AlignCloud Partners with Host Merchant Services to Offer Secure Credit Card Processing for Web Hosting Providers
AlignCloud, a cloud consulting and training company, has joined forces with Host Merchant Services to deliver cloud-optimized payment processing solutions tailored for web hosting providers.
Customers using AlignCloud’s web hosting and cloud services now gain seamless access to Host Merchant Services’ advanced credit card processing platform, including other suite ofother services, like mobile payments and other merchant services. This integration is designed to offer lower rates and improved service for AlignCloud’s customers.
Additionally, AlignCloud offers tailored support for cloud hosting providers, including training sales teams, developing effective sales strategies, and maximizing online visibility through web marketing and SEO expertise.
Key Takeaways
- The partnership embeds secure, PCI-compliant credit card processing into AlignCloud’s consulting services, allowing web hosting providers to offer end-to-end billing and payment solutions without managing separate vendors or APIs.
- Clients gain access to Host Merchant Services’ 24/7 technical support, real-time transaction monitoring, and advanced fraud prevention tools. The solution is built with encryption, tokenization, and compliance features to protect sensitive data and support regulatory requirements.
- AlignCloud partners can earn ongoing income by referring merchant services to customers, leveraging Host Merchant Services’ competitive rate structures and commission plans without taking on extra support costs.
- Designed for high-volume, cloud-based environments, the integrated platform supports e-commerce growth with tools like mobile POS, recurring billing, and shopping cart integrations—positioning hosting providers to meet rising demand in digital commerce.
New Alliance Brings Secure, Scalable Credit Card Processing to Cloud and Hosting Environments
On September 10, 2013, Host Merchant Services, a Newark, Delaware–based payment-processing firm renowned for its customer-oriented approach, transparent rate structures, and 24×7×365 technical support, announced a strategic partnership with cloud consulting and training company AlignCloud, headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, to deliver secure, cloud-optimized credit-card processing solutions tailored specifically for web-hosting providers seeking integrated merchant services, simplified vendor management, revenue-sharing opportunities, and robust data-security capabilities.
This alliance represents the culmination of extensive research, collaborative design sessions, and mutual alignment of core competencies in which AlignCloud’s proven skill set—spanning cloud-readiness assessment planning, vendor management, sales-staff training, and targeted web-marketing and SEO strategies—is merged with Host Merchant Services’ deep proficiency in e-commerce payment-cost optimization, comprehensive PCI-compliance frameworks, mobile and in-app payment processing, award-winning gift and loyalty-card programs, and advanced fraud-reduction technologies, resulting in a single, unified offering that addresses both technical integration and operational needs of hosting companies and their end customers.
The AlignCloud–Host Merchant Services partnership was meticulously designed to streamline the merchant-services experience by embedding secure, PCI-compliant credit-card processing capabilities directly into AlignCloud’s consulting and training framework, thereby enabling hosting providers to offer seamless payment solutions without the need to manage separate vendor relationships, complex API integrations, or compliance overhead.
The partnership was in response to the accelerating demand for integrated payment processing within the web-hosting and cloud-services sector, driven by rapid e-commerce adoption, rising mobile-commerce volumes, and evolving regulatory requirements for data privacy.
By leveraging Host Merchant Services’ 24×7×365 technical-support infrastructure, which includes a responsive, web-based management portal with real-time transaction monitoring, proactive risk alerts, automated reconciliation tools, and a dedicated help desk staffed by certified payment experts, AlignCloud customers gain access to an end-to-end support ecosystem that ensures operational continuity, rapid issue resolution, granular performance analytics, and enhanced visibility into key payment metrics across multiple merchant accounts and hosting platforms.
Host Merchant Services CEO Lou Honick captured the excitement around the partnership, stating, “Our strengths in e-commerce, payment-cost optimization, and security align seamlessly with AlignCloud’s capabilities to deliver powerful solutions.” Through this collaboration, AlignCloud clients now gain streamlined access to secure merchant services, PCI-compliance tools, and robust e-commerce support.
Through this partnership, AlignCloud clients can seamlessly integrate Host Merchant Services’ secure credit-card processing capabilities, encompassing full-service transaction processing via hosted gateway or direct API integration, countertop and mobile point-of-sale solutions, e-commerce shopping-cart plug-ins, recurring billing engines, invoicing modules, and virtual-terminal access into their hosting environments, all optimized for high-volume, high-availability cloud infrastructures that demand both performance and reliability.
In addition to core processing services, merchants gain access to value-added functionalities such as comprehensive PCI DSS-compliance support including network and application scanning, tokenization to replace sensitive cardholder data with secure, non-reversible tokens, end-to-end encryption from point-of-entry to vault, real-time fraud-detection algorithms that analyze transaction patterns to proactively identify and block suspicious activities, and granular reporting and analytics dashboards for detailed insight into payment volumes, chargeback trends, and revenue performance.
By embedding Host Merchant Services’ payment-processing engine directly into the AlignCloud service stack, web-hosting providers are empowered to offer a unified billing and payment gateway that enhances customer experience through frictionless checkout flows, consolidated invoicing, customizable payment pages that reinforce brand identity, automated reconciliation with hosting-account management, and a single source for billing inquiries and dispute resolution.
