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Who can you trust? that felt invincible, or this era's "too big to fail," a flawed
concept that got some banks and brokerage firms in trouble
a few years back.

The bullies that attempt to steal our merchants are finding
out the hard way that what we do is not Easy Street.
Winning and retaining merchant accounts takes talent,
skill and willingness to understand customers. Know
Your Customer isn't some algorithm; it's understanding a
business model and the people behind it, something a big
tech company that moves fast and breaks things doesn't
have the patience to understand.

High risk or specialty?
Speaking of patience, big tech would prefer to cut a
merchant customer loose than attempt to understand a
By Allen Kopelman particular niche or chargeback event. A flurry of reports
have surfaced in recent weeks of merchants that were
Nationwide Payment Systems deemed high risk and cut off by tech companies, in ways
eerily similar to how they summarily dismissed us, their
hat does it mean to be a "trusted partner"? former partners. Merchants receive an email or letter, out
Whenever I see that term, I wonder what of the blue, stating that they no longer have a merchant
the person or company is trying to hide. account and funds are being withheld pending further
W It reminds me of other sayings, like "to be review. Yes, they're holding their customers' money,
honest" and "no offense, but." You know what's coming just like they held onto their former partners' hard-won
next will be a zinger, and probably not the least bit true or merchant accounts.
flattering. As Shakespeare would say, "Methinks thou dost
protest too much." These companies may have great apps but they are sorely
lacking in service and support. These shortcomings create
Companies that provide the best service, pricing and opportunities for ISOs, acquirers and MLSs, but only if we
customer-friendly policies rarely have to shout about it. have the patience to rehabilitate these merchants, many
They're too busy focusing on their customers to care about of whom are damaged goods. It will take time to regain
how they look. By the same token, why would a processor, their trust in payment processors. No one likes to be on
ISO or merchant level salesperson (MLS) have to tell you to the receiving end of a bad deal. The Consumer Financial
trust them? Wouldn't we expect a partner, vendor or sales Protection Bureau is right: we must hold big tech companies
agent to treat us fairly? accountable for their actions.
Trust bites the dust Choose partners wisely

As most ISOs and MLSs would agree, some top payment Fortunately, plenty of companies in our industry operate
brands are trusted partners in name only. These tech with a high level of integrity. I am fortunate to have formed
startups asked for our help when no one knew their long-term relationships with sponsor banks, processors,
names. We opened doors, made introductions, promoted value-added service providers and other ISOs that have
their solutions, closed sales, babysat their beta tests, and endured.
reassured our merchant customers when their apps and
devices were having a bad day. The best partner prospects should be similar to
our companies in size, culture and values. The best
Thanks to our efforts, these companies became some of partnerships occur between equals who bring each other
the biggest names in our business. They scaled because different but complementary skill sets and assets. As the
of us, and when they gained sufficient critical mass, they best matchmakers in our industry would say, don't rush.
dumped us. Instead of saying thank you for your service, Take your time. Do your due diligence and get a good
they cut out the middleman and went after our customers, attorney.
directly. Trusted partners indeed.

Too big to fail Allen Kopelman, a serial entrepreneur is co-founder and CEO of
Nationwide Payment Systems Inc. and host of B2B Vault: The Payment
I'm not the first to point out that payments is a relationship Technology podcast. Email him at allen@npsbank.com and connect on
business that is built on collaboration and interdependence.
It's also a small industry. When companies behave badly, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/allenkopelman/and Twitter @
news travels fast, and the backlash can be devastating. AllenKopelman.
History is filled with examples of empires and enterprises
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