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January 23, 2023 • Issue 23:01:02

The scope of payments 2023: Part 2

his is the second article in a two-part series in The first portion of responses appeared in our Jan. 9, 2023
which members of The Green Sheet Advisory issue. We thank all who took time to participate in this
Board share perspectives on the following five exploration.
T sets of questions:
Jeff Shavitz
1. Looking back on 2022, what developments at your ToolBox Payments
company are you most pleased about? What actions
brought them to fruition? What did you learn from Time flies; 2022 is now over. I always find it amusing
them? Are you staying the course in 2023, going in a when our employees and agents say, 'I can't believe it's
new direction or charting a course in between? Please already Memorial Day,' and then 'I can't believe it's already
explain. Thanksgiving' and recently, of course, 'It's the end of the
year.'
2. What emerging technology has caught your eye that
holds great potential for the payments/fintech ecosys- Just to be a little different, I'll answer the questions in
tem? Why is that? Will it be a significant factor in the reverse order.
coming year or do you expect its full potential to be
realized down the road? 5. In 2012, I sold my first ISO, Charge Card Systems, be-
cause I truly felt the ISO/MLS model was over; the over-
3. How well is the industry doing in terms of protect- used phrase "a race to zero" in terms of margin compres-
ing data and stopping fraud? What can we do better sion occurring and the value proposition of the agent
in 2023? was losing value. I had the same thoughts as the CEO of
the executive acquirer mentioned in your preamble of
4. With the upheaval at Twitter being big news during your story which was the impetus to sell my company.
the last quarter of 2022, we'd like to know what role
social media plays at your company. What platforms
do you and your colleagues find most effective and
why? Are you launching any new social media initia-
tives in 2023? Contributed articles inside by:

5. A decade ago, the CEO of a top acquirer predicted
that transformation within the industry would bring
about the demise of ISOs and MLSs sooner rather Ken Musante ..........................................................................................18
than later. Do you think this prediction will eventu- Natasa Cvijanovic .................................................................................32
ally become true or do you see a strong future for the
feet on the street? Why or why not? What can agents Nicholas Cucci ........................................................................................34
do to help ensure their survival in the coming year
and beyond?

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