RouteSense Launches With ~$2M in Pre-Seed Funding to Bring Predictive Analytics and Real-Time MID Health Intelligence to the Payments Industry

Payments data analytics company launches first product as VAMP enforcement drives demand for real-time visibility

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- RouteSense, a data analytics company delivering predictive intelligence for the payments industry, announced its official launch alongside a ~$2 million pre-seed round led by Redbud VC with participation from FOVC, Cultivation Capital, Service Provider Capital, and the University of Missouri AACE Fund.

"As network oversight becomes more stringent, the industry needs better intelligence, not more guesswork," said Stephen Martin, CEO of RouteSense. "Our mission is to help teams understand MID health at a glance so they can act proactively and responsibly."

By providing a unified intelligence layer that consolidates fragmented payment data across the transaction lifecycle, RouteSense gives merchants, processors, and acquirers the near-real-time visibility they need to make faster, more informed decisions. The company launches with Pathfinder, a MID health analytics and transaction routing platform designed for merchants operating multiple approved merchant accounts.

Pathfinder evaluates MID performance continuously using network-defined health indicators and approval trends, allowing transactions to be directed toward MIDs with available capacity based on current conditions. Rather than relying on static rules or delayed reporting like most orchestration platforms, Pathfinder enables dynamic, data-driven allocation aligned with existing card network frameworks.

Persistent MID health visibility has become increasingly critical following Visa's enforcement of the Visa Acquiring Monitoring Program, the most significant update to card-not-present acquiring oversight in more than two decades. Under VAMP, performance thresholds are assessed on a monthly basis, making early visibility and intervention essential for maintaining compliant portfolios.

"Regulation, fraud behavior, and dispute dynamics have all evolved," said Colin Martin, COO of RouteSense. "With VAMP now actively enforced, compliance depends on timely, accurate insight. Pathfinder gives merchants with multiple MIDs the clarity they need to manage portfolio health while maintaining strong authorization performance."

Legacy systems often surface issues weeks after the underlying activity has occurred. Pathfinder provides near real-time insight, allowing teams to identify deteriorating trends earlier and take corrective action before issues escalate into fines, holds, or forced account actions.

"In payments, the difference between reactive and predictive analytics is material," said Robert Matthews, CTO of RouteSense. "Reactive reporting explains what happened after the fact. Predictive intelligence helps teams make better decisions in real time."

Pathfinder is powered by RouteSense's data platform. At launch, it delivers real-time MID health analytics and intelligent transaction routing. RouteSense's broader vision is to become the operating intelligence layer for acquirers globally, providing continuous portfolio visibility, predictive risk signals, and lifecycle MID health management through a modern, data-driven infrastructure.

RouteSense was founded by a leadership team with more than 75 years of combined experience across acquiring, PayFac infrastructure, dispute technology, and real-time analytics. Co-founders Stephen Martin, Robert Matthews, and Colin Martin bring deep industry roots, including family involvement in the founding of the Electronic Transactions Association and the early commercialization of electronic payment terminals. CTO Robert Matthews previously led engineering at Midigator, a chargeback and dispute management platform acquired by Equifax, where he later oversaw global disputes engineering.

RouteSense is currently onboarding select merchants, acquirers, payment service providers, and processors.

About RouteSense

RouteSense is a data analytics company purpose-built for the payments industry. Using predictive analysis and real-time intelligence, RouteSense helps merchants, acquirers, and processors make better business decisions by transforming fragmented payment data into actionable insight. The company's first product, Pathfinder, delivers real-time MID health analytics and intelligent transaction distribution for merchants operating multiple MIDs, with a platform designed to expand across the full payment lifecycle. Learn more at routesense.ai.

Media Contact:
Colin Martin
682-259-9497
[email protected]

SOURCE RouteSense