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that put us on a path that allowed us to scale the company stakeholders in the payments value chain. Ours is a
efficiently." The fintech startup needed a solid foundation collaborative business, a long tail of large and small players
with the right partners, team members and readily whose combined efforts move the industry forward in
available specialists with expertise in digital currency, billions of tiny increments.
hardware and software, he added.
Payment card brands, third-party service providers
Reflecting on his incremental progress from fintech and merchant acquirers work with direct competitors
startup to provider of an innovative mobile cash app, to enhance payment security, risk management and
Lawrence said he began with the simple premise of POS technology. Their efforts are reflected in numerous
leveraging existing ATM real estate. He saw ATMs as an coalitions, associations and initiatives, including EMV, the
integral part of the payment and banking value chain: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and the
trusted, ubiquitous and ripe for disruption. He set out to Electronic Transactions Association.
create a solution that enhances existing ATMs, bringing
convenience to consumers and incremental revenue to Jeffrey Bower, founder and Principal of Bower & Partners,
small and midsize merchants and ATM owners, deployers encourages banks, microfinance organizations, fintechs
and ISOs. and telcos to continue this spirit of "co-opetition." In an
interview with organizers of the upcoming PayExpo
Technology changes so fast that it's easy to overlook the Americas 2017, Bower said co-opetition will enhance,
iterative process that has brought the payments industry not stifle, competition. "With a shared set of rules, an
to this analog and digital intersection, Lawrence noted. interoperable platform and a common brand – these actors
He views every solution as both an iteration of an existing can together create the fundamental framework to enable
idea and a key that can unlock another door. the opportunity to develop a level playing field to compete
on digital payments," he added.
'Co-opetition' is good
Dale S. Laszig, Staff Writer at The Green Sheet and Managing Director
How many payments industry stakeholders does it take at DSL Direct LLC, is a payments industry journalist and content pro-
to change a POS system? The answer may be hundreds vider. She can be reached at dale@dsldirectllc.com and on Twitter at @
or even millions if you consider the many interlinking DSLdirect.

BoostYourBiz

Email prospecting • Create a sense of urgency: Employ action-packed
words. Words like "urgent," "important," "watch,"
tips that work "get" and "save" compel recipients to act. But don't
overdo it. Using all caps can be off-putting. On the
other hand, words to avoid include "free," "help,"
"reminder" and "percent off," which are likely to
etting prospective merchants to open emails is enter the Spam folder.
no easy task, especially considering the aver-
age businessperson's inbox receives roughly • Use numbers: When a subject line includes
G 150 messages daily, and about half are deleted numbers, such as "5 ways to improve retail traffic,"
unopened. To navigate past Spam filters and the scrutiny recipients are likely scan the email's content for
of busy professionals can be tricky. However, there are possible ideas.
proven strategies sales teams can use to make email out- • Say what's in it for them: Mention how your
reach programs more effective. product or service will benefit the recipient, and
expand on the benefits in the body of the email.
To increase the likelihood your email message will be
opened and read, experts recommend the following tactics Experts also advise sales agents to personalize the "From"
for catching recipients' attention with strong subject lines: field in emails to avoid ambiguity. Start with your full
• Keep the subject line short: Use 50 characters name and company name. That way, recipients will be
or fewer. That way the message won't get cut off, able to google your company to ascertain that a legitimate
which is particularly true for smarphone users, person and company sent the email.
and your target audience can view the entire
subject line in the instant it takes to separate Once your subject line and "From" field pass muster, keep
messages of potential value from those destined the inside message straightforward. Include a call to action
for the trash bin. and deadline, especially if you offer an incentive.

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