BAMS, IRIS founder Dimitri Akhrin featured on American Dream

Payments innovator and entrepreneur Dimitri Akhrin, founder of Bank Associates Merchant Services and IRIS CRM, was featured in The American Dream, a Bloomberg Television series that celebrates self-made business leaders. Hosted by Eric Roberts, the segment aired Aug. 17, 2019, and can be viewed on the IRIS CRM website, company representatives stated.

“The American Dream is a show that inspires its audience by telling the story of humble beginnings and delving into each entrepreneur’s journey,” Roberts stated. “These ambitious individuals made their vision a reality and give hope that the dream is still possible.”

Akhrin credited his team members for his company’s success. “We are honored to be given the opportunity to tell our story of humble beginnings,” he said. The diverse team of executives, engineers, sales and service members, with more than 40 years of combined industry experience, are part of a fast-paced, stimulating corporate culture that leverages the latest technologies, he added.

Leading with technology

IRIS is an acronym for “Integrated Reporting Is Simple,” a core company value, Akhrin noted. Simplicity is a way of life at the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based company, which continually updates its solutions and technology suite. The company’s proprietary web application was initially developed to manage merchant relationships at BAMS. The solution subsequently attracted attention at tradeshows, with prospective clients offering to buy it, which led to “a lightbulb moment,” he stated. He saw the thirst for solutions that addressed key pain points among merchant services providers and realized he could leverage partnerships to bring his innovations to a much wider market.

Noting that IRIS CRM continually evolves in response to ever-changing business and merchant acquiring trends, Akhrin said the company partners with leading merchant acquirers and third-party service providers to provide additional value to clients. Technologists, entrepreneurs and individual employees have also integrated their company's solution with IRIS, to effectively manage the entire merchant lifecycle, he added.

“Our ultimate goal is to drive exciting new products and solutions into the marketplace,” he said. “By working together, we’ll deliver new solutions, connect our enable mutual customers and enable them to do more through the cloud.”

Planning, not just doing

Akhrin’s father, Mike Akhrin, also featured in the segment, reflected on his difficult decision to leave a lucrative engineering career in the Ukraine to improve his children’s access to education and opportunities. Akhrin and his sister spoke no English when they arrived on America’s shores, but they have adapted and flourished, he said.

In a June 2017 interview with The Green Sheet, Akhrin said his father gave him the courage and confidence to succeed against all odds. By emulating his father, Akhrin became “a planner, not just a doer,” applying this guiding principle to his personal life and business career.

"It underlines the importance of an entire team having a clear understanding of what needs to be done, how it needs to be done and what the rewards will be for everyone's personal contributions," he said. "Hearing an idea without a long-term plan for its execution is like receiving a partially eaten pizza pie; you don't realize part of it is missing until it's too late."

A recording of the full segment is available at www.iriscrm.com/aboutus .

Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.

Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact information, links and other details may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.