curbstone.com

What It Is

Curbstone is a payment-processing SaaS for IBM i, iSeries, AS/400, and related ERP environments. It is more than a standard payment gateway. Its core value lies in embedding payment capabilities—including credit cards, debit cards, ACH, IVR, online, offline, and phone/mail orders—into existing enterprise workflows. It is especially well suited to manufacturing, distribution, retail, and B2B companies that still run RPG/IBM Power Systems.

Core Capabilities

At the integration layer, Curbstone provides a native RPG API and can work with systems such as HarrisData, ParagonERP, Ximple, DPS, and Infor XA to enable real-time authorization within modules like order entry, accounts receivable, and inventory. On the security side, it emphasizes remote tokenization, keeping card numbers and CVV data out of the company’s ERP or local systems, thereby reducing PCI compliance scope. For in-person payments, it supports Dejavoo EMV terminals, chip cards, NFC, Apple Pay, Google Pay, manual entry, and magstripe fallback. Online use cases include ecommerce, payment links, email payments, SMS payments, and Card-on-File. The platform also supports automatic end-of-day batch settlement, settlement batch reports, and Level 2/3 corporate purchasing card data to help reduce unnecessary downgrade fees.

Pricing and Settlement

Publicly available materials only state that Curbstone uses a fixed-fee structure and that its annual service agreement includes unlimited implementation, technical, and operational support. Specific monthly fees, transaction fees, hardware costs, and acquiring rates are not disclosed. For settlement, the system supports submitting settlement batches and automatic end-of-day settlement. Some customers report that funds may arrive up to two days earlier, but the standard funding timeline is not clearly specified.

Pros, Cons, and Best Fit

Its strengths are strong compatibility with legacy IBM i systems, substantial implementation support, broad payment-scenario coverage, and reduced PCI burden through tokenization. Its weaknesses are limited transparency around supported regions, currencies, acquiring banks, licensing, and exact pricing. For modern internet developers, its ecosystem information is less transparent than Stripe, Adyen, and similar platforms. Curbstone is best suited to mid-sized and large enterprises that already have significant IBM i/ERP investment and want to preserve existing workflows while adding omnichannel payment capabilities.

Access from China and Alternatives

There is no clear information about website accessibility from Chinese networks, RMB settlement, onboarding for Chinese merchants, or support for local Chinese payment methods, so these remain unknown. Chinese companies that need cross-border acquiring may also evaluate Adyen, Stripe, Worldpay, Authorize.net, PayPal, or providers such as LianLian Global, PingPong, and Airwallex. However, if the core system is IBM i, RPG/API integration capabilities should still be a key point of verification.