Curbstone

| Aspect | Curbstone | Stripe | Authorize.net | |--------|-----------|--------|---------------| | Starting Price | Not publicly listed; quote-based ISF + ASF; volume tiers based on quarterly settled transactions | Published pay-as-you-go; vendor-published example rates for basic card processing | Pricing is published on its site, but exact bundles vary; commonly includes monthly gateway fees and per-transaction fees | | Best For | IBM i (AS/400/iSeries) shops needing native integration and a tokenization-based PCI-scope-reduction approach | Internet-first, API-driven businesses; developer onboarding and broad ecosystem | SMB and mid-market merchants needing a mainstream gateway with broad compatibility | | Key Strength | IBM i-native integration (RPG APIs) and IBM i ecosystem focus | Global developer toolset, transparent public pricing for core services, large ecosystem | Longstanding gateway with broad integration support | | Key Weakness | Niche focus; limited public third-party review data; pricing not transparent in published dollar terms | Fees can increase with add-on products; less tailored to IBM i-native workflows | May require combining with other providers for full omnichannel and modern developer workflows | Narrative analysis - Differentiation areas - Curbstone focuses on IBM i payment processing and integration patterns tailored to legacy IBM i environments, which can be relevant for organizations that retain IBM i as the system of record. - The vendor emphasizes tokenization and architecture patterns intended to reduce merchant PCI compliance scope for legacy infrastructures. - Where alternatives may excel - Vendors such as Stripe, Adyen, and Cybersource offer more transparent baseline pricing, broader global acquiring coverage, larger ecosystems of third-party integrations, and broader fraud and risk tooling. - Organizations not committed to IBM i may prefer stack-agnostic payment providers. - Market adoption / visibility signals - Curbstone appears in category listings on some review platforms but has limited review content on those platforms. IBM i–focused publications have covered Curbstone, indicating visibility within the IBM i niche market.