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3. ISOs, agents, etc., might want to start contacting your force, which in turn will benefit our mutual clients. Part-
local person in the House of Representatives and in nerships we have recently added give merchants bun-
the Senate to stop some of these bills that are floating dled services that are designed to increase their sales
around. One is trying to add a 3.8 percent tax to small through marketing, competition analysis and branding,
business owners. Another is Durbin 2.0. These are both to name a few.
dangerous bills to the people in this business and to our
customers. 2. The best solutions we have found over the many years
in business certainly would not be considered anything
Another thing that is going on is the rise of alternative cutting edge; however, it has worked like a charm in
payments besides credit cards being used at many busi- preparation for the holiday season. We sort our client
nesses. This trend is going to continue and get bigger list with several factors to determine the most impacted
and more popular, and if Durbin 2.0 passes, those com- merchants during the holiday season; then we assign a
panies are going to swoop in and take more and more number from 1 to 5 to each merchant, with 5 being high-
market share away from merchant services. ly impacted during the holiday season.

Dustin Magaziner Our staff communicates with all merchants with a 3, 4
PayBright or 5 assigned to them and offers various assistance in
preparation for their busy season. The most utilized of-
1. PayBright is always looking for new partners, as the fer we provide is extra point of sale terminals or wireless
company is built on great partnerships with agents. We devices to allow these busy merchants to get customers
are a relationship business. We help our sales partners checked out as quickly as possible, thus increasing sales
build their relationships, which will flow to PayBright: and decreasing frustrated customers.
their success is our main focus.
3. Preparation and anticipation are the key to running
2. One simple answer: gift cards. Gift cards dominate. a successful business no matter what type of business
There are several types, including physical gift cards, you run. The payment processing space obviously plays
e-gift cards and online gift cards. If you're a business a vital role in holiday season shopping.
owner and not offering gift cards, it's costing you mon-
ey. Gift cards deliver a spike in sales, with a dramatic The last thing busy merchants want to do is be on the
rise between November and December. Customers also phone with their processor because of equipment mal-
tend to spend more when they are given gift cards as functions, funds being diverted and long hold times for
gifts. anything. At the very least ISOs should maintain some
excess inventory so they can immediately rectify any
3. Think ahead, plan ahead. It's important for businesses equipment malfunctions or supply shortages, and get
to plan for the holidays earlier than they think necessary them to the merchant as quickly as possible.
so as to avoid surprises. For one thing, if an ISO offers
gift cards, make sure that they explain to their merchant Sales reps that are new to the industry should be alerted
customers that they need to be designed and shipped and prepared to be on call during the holiday season
weeks before Black Friday. after hours because stress is high, and when things go

wrong merchants want and need answers quickly with-
Also, merchants need to plan for any staffing issues way out having to dial up a 24-hour helpdesk. Merchants
ahead of time. Some staffing issues might be unavoid- should have their sales rep's contact information and
able, but in order to have a strong selling season, contin- feel comfortable to call them, so they can rectify and
gency staff must be recruited and trained sooner rather expedite any situation that may arise during the busy
than later. holiday season.

Justin Milmeister, CPP
Elite Merchant Solutions Merchants—especially newer ones that have never expe-
rienced a holiday season, especially post COVID—need
1. Starting from day one of being in business, Elite Mer- to really anticipate heavy crowds and have the staff and
chant Solutions has always looked for new strategic inventory to fulfill the orders and make the customer
partnerships, and that has not stopped over two decades experience a positive one. The holiday season can rep-
later. Our staff is constantly attending tradeshows and resent a very high percentage of annual sales for some
combing through trade publications to find new part- merchants, so this opportunity needs to be seized.
nerships that will keep us on the cutting edge of tech-
nology and provide our customers with unique prod- Everyone knows there are supply shortages, so this
ucts and services. needs to be anticipated when at all possible, so you don't
miss out on sales due to lack of inventory. I recommend
We are always looking for partnerships that have bet- ordering more than you normally would and farther in
ter functionality than what we offer today for our core advance, so you are ready to cash in during the holiday
products. Additionally, our company seeks partnerships season.
that offer unique capabilities that will benefit our sales
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