The Green Sheet Online Edition
November 10, 2025 • 25:11:01
What do merchants really want? - Part 1
We recently reached out to members of The Green Sheet Advisory Board, along with a range of payments professionals who work closely with merchants day in and day out. They hear firsthand what frustrates merchants and what their customers are asking for at checkout. We wanted to find out what merchants are telling them. Are merchants and their customers clamoring for real-time payments? Crypto acceptance? Fast-moving innovations? Or are other things top of mind for them? Here are the questions we presented:
- What payment-related challenges are your merchants talking about most often right now?
- Are shoppers asking for faster payments or new options at the point of sale, or are other issues more pressing?
- How do merchant concerns differ depending on their size or vertical market?
- Beyond speed and payment options, what improvements would make the biggest difference for your merchants (e.g., lower costs, fewer disputes, easier integrations, better service)?
- If you could name one thing merchants wish the industry would fix, what would it be?
This article contains Part 1 of their responses, featuring insights from Cindy Dahlberg of Gratis Payment Processing; Nick Cucci, C.F.E., of Fluid Pay; Elie Katz of National Retail Solutions; Anita Meeks of Allure Payments; and Green Sheet Advisory Board member Mark Dunn of Field Guide Enterprises and Transactional Services Inc. Together, they highlight the issues merchants are raising most urgently—from rising costs and chargebacks to the growing need for simpler technology, clearer reporting, and reliable support. We will present additional industry leaders’ perspectives in upcoming issues.
1. What payment-related challenges are your merchants talking about most often right now?
Cindy Dahlberg, vice president of sales at Gratis Payment Processing, mentioned that in today's rapidly evolving payments landscape, merchants face an increasingly complex web of challenges that extend far beyond simply accepting a credit card.
"From mounting interchange and compliance costs to the confusion of chargebacks, disputes, and shifting regulations, payment processing has become both a vital necessity and a growing pain point for businesses of every size," she said.
Meanwhile, she noted, shoppers expect seamless, tap-and-go convenience without a second thought—placing even more pressure on merchants to deliver reliability without added cost or friction. "As the gap widens between merchant needs and industry innovation, transparency, integration, and compliance have emerged as the most urgent priorities shaping the next generation of payment solutions," she said.
After decades in the payments industry, Dahlberg has found that merchants are most vocal about three things: processing costs, chargebacks and knowledgeable customer service. "Rising interchange, PCI, annual and third-party fees—especially for card-not-present transactions—continue to strain profit margins," she said. "Many business owners also face ongoing reconciliation challenges, from mismatched deposits to inconsistent settlement timing that complicates cash flow management.
"Adding to the frustration is the constantly shifting compliance landscape, particularly surrounding cash discount and dual pricing programs, where rules and interpretations seem to evolve faster than clear guidance is provided. Meanwhile, proprietary or closed software systems often limit flexibility, forcing merchants into payment ecosystems that restrict their options or require expensive upgrades to integrate new solutions."
Reflecting on what he hears from merchants and from his colleagues at Fluid Pay, Nick Cucci, C.F.E. and the company's chief operating officer, said, "The biggest challenge we hear isn't about access to technology—it's about simplifying it. Many merchants are overwhelmed by how fragmented the payments landscape has become: multiple processors, APIs, and compliance layers. "They're looking for a single, reliable gateway that's easy to implement, transparent on pricing, and responsive when support is needed. Stability and service are what they value most right now."
Elie Katz, founder, president and CEO of National Retail Solutions (NRS), pointed to another primary concern among the retailers his company serves. "In the independent retail sector, a big challenge is theft/fraud: both employee theft, and skimmer and other card reader fraud. Card brands are utilizing AI technology to detect anomalies and help prevent fraud, while simultaneously buckling down on store owners to utilize airtight methods of accepting card payments."
As someone who has spent more than 30 years advising merchants—from small businesses to mid-sized brands to national franchise operators—Anita Meeks, founder and principal of Allure Payments LLC, has found that merchants' "most consistent challenge is reconciliation and reporting. Merchants are piecing together data from multiple systems just to answer basic questions about deposits, batch timing, and fees. It's not just inefficient, it creates room for error."
Another issue that continues to surface among Meeks' clients is the lack of flexibility when payments are tied to specific software solutions. "Merchants often invest in a system that solves for scheduling, invoicing, or operational flows, but then realize they're locked into a single processor with non-negotiable, often inflated rates," she said. "They feel taken advantage of. That decision shouldn't have to be made. It complicates what should be a straightforward process of accepting payments.
