how to hook into atm revenue · work around. long lines out the doors on paydays or friday...

Remember when conducting your banking business was limited toonly a few hours a day and meant a special trip to a fixed location?The term "banker’s hours" was coined to reflect the abbreviated daybank presidents and tellers enjoyed – and bank customers had to

work around. Long lines out the doors on paydays or Friday afternoons were anirritating fact of life.

But the advent of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) changed all that, provid-ing banking options to suit our schedules and activities. Now we have access tocash at all hours, from locations numerous enough to make it seem odd if thereisn’t an ATM around when you need one. A full range of banking transactionscan be completed by pushing a few buttons, without any human interaction,from just about any sidewalk, shopping mall or foreign country.

An entire industry was born and has been flourishing since. For ISOs and oth-ers involved in that industry, this is a mixed blessing. Easy ATM accessibilitymeans that salespeople have been busy and successful. But ATMs on every cor-ner also means there’s nowhere else to place them.

To ensure the revenue stream doesn’t become a dry creek bed, ATM manufac-turers, service providers and processors are looking for new directions in whichto point their industry. Adding bells and whistles – features like color screens,audio, the ability to purchase movie or plane tickets – to machines might seemthe logical tack to take. Some in the industry feel otherwise.

The Financial Services Industry Source for Education, Inspiration and Actionable Advice

February 11, 2002Issue 02:02:01

I n s i d e T h i s I s s u e :

N o t a b l e Q u o t e :

FeaturesKnowledge is Power:Getting the Best Price When

Selling Your Portfolioby Bob Carr..................................11

Checking In at the BAI Show: Fraud Statistics are Alarmingby Brandes Elitch ..........................29

Company ProfilesMerchant-Pay.com ............................35

NewsCalling All ATM Crime Fighters! ..........8GS Announces Advisory Board

Changes ......................................22New Standards for Payment

Acceptance ..................................25GSQ November 2001 Update:

Finding The Missing Lynk ..............27Smart Auto Accessory Could

Drive Sales, Service ......................32

New ProductsSleek and Speedy Solutions ..............39

InspirationYou’ve Got a Friend ........................49Reaping What You Sow ..................49Don’t Take It Personally ....................50

DepartmentsForum ................................................5FYISOs ............................................43Datebook ........................................50Resource Guide ................................51

It is almost impossible formany of my friends to fall

asleep at night without won-dering how much their port-folio is worth. The fact is thatportfolios have become valu-able and liquid properties.

See Story on 1 See ATM on Page 6

How to Hook into ATM Revenue

SPECIAL REPORT

Why is Ingenico the world’s premier supplier of secure financial

transaction terminals?

* Per the Nilson Report’s October 2001 issue, Ingenico shipped more terminalsworldwide than any other supplier

It’s by DESIGN

Ingenico is the world’s largest provider of secure financial transaction terminals*. The reason lies in ourdesign.

Ingenico has developed a unique, proven software development environment called UNICAPT. This universalapplication development tool allows the user to leverage a UNICAPT developed payment application throughoutthe entire line of Elite terminals. The benefits are; faster time-to-market, lower cost of support, better customerservice, and simplified sales and operator training. An added benefit of UNICAPT is that it enables secure running of multiple applications on a single terminal.

The Elite 510, countertop transaction terminal is no exception. Running UNICAPT applications, the terminalsupports multi-applications for both magnetic-stripe and smart card initiated transactions. It is EMV approved,has a large backlit graphic display, and a built-in thermal printer. All of this and Ingenico’s world famous reliability and functionality offered at an exceptional price.

Contact your local reseller or Ingenico today.1-800-252-1140 - www.ingenico-us.com

Elite 510EFT DIAL TERMINAL

The Green Sheet is FREE to ISO / MSP Sales Professionals* If you are not an ISO/MSP as defined below, an annual subscription fee of $125 includes 24 issues of The Green Sheet and 4 issues of GSQ. Please call 800-757-4441 to request a subscription form, or visit www.greensheet.com*Any Sales Professional who sells financial services to the retail merchant marketplace.

Any questions regarding information contained in The Green Sheet should be directed to the Editor in Chief at (800) 757-4441. The Green Sheet is a semi-monthly publication. Editorial opinions and recommendations are solely those of the Editor in Chief. In publishing The Green Sheet, neither the authors nor the publisher are engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The Resource Guide is paid classified advertising. The Green Sheet is not responsible for, and does not recommend or endorse any product or service. Advertisers and advertising agencies agree to indemnify and hold the publisher harmless from any claims, damage, or expense resulting from printing or publishing of any advertisement.

Copyright © The Green Sheet, Inc., 2002. All rights reserved.

Pub l i sher : The Green Sheet, Inc. 1-800-757-4441 Fax: 1-707-586-4747 Email: [email protected] 6145 State Farm Drive, Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Ed i tor in Ch ie f : Paul H. Green [email protected]

VP/Genera l Manager : Julie O’Ryan-Dempsey [email protected]

AVP/Manag ing Ed i tor : Rick Vacek [email protected]

Layout/Graph i cs : Troy Vera

Staf f Wr i ter : Juliette Campeau

Contr ibut ing Wr i ter : Lisa Dowling

Advert i s ing Account Execut ive : Danielle Thorpe [email protected]

Product ion : Hudson Printing Company

Web S i te : www.greensheet.com

Affiliations:

• Neal Anderson-Payformance • Clinton Baller-PayNet Merchant Services • John Beebe-Global eTelecom • Stacy Bell-Advanced Payment Tech • Audrey Blackmon-POS Portal • Jason Burgess-Artaban Solutions • Robert Carr-Heartland Payment Systems • Steve Christianson-Transpay Processing • Todd Davis-Nobel Electronic Transfer • Tom DellaBadia-NOVA Information Systems • Steve Eazell-Secure Payment Systems • Mike English-Ingenico • W. Ross Federgreen-CSRSI • Jon Frankel-Certified Merchant Services • Ed Freedman-Total Merchant Services • Patrick Gaines-LML Payment Systems • Alan Gitles-Merchant First Bankcard • Tom Haleas-Bridgeview Payment Solutions • Larry Henry-L. Henry Enterprises • Holli Hobbs-Thales e-Transactions • Allen Kopelman-Nationwide Payment Systems • Lee Ladd-LADCO Leasing • Joyce Leiser-US Wireless Data • Gary LaTulippe-Schmooze • Mitch Lau-Money Tree Services • Dan Lewis-Electro-Check • Douglas Mack-Card Payment Systems • James Marchese-IRN Payment Systems • Paul Martaus-Martaus & Assoc. • Craig Millington-Compass Bank • Patti Murphy-The Takoma Group • Steve Norell-US Merchant Services • Christopher O’Hara-Profitscentric • Bill Pittman-RichSolutions • Brian Rogers-PurchasingPower • Stuart Rosenbaum-U.S. Merchant Systems • Paul Sabella-Next Day Funding • Dave Siembieda-CrossCheck • Matthew Swinnerton-Merchant Services Direct • Jeff Thorness-ACH Direct • Scott Wagner-Hypercom • Mike Weigel-Horizon Group

The Green Sheet

Advanced Payment Services ....................38Bridgeview Payment Solutions..................13Certified Merchant Services.....................54Chase Merchant Services ..........................7CoCard Marketing Group .......................40Concord EFS ..........................................15CrossCheck ..............................................9DataCap ................................................16E-Commerce Exchange ...........................42Electronic Data Resources........................14Electronic Payment Systems .....................41Electronic Processing...............................28Electronic Exchange Systems ...................46First American Payment Systems ..............17First Merchants Bancard Services.............20General Credit Forms..............................47Global e Telecom....................................37GO Software ........................................18Horizon Group.......................................56Hypercom ..............................................19Ingenico...................................................2

IRN/Partner America..............................26Lipman USA...........................................21Meramak Bank Card ..............................22Merchant First ........................................29Merchant Services Inc. ............................48Merchantsí Choice Card Services.............30Network 1 Financial ...............................23North American Bancard ........................10NOVA Information Systems .....................12Online Data Corporation ........................24Pos Portal...............................................44Retriever ...............................................34RLC Equipment Sales...............................25Secure Payment Systems .........................32SyTec Inc. ...............................................27Tasq Technology .....................................55Tasq.com................................................45Tech Leasing...........................................33Teertronics..............................................39Transaction Payments Systems .................31United Merchant Services........................36

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS:

Issue 02:02:01 • February 11, 2002

Leasing Company Needed

I am a bankcard professional. Please provide me with the nameand phone numbers of three or four leasing companies.

Many thanks,Greg Bliven

Dear Greg,

Please visit our Web site (www.greensheet.com), click on SER-VICES and then RESOURCE GUIDE. We have numerous leasingcompanies listed with contact information, some with links totheir Web sites.

The Green Sheet, Inc. does not endorse or recommend any onecompany or program. However, you can register online at theISO Forum to network with other sales professionals in the indus-try and ask for recommendations.

Good Selling!The Green Sheet Staff

Back, Back, Back ... Grand Slam!

I can’t say enough about the profile of our company in your Dec.24, 2001 issue (01:12:02) of The Green Sheet. Most of all, Ithank you for being accurate and I thank you for being inform-ative. Those are always my chief concerns when working withthe media – and I was quite relieved and delighted that you andyour entire staff care about the details and professionally com-municate them to our industry.

As the wireless middleware provider breaking new ground, weare playing a challenging and dynamic role in an evolving mar-ketplace. Of all the struggles we have experienced in definingthis new industry, educating people about what we offer alwaysseems to be the toughest. Whenever we reach the industry witha clear and well-communicated message, we feel like we’ve hita home run. Reading your article felt like a grand slam.

Please extend our thanks to Lisa Dowling, who did an excellentjob, and to your entire team for continuing to provide a valuableinformational resource to the payment industry.

Very truly yours,Dean M. Leavitt

Chairman and CEO, U.S. Wireless Data

Carolina Leads?

I am an ISO in western North Carolina. Do you know of anyreputable company that sells new business sales leads in theAsheville/Hickory area?

Thanks,Stewart Neiman

First Financial Corp. LLC

Dear Stewart,

I am sorry to say that I do not. Do our readers have any sug-gestions? If so, e-mail us and we’ll pass it on to Stewart.

