector.
- Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems & Terminals: Offers hardware and software solutions for merchants to accept payments at the point of sale.
- Risk Management & Fraud Prevention: Delivers tools and services to help businesses mitigate transaction fraud and manage payment-related risks.
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i3 Verticals (symbol: IIIV) sells primarily to other companies, specifically small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and organizations.
Due to the diversified nature of its business, which involves providing integrated payment and software solutions across numerous industry verticals, i3 Verticals does not have "major customers" in the sense of a few large, identifiable companies that constitute a significant portion of its revenue. Therefore, specific customer company names and symbols cannot be provided.
Instead, i3 Verticals serves a broad base of customers categorized by their industry verticals. These include:
- Education institutions
- Not-for-profit organizations
- Public sector entities (e.g., government agencies, municipalities)
- Healthcare providers
- Property management companies
- Retail businesses
- Manufacturing and distribution companies
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- Visa Inc. (V)
- Mastercard Incorporated (MA)
- Discover Financial Services (DFS)
- American Express Company (AXP)
- Global Payments Inc. (GPN)
- Fiserv, Inc. (FI)
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Greg Daily Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Daily founded i3 Verticals in 2012. Before establishing i3 Verticals, he founded iPayment, Inc. in 2001, serving as its Chairman and CEO until 2011; iPayment, Inc. was later acquired by Paysafe Group. Earlier, in 1984, he co-founded PMT Services, Inc., a credit card processing company, and led it as President until its sale to NOVA Corporation in 1998 for approximately $81 million. He also acts as an operating partner at Aquiline Capital Partners, a private investment firm.
Geoff Smith Chief Financial Officer
Information regarding Mr. Smith's detailed professional background prior to joining i3 Verticals is not readily available in the provided sources. He serves as the Chief Financial Officer for i3 Verticals.
Clay Whitson Chief Strategy Officer and Director
Mr. Whitson currently holds the position of Chief Strategy Officer and is a Director on the board, having previously served as the Chief Financial Officer of i3 Verticals. Prior to i3 Verticals, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Edo Interactive from October 2010 to April 2014. From 2002 to 2010, he was Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of iPayment, Inc. (Nasdaq: IPMT), and also served on its board of directors from 2002 to 2006. Before that, he held roles as Chief Financial Officer for The Corporate Executive Board (Nasdaq: EXBD) from 1998 to 2002, and as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of PMT Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: PMTS) from 1996 to 1998.
Rick Stanford President
Mr. Stanford has served as the President of i3 Verticals since its formation in January 2018, and as President of i3 Verticals, LLC since November 2017. He was also the Executive Vice President of i3 Verticals, LLC from January 2013 to October 2017.
Paul Christians Chief Revenue Officer
Mr. Christians assumed the role of Chief Revenue Officer in May 2024. He previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of the company from November 2022 to May 2024, and as President of the Public Sector Division from May 2019 to November 2022. Before joining i3 Verticals, he was the Chairman and CEO of Pace Payments Systems, Inc. from October 2009 until its acquisition by i3 Verticals in May 2019. He also served as Chairman and CEO of Prime Office Products from May 1999 until its sale to Staples, Inc. in September 2005.
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The key risks to i3 Verticals (IIIV) business are primarily associated with its ongoing strategic transition, along with inherent challenges in its operating environment.
- Transitional Risks from Business Model Shift: i3 Verticals is undergoing a significant strategic pivot, divesting non-core businesses like Merchant Services and Healthcare RCM to become a pure-play public sector software provider focused on a recurring Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) revenue model. This transition is expected to cause "near-term volatility and transitional challenges" and "transitional pain" for the company. The shift from high-margin, non-recurring software license sales to lower-margin professional services, and then to recurring SaaS revenue, is a core part of this transitional pain. This has led to an underwhelming guidance for fiscal year 2026.
- Cybersecurity Risks: The company faces significant cybersecurity risks, including potential unauthorized data disclosure and cyberattacks. Such incidents could lead to substantial liability, litigation, and damage to the company's reputation. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies may further complicate the detection and mitigation of these cyber threats.
- Competitive Risks: i3 Verticals operates in the highly competitive enterprise software and payment processing industries. The presence of larger competitors who may offer more attractive solutions could constrain i3 Verticals' pricing power and potentially lead to customer attrition, which would negatively affect its financial performance.
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Clear Emerging Threats for i3 Verticals (IIIV):
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Apple's "Tap to Pay" on iPhone: This technology allows merchants to accept contactless payments directly on an iPhone without requiring dedicated payment terminals or additional hardware. This simplifies payment acceptance dramatically and could disintermediate traditional point-of-sale (POS) hardware and integrated payment solutions that i3 Verticals provides to its small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers.
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The emergence and growing adoption of Account-to-Account (A2A) payments and real-time payment networks (e.g., FedNow): These payment rails offer the potential to bypass traditional card networks, leading to significantly lower transaction costs for merchants. If widely adopted by i3 Verticals' SMB customer base, this shift could erode the core revenue streams derived from transaction fees on card-based payments.