AlignCloud CEO Stacy Griggs noted that the program will offer clients “lower rates and improved service for credit-card processing, mobile payments, and merchant solutions.” Host Merchant Services brings together deep technical expertise and highly responsive customer support. With a strong focus on data security and fraud prevention, Host Merchant Services empowers businesses to engage in commerce with greater confidence and peace of mind—for both merchants and their customers.
Furthermore, the partnership’s innovative referral-revenue model enables AlignCloud partners to unlock additional monetization streams by referring merchant services to their customers, leveraging Host Merchant Services’ competitive transaction-rate structures, volume-based discounts, and recurring commission plans, all without absorbing incremental support costs or diluting core hosting operations.
Host Merchant Services has engineered a cloud-optimized payment-gateway architecture that interfaces with AlignCloud’s consulting platforms via secure RESTful APIs, webhooks, and SDKs, facilitating rapid deployment of modular processing components within hosted environments, seamless synchronization with customer-management systems, and fault-tolerant failover mechanisms that uphold transaction integrity under peak-load conditions.
The collaboration places a premium on robust data security and regulatory compliance, incorporating PCI-compliant network segmentation, AES-256 encryption for stored card data, industry-standard TLS encryption for data in transit, tokenization to obfuscate sensitive information, continuous vulnerability scanning, end-to-end encryption through P2PE channels, and proactive fraud management driven by machine-learning analytics to monitor transactional anomalies and reduce chargeback liabilities.
Through tiered pricing frameworks and co-branded merchant accounts, AlignCloud partners can leverage Host Merchant Services’ attractive rate schedules—including interchange-plus pricing, subscription-billing discounts, and volume-based rebates—to offer end customers highly competitive transaction fees, thereby enhancing the value proposition of hosting packages while securing healthy profit margins on merchant-service revenue shares.
In addition to processing revenue, the program’s structured referral-commission model rewards partners with ongoing residual income based on processing volumes, new-account activations, and performance milestones, aligning the financial incentives of all stakeholders and contributing to a sustainable ecosystem where hosting providers, cloud consultants, and payment-service experts collaborate for mutual growth.
As enterprises increasingly prioritize digital-transformation initiatives and migrate critical workloads to cloud platforms, the convergence of hosting and payment-processing services has emerged as a strategic differentiator, enabling service providers to offer vertically integrated solutions that address end-to-end workflow requirements from infrastructure provisioning to revenue capture.
By launching a partnership that bridges cloud consulting with merchant services, AlignCloud and Host Merchant Services are setting a new benchmark for industry collaboration, demonstrating how specialized IT-service providers can extend their value chain, deepen customer relationships, and accelerate go-to-market strategies through aligned, complementary offerings that anticipate evolving market demands.
About AlignCloud
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, AlignCloud is a recognized force in cloud consulting and training, leveraging deep expertise to guide organizations through every stage of their cloud journeys. With experience spanning all types of cloud projects—from initial architecture design and migration planning to ongoing optimization—the AlignCloud team embodies the cutting edge of IT consulting. As a provider of solutions for both cloud end users and hosting companies, AlignCloud’s unusually broad skill set enables creative, tailored problem-solving for even the most complex cloud challenges. AlignCloud tailors its service portfolio to meet the distinct needs of a varied clientele.
For end users, the firm conducts comprehensive cloud readiness assessments and vendor management planning, ensuring seamless, secure migrations to platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. For hosting providers, AlignCloud designs and delivers sales staff training programs, drafts sales plans, and executes integrated web marketing and SEO campaigns to strengthen market positioning and drive growth. This dual focus has positioned AlignCloud as a strategic referral partner for companies such as Host Merchant Services, enhancing client ecosystems through secure, scalable, and revenue-generating cloud and e-commerce solutions.
About Host Merchant Services
Founded in 2010 and based in Newark, Delaware, Host Merchant Services is a registered Independent Sales Organization (ISO) with Visa U.S.A. and MasterCard International, bank-sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The company specializes in comprehensive payment processing, delivering credit card and electronic payment solutions across retail, restaurant, e-commerce, and mobile channels, along with value-added offerings such as virtual terminals, point-of-sale systems, gift and loyalty cards, and merchant cash advances.
Committed to trust and transparency, Host Merchant Services eliminates hidden fees, imposes no cancellation fees, offers lifetime rates, and provides qualifying merchants with free EMV-compliant equipment to streamline costs and operations. The company’s exceptional customer service—bolstered by a support team four times larger than its sales force, available 24/7/365, and a guarantee to “make it right”—has earned Host Merchant Services an A+ accreditation with the Better Business Bureau since 2011 and a spot on the Inc. 5000 list in 2021, reflecting its rapid growth and unwavering focus on merchant satisfaction.
Conclusion
Looking forward, AlignCloud and Host Merchant Services intend to evolve their joint roadmap with enhancements such as integrated analytics dashboards that correlate hosting usage with payment trends, advanced invoicing workflows tailored for subscription-based models, support for emerging digital wallet ecosystems including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cryptocurrency settlements, and developer-friendly sandbox environments designed to accelerate new feature adoption and custom payment solution development.
The AlignCloud–Host Merchant Services partnership exemplifies a pragmatic, value-driven approach to addressing the payment and security needs of web hosting providers, delivering a comprehensive, secure, and easy-to-deploy merchant services solution that empowers hosting companies to focus on core infrastructure innovations while leveraging best-in-class payment expertise to drive customer satisfaction and revenue growth.