Good Selling!Paul Green

Editor in Chief

Send your Questions, Comments and Feedback to us today!6145 State Farm Drive • Rohnert Park, CA 94928 or

[email protected]

KNOWING WHEN TO MOVE ON

Sometimes in the sales processNO means NO!

Over the past 20 years, the prime locations for ATMs havebeen taken. Finding new ways to keep the industry grow-ing is the new focus for everyone involved, from manu-facturers and service providers to transaction processors ...and ISOs.

One side of the ATM coin says slicker machines withadded services and features is the best way to sell newmachines. The other side says that until the systems neces-sary to keep the added services working properly are inplace, old-fashioned customer service – for merchants andATM customers – is the way to go.

Consumer dependence on cash is up following the eventsof Sept. 11, and people are definitely using ATMs to with-draw money from accounts. While the number of ATMsplaced throughout the country has never been higher,though, the average number of transactions conducted ateach machine is down.

Keeping the revenue stream running, or adding services toincrease per-transaction fees, makes good business sensefor deployers/providers/processors but can frustrate cus-tomers with software compatibility glitches or can over-load them with unwanted information.

Anyone who uses a lot of ATMs in various locations hasexperienced how different the machines can be. Oldermachines are big and noisy, even dark and dingy, withsimple screens projecting information in monochrome dis-plays, clunking and whirring as they spit out the cash.

Technological advances have resulted in sleeker machinesproviding options like four-color touch-screen operation.New ATMs run the gamut of styles, sizes, service capabil-ities and price range.

Smaller, inexpensive models fit easily in tight spots andallow merchants to purchase or lease machines giving theircustomers access to cash – almost a necessity in operatinga retail business – without mortgaging the farm. Larger,Web-enabled ATMs let customers access the Internet orcheck e-mail while they get cash, but with hardware costsof $40,000 and additional costly software expenses, thesemachines are out of reach for most merchants.

Delone Wilson, Vice President of Financial TechnologiesInc. (FTI), an ATM ISO that sells, leases, distributes andsupplies complete service packages for 3,200 ATMs in 49states, said most of the company’s salaried salespeople andindependent distributors are not selling or leasing less, butthe amount of new business they’re generating is not grow-ing the way it used to.

FTI represents several ATM manufacturers, includingTriton, Cross, Tidel and NCR, and installs the machines,sets up service, handles processing and trains merchantcustomers.

Wilson said the industry has more components than justthe manufacturers, and in order to concentrate efforts onincreasing the number of transactions at ATMs, there needsto be cooperation among everyone involved. He feels as ifthe attitude among sellers, ISOs, processors and manufac-turers is more conducive now than it has been to creating aunified overall product and making an impact on publicawareness.

"We need to coordinate the processors and manufacturers,creating a model by consensus of all in the industry," hesaid. "There is some interest in new ATM features becausepeople want to generate more income from ATMs. Somepie-in-the-sky promises have been made that really haven’tcome true. Physically, and technically, we can offer thebells and whistles. The problem is the back-end part, likeproblems with systems not interacting."

Wilson said that trial-and-error is all part of the process,and FTI is developing new services to generate realincome. He cited efforts to sell prepaid phone cardsthrough ATMs, which were hampered by not knowing whowas going to handle and load the money-shaped cards intothe machines, and the fact that ATMs don’t accept cash –most people buying prepaid cell phone or long-distancetime want to use cash. FTI came up with a solution thatuses receipts printed by the ATM, with information pro-vided by the host.

Michael Fuoco of ATM Enhancement is a consultant whoworks with ATM distributors to develop revenue-generat-ing solutions and strategies. He believes that becausetransactions per ATM are dropping, the ISO distributionchannel needs to work harder at creating better relation-ships with merchants and integrating complete productlines.

"The ATM business is driven by volume, and revenue isbased on a per-transaction basis, Fuoco said. "We need tobuild a better business base, with fewer but more produc-tive machines, and with happier retailers. There is a defi-nite need for better service and strong customer support forthe retailers.

"There needs to be more effort made in support and serv-ice rather than emphasis on selling or leasing moremachines. Issues like ATM maintenance – who will beresponsible for providing the basics like paper and loadingthe money – need to be addressed."

ATM from page 1

Fuoco believes people always will want convenience, anddeveloping better ways to deliver services through ATMsmakes sense as long as basic customer-service issues areaddressed. He agrees with Wilson that adding features likethe capability to buy movie tickets or check e-mail at anATM doesn’t mean a lot to customers if the applicationsdon’t work correctly.

"Manufacturers are getting more sophisticated in creatingarrangements to enable successful software applications,"Fuoco said. "There have been problems with slowresponse times, connectivity issues and incomplete trans-actions."

When problems associated with the customer service pro-vided to merchants by ISOs are kept to a minimum, Fuocosaid, business will improve.

"The first-contact ISOs may have a better handle on thatthan others who serve as middlemen," he said. "The repsdealing directly with the retailers at the first level seem toprovide the best level of service to their merchant cus-tomers."

Rather than focusing on selling glitzy ATM features toboost revenue, Fuoco recommends creating opportunitiesfor ISOs based on customer satisfaction. One way hiscompany does this is by marketing value-added servicesfor bank-issued credit and debit cards, like ATMsafe’sinsurance program.

ATMsafe is transaction insurance for the consumer. KateGillespie, Associate Product Analyst for the four-year-oldcompany, said the service allows ATM owners or lessorsto provide a sense of safety and peace of mind to the peo-ple who use their ATMs.

"Most of our clients are in Latin American countries,where safety concerns while using ATMs are very real,"Gillespie said. "We have clients in South and CentralAmerica, Mexico as well as in Canada, and we will beexpanding into Hong Kong, India and Indonesia. We arealso growing here in the U.S."

She said that cash usage is way up since Sept. 11, and sheexpects the idea of transaction insurance to catch onaccordingly.

"Although ATM owners and merchants can participate inthe program, most coverage is through banks for their cus-tomers and covers any ATM they use worldwide," shesaid. "The insurance covers the amount of cash lost andmedical expenses resulting from injuries incurred if thecustomer is robbed at an ATM.

"It’s a flexible program that adds value for customerswhile adding a new revenue stream to each transactionconducted at the ATM. We can structure the premiums tobe reflected as a surcharge per transaction or otherwise.There are ways to add new revenue streams for the ATMsout there."

Visa International’s request for auditsof ISOs and independent contractorsand the registration process hasspurred ATMIA to address the con-

cerns.

As part of its conference on Feb. 19-22 inHollywood, Fla., "ATMs Hit The Big Screen,"the association will include a presentationfocusing on the responsibility of VISA mem-bers to manage agent relationships, the integri-ty of the Visa payment system and importantPIN security issues.

A question-and-answer period will follow thepresentation and panel discussion.

In a time when resources are stretched, ATMindustry membersare concerned withthe possible long-term effect of anaudit, especially onsmaller, independ-ent companies.

Conference organ-izers hope themeeting willincrease under-standing of the audit’s full context and allow aforum for industry members to discuss theissues.

ATMIA Responds to ISO Audit Request

When many of the industry veterans began in this industry in the earlyto mid-1980s, we had no concept of the value or liquidity of the port-folios we would be building. Portfolios had been traded between dif-ferent banks and public companies for years, but there were no sig-

nificant non-bank portfolios to buy or sell in those days.

Rich Roberts and Greg Daily changed all of that when they took PMT Servicespublic in 1994. Rich and Greg were aggressive in buying small and large ISO port-folios. In the early days, PMT telephoned ISOs and offered 20 to 24 times month-ly residuals to purchase a portfolio. As PMT grew, its acquisition approachesbecame more sophisticated and the multiples skyrocketed.

PMT did quite well for itself, increasing its market cap to about $1.2 billion beforemerging with the equally valued NOVA in the fall of 1998 to create a new NOVAwith a market cap of about $2.4 billion. The course for portfolio purchases hadbeen set – temporarily.

Almost two years later, NOVA disclosed certainfacts (well-known by then within our industry)about the actual results of the PMT merger.NOVA disclosed that the attrition of PMT mer-chants was enormous, that some portfolio pur-chase prices had been inflated and that mer-chant losses were running high.

This disclosure dropped the mar-ket cap of the new NOVA back toits pre-merger valuation of about$1.2 billion, wiping out all of thevalue that went to pay for thoseISO portfolios. (NOVA was ableto recover some of that valueback, however, and was acquiredby US Bank for about $2.1 billionlast year.)

I think it is fair to say that PMTchanged the bankcard-acquiringworld in several ways.

First, it is almost impossible formany of my friends to fall asleep atnight without wondering how muchtheir portfolio is worth. The fact is

chairman/ceo, heartland payment systems inc

Bob Carr spent the first half ofhis career as a softwaredeveloper, as a provider ofdata-processing services, asDirector of Computer Servicesfor the Bank of Illinois and forParkland College inChampaign, Ill., and as a col-lege-level instructor of mathe-matics and computer science.

In 1987, he started CCSS,which developed custom soft-ware and created a portfolioof merchants in excess of$400 million. In 1997, hestarted Heartland CardServices in a 50-50 partner-ship with Heartland Bank ofSt. Louis. In 2000, Heartlandbought out the interest ofHeartland Bank.

Since 1997, HPS has grownfrom a small ISO with lessthan $500 million of processvolume to become the ninth-largest acquirer in the U.S.with a portfolio approaching$14 billion and more than50,000 merchants, mostlyrestaurants. Bob served asVice President of theBankcard ServicesAssociation (now the ETA)from 1988-1990.

Bob's goal is to turn HPS intoa public company and one ofthe top five acquirers in theindustry before he retires.

Getting the Best Price When Selling Your Portfolio

that portfolios have becomevaluable and liquid proper-ties. (But you might havetrouble convincing a lenderof that!)

Second, the PMT-NOVAmerger also taught manybuyers in the industry thatconsequences can be severeif portfolio transactions arenot valued accurately andtransitioned carefully afterthe purchase.

To define my words, when I discuss "portfolio" in this arti-cle, I mean a set of merchant contracts that the seller hasthe right to sell in the clear without claims made by formersalespeople, sub-ISOs or others. I assume that the businessand the salespeople who originated those contracts are notpart of the sale. To sell an ISO business is different fromselling an ISO portfolio. This article is about the value ofa portfolio absent the rest of the ISO’s business enterprise.Some industry experts call this a "static pool portfolio."

