Companies on the 36th annual Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private U.S. companies collectively generated aggregate revenue of $206 billion and created 619,500 jobs over the past three years. On average, companies listed realized sixfold revenue growth since 2013 compared with 6.7 percent for the U.S. economy over the same period. In total, 29 payments industry companies made the grade, six for the first time.
Earning the top spot among payment companies, Irving, Texas-based Anovia Payments LLC saw three-year growth of 4,526.14 percent and $32.2 million in 2016 revenue, placing the first-time honoree at 82 in the rankings. Founded in 2013 by industry veterans Kevin Jones and Andy Meadows, the company initially targeted U.S. merchants and payment facilitators. It has since expanded into Canada and Australia.
"The industry is getting more vertical and specialized, so when we started the organization, our thesis was to focus 100 percent on strategic partnerships and build technology for strategic partners to succeed in a more complex industry," said Kevin Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of Anovia.
Jones noted that within its trio platform, partners are able to unify sales, operations and reporting processes. "It's one of the only places in our industry where you can get a 360 degree view of a merchant's life," Jones said. "Our next frontier will be to combine our payment facilitation processes, trio technology and developers platform, which we'll be releasing on October 1st."
Temecula, Calif.-based National Merchants Association (2,225 percent growth, $68.1 million 2016 revenue) climbed 300 spots from last year to rank 196. "As we see consolidation happening throughout the payments industry, we're proud to be an independent and privately held processor," said Heather Petersen, founder and President of NMA. "A recent third-party analysis put the value of NMA at nearly $400 million, and we expect to top the $1 billion mark by 2018."
Chicago-based Payline Data Services LLC (1,215 percent growth, $7.2 million 2016 revenue) made its second consecutive appearance, ranking 363. Payline attributes recent growth to its "relentless commitment to providing a great customer experience" and company leaders shared their vision of the future.
"We want to create an industry-leading payment enablement platform that evolves with the way that people make and take payments," said Carlton van Putten, Senior Vice President of Revenue at Payline. "Digital commerce, in-app payments, mobile payments – technology will continue to evolve as customers and businesses create demand for such advancements, and we want to be the best at offering those solutions."
Rounding out the top 500 on this year's list, Seattle-based instant e-gift card rewards and incentives program provider Tango Card Inc. placed 373 in the rankings (1,161 percent growth, $10.6 million 2016 revenue).
Five other payment companies were honored for the first time by Inc. this year. In order of appearance, Vero Beach, Fla.-based BlueDog Business Services (514); Moorpark, Calif-based Chosen Payments (800); Rockville, Md.-based East Payment Solutions Inc. (957); Irvine, Calif.-based Century Business Solutions (2,600); and Allen, Texas-based Chargeback Gurus (3,946).
First-time honoree, Chosen Payments President and CEO Jeff Brodsly said he is thrilled the company he founded in 2011 was recognized this year. He attributes Chosen's growth to a dedicated team of 113 people working in offices in six states.
Following are payment companies that made the list in prior years, along with their rankings this year: Payscout Inc. (521), Allied Wallet Ltd. (533), iMerchant Direct Inc. (607), ZPrePay Inc. (979), PayKings Merchant Payments Acceptance Corp. (1,445), Realtime Electronic Payments (1,495), 360 Payments Inc. (1,771), Payoneer Inc. (1,912), North American Payment Solutions (2,041), AffiniPay (2,110), Vantage Payments (2,291), Serve First Solutions Inc. (2,295), Clarus Merchant Services (2,334), Clearent LLC (2,412), YapStone Inc. (2,540), Discount Credit Card Supply (2,616), Platinum Payment Systems (3,166), Billtrust (4,099), Security Card Services LLC (4,156), and USAePay (4,201).
Clearent made the list for the sixth consecutive year. "Our growth from Clearent's founding in 2005 through 2016 was 100 percent organic," said the company's CEO Dan Geraty. "I'm excited about the future, especially given our recent acquisition of Payment Alliance International's Merchant Services Division."
In earning recognition for the 10th time, YapStone co-founder and CEO Tom Villante noted, "We are honored to join Inc.'s 10X Club. This sustained growth over such a long period of time is a testament to our incredible team, who are constantly innovating new ways to serve our customers better." 
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