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wide recruiting blitz, bolstering its sales staff with experi-
enced MLSs and newbies. "It's worked out really well for With the COVID-19 crisis forcing
us," McNab said.

Helping merchants cut costs shifts in consumer behavior,
retailers of every type have
VizyPay educates MLSs on helping merchants weather the
financial fallout from COVID-19, using face-to-face as well adapted to serve customers through
as remote (phone, for example) sales techniques, McNabb alternative channels, such as online
noted. "We're getting more boots on the ground to help
businesses that have been most hurt," he said. buying for in-store or curbside
pickup, which many consumers see
Small businesses in small towns are proving fertile ground
for MLS prospecting, McNab added. Many businesses— as safer/healthier ways to shop.
like auto repair shops, plumbers, electricians—deemed
"essential" and thus exempted from local- and state-man-
dated closure orders have been open to finding ways to "COVID-19 has had the effect of fast-tracking contactless
save money and operate more efficiently. payments, probably by two to four years," McNab said,
noting that the more consumers use contactless payments
Two cost-cutting measures garnering significant attention now the more apt they are to do so in the future. "It only
are cash discounting and surcharging. McNab estimated takes 21 days to build new habits," he said.
that 70 to 75 percent of merchants VizyPay is boarding
sign up for cash discounting; about 10 percent, located in Other payment innovations that are resonating with
states that permit surcharging, are adding surcharges to SMBs, based on Paysafe's data, include apps that enable
credit card purchases to cover processing costs. Laws in at payments without staff contact (launched by 28 percent of
least 40 states allow surcharging; cash discounts are per- those surveyed) and subscription services (18 percent).
missible in all states under federal law.
Patti Murphy is senior editor at The Green Sheet and co-host of the
Many merchants were already planning to raise prices to Merchant Sales Podcast. Follow her on Twitter @GS_PayMaven.
compensate for higher operating costs triggered by CO-
VID, McNab noted, making the task of increasing prices
across the board and discounting cash-paying customers SELLING YOUR RESIDUALS?
at checkout easier. "It's almost like a perfect storm as far as
pushing cash discounting forward," he said.

Making less contact HIGHEST MULTIPLES
Afshin Yazdian, CEO of U.S. acquiring at Paysafe, said the QUICK CLOSING
big takeaway from the pandemic is the need for merchants,
particularly small and midsize businesses, to diversify LARGEST BUYER NETWORK
online and enhance card-present payment options. "Our
research shows that having an online checkout, as well
as diverse payments infrastructure, is crucial to allowing At Portfolio Buyer, our qualified buyer network purchases of all
in-store SMBs to thrive amidst the pandemic and actually or part of merchant portfolios, residual streams, and enterprise
sales of any size. Our objective is to provide you with
grow in this unprecedented environment," he said. personalized, professional service. We will evaluate your
situation, anal
situation, analyze your business, and match you with a buyer in
A Paysafe-commissioned survey of North American our network that best meets your business needs and financial
SMBs, described in its latest Lost in Transaction report, re- goals. We will then negotiate the highest payments industry
vealed that 88 percent of respondents had made at least sale price possible. There are no upfront costs for our services.
We are only paid when we are successful in striking the best
one change to their checkouts as a result of the pandemic; deal for you.
39 percent saw sales lifts. Twenty-four percent launched
an online card-not-present checkout for the first time,
while 17 percent plan to add online checkout in the near www.PortfolioBuyer.com
future. SMBs are also adjusting card-present checkouts to
limit physical interactions. Forty-four percent added con- or
tactless payment acceptance, Paysafe reported.
Call 212-631-8110
Visa said it has seen 40 percent year-over-year growth in
contactless payments across its network, with most of that
charted in the second quarter. A global survey by Visa Portfolio BUYER
also found 48 percent of consumers would stop shopping
at stores that did not offer contactless checkout.

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