"Meeks added that chargebacks are also rising to the top again. "It's not just the volume; it's the lack of clarity around how to resolve or prevent them that's most frustrating. Even experienced ops teams feel like they're working in the dark."
2. Are shoppers asking for faster payments or new options at the point of sale, or are other issues more pressing?
"There's growing interest in digital wallets and BNPL from certain shopper segments, but most merchants are focused on dependability," Meeks said. "They want to know: Will the transaction go through? Will they get funded within a reasonable timeframe? Can they process a refund without jumping through hoops? Speed is nice, but consistency, ease of use, and transparency are far more valuable in their day-to-day reality."
For Cucci's merchants consistency and trust are paramount. "While speed and convenience are always important, we find shoppers — and therefore merchants — care more about consistency and trust," he said. "Whether it's online or in-store, they want transactions that just work, without downtime, delays or hidden friction. Contactless and digital wallets have become expectations rather than differentiators. The real differentiator now is seamless uptime and accurate reporting."
Dahlberg has found great demand for bells and whistles of the latest technology. "Despite all the talk about innovation, most consumers aren't clamoring for cryptocurrency or real-time bank transfers," she said. "What they truly want is convenience, reliability and support. They expect payments to 'just work,' whether that means tap-to-pay, mobile wallets or smooth online checkout experiences.
"Any friction, such as declines, slow terminals or complicated refund processes directly impacts customer trust and loyalty. In short, today's shopper expects seamless transactions that align with their lifestyle, not added steps or uncertainty."
Katz brought up online ordering as a pressing concern. "Customers who pay with a credit card can tap, swipe or dip rather quickly," he said. "Card payment technology makes checkout easy.
"More pressing is customers' ability to order online. A trend since COVID, that has not died down, is online shopping with home delivery. Even small stores in neighborhoods where most revenue traditionally came from foot traffic, are seeing strong value in having an online ordering website, and/or participating in DoorDash, Grubhub or other similar ecommerce integrations.
3. How do merchant concerns differ depending on their size or vertical market?
Green Sheet Advisory Board member Mark Dunn is president of the consultancy Field Guide Enterprises LLC and a partner in Transactional Services Inc., an ISO focused on the healthcare sector. He shared insights gained from working with the healthcare vertical.
"At TSI we have a network of agents to contact mostly healthcare businesses: dentists, doctors, optometrists, specialty clinics, hospitals and so forth," he said. "Most of these professionals have a CRM or ERP software they use to manage their practice. And a lot of these practices use the payments integration to invoice and collect payments from patients. However, we find that many health professionals don't know what it's costing them or where to look for other payments alternatives."
Dunn also pointed out that healthcare merchants have a complicated revenue cycle and need to track payments from multiple payers. "We never hear requests for crypto payments or the latest wave in tech," he said. "When we call on healthcare businesses, they ask about better ways to collect payments due, such as text to pay or email to pay. Healthcare providers need an easy to use, reasonably priced and integrated payment process with excellent support. TSI works hard to provide this to them."
Katz brought up issues that are central to smaller merchants, stating, "Smaller merchants have less liquid capital to use for projects and upgrades, so funding can pose a challenge. They also cannot as easily obtain top (expensive!) technology tools that larger operations—with larger revenues—can more easily afford.
"Plus, because small, independent stores don't purchase inventory in huge bulk, they may not be able to benefit from advantageous discounts on wholesale goods, the way larger competitors can, and this means they cannot pass along as many savings to their customers. Also, quite often, smaller retailers have a limited number of employees; which means less hands on deck at the store, and struggles with building and maintaining ecommerce platforms.
Cucci contrasted the differing needs of small and large merchants. "Smaller merchants tend to focus on cost and support—they want someone to actually pick up the phone when there's an issue," he said. "Larger merchants, especially in verticals like healthcare, utilities and professional services, prioritize data security, tokenization, and the ability to handle both card and ACH payments within a single system. Across the board, integration flexibility is key."
In addition to looking at size, Meeks mentioned requirements of franchise operators, as well as commonalities that apply to all. "Franchise operators need systems that provide consistency across locations without losing flexibility for local nuances," she said. "Mid-sized businesses often find themselves caught between complexity and capacity. They need robust tools and support, but don't always have the internal teams to manage ongoing friction.
"Small businesses want payments that are simple, stable, and out of the way. They need to trust that things will just work, and that there's real support behind it. No matter the size, the common thread is this: make it easier to manage, give them insight, and reduce distractions.
