Challenge

Launched by veteran car wash owners, Atlanta-based AMP wanted to modernize the way car washes connect with their customers. Its founders set out to build a technology ecosystem that gave car wash operators data-driven insights, automated marketing, and a personalized customer experience to improve profitability.

When building the platform, AMP’s team focused on developing its customer management software and analytics tools. But they knew they also needed payment technology to ensure car washes would get paid quickly, securely, and reliably.

“Payments touch every part of the customer journey, including membership sign-ups, stored payment methods, account updates, and recurring billing,” said Adam Trien, AMP’s cofounder and chief technology officer. “The infrastructure underneath had to be modern, reliable, and built to grow.”

AMP prioritized finding a partner that could support monthly memberships, which Trien called “the backbone of the modern car wash model.” That billing system had to allow easy changes in subscription tiers or pricing models as customer needs evolved, along with payment recovery tools to reduce churn and maximize revenue.

To keep on-platform payments secure, AMP wanted a partner that could manage compliance with PCI security standards and offer up-to-date fraud prevention to block fraudulent card swipes that can lead to disputes. AMP also wanted to offer a range of payment methods to meet customer preferences. And because car washes rely heavily on in-person purchases, AMP needed integrated POS hardware—with the ability to eventually support unattended customer transactions.

Solution

Stripe’s unified ecosystem and developer-first architecture made it ideal for launching AMP. The company built its platform on Stripe Connect to route payments between customers and car washes, and used Stripe-hosted onboarding to add businesses to the platform. This saved development time and handed off compliance, Know Your Customer (KYC), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements to Stripe.

To support membership models, AMP implemented Stripe Billing. Billing’s flexible subscription logic lets car wash owners configure custom pricing tiers, create bundles, launch promotions, and automate discounts—all within the AMP dashboard. AMP also uses Smart Retries to reduce churn by identifying the optimal time to retry failed payments.

With its Connect and Billing integrations, all online payments through the AMP platform are processed by Stripe Payments in a PCI-compliant manner. AMP also uses Stripe Radar for Fraud Teams to combat fraudulent transactions.

To create an online checkout page, AMP adopted Stripe’s Optimized Checkout Suite for a streamlined experience and easy payment method integration. AMP used the Payment Element to enable several payment methods, including credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH Direct Debit, and Link—a digital wallet by Stripe that autofills payment information.

AMP also uses Stripe Terminal, which allows car washes to accept secure in-person payments with PCI-compliant Stripe Reader M2 card readers. Terminal consolidates data from online and in-person payments, providing unified reporting and analytics. Recently, AMP began rolling out the ruggedized Verifone UX700 reader from Stripe to facilitate unattended payments at self-service car washes.

Results

AMP transaction volume grows 3x in a year

AMP has seen exponential growth since launch, now processing more than two million transactions each month and serving three million end users across North America. In the past year alone, AMP’s transaction volume nearly tripled, driven by rapid adoption from both independent operators and large regional chains.

Stripe’s developer-friendly tech minimizes development workload and cost

Stripe’s APIs and strong documentation simplified the integration process and ongoing maintenance requirements for AMP’s development team.

“Stripe’s reliability and clean API architecture free our team to focus on what truly differentiates AMP from competitors: AI-driven personalization, advanced analytics, automated loyalty experiences, and new digital revenue models,” said Trien. “Instead of managing payment logistics, we’re able to invest our energy into intelligent features that directly elevate the operator and member experience.”

Zero billing errors enhance AMP’s value to car washes

AMP has maintained a perfect billing record over four years, which it credits to Stripe’s reliability and clear documentation. “None of the businesses we serve have experienced a billing error or an automated invoice failure,” said Trien. “That precision underpins the consistency we promise to operators.”

Billing’s effectiveness and flexibility help AMP meet its customers’ needs

Billing helps car washes on AMP’s platform maintain low-churn, consistent recurring revenue, and the flexibility to adapt pricing models in real time. “Billing’s ease of integration and reliability have allowed AMP to focus on the core aspects of our software and provide a better customer experience,” said Trien.

Stripe security and compliance features reduce overhead and risk for AMP and car washes

The Payment Element and Terminal simplify PCI compliance by ensuring that AMP never touches, stores, or processes raw card data—enabling a more secure architecture with minimal compliance overhead. “That structure reduces risk for both AMP and the operators who rely on us,” said Trien.

Stripe Radar drives dispute rate close to zero and reduces overhead

Radar’s adaptive fraud intelligence works in the background, with no added effort from car wash operators. “Through Radar, we’ve been able to drive fraud disputes down to a fraction of a percent and proactively block fraudulent activity before it reaches the operator,” said Trien. “The result is a more predictable revenue stream and less operational overhead for every site running on AMP.”