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i3 Verticals (symbol: IIIV) focuses on providing integrated payment processing and vertical-specific software solutions primarily to niche markets within the United States, including the public sector (courts, utilities, education, public administration, justice tech, transportation) and healthcare. The company also has a growing presence in the business-to-business (B2B) payments market.
The addressable markets for i3 Verticals' main products and services are sizable:
- Overall U.S. Digital Payment Market: The United States digital payment market is projected to grow from US$3.06 trillion in 2024 to US$9.29 trillion by 2033, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.11% from 2025 to 2033.
- U.S. Payment Processing Solutions Market: The U.S. market for payment processing solutions generated approximately USD 16,000.3 million in revenue in 2023 and is expected to reach USD 36,752.5 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 12.6% from 2024 to 2030.
- U.S. Healthcare Digital Payment Market: The U.S. healthcare digital payment market size was approximately USD 3.98 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach around USD 26.83 billion by 2034, with a CAGR of 21.02% from 2025 to 2034.
- U.S. Banking Solutions for Healthcare Payers and Providers Market: This market was valued at USD 34.11 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach around USD 80.01 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2024 to 2033.
- Global Education Payments Platform Market: The global education payments platform market was valued at approximately USD 4.98 billion in 2024 and is projected to expand to USD 9.71 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 14.2%. North America was the largest region in this market in 2024. Another estimate places the global market at USD 15.2 billion in 2023, expected to grow to USD 55.4 billion by 2033, with North America holding over 50% market share.
- U.S. B2B Payments Transaction Market: The U.S. B2B payments transaction market size was estimated at USD 460 billion in 2024 and is predicted to increase from USD 510 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 1,160 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 9.69% from 2025 to 2034.
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i3 Verticals (IIIV) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key strategies and market trends:
- Public Sector Expansion and Digitization: i3 Verticals has a strategic focus on the public sector, anticipating double-digit growth in fiscal year 2025 from a recent acquisition in this vertical. The company expects strong demand for AI-powered public sector software and aims to expand within high-barrier government verticals, leveraging the projected significant growth in the global government software market.
- Growth in Recurring Software and Services (SaaS Transition): The company is shifting from one-time software license sales to recurring Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and transaction-based software revenues. SaaS and transaction-based software revenues have shown growth, with over 80% of revenues in Q3 2024 coming from recurring sources and SaaS revenue growing by 24% in Q3 2025. i3 Verticals is also developing new software solutions, such as a court management solution.
- Strategic Acquisitions: i3 Verticals continues to pursue growth through strategic acquisitions, highlighted by a recent acquisition in the Public Sector vertical expected to contribute significantly to fiscal year 2025 performance. The company also has a strong pipeline for future mergers and acquisitions and has acquired a small utility billing software company to enhance its offerings.
- Organic Revenue Growth: The company forecasts high-single-digit organic revenue growth for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. This organic growth is largely attributed to recurring revenue streams, which are offsetting declines in non-recurring sales.
- Targeted Vertical Expansion: Beyond the public sector, i3 Verticals has also reported a major win in the Healthcare vertical and expanded its presence in the Education sector. The education business, specifically, has shown positive growth with a notable 10% revenue increase.
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Share Repurchases
- i3 Verticals authorized a share repurchase program for up to $50.0 million of its Class A common stock on August 8, 2024.
- This program is set to expire on the earlier of August 8, 2025, or when the maximum authorized amount has been expended, with an updated expiration date of September 30, 2026.
- As of the November 18, 2022 filing, no shares had been repurchased under the program.
Share Issuance
- In September 2020, i3 Verticals announced a proposed underwritten public offering of 3,250,000 shares of Class A common stock, with underwriters having an option for an additional 487,500 shares. The proceeds were intended for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment and funding strategic acquisitions.
- The company entered into an at-the-market (ATM) offering sales agreement in August 2021, allowing it to issue and sell up to $125 million of Class A common stock.
- Shares of Class A common stock (311,634) were issued as part of the consideration for an acquisition in the public sector completed on August 1, 2024.
Outbound Investments
- i3 Verticals acquired three companies in October 2020, expanding its public safety/law enforcement software and healthcare medical billing software offerings.
- In November 2020, the company acquired substantially all of ImageSoft, Inc.'s assets for $40 million in cash, which provides software for public sector markets.
- An acquisition within the Public Sector vertical, focusing on enterprise software for motor carrier and motor vehicle markets, was completed in October 2022 for approximately $85.0 million in cash.
Capital Expenditures
- The company's management has indicated a target for free cash flow conversion exceeding two-thirds of EBITDA, even with upcoming investments and increased capital expenditures and integration costs.
- Capital expenditures for the three months ended June 30, 2025, were $2.1 million.