Dahlberg looked at the impact of size in addition to merchant verticals. "Small merchants remain laser-focused on controlling costs, fast funding, and dependable customer support," she said. "Without dedicated payments staff, they gravitate toward simple, all-in-one solutions that don't require technical expertise. Mid-size and enterprise merchants, however, typically prioritize data visibility, system integration, and compliance. Their concerns center on multi-channel reconciliation, fraud prevention, and global acceptance.
"By vertical, needs diverge even more. For example, restaurants emphasize tipping, QR code ordering, and pre-pay functionality, while eCommerce merchants obsess over fraud mitigation and authorization rates, while also balancing customer convenience with security."
4. Beyond speed and payment options, what improvements would make the biggest difference for your merchants (e.g., lower costs, fewer disputes, easier integrations, better service)?
Katz suggested stronger inventory management tools which include low-threshold alerts, as well as AI technology to assist with recommendations and insights on their stock. "AI can help a merchant understand what is selling well in their niche, and suggest price ranges for a store to be able to maximize its inventory and sales," he said.
"Also, point of sale security features, such as POS-DVR camera integration, and a secret POS panic alarm button to alert police for help."
Dahlberg said merchants are "clear about their top priorities for improvement" and listed the following:
- Lower overall costs, especially around interchange and chargebacks.
- Fewer disputes and a more transparent, fair resolution process.
- Simpler integrations between payment systems, accounting software, CRM tools and inventory platforms.
- Better communication and service from processors and gateways who understand their business concerns, not just their transaction volume.
Meeks also offered a list of merchant priorities:
- Clear, consolidated reporting.
- Fewer disputes, and tools to prevent them, not just react.
- Simpler, more durable integrations.
- Responsive support from people who understand their setup.
"Merchants aren't looking for more bells and whistles," she added. "They want fewer disruptions and more clarity so they can stay focused on running their business."
Cucci highlighted better communication from providers as key. "Merchants often feel left out of the loop when there are changes in compliance, pricing or platform capabilities," he said. "Transparency and proactive communication build trust. He also emphasized technology, stating, "On a technical level, better integration tools—cleaner APIs, sandbox environments and reporting dashboards—make an enormous impact on daily operations.
5. If you could name one thing merchants wish the industry would fix, what would it be?
Cucci believes the one thing merchants wish for is a unified and transparent payments ecosystem. "Too often, merchants feel the industry works around them, not for them," he said. "Between hidden fees, complicated reconciliation and inconsistent support, they want simplicity and partnership—not just a vendor relationship. "At Fluid Pay, we focus on providing that partnership—modern, fully cloud-based technology backed by real people who know their business and act fast when they need help."
If merchants could fix one thing, Dahlberg stated, it would be the state of transparency and support across the entire payments industry. "Too often, they feel trapped between card networks, issuing banks, and processors, left without clear explanations or control over fees, disputes, and outcomes," she said. "True progress in the payments processing world will depend not just on faster or smarter technology—but on rebuilding trust, clarity, and partnership with the businesses that make commerce possible."
According to Katz, one major thing U.S. retailer merchants often wish the industry would fix is credit card processing fees (also known as interchange or "swipe" fees). "These fees, charged by card networks and banks every time a customer pays with a card, eat into profit margins, especially for small and midsize retailers," he said.
He also mentioned hidden fees as problematic. "Hidden fees that pop up unexpectedly and get debited from the retailer's bank account can be very stressful for retailers," he said. "Credit card processing contracts often have pages upon pages of fine print, making it difficult for a merchant to catch all the nuances and references to fees and penalties."
The issue Meeks put at the top of merchants' wish list is timely, capable, live support. "Merchants often feel completely alone when issues arise, caught between software vendors, processors, gateways and POS companies, each pointing to the other," she said.
"When something breaks, they don't want to troubleshoot logos. They want someone to step in, fix it and help prevent it from happening again.
"Too often, they're promised hands-on support during the sales process, only to be left with an 800 number and long hold times. The person who 'will always be there' disappears, and the support team doesn't know their setup or business. Merchants don't expect perfection. They expect ownership. That's what builds trust, and it's what keeps them from walking away."
These perspectives make it clear that while technology continues to evolve, merchants’ core needs—transparency, support, cost control and simplicity—remain constant. Look for the second installment of this discussion in our next issue, where additional industry leaders will share what they’re hearing from merchants and how the payments community can better respond.
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