# Toast

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/toast
> research date 2026-06-01 · extracted at 2026-10-03
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [Toast — official](https://pos.toasttab.com/)

## Overview

**Toast** is a **restaurant-specialized cloud POS + payments platform** that combines **Android-based POS hardware**, an integrated **payment-processing layer**, and a deep software stack for ordering, kitchen display, online ordering, loyalty and payroll <sup>[1][1], [United States report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/US)</sup>. Unlike horizontal acquirers, Toast is **vertically focused on restaurants and food service**, monetizing both software subscriptions and payment processing.

Toast IPO'd on the **NYSE (TOST) in 2021**; by the mid-2020s it served **~140,000+ restaurant locations** and processed a **multi-tens-to-hundreds-of-billions** annualized gross payment volume.

## History

**2012 — Toast founded** in Boston by **Steve Fredette, Aman Narang and Jonathan Grimm**, initially as a consumer payments app before pivoting to restaurant POS <sup>[2][2]</sup>.

**2014-2020 — Restaurant POS + payments growth**; the integrated hardware + software + payments bundle gained share against legacy POS vendors.

**2020 — COVID pivot** to online ordering, contactless and delivery integrations accelerated adoption.

**2021 — NYSE IPO (TOST)**; subsequent expansion into the UK and Ireland.

## Ownership & operator

**Operating entity**: **Toast, Inc.** (NYSE: TOST).

**Founders**: **Steve Fredette + Aman Narang + Jonathan Grimm**.

**Regulators**: US payments via **FinCEN** + **state money-transmitter** regimes, with card processing through banking/sponsor partners.

## Technical integration

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Channels** | Restaurant POS terminals + handhelds + kiosks + online ordering + guest app + developer API |
| **Identifiers** | Card (chip + contactless) + NFC wallets (Apple Pay / Google Pay) + QR order-and-pay |
| **Hardware** | Ruggedized Android POS hardware built for restaurant environments |
| **Software stack** | Ordering, KDS, online ordering, loyalty, gift cards, payroll, capital/lending |
| **Merchant focus** | Restaurants + food service (vertical specialization) |

## Implementations & partners

**Operator**: **Toast, Inc.**

**Integrations**: delivery marketplaces, accounting, reservations, and a partner/developer ecosystem.

**Card networks**: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover + NFC wallets + QR pay-at-table.

**Competitors**: **[Square](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/square)** (Square for Restaurants), **[Clover](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/wallets/clover)** (Fiserv), plus legacy restaurant POS vendors.

**Regulators**: **FinCEN + state money-transmitter regimes (via banking partners)**.

## Status

**Active**, the leading restaurant-vertical cloud POS + payments platform <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **Toast, Inc. (NYSE: TOST)** since 2021 IPO.
- **~140,000+ restaurant locations** served.
- Integrated POS hardware + software + embedded payments.
- **FinCEN + state money-transmitter regulated (via partners)**.

## Sources

[1]: https://pos.toasttab.com/ "Toast — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast,_Inc. "Toast, Inc. — Wikipedia"
[us-cro]: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/US

- [1] [Toast — official][1]
- [2] [Toast, Inc. — Wikipedia][2]
- <sup>[United States report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/US)</sup> In-corpus: see US country report

## Source

Biography extracted from [toast.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/source/wallets/toast). See `matrix.md` for standards-support matrix if present.