Obviously, selling an ongoing business is going to bring adifferent value than selling a "static pool" of merchant

contracts. Many ISO busi-nesses have been sold withhuge benefits to both buyerand seller. Look back to theacquisition of Card PaymentSystems by Concord EFS inJanuary 2000 to see howbest to model selling yourISO business. It helps tohave two guys as smart asLarry Stone and Ed Labrynegotiating a merger of twogreat businesses to maxi-mize returns for all parties.

Another transaction that helped all parties tremendouslywas the sale of the First Union portfolio to the pre-IPONOVA in 1995. First Union converted its entire portfolioand a contract for future bank leads to pre-IPO NOVAstock and benefited in the hundreds of millions of dollarsupon the IPO of NOVA. Clearly, First Union and NOVAknew how to craft a merger that benefited all parties.

On the other hand, some other sales of ISO businesseshave been nightmares for the buyers. Many of you arefamiliar with one well-known ISO who sold his businessfor a huge multiple without an adequate non-compete and

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To sell an ISO business is different fromselling an ISO portfolio. This article isabout the value of a portfolio absent

the rest of the ISO’s business enterprise.Some industry experts call this a

"static pool portfolio."

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had 50% of his business back in less than two years – goodfor the seller, but a very bad transaction for the buyer. Idoubt too many ISO businesses will be sold profitablywithout protective non-compete agreements in the nearfuture.

In deciding to sell a "static pool," one of the first decisionsis whether to sell to a financial buyer or a strategic buyer.I have been involved in both kinds of transactions. Afinancial buyer is one who will be focused on the value ofthe revenue stream alone. I have seen financial buyers payanywhere from nine to 58 times monthly revenues.Obviously, there is a huge difference in these valuations. Iwill try to explain some of the variables below.

A strategic buyer is one in our industry who will move themerchant contracts to its own processing platform in thebelief that the earnings from merchants processed on one’sown platform will be higher than by leaving the merchantson a foreign platform. Strategic buyers are looking at all ofthe same factors important to financial buyers, but theirapproach to valuation adds the complication of portfolioconversion and the opportunity for lower processing andservicing costs.

Also, strategic buyers are focused on Net Revenue as

opposed to the existing revenue stream. Net Revenue =Gross Fees charged to merchants (exclusive of leases,rentals, supplies, chargeback fees and other miscellaneousitems) less the interchange, dues and assessments paid tothe issuing banks, Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club.

I have seen transactions to strategic buyers in the range of15 to 26 times Net Revenue. This variance is narrowerthan for financial buyers, but strategic buyers normallyonly look at larger portfolios that can be moved profitablyto their platforms.

In order to sell a revenue stream and/or merchant con-tracts, buyers almost always will require such things asreleases from the current processors, contractual rights toassign the contracts and/or to move the merchant to thebuyer’s platform and non-competes from the seller. Theseand other factors are part of almost every portfolio trans-action and, for the purposes of this discussion, I willassume they are part of any transaction.

The three key words in portfolio valuation for financialbuyers are IRR, Attrition, and Risk. For strategic buyers,add the additional key words of Conversion and Size.

IRR (Internal Rate of Return)

Every buyer of a portfolio has ideas about the desiredreturn on an investment relative to the risk of that invest-ment. I think it is safe to say that there aren’t too manybuyers out there looking for any size of a portfolio withgoals of less than a 20% return. Many are looking for morethan 20%, and many are looking in the 30%-35% range.

To calculate the IRR, you need to know the purchase price,the cost of money, the cost of conversion, the monthly rev-enue stream, the cost of maintaining that revenue stream,the attrition rate and the anticipated losses. If you have allof this information, you can use the IRR function in yourExcel spreadsheet to play with these variables to calculatethe value of your portfolio based upon different IRR fac-tors.

My experience is that the buyer always is looking for amuch higher IRR than he is willing to disclose to the sell-er! Bottom line – calculate the IRR for yourself! Figuresdon’t lie, but …

Attrition

The PMT-NOVA merger demonstrated that high attritioncan destroy the value of an acquired portfolio. If you wantto sell your portfolio at the highest price, you will want tooffer some type of attrition guarantee to the buyer, eitherin the form of replacing lost merchants in excess of theattrition target or in the form of a holdback of part of thepurchase price.

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Obviously, buyers would prefer a non-recourse transac-tion. Those are certainly available, but they do not providethe best price to the buyer. The highest values are receivedby sellers who are willing to protect the attrition of thebuyer.

Risk

I believe the average losses in portfoliosin the U.S. today run in the range of onebasis point. Buyers are going to lookcarefully at the historical losses inyour portfolio and calculate an antic-ipated loss ratio. The more card-not-present business and high-risk busi-ness in your portfolio, the less youwill be offered.

Buyers will look at the chargeback andcredit percentages of your portfolio. Thehigher these percentages, the lower yourvaluation will be. To maximize the value ofyour portfolio, you might consider offering topay any losses over a certain threshold during a fixedperiod of time after the sale – perhaps one or two years. Itis almost certain that the seller will believe the portfolio isless risky than the buyer will believe.

Other risk factors include top-heavy portfolios with a highpercentage of large merchants. If losing a few of thelargest most-profitable merchants would seriously impactthe revenue stream, the buyer will haircut the valuation.

Also, heavy concentrations in certain kinds of cyclicalindustries (such as travel business and furniture

stores) will hurt the valuation. Again, thebest way to maximize value is to protect

the buyer in advance with a holdback ora guarantee to replace excessive lostrevenues.

Since many ISOs have no risk ontheir existing portfolios, they do notunderstand merchant losses excepton a philosophical level. A formerlywell-known ISO financial institution

– one of the best-known institutions inthe country a few years ago – took such

large losses on its portfolio that it wastaken over without receiving any money for

its portfolio.

Merchant losses are real to buyers of portfolios. If youhave experienced no losses in the past, to get top dollaryou will need to protect the buyer from losses in the future.If you do not have hard facts about the loss experience in

Merchantlosses are real to

buyers of portfolios. Ifyou have experienced no

losses in the past, to get topdollar you will need toprotect the buyer from

losses in thefuture.

your portfolio or the chargeback and credit history of yourportfolio, you will lose the benefit of the doubt because thebuyer will assume that the history is not good.

Size of Portfolio

The larger your portfolio, the more prospective buyersexist. If your portfolio has fewer than 1,000 merchants orless than $100 million in annual volume, it may be diffi-cult for you to find a strategic buyer, but there are alwaysfinancial buyers who will buy any portfolio if the price islow enough.

The best advice is to get professional help in selling yourportfolio. If you have a large portfolio, you will want towork with an investment bank or consultant who has donethis many times before. If you have a small portfolio, youroptions are more limited. A few of the seven companieslisted in the Resource Guide of The Green Sheet under"ISOs/Banks Purchasing Merchant Portfolios" are inter-ested in buying portfolios in any size range. A suggestionfor the owner of a small portfolio would be to get bidsfrom the folks listed here.

If you have a larger portfolio, there are a significant num-

ber of additional prospective buyers. The larger your port-folio, the better valuation you will receive. It is alwaysbest to build a bigger, well-diversified portfolio with lowattrition and low losses than to sell a small portfolio withpoor attrition and loss profiles.

Conversion to Buyer’s Platform

Strategic buyers of portfolios want the merchants process-ing on one of their platforms, and that means a conversion.The merchants will be moved to the buyer’s BIN andback-end settlement platform. Often the merchant alsowill need to be moved to a different front-end processor.

Moving merchants is ALWAYS a huge problem. Thererarely is an incentive for a merchant to move. The mer-chant must learn new procedures or call different peoplefor help or have a different monthly statement or billingmethod. A portfolio sale is always a negative for a mer-chant, and notification that a merchant’s contract has beensold is often reason for a merchant to look for a better dealwith another processor.

To maximize the price of your portfolio, you should offerto move it to the buyer’s platform at your cost. If you do

© 2002 Hypercom Corporation. Al l r ights reserved.

S o m u c h m o r e t h a n t e r m i n a l s ™

T h e a d v a n t a g e y o u g a i n w i t h t h e g l o b a l l e a d e r

i s a l m o s t u n f a i r

F r o m e q u i p m e n t a n d s u p p o r t s e r v i c e s , t o l e a s i n g , e p i c a n d n e t w o r k s e r v i c e s ,n o b o d y b r i n g s i t a l l t o g e t h e r l i k eH y p e r c o m .

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not do this, the buyer will build in a huge haircut in value(as much as 25%) under the assumption that a high per-centage of the purchased merchants will not convert to thebuyer’s platform or stay very long after the conversion. Inaddition to the perceived attrition that will occur, the buyeralso will have costs of conversions that will be subtractedfrom the price you are offered.

In summary, the best buyer is the one who has the most togain from an acquisition.

Here are three transactions that appear to have been hugewinners for all of the parties involved.

• First Union found a company that was ready to go pub-lic and converted portfolio to stock that made a fantasticreturn for the First Union stockholders in the early days ofNOVA’s post-IPO valuation.

• Concord EFS was looking for a management team andfound Larry Stone, who could fulfill that need as well asanyone in our industry.

• NPC was looking to expand into the regional accountmarketplace, and SalomonSmithBarney found NPC tohelp Heartland’s management team raise the funds to buyout its bank partner.

If your portfolio is too small to have significant impact toa potential buyer, you are not going to get great valuations.But you can maximize your valuation if you will protectthe buyer from the unknowns with a recourse sale. If youwant to take your money and not look back, you will takea significant haircut on valuation, but you will be able tofind a buyer unless your merchant base is loaded withrisky merchant types.

One of the experts on valuation of merchant portfolios isMarc Abbey of First Annapolis Consulting (410-855-8521). Marc and his associates have made presentationson portfolio valuation at industry meetings throughout thecountry. If I wanted to sell a small, midsize or large port-folio, I would call Marc and ask him to sell it for me. Heknows the buyers, and he knows what they are looking for.Another expert focused on very large portfolios (billiondollars plus) is Robert Hyer of SalomonSmithBarney(212-816-8703).

There are a lot of experts, but these are two I can recom-mend based upon first-hand experience. If you are lookingto sell a portfolio for the first time, I promise you onething: You will be a lot more knowledgeable about a lot ofthings after the process is completed than when you start-ed. Good luck maximizing the value of your portfolio!

