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and cloud-based solutions may be easy to deploy, but
successful activations require clear objectives and open
lines of communication among merchants, processor
client services and field personnel.

"Twenty years ago, seasonal merchants used mobile
terminals powered by car batteries and manual imprinters
at peak processing times," said Ferne Glemby, President
The adjacent POS-sible of CardPlus Empower LLC. She said she felt like she was
back in the 1990s when she recently showed a merchant

By Dale S. Laszig in a theater lobby how to use a knuckle-buster. Glemby's
merchant needed a mobile solution to process ticket sales
DSL Direct LLC during high-traffic ballet theater season. She proposed
three alternative scenarios:
hen scientist Stuart Kauffman introduced
the adjacent possible theory in 2002, he the- • Option 1 ‒ Tablet and EMV reader: Pair portable chip
orized that good ideas inspire better ideas card readers with iPads. The merchant declined,
W and that innovation is a self-perpetuating citing lack of Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity and
process of small steps that lead to big discoveries. He also extended wait times for processing EMV (Europay,
said leapfrogging over basic steps may cause inventions to Mastercard and Visa) transactions.
miss the mark. Many merchant level salespeople (MLSs) • Option 2 ‒ Countertop terminal with store-and-
know all about leapfrogging. forward: Borrow a credit card terminal from the back
office; process sales in store-and-forward mode. The
Some MLSs recall working with dial-up Internet terminals; processor confirmed this form of processing would
others remember wireless devices deployed with giant be acceptable due to the merchant's stellar history
batteries and routers. These devices were ahead of their and willingness to take full liability and risk for
time, introduced before supporting infrastructures were any chargebacks. The merchant was also pleased
ready. until a routine test revealed the processor no longer
supported the store-and-forward feature.
One door leads to another
• Option 3 ‒ Manual imprinter: Overnight a knuckle-
In his 2011 book, Where Good Ideas Come From, Steven buster and paper receipts to the merchant. This is the
Johnson also explored the adjacent possible. "Think of it as option ultimately used, and charges were manually
a house that magically expands with each door you open," entered during the shows.
he wrote. "You begin in a room with four doors, each
leading to a new room that you haven't visited yet. Once This is an example of what can happen when a help
you open one of those doors and stroll into that room, desk approves vaporware (a product that was never
three new doors appear, each leading to a brand-new manufactured or was officially cancelled) or a power
room that you couldn't have reached from your original failure disrupts the electrical grid. "Communication
starting point." failures between processors and agents or devices and
networks can put our always-on, always-connected
In our industry's haste to bring new products to market, merchants back on paper receipts," Glemby said.
it's easy to overlook a few doors. What if we had opened
the broadband door before introducing IP-enabled Adjacent infrastructure is available
terminals or opened the expanded cellular coverage Todd Lawrence is Chief Executive Officer of Just Cash,
door before introducing wireless terminals? Broadband- which offers a mobile app of the same name designed to
connected terminals synch in seconds without the screech replace plastic cards at ATMs and bring the last critical
of harmonizing dial modems. Mobile payment devices mile of the banking experience into the mobile world.
readily deploy without teams of technicians and rolling Using a mobile app at ATMs is safe, secure and simple,
carts of equipment. and makes card fraud, and lost or stolen cards a thing of
the past, Lawrence stated.
Yet there is something courageous and even magical about
going into the wild and doing something that has never "Consumers sign into the app, select an ATM to visit,
been done. Failure can be a great teacher. MLSs frequently enter the amount they want to withdraw and approve any
face the unknown when they solve problems in the course convenience fees," he said. "When they arrive at the ATM,
of selling and installing processing solutions. they simply select 'Mobile Cash,' enter a one-time Just

Manual back-up saves the day Cash code and receive their funds."
Unlocking every facet of a merchant app or pre-installation Lawrence described the events leading to his company's
checklist can be daunting for any salesperson. Mobile North American launch as "a series of smart decisions
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