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Little fish in the big payments pond:

Why it's a plus

because they pride themselves on providing the same
level of service to their own customers.
You can do it your way with your priorities

Many payment companies have a certain level of
admiration for private equity firms and going public.
While others celebrate these investments, as a small
business owner, I have a hard time joining in on the
festivities. We cannot dispute that private or public equity
investment brings opportunity through the investment
By Elaina Smith itself, publicity and networking potential. But private
Secure Bancard and public equity shareholders have one goal: to make a
return on their investment. The small business owner no
longer completely calls the shots or sets the priorities. The
fter a busy merger and acquisition season for number one priority becomes making money, many times
payments companies, the industry giants may
have attained ginormous status. Many ISOs are at the detriment of the company's original mission.
A left feeling like a little fish in the big pond of
payments, unimportant compared to the mega companies If payment companies want to stay true to their original
mission, they must carefully consider the impact of
that dominate the industry. However, being small can
work to an ISO's advantage if played strategically. outside investment. Yes, growth might happen more
slowly without that investment, but it also maintains the
Small means nimble company's integrity and mission.

The downside of growth can be bureaucracy. Big Smaller marketing budgets force creativity
companies are notorious for allowing small tasks to get
caught up in layers of red tape. There isn't a direct correlation between marketing spend
and effectiveness. Think about television ads. They are
an expensive form of advertising, but they've become
Consider the scenario where the small fish is a payments less effective as fast-forward and streaming subscription
software provider, and a new technology has come along
that the company would like to integrate into its software. services have become the norm.
For a small fish, it is quite easy to decide this technology
can be a game changer and move to implement an API in The same might be said about event sponsorships or
giant booths at tradeshows. Can the companies that make
weeks if not days. For bigger fish, there is a long process
that includes strategic assessment and management buy- these investments show a direct return? With little to
no budget, small companies are forced to use more of a
in before this change can even be presented for inclusion
in the development calendar. guerilla marketing strategy. These types of efforts often
result in the most creative campaigns that initiate valuable
engagement with their desired audience.
Things are changing quickly across the payments
landscape, and I would argue that if being small leads
to speed to market, it's a huge—possibly the biggest— Do not underestimate the power of professional
networking, both online and in person, or educational
advantage over the payments competition.
outreach using tools like podcasting. Be authentic and
Little fish excel at customer service don't be afraid to have a little fun with it.
Perhaps the area where the little fish can shine the most The payments pond is large and vast. Smaller ISOs only
is in providing excellent service to their clients. Clients need to focus on carving out a tiny market share to enjoy
appreciate having direct access to someone who can success. By using these strategies, smaller ISOs can use
resolve issues immediately instead of having to call a their size as an advantage to differentiate themselves in a
generic customer service number or a rep responsible for a marketplace seemingly dominated by industry giants.
large book of business.
Elaina Smith is the CFO of Secure Bancard, a wholesale ISO based in
Also, the one thing a small fish can almost always provide Alpharetta, Ga. Most recently, she helped develop and implement
that the big fish cannot is direct access to company Pioneer by Settlement Data Systems, an SaaS solution that enables
executives. Don't underestimate the value of such access. ISOs to run their businesses more efficiently. She can be reached at
It's a seal-the-deal selling point for many small businesses elaina.smith@settlementdatasystems.com.

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