T R A V E L I N G S A L E S P E O P L E • S T A D I U M A N D A R E N A S A L E S •M

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whenever they needed to? The Nurit 3010 Portable Payment Solution provides three flexible optionsfor ensuring the transaction event, even in remote, poor-coverage areas: a high-gainreplacement antenna, a “store offline and forward later” feature and a landline dial-upoption. Bottom line: They’ll never miss a transaction opportunity or a card present rate.

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Afew changes have been made in our AdvisoryBoard. We are introducing our newest member,Joyce Leiser, Director of Strategic Sales &Emerging Markets, U.S. Wireless Data, Inc.

Joyce is a long-term wireless player who has been sellingwireless point-of-sale since 1995. Her current focus is ondeveloping large-business opportunities in emerging mar-kets for wireless.

In this capacity, she works closely with the card associa-tions: She is U.S. Wireless Data’s relationship manager forMasterCard, Visa, American Express and for the wirelesscarriers. Joyce also is one of the company’s liaisons withETA and is a participant in the New Technology Forum.

When asked why she chose to join our Advisory Board,Joyce replied, "I have been involved in the transaction-processing industry for many years, with a special con-centration in the wireless POS industry. I would like tomake sure I can help with education on this segment of thebusiness for both wired and wireless processing."Each member of the Advisory Board was asked what he orshe thought we could do differently to better serve the ISOcommunity. Joyce’s response was insightful:

"My personal suggestion is tomake sure that the agents whowork for ISOs have access to this

publication. It is one of the most widely read publications;however, I know that in some organizations, only the offi-cers/owners receive this and do not always make the infor-mation available to the agents, their help desk and othersin the back office who consider their part in running theISO a career.

"It would certainly help them to better understand theimportance of their role and how it affects their companyas a whole. Also, it may educate them and encourage themto take more pride in their work and even give them anincentive to grow and learn other aspects of our industryand move on to other jobs related to this industry."

We would encourage everyone who reads The GreenSheet to become a subscriber. Sales professionals andthose who work for ISOs can receive our publication at nocharge. You can register for a subscription simply by vis-iting www.greensheet.com.

Organizations that would like to distribute The GreenSheet can contact us for a bulk mailing, or we can supplycomplimentary subscription certificates for distribution.Both the certificates and subscriptions are free. Pleasecontact us at [email protected].

GS Announces Advisory Board Changes

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New Standards forPayment Acceptance

Afive-year agreement to develop, manufactureand supply a new generation of electronic fundstransfer/point-of-sale terminals was reachedrecently by Ingenico Corp. and First Data Corp.

While terms of the agreement were not disclosed, it bringstogether two global leaders in payment services and tech-nology, combining experience, perspective and areas offocus in one EFT/POS solution.

Officials for both companies expect the relationship tocreate a new standard for payment acceptance and value-added service delivery at the point-of-sale.

Plans for the first-of-its-kind terminal include build-ing flexibility into it foradding future applications.The EFT/POS terminal will incorporate both present andfuture First Data subsidiaries’ requirements for providingtransaction services at the point-of-sale.

The terminals will be smart card-enabled and signaturecapture-enabled and will have the capacity to accept virtu-ally all forms of payments.

Using this jointly developed technology, First Data sub-sidiaries, including Western Union and First DataMerchant Services, will be able to further reduce costs,hardware requirements and training time as well as free upretail counter space for their merchants with the new ter-minals.

Jean Jacques Poutrel, Chairman of Ingenico Corp. andChairman and CEO of Ingenico S.A., said, "Our agree-ment with First Data is an acknowledgement of Ingenico’sglobal leadership in payment terminal technology andclearly demonstrates Ingenico’s total commitment to theNorth American market."

"Our relationship with Ingenico creates the solid base oftechnological and industry expertise we need to make thisproject a success," said Michael Yerington, President ofWestern Union America.

"The resulting terminal will address the needs of FirstData subsidiaries, enabling us to improve payment andservice delivery efficiency while greatly improving ourability to cross-sell services, resulting in a stronger brandidentity and increased profitability. This device will be apowerful addition to an already robust product line."

The terminals will feature a single, easy-to-use interface tosupport a wide range of First Data productsand services, for many types of clients andbusinesses.

Around the world, First Data Corp. pro-vides approximately 2.6 million merchantlocations, 1,400 card issuers and millionsof consumers with a full spectrum of electronic commerceand payment services.

These include credit, debit, smart card and stored valuecard-issuing and transaction services, Western Unionmoney orders and transfers, and check processing and ver-ification services in North America, Europe, the MiddleEast and Australia. The company, headquartered inDenver, has 28,000 employees worldwide.

Ingenico Corp. is the North American division ofthe global provider of smart card transactionproducts and systems in 70 countries, IngenicoS.A. Ingenico Corp. provides hardware, software,services and solutions for the growing transaction

needs of the North American marketplace.

$2.00 Statement Fees

Lynk Systems Inc. wasomitted from ourNovember 2001 GSQreport, "Credit Card

Acquiring in America." Based on2001 acquiring volume, Lynk ranks21st overall and 16th in relation tothe First Data Alliance.

Founded in 1991 and headquarteredin Atlanta, Lynk is a nationalprovider of electronic payment, cashdispensing and e-commerce services.

The company processes transactionsinitiated by credit and debit cards,checks and other cards from mer-chant point-of-sale terminals, ATMsand Web sites. Lynk also providesrelated payment services such as the

issuance of stored-value cards thatfacilitate electronic funds distribu-tion.

Lynk controls the entire processingsequence, including sales, merchantpayment equipment, design andhosting of Internet storefronts, trans-action authorization, capture, settle-ment and customer service.

Lynk provides payment services to65,000 merchant POS terminals andcash-advance services at 11,000locations nationwide, representing17 million transactions a month.Lynk employs 450 management andtechnical personnel at its headquar-ters and 435 sales associates whomarket products and services acrossthe United States.

GSQ November2001 Update:Finding TheMissing Lynk

LYNK SYSTEMS INC.ACQUIRING VOLUME

...BY THENUMBERS

Growth1998 1999 2000 2001 2000-2001

Merchant Sites 30,376 42,868 47,633 53,390 12%

Acquiring Volume $1.9 b $2.9 b $4.6 b $6.3 b 37%

EBT

During a December afternoon at the BankAdministration Institute (BAI) Show in theAnaheim (Calif.) Convention Center, I learneda number of interesting things about check

fraud. For example, the latest American BankersAssociation survey, conducted last summer, showed thatcheck fraud had increased 20% at community banks and27% at regional banks since the previous survey two yearsearlier. Check fraud at large banks has doubled in the lasttwo years!

Large bank losses are increasing 17% annually. Banksexperienced an estimated 447,342 fraud cases, with anaverage gross loss of $1,518. The most common source ofcheck fraud was checks written against consumeraccounts. The most common type was forgery, followedby NSF and closed accounts. About a quarter to a third offraud is linked to new accounts.

Visa

Visa has two initiatives. One is called Smart Visa. Issuersmail a Visa card with a chip and then mail a card reader tothe consumer. The consumer puts the card in the readerand downloads software to integrate the reader to thebrowser, and then when buying something the consumerhas to fill in a password in a special box on the screen.

There are eight financial institutions enrolled and fourpending (out of more than 20,000 financial institutions),and not all Visa cardholders are eligible. Further, it doesnot support Apple users and supports only certainbrowsers.

The second initiative is called "Verified by Visa." The con-sumer applies to his issuer and is given a password, whichis entered or given for mail order/telephone order purchas-es. Again, not every card is eligible, and there are a total of17 merchants registered (with 12 pending).

In short, these two initiatives have virtually no impact inthe marketplace.

Visa also is showcasing its POS "Check Service," which itis marketing to its DPS clients. (Visa says that in 2000consumers wrote 19 billion checks at POS, valued at $3.5trillion, representing 51% of personal-consumption expen-ditures for the year.)

Visa gives the merchant a choice of routing an ElectronicCheck Conversion (ECC) transaction through VisaNet or

through the ACH. Visa incents merchants to use VisaNetby paying them revenue for each check, whereas if theyare using the ACH they are getting billed by theirOriginating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI).

Getting set up requires that the FI link the service throughVisa DPS. Visa suggests that the FI hire a consultant calledParagon Applications Systems to develop interface soft-ware that formats POS check service transaction messagesexchanged between the bank and Visa.

One bank said that using Paragon saved it six weeks ofinternal programming, so you can see what an effort this isand why banks will not be quick to adopt it. Currently,only one bank (BB&T) is using this service.

The Visa program offers the bank three products: conver-sion only (merchant retains the risk), verification withconversion (merchant retains the risk), and guarantee withconversion (bank accepts the risk and puts a hold on thefunds).

Checking In at the BAI Show:Fraud Statistics are Alarming

Finally, Visa has another programcalled Visa E-Pay, which allows theFI to bill consumers via their Visadebit card.

The appeal to a financial institutionis that if it is a biller (i.e., it bills itsown credit cards, installment loans,mortgages, car loans, leases, etc.)

and it is getting paid by a "Check andList" arrangement, the staff has tomanually review, sort and post items.

This may be 10 times as costly asstandard lockbox processingand might introduce errors anddelay crediting of funds. As faras I can tell, this would involvegetting the consumer to agreeto have a check converted to adebit card transaction.

MasterCard

I asked about MasterCard effortsregarding its pilot for authenticationfor card-not-present purchases. Itsrepresentative said that 80 to 85% ofcredit card fraud occurs in card-not-present situations, with half becauseof "friendly fraud," (i.e., the personmakes the call and subsequentlydenies it).

They said that MC is trying to shiftliability for chargebacks in theMOTO world from the merchant to

the issuing banks, but the banks arerefusing to support this move (obvi-ously).

Other news was that the pilot pro-gram to authenticate credit cardtransactions that was supposed to bea joint venture between MasterCardand Visa has been scrubbed becauseVisa withdrew from the program.This makes it unlikely that a trueauthentication program will be wide-spread because the consumer wouldhave to register multiple times.

SafeCHECK

This is an ECC product that FDIC-insured FIs are eligible to use. The FIconnects via the SafeCHECK switchor through its current processor. Thepurpose is to create an "industry-owned" (as opposed to non-bankowned) ECC and verification serv-ice. It uses the existing ATM infra-structure.

Merchants are told that only a bank-

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team. . . ‘cause it’s a jungle out there!

