There are two different things people mean when they say they are selling a payments business. One is a company: an ISO, a payfac, a gateway, a payments software business. Companies trade on EBITDA or on recurring revenue. The other is a merchant portfolio or residual stream. Portfolios trade on a multiple of net monthly residual. Half the bad advice founders get comes from mixing up the two. So this page keeps them apart.
These are the bands I am seeing in live deals, not a survey. I put them together from the mandates 733Park is running, the buyer conversations on our board, and the offers we have seen on comparable businesses. I update the page every quarter. If a number moved, I say so and I say why.
One warning before the tables. In 25 years and 200+ closed transactions, the spread between the best and worst offer on the same business has been wider than the spread between any two published multiples. The band tells you where the market is. The process decides where you land inside it.
Companies: valued on EBITDA or recurring revenue
| What you own | Yardstick | Q3 2026 range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO with a real sales engine | Multiple of adjusted EBITDA | 6x to 18x | New merchant production, attrition trend, diversification, portability of the residual |
| Payfac or payments-led platform | Multiple of recurring revenue | 3x to 7x | Embedded distribution, take rate, gross margin, retention |
| Payments software or ISV with payments attached | Recurring revenue or EBITDA, as software | SaaS bands, with a lift for real attach | Attach rate, margin share, net revenue retention |
An ISO that boards new merchants every month with a sales team that would stay is a company, and buyers pay for the engine. An ISO that stopped selling two years ago is a portfolio with overhead, and buyers price it like one. Look at your last twelve months of new boardings before you look at anything else.
Payfacs and payments software are valued the way software buyers value everything: ARR growth and retention set the multiple, and it gets lifted if payments are embedded and the margin share is real. If your payments revenue is a referral fee from a processor, that is not attach, and buyers know the difference in the first meeting.
Portfolios: valued on net monthly residual
| What you own | Yardstick | Q3 2026 range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant portfolio or residual stream | Multiple of net monthly residual | 28x to 55x, higher on specialty situations | Attrition first, then processor terms, contract control and portability, concentration, clean reporting |
Demand for clean books is fine. The aggregators are still buying, the PE-backed platforms are still buying, and a portfolio with low attrition and a processor agreement that lets the residual move gets multiple offers within a few weeks. What has changed is the discount for anything that does not travel. If your contract says the processor has to approve the transfer and you have not asked them, buyers price the risk that they say no. Ask before you go to market.
Specialty situations, a vertical book a strategic needs, a processor relationship a buyer cannot get any other way, a portfolio that comes with production, trade above the band. That is where the process earns its fee.
How to read your own number
First decide which table you are in. If you own a sales engine, you are a company. If you own a stream of residuals, you are a portfolio, whatever the letterhead says. Then take your trailing twelve months, net of anything that does not renew, and answer four questions honestly: what is monthly attrition, who controls the contracts, how concentrated is the book, and how clean is the reporting. Every yes moves you up the band. Every no moves you down. If you want the actual number instead of a band, the first conversation with me is confidential and free, and I will tell you what I think it is worth and who would pay it.
For the mechanics behind each yardstick, see how payment processing companies are valued, how to value an ISO or merchant portfolio and the merchant portfolio valuation guide. If you are ready to move, start with selling your ISO or portfolio or the payments M&A advisory page.
About these numbers
They come from 733Park's own deal flow. They are private-market numbers for businesses with enterprise values of $5M to $350M. They are not a survey and they are not public comps. A strategic buyer who needs your merchants, your vertical, or your team can pay outside these bands, and does.
Machine-readable version: /data/multiples.json. Last updated 2026-10-12.
Frequently asked questions
What multiple do merchant portfolios sell for in 2026?
Between 28x and 55x net monthly residual, higher on specialty situations. Attrition, processor terms, contract control and concentration decide where a specific book lands.
What is an ISO worth?
An ISO with a working sales engine sells for 6x to 18x adjusted EBITDA. An ISO that has stopped boarding new merchants is valued as a portfolio, on net monthly residual, not on EBITDA.
How are payfacs valued?
On recurring revenue, like software: roughly 3x to 7x for private companies in Q3 2026 depending on size, growth and gross margin. Embedded distribution and a real take rate push a payfac toward the top of the range.
Is a merchant portfolio valued on EBITDA?
No. Portfolios trade on a multiple of net monthly residual. EBITDA and ARR multiples are for companies: ISOs with a sales engine, payfacs and payments software.
Are payments multiples going up or down?
For clean books and growing companies, flat to slightly up over the last year. For books with attrition problems or contracts that do not travel, down, because buyers are pricing that risk more carefully than they did two years ago.
How often is this page updated?
Every quarter. The date at the top is the last real update, not the last time the site was rebuilt.
Who is behind these numbers?
Lane Gordon, founder of 733Park. 25 years in payments, fintech and SaaS M&A, 200+ closed transactions, more than $10 billion in transaction volume. The senior partner runs your deal from pitch to close.
If you own a payments business or a portfolio with an enterprise value of $5M or more and you want to know where it sits in these bands, call me. It takes twenty minutes and I will tell you the truth.