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collaborating, Ingenico ensures partners are educated example, they could introduce a time and attendance app
about the solutions they're selling and have the necessary by questioning merchants about their time clocks or wall
marketing materials to put their best foot forward, she charts. MLSs who offer services and are more consultative
said. reflect an industrywide shift in mindset, he said.

"The term 'co-opetition' describes how companies work Stay focused on bottom line
together in this environment; there's no one company that's If you're successful, I'm successful. This mantra and
big and bad enough to do it alone," added Bradford Giles, universal partnership model can be heard throughout
senior vice president, marketing and sales enablement at the entire payments industry value chain, according to
Ingenico Group. "The industry has created a foundation industry leaders.
that simplifies interoperability and integration."
Joe Mach, president, North America at Verifone said
Lynn Holland, vice president, merchant solutions at helping partners make money is the company's highest
ACI Worldwide, said it is not unusual for competing priority. "We have to make sure that we as a partner are
MLSs to offer the same solution because their companies helping execute on two objectives: grow revenue and
have partnered with the same service provider. "Our decrease costs," he sid. "When channel conflicts occur,
competitors sell through our network," he said. "The IBM we have to be real about these things, by focusing on
model was 'be blue from top to bottom'; digital has blown mutual goals and by not competing in their core areas. For
that up. On the digital side, one web platform with a single example, we aren't getting into the acquiring business."
integration may run on 100 servers."
Find the right business fit Another essential aspect of building trust is making
solutions channel-ready, Mach said. This means complete
Another consideration when partnering with merchants solutions, not parts, are ready, with training materials,
is finding the right business fit. ISOs, acquirers and ISVs pricing and support in place. It's all about support, he
frequently represent multiple gateways, processors and said. Multitiered support can combine automation, online
solutions to enable channel partners and sales agents to chat and phone, he noted. The key is being responsive and
deliver targeted, right-sized solutions. Ben Goretsky, CEO having the depth to support your partners.
of USAePay, said it is better to support multiple gateways,
payment facilitators and payment schemes than to "put all As he reflected on industrywide changes in payments,
your eggs in one basket." Mach acknowledged it is sometimes necessary for
individuals and organizations to reassess their priorities
It's always interesting to me when ISVs lock themselves and partnerships. In doing so, they may find it necessary
down to one solution, Goretsky noted. "There's usually to change their focus and business models to remain
a reason why an ISV would only stick to one solution," relevant, he noted. "As Verifone transforms from a
he added. "Maybe they are getting an incredible deal hardware to a solutions business, we've had to internally
or working with a payfac [payment facilitator] that is change our muscle memory to build up a true professional
gunning for exclusivity." services organization," he said.

USAePay integrates with numerous ISVs, promoting their Dale S. Laszig, Senior Staff Writer at The Green Sheet, is a payments
services to ISOs and banks, Goretsky pointed out. This industry journalist and content provider. She can be reached at dale@
can benefit all partners and enable ISVs to focus on the dsldirectllc.com and on Twitter at @DSLdirect..
software side without having to specialize in payments.
"The ISO partnership model is our sales channel," he
added. "We do not sell directly to merchants. The model we Marketing is a necessity for every
have with ISOs and banks is to provide fintech solutions,
such as APIs, backend forms, mobile and EMV solutions." business, large and small.

Mark Schulze, co-founder, Clover and vice president of
business development at First Data Corp., observed that
early tablet POS companies were formed by people who
were passionate about a particular vertical. "These were
new platforms that solved problems such as high-cost
upgrades," he recalled. "But they still took a page from the
traditional POS playbook by building vertical solutions
that were closed, without enabling partners to plug in."

Having access to open-source app marketplaces facilitates 707.284.1686
strategic selling, Schulze said, adding that. MLSs can talk
about business productivity and how Clover can help. For Sales@greensheet.com

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