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Education
StreetSmartsSM
Industry vets round
table wrap-up
By John Tucker in 2011 with the industry's first wide-scale free POS
1st Capital Loans LLC system program, which allows merchants to acquire a
new feature-rich POS system in exchange for only small
F or the retail, restaurant, service and hospitality monthly and quarterly service fees.
industries, two main options exist for manag-
ing POS transactions: an electronic cash reg- POS is the future
ister or a feature-rich POS system. This article
wraps up commentary on the topic from members of GS Forum member Mariusz continued the commentary,
Online's MLS Forum, who discuss the role of feature-rich stating, "POS is the future and merchants who use POS
POS technology for merchant level salespeople (MLSs) tend to stay with you for a very long time for the following
now and going forward. reasons: it is expensive to change their entire POS system,
it is expensive/time consuming to ISOs/MSPs currently
MLS Forum member empire reminded us of Harbortouch programmed within the POS system, and not every ISO/
Chief Executive Officer Jared Issacman's early vision for MSP can integrate with specific POS systems, which
the POS market, stating, "I was at a meeting in March eliminates about 50 percent of the competition.
2006 when Jared discussed at length how POS and
integrated technologies would be the 'new frontier' in the "I have merchants who use POS systems and who have
business and how counter-top payment terminals would been processing with me for 8 to 10 years."
gradually be replaced by full scale POS systems.
"The truth is that if you want to survive in this
"The moms and pops would be replaced by their business you need to be able to offer not only credit
computer savvy sons and daughters taking over/getting card processing, but software that provides additional
into the business, causing the natural evolution to more benefits to merchants and at the same time additional
integrated payments. POS system manufacturers/dealers revenue to you." He added that as we migrate to a more
would become competitors and force an even more technical world of processing and the infrastructure
fervent battle for real estate than ever before. Well, if you becomes more complex, it's crucial to have a partner who
don't know yet, it's here. 10 years later, he was not wrong." has a closed processing environment offering something
others cannot.
Indeed, Isaacman led the way in 2004 with the industry's
first wide-scale free terminal program; he led the way "The Market is evolving," Mariusz wrote, adding that
new POS system companies enter the market every day,
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