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sues on your merchants' finances, profitability and caused PPP loan documents, rent due while businesses are closed,
CEOs and CFOs to evaluate their credit card processing employees and family members falling ill, people's spir-
programs. Some companies in the beginning months of its flagging under restricted contact, and more. And you
the virus dropped to literally $0 in sales; merchant state- want to sell credit card processing amid all of this? Yes.
ments that were "hiding" monthly and PCI fees became You won't be foolish if you call with empathy and endeav-
more transparent to the finance teams. or to teach and help find ways to evolve the merchant's
credit card processing.
While merchants' earnings are being severely affected by
decreased spending — so are ours, whether we are the Credit card transactions are not going away. However, the
processor, ISO and/or agent. Overall, portfolio valuations payments industry will be transformed by new consumer
have dropped significantly. Some ISOs and agents I've behaviors and new merchant processing trends. Stay on
spoken with were down as much as 75 percent in March/ top of these trends. Speak to your merchants and get their
April. Now many of my friends in the business are seeing feedback, and they will share information with you that
their merchant portfolios rebound month over month. addresses their concerns.

How do we move forward in this unprecedented business The guiding principle is the Golden Rule: treating others
environment? We must educate our merchants, continue as you want to be treated. During this difficult time of the
to diversify our portfolios and offer a suite of processing virus, it is best not to sell as you ordinarily would. Nobody
options. How do we, as a company, strike a balance be- wants to be aggressively sold when their companies are
tween safety and economic recovery with our sales teams really hurting. Adapt, be respectful and aware of the new
and/or merchant base? One, our company and our people normal, and continue to educate, offer new opportunities
are now, like most of America, using the phone, Zoom, and serve as a trusted resource for merchants. This is the
Webex, etc., for our meetings. The term "meeting," which only way to progress and create real value to ensure your
used to be thought of as a physical interaction between merchants' success as well as yours in the payments in-
merchant and ISO/agent, is now virtual. In many ways, dustry.
I think it has been beneficial in the time manage-
ment sense; not wasting time driving to physical
meetings has saved hours per week, adding more
productivity to our busy schedules.

The economic and human impacts of recent months
have been devastating. But rather than live in the
past, let's look forward. Let's set the foundation for
the coming months and years by embracing the
technological changes in payments and the cultural
evolution of our society. This is the time to reset,
plan, educate and build. Now is the time to edu-
cate CEOs, CFOs and independent business owners
on many evolving aspects of credit card processing
that will help them save money and satisfy their
customers' desire for more technology-driven pro-
cessing.

How have we as company worked within our com-
munity to give back? The quick answer is educa-
tion. Our corporate culture and sales team are more
than ever working to educate and share knowledge
with our merchants. When was the last time our
agents reached out proactively to speak to any exist-
ing merchant? Now is the time, especially because
people have time to speak as most are still work-
ing from their home offices. Help them understand
hidden processing fees, PCI, and how to combat
phishing; set up an online portal if they don't have
one, and set up mobile payments via smartphone,
among other options.
Put yourself in the shoes of business owners who
are contending with staggering unemployment,

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