Echelon Payments, the Melville, New York payments company, announced on 10 November 2026 a strategic investment in CREATE., a payments firm with expertise and relationships in the nonprofit sector, building on a relationship that began in September 2025 when CREATE. joined Echelon’s Strategic Partner Program. The Echelon CREATE release gives no amount, stake size or valuation. Fintechbits found no earlier coverage of either company in its archive. When the two companies announced their partnership on 18 September 2025, the release said CREATE. would run on Echelon’s back-office infrastructure rather than build its own.

What the Echelon CREATE deal involves

According to the Echelon release, CREATE. brings expertise and relationships in the nonprofit sector and what the release calls a first-of-its-kind technology stack. Echelon, founded by Brett Sturm and Richard Ross with board member Jeff Rosenblatt, provides full-service operating infrastructure to help CREATE. grow.

Since CREATE. joined the partner programme, the two companies have combined their strengths to create new opportunities, the release says, and the investment is meant to support CREATE.’s growth while widening their joint reach. Echelon says it represents a significant commitment to its Strategic Partner Program.

Kevin Canada, Echelon’s chief strategy officer, said Echelon “has been built on stability, trust, and a commitment to the people who call it home”. Peter Youngren, chief executive of CREATE., said: “This investment is the natural next step.”

Echelon says it has operated for 20 years, and the investment is framed as an extension of its partner model rather than a financial bet. The Echelon CREATE announcement reads more like a welcome than a deal statement. The release does not describe CREATE.’s products, size, customers or the technology stack it mentions.

How payments partner programmes work

Many US merchant services firms grow through independent sales organisations and partners that bring in merchants, with the larger firm providing processing relationships, underwriting, support and back-office operations. Investing in a strong partner locks in its flow of merchants and aligns incentives.

Nonprofits are a distinct niche, with recurring donations, event payments and sensitivity to fees. A partner that knows that market can win accounts a generalist would miss. Fintechbits has written about how card acceptance costs weigh on organisations with thin margins.

Fintechbits analysis

Why the Echelon CREATE Deal Is Mostly About Distribution

The Echelon CREATE investment looks like a standard move in merchant services: a processor-facing firm taking a stake in a partner that brings it business. These deals rarely change the market, but they show how payments firms grow without big acquisitions, by tying up the sales channels that feed them.

The release offers little to judge. It has no amount, no stake, no customer count and no description of CREATE.’s technology beyond a claim that it is first of its kind. The language is mostly about trust and family, which suggests a relationship deal more than a financial one.

The broader trend is consolidation in payments distribution. Fintechbits has looked at why firms choose to buy rather than build, and minority stakes like this one are often a first step toward a full acquisition.

For nonprofits, the practical question is cost and service. Charities pay card fees on donations like any merchant, and recurring giving programmes depend on reliable billing and low decline rates. A specialist partner backed by a larger operator can offer both, if the pricing is right. The release says nothing about pricing.

Echelon’s language about family and trust is unusual for a payments investment, and it may reflect the founder-led nature of both firms. That can make partnerships durable, but it also makes outsiders’ due diligence harder, because the commercial terms stay private.

Frequently asked questions

What did Echelon Payments announce?

Echelon Payments announced a strategic investment in CREATE. on 10 November 2026, building on CREATE.’s membership of Echelon’s Strategic Partner Program since September 2025.

How much did Echelon invest in CREATE.?

The release does not disclose the amount, the stake or a valuation.

What does CREATE. do?

The release describes CREATE. as having established expertise and relationships in the nonprofit sector and its own technology stack, but gives no detail on products or customers.

What to Watch Next

The detail to watch is whether Echelon moves from a minority stake to full ownership of CREATE., or discloses merchant volumes from the partnership. Either would show what the Echelon CREATE relationship is worth to both sides.