Page 26 - GS200101

CoverStory

recommends that these standards be set by an independent allocate resources, so don't waste time offering other com-
and established open standards-setting body." The third panies' products or services if there's no need or demand.
issue is cost: U.S. merchants pay interchange rates that are
multiples of what merchants pay in the rest of the world. 3. What came to my mind first were the massive
Ultimately, the market will develop non-interchange-based acquisitions in 2019. From an MLS perspective, these
solutions, such as what we provide for our merchants. mergers and acquisitions can be great opportunities if
merchant pricing increases follow. Cash discounting
and surcharging have been all the talk this year, too, as
Maurice Griefer, CPP cash discounting has picked up significant momentum
Maverick Payments (although many of these programs are non-compliant in
my opinion). I recall the ETA session on cash discounting
and surcharging being the most attended by far.
1. This year was a monumental year for Maverick Pay-
ments. Our biggest highlight was the launch of our pro- I feel I must also mention the great progress that has
prietary Maverick Dashboard, which serves both as a been made in the cannabis industry both in terms of
CRM and portfolio manager for agents, as well as a por- banking and payment processing. Living in Los Angeles,
tal for merchant clients to manage their entire transaction the cannabis industry is huge. A lot of us are chasing the
processing – in addition to a robust analytical platform, CBD market and despite a lot of turbulence throughout
complete chargeback management, ACH processing and the year, I've noticed a handful of U.S. acquirers come on
much more. We rebranded with a new logo and website, board of late, including Square. I always like going after
too, as we shift to a more technology-focused payments emerging markets and establishing a presence early on.
company. Another significant highlight from this year
was a new acquiring sponsorship where we are offering Another noteworthy topic was installment lending for
expedited funding programs for merchants: same day and consumers (point-of-sale loans). Companies like Affirm
instant funding. and Afterpay have become incredibly popular, as they
make it easy for consumers to purchase higher-ticket items.
A major part of our success comes from our team. It's not Merchants love this, too, because they are experiencing less
easy building a great team but I believe this is the foun- cart abandonment and increased revenues by selling more
dation of any truly successful business. Surround your- high-ticket items to customers that wouldn't purchase
self with like-minded and motivating people and you can otherwise.
achieve big things. We've also taken a lot more feedback
from clients and partners, especially as we build our own 4. What I love about the payments industry is that there is
technology such as our dashboard. It's essential to put so much innovation. I'm excited to see what comes about in
yourself in your clients' or partners' shoes and get their 2020, but I believe there will be some critical issues facing
perspective. Ask more questions and truly care to solve the cash discounting market. I think the card brands will
their problems. As payment professionals, we tend to start to regulate these merchants and programs closely,
move fast trying to chase the next opportunity or sign that so MLSs and ISOs should really review their portfolios to
big merchant, but take a step back every so often and do make sure merchants have proper signage and disclosures
more self-reflecting. I've found this to be extremely help- and they aren't really just surcharging. Take the time to
ful. educate your agents and merchants, too.

2. There weren't too many failed initiatives for us this Another potential issue I see is more and more ISVs and
year, luckily. However, looking back, I noticed there are other software companies rolling out their own payment
so many new software companies, POSs and other tech processing and competing head on with MLSs and ISOs.
companies entering the payments space that it's easy to The growing payfac model is very attractive to these
get distracted trying to learn about them all. I have a pile software companies who can earn significant revenues
of reseller and referral agreements from such companies by offering payment processing for their customers.
on my desk waiting to be executed because I want to be We'll need to keep an eye on this, but it also stresses the
able to offer our clients everything they may need to grow importance of maintaining those valuable relationships
their business. However, I've learned that it isn't wise to with your merchants, so they aren't easily lured away.
try to boil the ocean, and you really need to focus on pri-
oritizing your time and opportunities. It's also key to play I think in 2020 we will see a lot of growth in mobile and
to your strengths. contactless payments, especially in-app purchasing. More
and more companies are creating mobile apps where you
When considering other companies to partner with, such can connect a debit or credit card for easier checkout.
as a POS or gateway, it's better to work with fewer, but Companies are also using this to drive loyalty and rewards
really become the masters of these products rather than programs. For example, one of my favorite coffee shops has
knowing a little bit about a lot of them. It's a significant done a great job at this. By simply downloading their app
investment to review contracts, demo, train your team and and making a purchase, you got a free drink, and every

26