Page 35 - GS181101

CoverStory

forever, so something has to give. The Fed announced rate the future and may be detrimental to the reputation of the
hikes which affect everything across the board. Credit card industry as a whole. To address these issues, 6th Avenue
average APRs have increased to just over 17 percent up Capital has recently become a member of ILPA (Innovative
from 16.15 percent one year earlier and 15.22 percent two Lending Platform Association) and SBFA (Small Business
years ago. Total credit card debt has reached its highest Finance Association). Both organizations are nonprofits
level ever, surpassing one $1 trillion in 2017. committed to industry best practices and providing access
to capital for America's small businesses.
I am no economist, but these statistics alone appear to be a
recipe for disaster, and there are several other cautionary 5. Evaluate opportunities to fund small business based
signs. The main thing we are doing as a company to on strengths of the total business and industry, not on the
address these concerns is keep debt to a bare minimum. state of the economy.
Nobody knows when the music is going to stop, but that
doesn't mean you can't prepare for it to stop without losing
out on opportunities to thrive. Steve Sotis
eProcessing Network LLC
5. I would advise to proceed with caution and not make
decisions based on today's or yesterday's economy. I
would tell them to examine their business and potential 1. Recent surveys show that the 2018 holiday season is
weaknesses and prepare for economic decline. Most shaping up to be one of the strongest since 2005, with over
important, I would advise to limit debt as much as possible. 84 percent of consumers expecting to spend more on gifts
than last year. With digital payments expected to increase
to $726 billion within the next two years, we're optimistic
Darren Schulman that gateway providers will play an important role in
6th Avenue Capital making those numbers a reality.

2. Even with the exponential growth of the number of
1. While there is no way of predicting the behavior of the transactions processed year over year, our merchants are
economy, 6th Avenue Capital observes that small business still challenged to adopt new innovations that can help
confidence remains strong. We believe that history attract and retain customers, both in-store and online.
supports the trend of small business growth, which in
turn will continue to fuel the economy. Since 1995, small 3. At eProcessing Network our primary goal continues
businesses have created two out of every three net new to be to provide our ISOs/MSPs with the solutions best
jobs for the U.S. economy. designed to meet the needs of their small to mid-sized
merchants. Our longevity within the industry puts us
2. 6th Avenue Capital has grown substantially in even in a unique position to stay ahead of, or in-step with
the past year in terms of the volume of small businesses industry trends, and our partners can feel confident that
we have supported and the amounts we have funded, we can deliver quality and affordable solutions in a timely
though we largely attribute this to the deepening of manner.
our relationships with strategic referral partners. We
find that overall, there is consistent demand and steady 4. With retail stores at the crossroads of digital and in-
performance for our short-term bridge financing product store, our objective will remain to provide secure and
(ACH advances) in both bull and bear economies, though affordable integrated solutions and tailored, business
for different reasons. management development tools to easily integrate
payment solutions into their business in order to gain a
3. The Goldilocks economy and regulatory constraints on competitive advantage, cut costs and improve operational
traditional lenders have contributed to small businesses' efficiencies.
demand for alternative credit. Small businesses are eager
to consider additional alternative financing choices to help 5. Know and anticipate the needs of your customers
them capitalize on opportunities and to invest in their in each market you serve. For example, even though
businesses. As a leading provider in alternative funding, noncash payments have increased, the average USD per
6th Avenue Capital is able to provide fast, short-term transaction has slightly decreased, making it vital that
bridge financing solution to SMBs. merchants look to ways to integrate competitive programs
like cash discounts into their payments strategy. This type
4. A cautionary sign includes the proliferation of new players of innovation is what you can expect from experienced
in Merchant Cash who hope to capitalize on the growth gateway providers like ePN.
of small businesses in an unregulated industry. Some
players' undisciplined underwriting and irresponsible
funding policies may jeopardize SMBs' ability to repay in

35