Onebank said that

using Paragon saved itsix weeks of internal pro-gramming, so you can see

what an effort this is and whybanks will not be quick to

adopt it. Currently, only onebank (BB&T) is using

this service.

owned service can actually look intothe DDA on a real-time basis. It issold as either a "guarantee" or "non-guarantee" solution. Presumably,when the drawee bank puts a hold onthe funds, it can guarantee that thefunds will be there.

SafeCHECK is owned by threemajor ATM networks (NYCE, Pulseand STAR) and 11 large FIs. It is asubsidiary of SVP Corp.

Primary Payments Systems

PPS is designed for FIs but is avail-able to retailers, credit card issuersand others. It consists of a commondatabase of user-members, currently160 million DDAs. FIs use it forteller inquiry, opening new accounts,deposit processing, fraud detection,check capture reject and repair oper-ations. All they need is a PrimaryPayment Systems MICR reader anda phone line. It has 28 responsecodes, including account present,

new account, closed for cause andNSF.

SQN Systems

SQN is the largest provider of signa-ture verification software and serveshalf of the largest banks in the U.S.Its software/hardware captures andstores signatures. All signatures canbe immediately shared with allbranches worldwide.

Tellers can review a check in threeseconds and no longer need to lookat checks or signature cards. The sys-tem also retrieves exception itemsand pairs them with appropriate sig-natures for electronic inspection atthe rate of 900 checks per hour. Itflags suspected stop payments,exceptions, etc.

Carreker-Antinori

This company is basically a consult-ant on float management. However,

it does have a check fraud preventionproduct. It is a parameter-based sys-tem that evaluates each check basedon predefined parameters against anaccount history file.

It looks for duplicate check numbers,missing serial numbers, check num-bers that are out of the range of whatis currently being written by theaccount holder, and an amount thatexceeds the previous highest amountof a check from that account, lack ofaccount history, a low dollar checkpull, lowest check number, andinvalid routing and transfer numbers.

Carreker-Antinori has a similar prod-uct to catch deposit fraud (a crookdeposits fake items and then with-draws the money before beingcaught). That product looks fordeposits that exceed the account’saverage balance as well as invalidrouting and transit numbers.

This system is designed to be soldexclusively to FIs.

Here’s a really smart way to use smart card technology – the kind of obviousapplication that makes you think, "Why didn’t I think of that?" AutoSmartInc. has been working on a way to bring smart card technology to the auto-motive industry for five years and has just recently released the AutoSmart

Card.

One little chip-embedded card has the potential to change the relationshipbetween new and used car dealers, service centers and their customers –in other words, anyone who buys and drives a car.

The AutoSmart card soon might become an indispensable, wallet-sized auto accessory, offering a unique range of benefits, servicesand informational resources.

All pertinent information about a vehicle’s repair history can be stored, accessedand tracked. New and used car dealers can add special customer-incentive programs to

the card for customer-retention purposes.

AutoSmart card will help harried drivers keep track of scheduled maintenance, managerepair records and provide them access to repair histories – no more looking through theglove compartment, under the car seats or in various file folders for receipts of work done.

AutoSmart provides car buyers, sellers and owners with permanent, updateable, mobile,secure and, most important, certified records of a car’s operation, repair and service history.

Smart AutoAccessoryCould DriveSales,Service

The AutoSmart program also willhelp dealers retain customers byallowing them to develop their ownloyalty programs to add to the cardsand create long-term relationshipswith their customers after the initialpurchase and expiration of factorywarranties.

The AutoSmart card stores virtuallyeverything about a vehicle, includingmanufacturer and technical specifi-cations; roadside service plans andextended warranties; registration andinsurance; safety and emissions testresults and manufacturer recalls;repair and service costs; anddebit/credit and other financinginformation.

Many of the uncertainties associatedwith buying a used car could beeliminated with the AutoSmart card.The fear of not really knowing whatyou’re buying and the risk of repairfraud could go the way of the Edsel

because the AutoSmart card stayswith the vehicle when sold or traded.

The AutoSmart card uses the sametechnology used in other cardsembedded with mini-processingchips, but it is the first patentedapplication to record maintenance,operation, service and regulatorycompliance of machines and the firstpatented automotive application. Theinformation stored on the chip is readwith a specifically configured read-er/writer.

Although the AutoSmart card’s firstapplication will be specifically withnew car dealers across the country,the card also will accommodate theneeds of companies involved in leas-ing, vehicle rental, shipping, truck-ing and freight as well organizationslike school districts, governmentalbodies, airlines and utility compa-nies.

The AutoSmart system also includesfeatures for vehicle fleet manage-ment.

Bill Kelly, Chief Operating Officerof AutoSmart, estimates the cardswill be used by more than 175,000new car buyers nationwide by theend of 2002.

New car dealers in New York,Chicago, Los Angeles, SanFrancisco, Houston, Seattle, Buffaloand Washington, D.C., are alreadyusing the AutoSmart card.

By the end of the first quarter, Kellyalso expects the cards to be adoptedby dealers in Georgia, Tennessee,Mississippi and Alabama.

AutoSmart Inc. is based in NorthernVirginia. Information about theAutoSmart card program is availableonline at www.autosmartcard.com.

And answer Merchant-Pay.com did. By 1998,Robert Hughes and histwo partners had become

extremely knowledgeable aboutproducts and services that met mer-chants’ e-commerce needs. All thepieces came together and an integrat-ed product was created, combiningan efficient and user-friendly shop-ping cart in conjunction with aneffective gateway to support theservice. Merchant-Pay.com was bornas an Internet payment gateway andthird-party transaction processor allin one.

Today that gateway is integrated withnine different processing networks,including such major players asNOVA, VISANET (VitalProcessing), Concord/BuyPassTerminal ID (TID), FDR/FDC,GENSAR, MAPP, CES/4(CardNet/First Data/FDMS),NABANCO (FDMS/First Data)NDC/CNET/N (GPS), PaymentTechand Global Pay. Whatdoes this mean for ISOs?Plenty.

For starters, Merchant-Pay.com works solelythrough ISOs. The pri-mary benefit to ISOs isthe fact that the mecha-nism by which the mer-

chant connects to the gateway – theshopping cart – is a fully integratedpart of the e-commerce solution. It’snot an add-on feature that the mer-chant has to search for on his or herown.

Second, the merchant support is pro-vided by Merchant-Pay.com, not theISO. Merchant-Pay.com doesn’trequire the reseller to provide itunless the reseller wants to. And thebow on the Merchant-Pay.com pack-age is that it comes completelybranded as the ISO private label. Isthere an ISO out there who doesn’twant to increase the value of theirbrand?

Pricing levels are designed to offergreater profit potential to ISOs basedupon their monthly account volume(see chart below).

"The profit point is also pretty greatwith our system," says Hughes."Competitive, if not less."

An Evolution of E-commerce

Merchant-Pay.com

ISO contact:Robert HughesPhone: 770-754-6457E-mail: [email protected]

Company address:2503 S. Padre Island DriveCorpus Christi, TX 78415Phone: 361-654-1481Fax: 209-671-8201Web sites:www.merchant-pay.comwww.paymentclearing.org

ISO benefits:• Works solely through ISOs.• Shopping cart is fully integrated e-com-

merce solution, not an add-on.• Competitive prices.• First-tier merchant support.• Extensive support system for ISOs.• No long-term commitment required.

"We started as Web developers in ’94, wanting to get into e-com-merce for small ma-and-pa stores. We discovered early on that itwas hard to find a reputable and knowledgeable merchant accountprovider to partner with for e-commerce solutions. A lot of ISOscould resell gateways, but their expertise was not in implementationand maintenance. Agents would sell services and then be gone. Wecared. We had to. Our clients were the merchants. We had toanswer to them."

– Robert Hughes, Co-Founder, Merchant-Pay.com

Setup MonthlyTier Users Cost Cost1st 0 to 24 $50 $16 2nd 25 to 49 $35 $13 3rd 50 to 99 $25 $11 4th 100-plus $15 $9

Merchant-Pay.com Pricing Levels

But, according to Hughes,that’s where the competitionends.

"Our competitors’ shoppingcarts are not truly integratedwith an online system," hesays. "And don’t forget ourunique support. We’ve notcome across any gateway thatprovides first-tier merchantsupport. We offer support directly to the merchants eithervia telephone or e-mail, just as if they were our clients andnot those of ISOs – because they are."

Merchant-Pay.com wants ISOs to focus on their core com-petency – sales. Merchant-Pay.com believes ISOs shouldbe selling accounts, not supporting them.

"If our ISOs want to be hands-on, great," says Hughes."We provide the mechanism. They don’t have to use oursupport services."

But it would seem foolish if ISOs didn’t take advantage ofthose heavily invested support systems that provide exten-

sive technological expertise in atimely and efficient manner.The systems are constantlybeing surveyed, monitored andupgraded to meet the ever-changing e-commerce needs ofthe marketplace.Merchants get a live person24/7 through Merchant-Pay.com’s Real-time TicketingSystem. In each merchant inter-

face, there is a support icon that the merchant need onlyclick to automatically send a request, question or problemto the Ticketing System as a priority request.

Within one to two hours, that "ticket" is assigned to a tech-nician who responds to the merchant via e-mail or tele-phone with the solution. The system is live 18 hours a daywith after-hours response handled through paging of thetechnicians.

Merchant-Pay.com believes just as strongly in ISO supporton an ongoing basis. Branded user manuals are providedto each partnering ISO. Online ISO training is scheduledat the convenience of the ISO to educate agents on thebenefits as well as the features of Merchant-Pay.com’sproducts and services.

"We believe in this market it is getting so tight, and mer-chant services are a commodity," says Hughes. "Rates aregetting cut. You must increase the value of your brand andyour product and services. Your merchant has to buyvalue, while the better rate will get the business. We can’tbe the end-all solution, but we can definitely help."

By providing a Internet gateway system with the merchantvested in the solution in terms of time and results,Merchant-Pay.com believes the merchant will be less like-ly to drop the providing ISO for a couple of basis points.

It would appear that belief is ringing true. More than 6,000merchants are utilizing the Merchant-Pay.com transactionprocessing system, and more than 250,000 shopping cartsolutions have been downloaded, though the process forthe shopping cart has changed. No longer downloadable, itis now in an online version, form-driven with the merchantconfiguring it via the Web. The technology is the samebest-of-breed shopping cart solution, according to Hughes.

