Page 25 - GS210501

Education

can move slowly and require Many inadequately trained MLSs don't understand that,
significant documentation—on site
reviews, financials, references and technically, a merchant account is a line of credit.
more—before approval occurs (if said
approval takes place at all).
subscribed merchants by adding payments, lending and other solutions
Slow and burdensome onboarding that they can better control in order to better control the merchant expe-
annoys merchants, software rience;
companies and VARs, all of which
would prefer that accounts go live in • Increase the valuation of their business by adding in more revenues, ca-
a much simpler, faster and smoother pabilities, and integrations, which helps when looking to merge or sell
fashion. the business to a larger player with heavier capital resources.

Wacky billing
Many of said technology companies are discovering the payfac model could
Our industry has a confounding assist them in achieving these goals. Todd Ablowitz, co-CEO and co-founder of
assortment of pricing options. We Infinicept, projected at one point that at least 10,000 software companies could
have, for example, 2 Tier, 3 Tier, be good candidates for the payfac model.
enhanced bill-back, interchange-
plus and other types of pricing that That said, it's important to note that there are different options available to
a merchant account could have— technology companies seeking to integrate more payfac capabilities, all of
depending largely on how the agent/ which bring different levels of risks and rewards. In my next article, I will
MLS wants to write the account. break down the different types of payfac models.
John Tucker is U.S. enterprise sales director for TreviPay (www.trevipay.com) and has over 14 years
This leaves many merchants of B2B sales experience in commercial finance. Tucker is an MBA graduate and holder of three
confused over what exactly they bachelor's degrees in accounting, business management and journalism. To connect with him,
are paying, how they are paying it, feel free to send him a connection invite via LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/johntucker99/.
and whether any real savings are
being realized when they switch
over to a new processing company.
Furthermore, when the card brands
increase interchange twice a year, REIMAGINE THE ART OF USAEPAY.COM
this creates even more confusion. 866-570-2051
Unless merchants are on interchange
plus pricing, they might receive TRANSACTION
uncomfortable communications from RETAIL E-COMMERCE M MOBILEOBILE
their ISO or processor requesting
that they sign an amendment to their
agreement to adjust their rates higher,
based on new interchange rates.
Need for an alternative

All of these issues (not to mention
others such as a lack of integration
options), have created a market in
need of alternative approaches to
managing payments. As technology
companies are investing more in
their platforms, they are trying to
determine how to:
• Better control the total experi-
ence merchants have with their
platform(s);

• Increase merchant convenience
and satisfaction to enhance
stickiness;
• Generate new revenues from

25