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each other out there, and when we do get together,
The very point of sale we can find synergies," Harrington said. He coined
the phrase "One plus one equals three" to illustrate
the transformative power of small and midsize
ISOs working together. He said it builds on the
idea of "co-opetition" and seemed to resonate with
attendees. "People began to identify things we can
do together to leverage our economies of scale," he
added.
A most unconventional • Curated topics for small ISOs: Harrington has
observed that the array of business sizes at most
convention conferences makes it difficult to find common
ground, and consequently, topics can become
generic. "We focused on topics directly impacting
our companies, like PCI compliance," he said. "We
By Dale S. Laszig explored not just how to stay compliant, but how to
share that knowledge and expertise with merchants
oe Harrington, President and Chief Executive to develop better client relationships and help them
Officer at Priority Payment Systems Northeast, become self-sufficient."
wanted a different kind of conference, so he
J created one. "It's time for a change," he said. For Harrington, this means understanding things
"Companies that invest time and money in regional and like what a telemarketer experiences while placing
national conferences tend to help the industry more than calls for eight hours, or demonstrating what it's like
they help small and midsize ISOs." for merchants to fill out SAQs (PCI self-assessment
questionnaires). It's about connecting with the
Harrington's inaugural tradeshow, the 2017 Peer-to- people who face these challenges every day, he
Peer Conference, took place in Warwick, R.I., on Sept. said.
11. He called it a great day of idea sharing that included
presentations, panel discussions and exhibits featuring • No sponsors: The conference was sponsor-free,
Clientvine, ADP, ETab, UP Solution Inc. and Giftify. despite generous offers. "ADP wanted to sponsor
breakfast, but we said no," Harrington said.
An atypical show "Priority Payments presented at our conference,

Following are several features that made this convention and we didn't take their money either." Harrington
highly unconventional: noted that without sponsors, he felt free to explore
how small ISOs can work together to improve
• Free to exhibitors: Harrington wanted his first- themselves and the industry.
ever conference to be substantive, educational, Taking the reins
relevant and especially welcoming to small to
midsize business owners. "Our exhibitors were by Harrington described small ISOs as the lifeblood of the
invitation only and didn't have to pay to exhibit," payments industry, because they generate deals. "Big guys
he said. "We told exhibitors to 'keep it real' and not have power, but small ISOs can be just as powerful as the
to be too 'salesy' or product-centric. Give us the real big guys because they have the customer relationships,"
playbook. Show us how your solutions can benefit he said. "Big ISOs sign 500 to 600 deals a month, but they
our company and help us be more efficient." make more money from offices like ours, because we don't
have the volume to leverage our Schedule A.
• Free to attendees: Harrington sent e-vites to local
ISOs and anyone who expressed an interest in "We complain about the big guys, but no one is perfect.
attending. In deference to attendees who were Big ISOs support 500 or more offices. Instead of getting
paying out of pocket for travel and lodging, negative, let's take care of ourselves. There are so many
admission was free. "We wanted our conference to offices in the Northeast. We don't run into each other, so
have a certain level of integrity," he said. "There are why not work together? The choice is ours: we can take
a lot of offices that can't afford to travel out of state matters into our own hands or become a dying breed."
to attend a show. Some will opt out of attending
anything that's more than a half hour drive away.
We wanted to reach those people." Dale S. Laszig, Senior Staff Writer at The Green Sheet and Managing
Director at DSL Direct LLC, is a payments industry journalist and content
• Open to competitors: The event was open to non- provider. She can be reached at dale@dsldirectllc.com and on Twitter
Priority agents and offices. "We hardly bump into at @DSLdirect.

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