Merchant-Pay.com’s shopping cart solution isn’t all thathas evolved. According to Hughes, its business model ischanging as well.

"If the market constantly evolves and you don’t, it is onlya matter of time ’til you are out of the market," he says."Our biggest challenge is the same as everyone’s – theeconomy. We haven’t seen it affect us greatly because e-

"If our ISOs want to be hands-on,great. We provide the mechanism.They don’t have to use our supportservices."

– Robert Hughes

commerce is still going strong. And we will continue toservice that market."

Hughes says the biggest challenge facing ISOs today isbeing able to create enough value in their own organiza-tion and product/services so as not to get gauged by theISO next door. He believes ISOs need to do everythingthey can to retain their merchants.

What Hughes hopes ISOs will realize is that Merchant-Pay.com is not only offering them Internet services fornew accounts but for old merchant accounts as well, thusstrengthening the bond with those existing merchants.

From its beginnings as a Web-development business,Merchant-Pay.com has become an e-commerce serviceprovider for ISOs. Where is Merchant-Pay.com heading inthe near future? "Up!" Hughes says. "We are planning onwelcoming 50 to 60 new ISOs annually."

His message is simple: "Do what you can to strengthenyour brand, whether through us or another provider. Wewould love to be hooked up with every ISO, but that isunrealistic."

So which ISOs is Merchant-Pay.com looking to hook upwith? "I hate to sound cliché, but we want to work with theISOs who are fair," says Hughes. "There are a lot of ISOs

who want to make 95% of the money and split the restbetween their providers. We don’t want to work withthose. We want to work with those who are fair to theirmerchants, themselves and to us."

Merchant-Pay.com’s corporate headquarters are located inAtlanta along with its billing, accounting and technical-development divisions.

"Development is half our business," says Hughes. "If wedidn’t develop and research our products, we wouldn’t beMerchant-Pay.com."

All work, both software and tech development, is done in-house. As for the general day-to-day operations and theall-important technical and sales support departments,they are located in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Merchant-Pay.com offers its e-commerce transactionalprocessing on a month-to-month basis – no long-termcommitment is required. Even though there is not a freetrial period implemented yet, Merchant-Pay.com is staginga seven-day trial for an ISO’s merchants. Merchant-Pay.com puts its product capabilities onto the ISO’s inter-face, and the ISO then creates a demo for the merchants.

ISOs interested in what could be a lucrative demo shouldvisit www.merchant-pay.com.

Sleek and SpeedySolutions

ThruComm Inc., an integrator and provider of"always on" networking services in the EFTmarketplace, recently introduced theThruComm Integrator Solution, a flexible,

managed enterprise network solution that promises afaster, more reliable and less costly way to support pay-ment transactions, back-office applications and corporatedata communications.

ThruComm's Integrator offers network options that arebacked by common technology, performance guaranteesand support services and are specifically suited for theElectronic Funds Transfer (EFT) industry. This array ofoptions uses fixed wireless, terrestrial frame relay andVSAT technology to connect merchants of any size toThruComm's enterprise network and the Internet.

"No matter how large or small a merchant may be, theymust be able to support fast, reliable, secure electronictransactions at the point-of-sale, including debit, creditand popular loyalty applications like electronic gift cards,"said Mark Gianinni, CEO and President of ThruComm."Larger businesses also need to support back-office enter-prise applications that can cut their costs and streamlineoperations.

"The old way, which uses multiple slow and costly dial-uplines, simply can't meet today's merchant requirements.We're making it easy for processors, merchants and ATMnetwork providers of any size to migrate from dial-up con-nectivity to an 'always on' network that completely sup-ports their growing payment transaction and data commu-nication needs."

At the heart of ThruComm's Integrator Solution is theCustomer Interface Device (CID). Common to allThruComm Integrator options, the CID enables existingPOS, ATM and other communication devices to achieveconnectivity to ThruComm's IP frame relay network.

With the CID installed on location, connected devicesachieve three- to five-second network-response times and

99.9 percent guaranteed network availability, importantbenchmarks for merchants who have seen the number ofelectronic transaction authorizations rise over the last 10years from one in 18 to one in four.

Because Integrator uses existing ATMs, electronic cashregisters, PCs and POS systems, it protects merchants'investments in terminals, training and systems integration.In addition, Integrator eliminates the need for multipledial-up lines, instead providing connectivity for multipledevices at one monthly cost.

All Integrator customers receive 24/7, end-to-end networkmonitoring, 99.9 percent network availability and four-hour network restore time between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m.daily. Because ThruComm has more than 2,800 field tech-nicians across the country, its customers receive end-to-

end service support, includ-ing network design, installa-tion, proactive network man-agement and field mainte-nance, making ThruComm'sIntegrator a complete man-aged enterprise network solu-tion.

"When each authorizationyou perform through tradi-tional dial-up lines takes 30to 60 seconds, you get poorproductivity, loss of potentialrevenue and unsatisfactorycustomer service," saysGianinni. "ThruComm'sIntegrator Solution works with merchants' existing equip-ment to eliminate these dial-up deficiencies, replacingthem with 'always on' network connectivity that improvescustomer service, delivers faster transaction speeds andoptimizes terminal functionality at the POS."

Integrator 800 supports POS applications only using a dig-ital wireless connection. This service is designed for mer-chants with low to moderate transaction volumes.

Integrator TFR supports bothPOS and enterprise applica-tions using a terrestrial framerelay connection. Integrator900 also supports both POSand enterprise applicationsbut at a slightly lower costthan Integrator TFR becauseit uses a spread spectrum,digital RF connection – ineffect, wireless frame relay.As the areas within reach ofthis wireless solutionincrease, Integrator TFR cus-tomers easily can switch toIntegrator 900.

For remote customer locations, Integrator VSAT establish-es a connection with a host processor via a Ku band VSATlink. Integrator VSAT supports POS and enterprise appli-cations.

ThruComm's Integrator Solution is installed in more than2,000 locations and is sold through ThruComm's directsales force as well as reseller partners. Sales professionalslooking to add ThruComm Solutions can visit its Web siteat www.thrucomm.com or call 727-821-2300.

The ThruComm Integrator TFR Solution

ETA President ChangesCompanies

James Plappert has joined FirstAmerican Payment Systems asExecutive Vice President. He will usehis 19 years of industry leadershipexperience to develop new businessstrategies and head First American’sefforts to actively pursue mergers andacquisitions within the bankcardindustry. Plappert is the currentPresident of the ElectronicTransactions Association. He hasserved on ETA’s executive board fornine years and has served on ETA’sindustry relations and executive com-mittees.

New VP of Sales at The Horizon Group

POS equipment and service provider The Horizon Grouphas named Michael A. Weigel as Vice President of Sales.Weigel will be responsible for directing Horizon’s nation-al sales efforts. He has 25 years experience in the elec-tronic payments, soft drink and leisure time industries.Before joining Horizon, Weigel served as Vice Presidentof Marketing Development at electronic payments proces-sor Concord EFS.

First Annapolis Announces Changes

First Annapolis Bank of Maryland has announced fourpromotions within its senior management staff. Jill Stierli,who has been with First Annapolis since 1998 in financialmanagement and information technology, has been pro-moted to Chief Financial Officer. Robert Lime was pro-moted to Principal and will focus on the firm’s retail serv-ices, including advising on financing and payment strate-gies.

Frank Martien also was promoted to Principal; he special-izes in mergers and acquisitions, and his area of focus willbe on the firm’s card-issuing practices. Ray Chinn hasbeen promoted to Senior Consultant and also will focus onthe bank’s card-issuing and electronic-banking practices,advising banks and non-bank financial services providers.

First Annapolis is a management consulting and mergersand acquisitions advisory firm with a primary focus on thefinancial services industry.

First Data Expands GiftCard Business

First Data Corp. has acquired GiftCard Services Inc., a provider ofstored-value gift cards to smalland midsize retailers. The acqui-sition will add to First Data’s giftcard business by accessing a newsegment of the market; itsValueLink stored-value cardscurrently serve large national andregional merchants. Gift CardServices has provided a widerange of gift card services,including 24-hour client supportand proprietary software, since1984.

STAR System Signs with Billion-Dollar Bank

Star Systems has signed West Suburban Bank to a long-term processing and network participation contract. WestSuburban Bank is a commercial bank with $1.3 billion inassets, based in Lombard Ill. Star, a subsidiary of ConcordEFS Inc., was selected by West Suburban for both its PIN-secured debit network and full range of ATM products andservices.

Joining the STAR system will give West Suburban’s cus-tomers coast-to-coast access at 180,000 ATMS and750,000 POS locations nationwide as well as new transac-tion- and payment-services options. West Suburban antic-ipates it will issue 200,000 cards within the first year.

Private Label for Citi Commerce Solutions andFirst Data

First Data Corp. signed a long-term agreement with CitiCommerce Solutions to provide transaction-processingservices for its private-label accounts in the U.S. andCanada. Citi Commerce Solutions is Citibank Card’s pri-vate-label credit card division servicing large merchants.First Data Resources processes 312 million accounts,including some Citibank accounts.

That’s Not Peanuts

NOVA Information Systems has a new contract withUnion Planters Corp. to provide payment-processing serv-

ices to its 12,000 merchant customers in 12 states, valuedat $1.7 billion in charge volume.

Union Planters is a multistate bank holding companyoffering banking, investment, mortgage and insuranceservices to more than 2 million individuals and business-es. Based on total assets, UPC was the 28th-largest bank inthe U.S. as of June 30, 2001.

Mosaic Software and Retail Decisions PreventFraud

Mosaic Software’s electronic funds transfer clients cannow utilize Retail Decision’s card-based transactions serv-ices to help prevent payment fraud. The partnership bene-fits financial, telecommunications, retail and e-commercebusinesses.

Mosaic Software clients can now route card authorizationsthrough ReD’s ebitGuard service for analysis before thetransaction is complete. It gives merchants the informationthey need quickly and customers a smooth shopping expe-rience. The service provides access to a full portfolio oftools and technologies, such as databases of known fraud-ulent cards, lost or stolen cards and shopper habits.

NCR To Support Windows XP Professional

By midyear 2002, select NCR POS workstations will sup-port Windows XP Professional, Microsoft’s premier oper-ating system. Windows XP provides improved security,reliability and usability, increasingly critical requirementsfor the retail industry.

