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Education

are, perhaps, spooked by novel Processor A that that is effectively reducing competition for the ISO and that
competitors like Square, Stripe, Apple places the ISO in a tougher bargaining position.
Pay and bitcoin, and are circling the
wagons to protect the processing turf I've always been counsel to ISOs and agents; it would hurt to imagine them
they have owned since the dawn of playing in any market that was anything but free and competitive.
processing technology.
In publishing The Green Sheet, neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal,
Whatever the reason, making large accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required,
processors into mega processors is the services of a competent professional should be sought. For further information on this article,
not necessarily a recipe for spurring please contact Adam Atlas, Attorney at Law by email at atlas@adamatlas.com or by phone at
the creativity and agility needed 514-842-0886.
to take on the new players in the
market.
Great time to start
a new processor
With technology being increasingly
commoditized, there has perhaps
been no better time over the last
decade to start a new processor. Even
if the recent consolidations do (defy
logic) and create nimble, creative
mega processors, the time for that
to occur will be long, no matter how
much money is spent on expensive
external consultants. In my recent
interactions with some of the mega
processor reps at Money2020, there
was consistent confusion among
them regarding who they were within
their organizations and what the
overall post-consolidation direction
ought to be. Leaping past the legacy
behemoths, a new processor could
emerge that is purpose-built for
agility and technical flexibility.
Although not processors themselves,
Synapse, Evolve Bank & Trust, Prime
Trust and BBVA are examples of new
players in the U.S. market that put
technology solutions first and do not
rely on size to get ahead.

Time for ISOs to
challenge processors

It's a good time for ISOs to be vigilant
in discerning whether processors are
using their market strength to reduce
competition. If an ISO observes this
to be the case, they should call the
processor out on that behavior. For
example, if an ISO is negotiating
with Processor A (that is part of a
mega processor), and Processor A
says, 'There is no point in going to
Processor B (that is part of the same
mega processor) because they won't
beat this deal'," the ISO should tell

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