Jonathan Kennedy
Twenty-one years inside the payments industry. Started on the phones at Card Service International, ran an independent sales office for most of the major processors, founded and sold one company, built two more, and boarded more than 2,000 merchants along the way. Now he runs Nextdoor Payments, which exists to show business owners the fees the rest of the industry is built on hiding.
The short version
Jon has sold merchant accounts, trained the people who sell them, written the marketing that processors use to sell them, and built the companies that do the selling. He knows what a "1.69%" rate sheet is for, why a lease costs four times the terminal, where the PCI non-compliance fee comes from, and how a rate increase gets slipped into a statement footer. Nextdoor Payments is what happens when someone who knows all of that decides to work for the merchant instead.
Twenty-one years, in chapters
Started in the business at Card Service International, a national independent sales organization, learning the trade the way everyone did then: on the phone and on the road, one merchant at a time. This is where he learned how accounts are priced, how they are sold, and what the statement looks like six months later.
Over the following years he ran an independent sales office representing almost every major processor in the country. Different logos, same economics. Seeing the same merchant priced by five different companies is a fast education in where the margin hides.
Founded his own company, Allied Card Processing, grew it, and sold it to a partner. Building a portfolio from zero and handing it over intact is the part of the business most agents never get to.
Started TecPay, focused on the technology side of merchant services: terminals, gateways and integrations, and the operational side of getting a merchant live without downtime.
Moved on to Juris Payments, bringing the same approach to a new book of merchants, and continuing the consulting work for payments companies that has run alongside every chapter: sales process, agent programs, product positioning and marketing.
The current chapter. A merchant services company in Southern California with the terms he spent two decades wishing his employers would offer: month to month, no leases, free equipment placement, dual pricing so the merchant's processing cost goes to zero, and a fee schedule on one page before anything is signed.
By the numbers
| Figure | What it means |
|---|---|
| 21+ years | Continuous work in payments since Card Service International, as a salesperson, sales office owner, founder, marketer and consultant |
| 2,000+ merchants | Personally sold and boarded, across restaurants, retail, service trades, professional practices and ecommerce |
| 3 companies founded | Allied Card Processing (sold to a partner), TecPay, and Nextdoor Payments |
| Most major processors | Represented as an independent sales office, which is why the comparisons on this site name real products and real prices |
| Payments marketing | Years of writing and running the marketing that processors and ISOs use, which is why he knows exactly how a misleading rate sheet is built |
What he believes, and how it shows up in the work
- The statement is the truth. Every engagement starts with a real statement and an effective rate, not a rate sheet. If the current deal is good, he says keep it. That has cost him sales and earned him referrals.
- Dual pricing is the honest version of what the industry already does. Every merchant already builds card fees into prices. Showing the customer both prices and letting them choose is more transparent, not less, and it takes the merchant's processing cost to zero.
- Leases are the one thing he will not sell. A 48-month non-cancellable lease on a $300 terminal is the worst product in merchant services. Equipment is placed or purchased, never leased.
- Month to month or nothing. A processor that needs a three-year contract to keep a merchant is telling you something about the second year.
- Publish the prices. Every comparison on this site names the product and the number and dates it. Competitors' better deals are called better.
How this site's content is produced
Every article on nextdoorpayments.com is written under Jon's byline with a published date and an updated date. Third-party prices (Clover, Authorize.net, Stripe, Braintree, Helcim, QuickBooks Payments, Shopify and the rest) are taken from the provider's own pricing page or documentation on the date shown and rechecked monthly. Reseller-priced products are described as ranges seen on real merchant statements and labeled as such. Rules on surcharging, cash discounting and dual pricing are summarized from card-brand rules and state law and are explicitly not legal advice. Where a competitor is the better choice for a given business, the page says so, because the referrals are worth more than the sale.
Corrections: if a number on this site is wrong or out of date, text or call (213) 934-8686 and it gets fixed with the updated date changed.
Where to start reading
- How to Read Your Credit Card Processing Statement in Ten MinutesFind your effective rate, tell interchange from processor markup, spot fees that should not be there, and know whether you are on tiered, flat-rate or interchange-plus.
- Dual Pricing vs Surcharging vs Cash Discount: What Each One Is and Which One to RunThe three ways to stop absorbing card fees, compared on disclosure, debit cards, the 3% cap, state rules, receipts and customer reaction. With a decision table.
- Clover Reseller vs clover.com: Where to Buy Clover Without Getting BurnedClover is sold direct by Fiserv and by thousands of dealers. What each charges, what a good dealer adds, the contract traps to avoid, and eight questions to ask first.
- Authorize.net Fees in 2026: What You Pay, What Is Missing From the Price Page, and What It Adds Up ToAuthorize.net's $25 monthly fee, 10¢ per transaction, 10¢ daily batch, 2.9% + 30¢ all-in-one and eCheck pricing, plus the processor fees the gateway-only plan leaves out.
- Payment Gateway Pricing in 2026: What Each Gateway Charges and What It Adds Up ToMonthly, per-item and processing fees for Authorize.net, NMI, accept.blue, Fluidpay, Stripe, Braintree, Helcim and Shopify, with all-in cost at three volumes.
- Helcim Reviewed by a Competitor: Where Its Interchange-Plus Pricing Wins and Where a Local Provider DoesHelcim's 2026 interchange-plus pricing, volume tiers, no monthly fee and hardware costs, compared honestly against a negotiated merchant account and dual pricing.
Where he works
Based in Southern California, with in-person installs and support across San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County and phone and remote setup for businesses nationwide. Mon to Sat, 7am to 7pm PT. Text any time.
Talk to Jon directly
No sales team, no queue. Text a photo of your processing statement and you get an itemized breakdown and a written quote from the person who wrote every page on this site.