NCR’s support for Windows XP will include open POSretail and application programs and will integrate withNCR’s current portfolio of retail peripherals. Operating-system recovery and systems-management tools are alsopart of the package.

NCR also is planning on incorporating Windows XPEmbedded and is collaborating with key retail customerson installation.

Bigger Brother

Accurint’s comprehensive skiptracing tool can beaccessed by Ontario System’s clients through OSC Link,an interface connecting independent service providerswith users of Ontario’s FACS and CT Vision products.OSC Link, FACS and CT Vision connect several compa-nies offering collections-related services, such as creditreports, letters, skiptracing and bankruptcy reports.

By searching a database of 20 billion records from 400sources within seconds, Accurint lists debtors’ phone num-bers, addresses, SSN numbers, birth dates, and all knownaddresses and contact information on relatives, associatesand neighbors.

Check Adjustments

The Western Payments Alliance (WesPay), which servesmore than 1,100 banks, thrifts and credit unions in thewestern U.S. and Pacific Region, has selected an electron-ic check adjustments platform from Thompson FinancialPublishing. TFP’s Adjustments Community is anexchange system for adjustments processing and settle-ment.

Inter-bank check adjustments remain a largely manualprocess and are among the costliest payment expensesincurred by financial institutions. Millions of checks writ-ten in the U.S. require adjustments to correct processingerrors and settle transactions accurately. Electronic checkadjustments reduce costs by enabling financial institutionsto send and receive information over the Internet in asecure, authenticated environment.

The Western Payments Alliance serves as a cooperative,non-profit organization enabling member financial institu-tions to efficiently process paper-based and electronic

financial transactions. It is the firstregional payments association todeploy TFP’s AdjustmentsCommunity. Thomson FinancialPublishing provides regulatory com-pliance solutions to financial institu-tions worldwide.

Pennsylvania Merchant SuesVisa and MC

Based on the recent antitrust rulingin New York Federal Court, a class-action suit brought on behalf ofStephen L. Flood alleges that Visaand MasterCard conspired tomonopolize the market for creditcard services. The suit seeks unspec-ified damages for all businessesforced to pay higher fees to acceptVisa and MasterCard.

The Wilkes-Barre, Pa, businessmancharged that Visa, MasterCard andthe banks that issue the cards illegal-

ly agreed the banks would not issuecards from American Express orDiscover. Flood said he brought thesuit to underscore his belief thatcompetition in the marketplaceresults in lower prices for con-sumers. Flood’s business, AAGInternational Inc., sells military andother antiques.

Blackstone’s POS Patent

The United States Patent Office hasgranted Blackstone broad rights toprotect its exclusive POS technolo-gy, including hardware, software andmethodology. Blackstone’s innova-tive system utilizes custom applica-tions and software supported onHypercom’s ICE 5500 platform.

The terminal will integrate the pro-cessing of all major credit cards(Visa, MasterCard, AmericanExpress, Discover), ATM/debit/EBTcards, and the sale of prepaid prod-ucts and bill payment services. This

is the first patent granted for the POSsystem; more are expected here aswell as abroad. Blackstone providesprepaid telecommunications prod-ucts and services and is based inMiami, Fla.

Build Better Sites

Microsoft has released a test versionof its latest software for building e-commerce Web sites. CommerceServer 2002 offers several new fea-tures and will integrate withMicrosoft’s Visual Studio.Net suite.Used together, the software packageswill enable programmers to createcustom features for their e-com-merce Web sites.

Commerce Server allows Web siteoperators to tailor and manage cata-logs of products and services basedon their customers’ preferences. Italso provides developers with thetools for building online buying andpayment processes.

You’ve Got a Friend

It used to be easy doing business in the old economy.You walked into an actual building, sat down withan actual person and had an actual conversation.Now it’s a virtual storefront, clicking keys instead

of conversing, closing deals with an electronic handshake.The customers may be coming aboard morre quickly, butwithout the proper support and service they can just asquickly jump ship.

What steps can you take to maintain customer loyalty in anenvironment where information is so easily accessed andeveryone’s products look the same on a screen? The basicsteps: Bond with customers, partner with prospects.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines a partnershipas "two people associated with one another in a commonactivity; an alliance." Creating that alliance involves morethan e-mails, cell phones and Web sites. It involves com-bining old-economy business practices with new-economytools.

While the Internet and advanced technology can facilitateaccount-processing and order-taking at heretofore unseenspeeds and levels of accuracy, they cannot and should notreplace the personal aspect that is paramount to selling.

What makes a merchant choose one ISO’s payment-pro-cessing solutions over another may boil down to the basicand often overlooked value-added service of a personaltouch, a sincere interest in that merchant’s preferences, asmile that can’t always be seen but is always heard in thetone of a voice or felt by an unexpected act of friendship.

The following checklist can help you define how much ofa partner you are to your customers:

• I always return customer calls the same day. If I can’tpersonally return the calls, I make sure someone else callsthem to explain why. • When initiating calls, I first ask if it’s a good time for mycustomer to talk.• I call my customers at least once a month just to say hi.• I keep myself informed about my customers’ businesses– i.e., reduced or increased sales volumes, change in

inventory, new neighbors, etc.• I keep my customers informed about the latest equipmentand services that are relevant to their business.• I encourage my customers to share their opinions andattitudes ... and always take them seriously.• I anticipate my customers’ needs and act on them.• I don’t oversell products and services. • I know the names of each customer’s spouse and chil-dren.• I know my customers’ birthdays and anniversaries ... andsend appropriate greetings on those dates.• I’ve taken my customers out to lunch, dinner or drinkswithin the last three months.• I show respect for my customers at all times.

Reaping What You Sow

Have you ever heard selling compared to farm-ing? Both involve long hours and seasonalfluctuations. Both are directly affected by mar-ket climate and conditions. But, by far, the

biggest similarity is that both farmers and salespeople reapwhat they sow. For an abundant harvest, you must sowmany seeds. In other words … prospect.

It’s a word that strikes fear in many ISO hearts. Fear ofrejection is powerful, but overcoming that fear promisesproductivity of great proportions. All that is needed is anattitude adjustment. Prospecting is the key to makingmoney.

Prospecting is imperative to increasing sales. Why?Because prospecting helps you identify potential cus-tomers. Does this merchant need service? Does thisprospect have the authority to make the decision for serv-ice? Can this prospect sign not just the contract but thecheck as well?

Prospecting is to be welcomed, not feared. It will allowyou to control your financial destiny. Consider the fact thatthe size of your residuals is directly related to the numberof prospecting calls you place.

Since prospecting is a goal, treat it as such. Praise yourselffor setting up that appointment or completing that initial

call. You’ve achieved a goal, and the elation from thatachievement translates to excitement and enthusiasm, notjust for you but for your prospect as well.

On the flip side, there will be disappointments whileprospecting, but they don’t have to mean discouragement.Sales is a process, not an event. By making sure thatprocess ends only when you’ve converted that prospectinginto a paying client is the difference between being a goodsalesperson and a great one.

Don’t Take It Personally

The childhood nursery rhyme – "Sticks andstones may break my bones, but words willnever hurt me" – holds value in today’s toughsales arena. Who doesn’t know that sellers need

a thick skin to make it in sales? For those professionals notborn to sell, maintaining a tough exterior is not alwayseasy.

We all want people to like us. We all want people to wantto do business with us. We all want people to approve ofus. If a sensitive salesperson can’t find a thick-skinned suitto wear, does that mean they won’t be successful? No!They just haven’t been shopping in the right place.

When a prospect rejects your proposal, it is a reaction toyour product or service, not to you personally. An indiffer-ent attitude doesn’t mean you’re boring. It just means theprospect doesn’t find your services appealing. You repre-sent your product. You are not the product.

The rejection is aimed at the service. Remember, the serv-ices you offer may not be for everyone. It’s no reflectionon you individually. Offer your thanks and move to thenext prospect. Don’t dwell on rejection. Set your sights onthe next "acception."

If a merchant appears disinterested, it may just be the pres-entation and not the person who’s presenting it. You’revery interesting. Why not make your presentations just asexciting? Refining your presentation and selling skills isthe solution. You, personally, are not the problem.

Don’t ever let rejection be the schoolyard bully that keepsyou from making calls or going back out on the field forthe next pitch. The best way to deal with rejection is fac-ing it head on and remembering that it’s not personal.

Good Selling

Paul H. Green

ETA 2002 Annual Meeting & ExpositionHighlights: This is the show dedicated exclusively to the acquiring

industry. People from all sectors of the electronic transactionsindustry will attend, including CEOs, sales and marketing repsfrom ISO programs, service providers, processors, e-commercecompanies, debit networks, ATM providers, financial institutions,credit card companies and associations, and equipment/soft-ware manufacturers. More than 2,000 attendees are expectedat this not-to-be-missed event. Meet, greet, learn, strike dealsand solidify partnerships. ETA will present its largest trade showyet, with more than 50,000 square feet of exhibit space featur-ing the industry’s top companies showcasing state-of-the-artproducts and services. Workshops and keynote addresses willfocus on all areas of operation in the industry. Former Speakerof the House Newt Gingrich is scheduled to be a featured pre-senter.

When: April 10-12Where: Marriott World Center, Orlando, Fla.Registration Fees: Vary by ETA membership status, workshop selec-

tions, activities and registration date. Registration discount forreservations before March 18. Complete details on Web site atwww.electran.org

How to Register: Download information and forms from www.elec-tran.org. Contact the ETA at 800-695-5509; fax 816-472-7765; mail to 14 West Third Street, Kansas City, Missouri64105

CTIA Wireless 2002Highlights: CTIA Wireless 2002 brings together the companies that

helped lay the foundation for the wireless industry and the new-comers that are expanding this industry into new market seg-ments. "Wireless Lifestyles" represents the next step in the evolu-tion of the wireless industry, broadening the marketplace wherewireless figures into everything we do – at work, at play andeveryday living. The largest and most highly attended wirelessshow in the telecommunications and computing industries willcover all areas wireless is manifested beyond the cell phone orPDA and will encompass new and emerging technologies, suchas telematics, WLAN, home RF, bluetooth and fixed wireless.Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the USSR, is scheduledto be the keynote speaker on Day 3.

