Headquarters Pennsylvania Founded 2000 Number of employees 54 | Founder Lazaros Kalemis Owner Lazaros Kalemis Type of business Private | |
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Industry Financial Services, point-of-sale (POS) solutions, Payroll Services Merchant Services
Point-of-Sale (POS) Systems
Payroll Services
Gift & Reward cards
Merchant Cash Advance
ATM Services | ||
Alpha Card Services is a registered merchant services provider, and is an ISO/MSP of HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Buffalo, New York and for Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Walnut Creek, California. The company outsources the authorization and capture of transactions to Global Payments, TSYS and First Data
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Co-Founded in 2000 by CEO Lazaros Kalemis and Dimitrios Tsikoudis, Alpha Card Services is headquartered in Trevose, Pennsylvania. A satellite office exists in Roseville, California. Their corporate office employs roughly 40 people with the remaining staff working out of Roseville, California or remotely throughout the United States. As a merchant services provider, Alpha Card's payment services include credit, debit, EBT, check conversion and guarantee and online and mobile payment options. The company currently processes over $2 billion per year in electronic transactions for over 15,000 merchants in almost 50 states. Alpha Card Services reports it currently has over 600 independent sales organizations (ISOs) located in 49 states selling their products and services.
Alpha Card Services provides ancillary services to their merchant base that include Payroll Services, Point-of-Sale Systems, Gift and Reward Cards, ATM Services and Merchant Cash Advance.
History
Alpha Card Services was founded in 2000 by Lazaros Kalemis and Dimitrios Tsikoudis, in a small office above a pizzeria in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In 2005, the company moved to a larger location on 475 Veit Road in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania. This location is the corporate headquarters of Alpha Card Services, containing senior management, sales, marketing, customer service, technical support, risk and underwriting departments.
In 2011, a western regional sales office was opened in Roseville, California containing business solutions professionals, ISO recruitment and relationship managers and retention specialists.
In 2011, a major corporate re-branding effort commenced with a new logo, collateral, website, social media and PR focus. A Director of Marketing was hired to direct and facilitate these re-branding efforts.
With the May 2012 hiring of a Vice President of Payroll Services, the company reported it was looking to open another satellite office possibly in Dallas, Texas in late 2012.
On December 7, 2012 Alpha Card Services announced the acquisition of Comstat Payroll based in Saint Louis, Missouri.
On June 24, 2013 Alpha Card Services moved their corporate headquarters to new offices in Trevose, PA.
Business model
The company has focused on service to relatively small businesses and merchants. It offers services allowing such merchants to avoid charging transaction fees to their customers.
Awards, honors and publications
On March 17, 2013, Alpha Card Services was named as a Philly.com Top Workplaces company.
According to a March 2012 Nilson Report, Alpha Card Services was ranked as the 60th largest merchant acquirer in the United States. According to an October 2011 Nilson Report, Alpha Card Services was ranked as the 143rd largest acquirer in the world.
As of 2012, Alpha Card Services was listed as one of Inc. Magazine’s 500 I 5000 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States for seven consecutive years.
Alpha Card Service has been listed in Philadelphia Business Journal’s Top 100 consecutively since 2007.
In May 2012, Kalemis was awarded the Philadelphia 40 under 40 award.
In 2012, Kalemis was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
On July 11, 2012, the company announced that Kalemis was a finalist for the SmartCEO Circle of Excellence award under the Distinguished Leadership category.
Kalemis was one of five Philadelphia region CEO's inducted into the Philadelphia 100: 2011 CEO Hall of Fame. Additionally, Alpha Card Services as a company was inducted into the Philadelphia 100: 2011 Company Hall of Fame. Both honors were bestowed to the company due to the 5 consecutive years of Alpha Card Services being awarded the esteemed Philadelphia 100 ranking. The Philadelphia 100 award was created to honor and identify the fastest growing companies in the Philadelphia region every year since 2007.
Alpha Card Services was featured in the nationally distributed ISO/MLS publication, GreenSheet, in a January 23, 2012 article entitled "The low attrition ISO".
The company was featured in the national payments industry publication, Transaction Trends, in a December 2011 article entitled "When in Rome..."
The founder was interviewed by online magazine M.O. about his business's history, growth, business model, and plans.
The founder was interviewed by Crissa Shoemaker DeBree staff writer for Calkins Media which owns 8 newspapers and 3 television stations including the Courier Times, the Intelligencer and Burlington County Times as well as philly burbs.com. The feature article Success through Service details the founders upbringing, and the business' history, its growth, philosophy, and future plans.
On October 17, 2013, CEO Lazaros Kalemis was named the winner of the SmartCEO Circle of Excellence award under the Professional Services category.
Philanthropy
Kalemis has formed a charitable initiative called Alpha Card Cares. According to the company, the purpose of the Alpha Card Cares initiative is "to mobilize the collective financial and organizational efforts of Alpha Card employees, management, customers and vendors, to support a variety of causes and organizations."
Alpha Card Cares has been involved in a number charity and volunteer events, including the Kids & Hope Foundation, Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night Walk and the Walk to Defeat ALS, Greater Philadelphia Chapter.