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someone can occur with a single call to a direct line.
They remember when their online reporting reflects
no surprises and when statement messages are actu-
ally informative. These are the basics that can do so
much to make both ISOs and their merchants truly
thrive."
5. If you could name one thing merchants wish
the industry would fix, what would it be?
Baxter put her merchants' top issue succinctly: "Up-
time, first and foremost. Even the best solution is of
no use when it's down."

Sills said, "Merchants do not want to be SaaS-fee'd
to death. Older merchants appreciated the choices of
solution bundles where the more robust the bundle,
the less the fees per feature because they were be-
ing encouraged to maximize convenience to the
cardholder, back-office efficiencies, etc. With today's
app-based marketplace, stand-alone apps to support
individual features can really add up. There is no
'cheaper by the dozen' bundling when each is com-
peting for a decision-maker's eyes and approval to
run up the cost ladder."

For Laszig the need to improve the chargeback pro-
cess for card-present merchants rose to the top. "Res-
taurateurs with charged-back meals, retailers with
proof of in-store purchases, and businesses dealing
with forgetful customers and first-party fraud de-
serve a better escalation path. Let's address these
grievances and reinstate transparent, sustainable
face-to-face selling."

Kahn noted that merchants want affordability and
quality service to go hand-in-hand. "Too often, low-
er-cost options come with trade-offs in support or re-
liability," he said. "The industry has an opportunity
to better align transparent pricing with dependable
support services so merchants can operate confi-
dently without sacrificing value or trust."

Taken together, these views show that while technology
keeps advancing, merchants still measure value in clear
pricing, strong support and tools that simply work. An
upcoming third installment in this series will share ad-
ditional expert perspectives on how the payments com-
munity can meet those expectations.

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