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CompanyProfle
A new way for ISO/MLS contact:
ISOs to do Director of Business Development
Todd Peacock
877-674-2286
business tpeacock@visionpayments.com
www.visionpayments.com
ision Payment Solutions LLC no longer relies Hannelius said that offering MCAs has enticed merchants
solely on other ISOs and merchant level sales- to switch to VPS for transaction services; moreover, the
people (MLSs) to chase down most of its cash-advance funders send merchants to VPS for card
V business. Instead, the Portland, Maine-based services.
ISO now signs most of its merchants by capitalizing
on savvy Internet strategies and following up on refer- The old-school fourth channel
rals from merchant cash advance (MCA) providers and That leaves the fourth channel, the classic business plan
e-commerce partners. of relying on MLSs and other ISOs to promote transaction
services to merchants, Hannelius said. "We still have
Viewed another way, four sales channels have emerged some legacy traditional agents sending us business as
for the ISO, said VPS Chief Executive Officer Eric well," he added.
Hannelius, who started the company 12 years ago with
Thomas Stone, its Chief Operating Officer. Some of those salespeople have been working with the
Two sales channels involve e-commerce company almost from the beginning. Between 50 and
60 sales groups consistently submit business, perhaps
In one channel, VPS spends "a fair bit of money" on search closing one to five deals per month.
engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising,
Hannelius said. An inside sales team of 20 employees We're always bringing in new ones," Hannelius said of
works the phones to close deals on the resulting leads and the company's relationships with outside salespeople.
make outbound telephone sales calls. "Our director of sales just sent out agent packages to five
new groups." Salespeople have a large number of ISOs
The company performs underwriting, customer service from which to choose; thus ISOs compete to sign up
and risk management in-house, which has enabled it to representatives, he noted.
take on "more challenging" e-commerce merchants that
other ISOs might turn down for card services, Hannelius "It helps that we've been in business a long time," Hannelius
said. "We've become very good at bringing those said of the advantages VPS holds in the competition for
merchants on in the correct way," he added. outside salespeople. "People know who we are." ISOs
and MLSs also find VPS easy to work with because the
In addition, VPS has made friends with numerous sales company keeps functions in-house. That speeds up on-
partners that do business online, such as web-hosting boarding and deployment, Hannelius said.
companies and product-fulfillment firms. Referrals
from those entities have grown so significantly that they He noted that VPS offers competitive splits of the
constitute a sales channel for VPS, Hannelius noted. profit margin for salespeople and competitive rates for
merchants. "It's a win-win situation for everybody," he
MCAs: a third sales channel added.
Another channel got its start in 2006, when VPS became Origins and operations
one of the first ISOs to participate in split-funding of
merchant cash advances and factored small-business Hannelius and Stone started VPS as a registered ISO of
loans, Hannelius said. "We were fortunate to get into that Chase Paymentech Solutions and later switched to HSBC
before the financial crisis struck in 2007-2008, and we've Bank. Four years ago, VPS aligned itself with Deutsche
been doing it ever since," he added. Bank, Hannelius said.
VPS sends cash-advance business to about 10 of the major In addition to the inside sales staff of 20, VPS has 27 other
funders – including CAN Capital Inc., Merchant Cash people spread across the customer service, deployment,
and Capital, RapidAdvance and OnDeck Capital Inc. It underwriting and risk management functions. In keeping
also works with smaller alternative finance companies with the company's "one-stop shop" theme, which
that form when sales groups leave the major players. describes its determination to keep operations in-house,
the ISO published a pamphlet to help salespeople and
merchants prepare for Europay, MasterCard and Visa
implementation.
35
A new way for ISO/MLS contact:
ISOs to do Director of Business Development
Todd Peacock
877-674-2286
business tpeacock@visionpayments.com
www.visionpayments.com
ision Payment Solutions LLC no longer relies Hannelius said that offering MCAs has enticed merchants
solely on other ISOs and merchant level sales- to switch to VPS for transaction services; moreover, the
people (MLSs) to chase down most of its cash-advance funders send merchants to VPS for card
V business. Instead, the Portland, Maine-based services.
ISO now signs most of its merchants by capitalizing
on savvy Internet strategies and following up on refer- The old-school fourth channel
rals from merchant cash advance (MCA) providers and That leaves the fourth channel, the classic business plan
e-commerce partners. of relying on MLSs and other ISOs to promote transaction
services to merchants, Hannelius said. "We still have
Viewed another way, four sales channels have emerged some legacy traditional agents sending us business as
for the ISO, said VPS Chief Executive Officer Eric well," he added.
Hannelius, who started the company 12 years ago with
Thomas Stone, its Chief Operating Officer. Some of those salespeople have been working with the
Two sales channels involve e-commerce company almost from the beginning. Between 50 and
60 sales groups consistently submit business, perhaps
In one channel, VPS spends "a fair bit of money" on search closing one to five deals per month.
engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising,
Hannelius said. An inside sales team of 20 employees We're always bringing in new ones," Hannelius said of
works the phones to close deals on the resulting leads and the company's relationships with outside salespeople.
make outbound telephone sales calls. "Our director of sales just sent out agent packages to five
new groups." Salespeople have a large number of ISOs
The company performs underwriting, customer service from which to choose; thus ISOs compete to sign up
and risk management in-house, which has enabled it to representatives, he noted.
take on "more challenging" e-commerce merchants that
other ISOs might turn down for card services, Hannelius "It helps that we've been in business a long time," Hannelius
said. "We've become very good at bringing those said of the advantages VPS holds in the competition for
merchants on in the correct way," he added. outside salespeople. "People know who we are." ISOs
and MLSs also find VPS easy to work with because the
In addition, VPS has made friends with numerous sales company keeps functions in-house. That speeds up on-
partners that do business online, such as web-hosting boarding and deployment, Hannelius said.
companies and product-fulfillment firms. Referrals
from those entities have grown so significantly that they He noted that VPS offers competitive splits of the
constitute a sales channel for VPS, Hannelius noted. profit margin for salespeople and competitive rates for
merchants. "It's a win-win situation for everybody," he
MCAs: a third sales channel added.
Another channel got its start in 2006, when VPS became Origins and operations
one of the first ISOs to participate in split-funding of
merchant cash advances and factored small-business Hannelius and Stone started VPS as a registered ISO of
loans, Hannelius said. "We were fortunate to get into that Chase Paymentech Solutions and later switched to HSBC
before the financial crisis struck in 2007-2008, and we've Bank. Four years ago, VPS aligned itself with Deutsche
been doing it ever since," he added. Bank, Hannelius said.
VPS sends cash-advance business to about 10 of the major In addition to the inside sales staff of 20, VPS has 27 other
funders – including CAN Capital Inc., Merchant Cash people spread across the customer service, deployment,
and Capital, RapidAdvance and OnDeck Capital Inc. It underwriting and risk management functions. In keeping
also works with smaller alternative finance companies with the company's "one-stop shop" theme, which
that form when sales groups leave the major players. describes its determination to keep operations in-house,
the ISO published a pamphlet to help salespeople and
merchants prepare for Europay, MasterCard and Visa
implementation.
35