When: March 18-20, 2002Where: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.Registration Fees: Vary by CTIA membership status, conference

package preference and registration date. Special-interest semi-nars and Wireless Gala also are available for extra fees. Getcomplete details at wireless2002.ctsg.com.

How To Sign Up: Online at http://wireless2002.ctsg.com. Phone301-694-5243.

ATM/SCRIP ISOSLOOKING FORAGENTS

ATM Merchant Systems(888) 878-8166

ATM SYSTEMS, CORP.(800) 417-3201

Cash Resources, Inc.(800) 214-1840

CA$HWAVE / E*TRADE ATM(888) 227-4350

Data Capture Systems, Inc.(800) 888-1431

Electronic Cash Systems, Inc.(888) 327-2864

EPX(302) 326-0700

E-Z Cash ATM(888) 823-9286

Financial Technologies, Inc.(800) 523-2104

NationalLink(800) 363-9835

Phoenix Cardnet(305) 338-9316

Samsar ATM Co.(800) 811-3342

Universal ATM Network(800) 274-5965

BANKS LOOKINGFOR ISOS/MSPS

Bridgeview Payment SolutionsA Wholly Owned Subsidiary ofBridgeview Bank and Trust

(888) DO APPLYChase Merchant Services

(800) 622-2626 x86016Comerica Merchant Services

(800) 790-2670

Cross Country Bank(302) 326-4200 x29112

First American Pymt Sys(866) GO4 FAPS

First Western Bank(800) 966-4392 x1500

Humboldt Bank MerchantServices/ATM

(877) 635-3570National Processing Co.

(800) 672-1964 x 7655Redwood Merchant Services

(800) 939-9942Retriever Payment Systems

(800) 376-3399

CHECK DRAFTINGSERVICES

CFI Group(888) FON-CHEX

Checks by Phone/By Web(561) 998-9020

CHECK GUARANTEE/VERIFICATION

CrossCheck, Inc.(800) 654-2365

Electronic Payment Systems LLC(800) 863-5995

EZCheck(800) 549-1220

Global Payments (800) 638-4600 x888

Secur-Chex(888) 603-0978

CONSULTING ANDADVISORY SERVICES

First Annapolis Consulting, Inc.(410) 855-8500

DEBIT TRANSACTIONPROCESSING

CashLane(800) 325-2862

EFT-ACH SETTLEMENTSERVICES

1st American Payment Proc.(480) 785-2262

Network 1 Financial, Inc.(800) 261-0240

EQUIPMENT

Assoc. Terminal Mgmt (ATM) Grp(877) 286-4768

Automated Transaction Tech.(888) 454-1210

BancNet(713) 629-0906

CardWare International(740) 522-2150

CDE Services(800) 858-5016


General Credit Forms, Inc.(800) 325-1158

Global Payments (800) 229-3698

The Horizon Group, Inc.(888) 265-2220

Hypercom(800) Hypercom

Ingenico(770) 594-6000

Lipman USA, Inc.(516) 484-9898

MLT &Assoc., Inc. Plastic Refurb(775) 358-2922

National Processing Company(800) 672-1964 x 4383

POS Portal, Inc.(866) 276-7289

Schlumberger Sema(800) 732-6868 x202

TASQ Technology(800) 827-8297

Teertronics, Inc.(800) 856-2030

Thales e-Transactions, Inc.(888) 726-3900

Universal ATM Network(800) 274-5965

VeriFone Finance, Inc.(800) 694-0269

FREE ELECTRONICCHECK RECOVERY

CHEXcollect.com(631) 691-0666

GIFT CARD PROGRAMS

SwipeCard, Inc(702) 307-3700

ISO RELATIONSHIPSAVAILABLE

BioPay Biometric Pymt Svcs(866) 324-6729

The Brennes-Jones Group, Inc.(972) 720-1198

Certified Merchant Services(877) 309-1099

Express Merchant Proc. Sol.(800) 999-5189 x 7966

First American Payment Systems(866) GO4 FAPS

Global eTelecom, Inc.(850) 650-8506

Global Payments(800) 801-9552

Network 1 Financial, Inc.(800) 261-0240

PARTNER-AMERICA.COM(800) 366-1388

Payment Resources Int’l.(888) 835-1777

Retriever Bankcard(888) 651-0800

TermNet Merchant Services(800) 344-8472 x 108

Total Merchant Services(888) 84-TOTAL x14

The Resource Guide hasgrown to accommodate

increased interest!To add your company toour expanding listing,

call 800-757-4441 today.

ISOS/BANKSPURCHASING ATMPORTFOLIOS

Midwest Bancard Corporation(888) 272-4325

Southwest Financial Services, Inc.(800) 841-0090

ISOS/BANKSPURCHASINGMERCHANTPORTFOLIOS

1st Merchants Bancard (FMBS)(800) 477-0173

Certified Merchant Services(800) 732-1099 #0

Chase Merchant Services(800) 622-2626 x84134

Concord EFS, Inc.(800) 778-4804 x66382

Cross Country Bank(302) 326-4200 x29112

Merchant Services Incorporated(800) CARDSWIPE x7934

Network 1 Financial(800) 903-8819

ISOS LOOKING FORAGENTS

1st Merchants Bancard(FMBS)

(800) 477-0173Advanced Merchant Services (AMS)

(888) 355-VISA (8472)American Credit Card Proc.Corp.

(800) 310-3812Approval Payment Solutions, Inc.

(888) 311-7248BankCard USA

(800)589-8200 x101The Brennes-Jones Group, Inc.

(972) 720-1198Business Payment Systems

(877) 700-7947 x 242CardReady International, Inc.

(877) PAY READYCertified Merchant Services

(877) 309-1099

Comerica Merchant Services(800) 790-2670

Concord EFS, Inc.(800) 778-4804 x 66382

Cornerstone Payment Systems(866) 277-7589

CPS Group, inc.(800) 933-0064

Cynergy Data(800) 933-0064 x 5710

E-Commerce Exchange(800) 748-6318

Electronic Merchant Systems(800) 726-2117


Electronic Processing, Inc.(800) 669-7228

EPX (302) 326-0700

EXS Electronic Exchange Sys.(888) 949-2021

First American Payment Systems(866) GO4 FAPS

Imperial Processing Group(800) 790-2670

Innovative MerchantSolutions

(800) 397-0707IRN PAYMENT SYSTEMS

(800) 366-1388Lynk Systems, Inc.

(866) 828-5965Merchant Services, Inc.

(800) CARDSWIPEMoney Tree Services, Inc.

(800) 582-2502 x100National Processing Co.

(800) 672-1964 x7655Nationwide Creditcard Center

(800) 910-2265Netcom Data Southern Corp.

(800) 875-6680North American Bankcard

(888) 229-5229Online Data Corporation

(866) 222-2112Preferred Card Services

(800) 656-0077Retriever Payment Systems

(800) 376-3399

Signature Card Services(888) 334-2284

SmartOne Payment Systems(888) 408-SOPS

Streamline Processing(800) 845-1069

TermNet Merchant Services(800) 344-8472 x 108

Total Merchant Services(888)-84-TOTAL x14

Transaction Payment Systems(800) 999-8674 x309

United Merchant Services(800) 260-3388 x202

U.S. Merchant Systems(800) 438-7570 #1

Xenex Merchant Services(888) 918-4409

ISP/E-COMMERCEPROVIDERS

eCommerce Tools, Inc.(800) 875-8275

Tasq.com(800)827-8297

LEADS GENERATORS

Alpine Group Inc.(888) 223-4119

California List Management(866) 4 LISTS 4 U

Telstar(800) 383-7853

LEASING

Allied Leasing Corp.(877) 71-LEASE

American P.O.S. Leasing Corp.(800) 349-6516

Barclay Square Leasing(866) 396-BSLI

Bond Corporation(888) 222-0348


First Leasing Corp.(888) 748-7100

Golden Eagle Leasing, Inc.(800) WE LEASE

Integrated Leasing Corp.(800) 398-9701

LADCO Leasing(800) 678-8666

Leasecomm Corp.(800) 424-2499

MERCHANTS LEASING SYSTEMS(877) 642-7649

Merimac Leasing(888) 603-0978

Northern Leasing Systems, Inc.(800) 683-5433 x 8500


Tech Leasing International(800) 414-7654 x 3004

U.S. MERCHANTACCOUNTS FORCANADIANS

PayNet Merchant Services, Inc.(888) 855-8644

NON-U.S. MERCHANTACCOUNTS

PSiGate Payment Services(877) 374-9444

POS CHECKCONVERSION

CrossCheck, Inc.(800) 654-2365

E-Chex(877) 474-8924

EZCheck(800) 549-1220

ElectroCheck(877) 509-9399

Global eTelecom, Inc.(850) 650-8506

Nationwide Check Services(800) 910-2265

The Resource Guide is paid classified advertising. The Green Sheet is not responsible for and does not recommend or endorse any product or service. Advertisers and advertising agencies agree to indemnifyand hold the publisher harmless from any claims, damage, or expense resulting from printing or publishing of any advertisement.

POS SUPPLIES


General Credit Forms, Inc.(800) 325-1158


TASQ Technology(800 827-8297

Valdez Paper Products(970) 689-1655

PROCESSORSLOOKING FOR ISOS

First Data Merchant Services(402) 222-8570


Lynk Systems, Inc.(866) 828-5965

National Processing Company(800) 672-1964 x7655

REAL-TIME CHECK/CREDIT CARDPROCESSING

1st American Payment Proc.(480) 785-2262

Data Processors Int’l. (DPI)(888) 541-9800

E-Commerce Exchange(800) 748-6318

eProcessingNetwork.Com(800) 971-0997

Netbilling Services(661) 252-2456

Online Data Corporation(866) 222-2112

ProPay USA-FaxPay(888) 486-4701

SITE SURVEYS

Property Resource Network Inc.(800) 676-1422

SOFTWAREALTERNATIVE

GO Software, Inc.(800) 725-9264

SUPPORT DESK FORPOS TERMINALS & PCSOFTWARE


Global Payments (336) 760-8120 x1218


VIDEO PRODUCTION

Roaring Mouse Productions(707) 794-9699

WHOLESALEDISTRIBUTORS

Level2 Distribution(866) 4LEVEL2

WIRELESS SERVICES

US Wireless Data(800) 979-3282

T E C H N O L O G Y

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A H y p e r c o m C o m p a n y

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