First Data and Community Brands Announce Strategic Payment Processing Technology Partnership

First Data and Community Brands partner to deliver integrated payment processing technology solution for cause-based organizations

Strengthens First Data’s robust portfolio of ISV relationships

First Data (NYSE: FDC), a global leader in commerce-enabling technology, today announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Community Brands, the leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for associations, nonprofits, schools and faith-based groups. Together, the two companies will integrate secure payment processing with the Community Brands association management software (AMS) solutions. The strategic integration will deliver comprehensive features, including recurring billing, account updater and other value-added functionalities to clients.

“First Data is committed to supporting the missions of membership organizations by delivering the most advanced and secure payment technology to help Community Brands achieve their goals,” said Jeff Shanahan, Executive Vice President, Head of CardConnect at First Data. “Our services and expertise will enable Community Brands to deliver the best payments solution to their customers.”

Through this partnership, Community Brands will integrate to the BluePay Gateway, which is now part of the CardConnect ISV platform. CardConnect and BluePay, two companies acquired by First Data in 2017, have recently consolidated into a single integrated payments platform under the CardConnect brand. This overall ISV offering allows software companies to more easily add secure payment processing within SaaS, mobile and point-of-sale applications.

“We continue to add capabilities that help organizations, while improving member engagement,” said Dan Gaertner, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Membership Solutions at Community Brands. “This partnership introduces a new payment processing solution that is easy to deploy and addresses evolving security and compliance standards. The solution is particularly beneficial for mobile, where more and more of the member experience is happening.”

Payment integration has been developed and released for Community Brands AMS solutions, including netFORUM, Aptify, Nimble AMS and YourMembership AMS.

About First DataFirst Data (NYSE: FDC) is a global leader in commerce-enabling technology, serving approximately six million business locations and 4,000 financial institutions in more than 100 countries around the world. The company’s 22,000 owner-associates are dedicated to helping companies, from start-ups to the world’s largest corporations, conduct commerce every day by securing and processing more than 3,000 transactions per second and $2.4 trillion per year.

About Community BrandsCommunity Brands is the leading provider of cloud-based software to associations, nonprofits, K-12 schools and faith-based groups. Through innovation and technology, the company empowers more than 100,000 clients and partners to succeed faster, grow stronger and achieve social good. Organizations adopt Community Brands software to manage memberships, career centers, learning, accounting, mobile giving, peer-to-peer fundraising, donations, admissions, enrollments and events. Using these engagement platforms, customers of all sizes create meaningful and lasting experiences for their members, donors, volunteers and families. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, Community Brands serves the social good community in more than 30 countries. To learn more, visit www.communitybrands.com or follow the company on Twitter and LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180806005607/en/

Andrea DuffyPublic RelationsFirst [e-mail] PiotrowskiCommunity [e-mail]727-497-5975