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Speaking of Check Conversion |
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Have
you heard of Global eTelecom? If you remember the GS
articles on electronic check processing (ECP) service provider GPST (see
cover story and issues 99:08:01 and 99:10:01), then you are already
familiar with what Global eTelecom does. GPST
was the electronic check pilot program for NACHA and Global eTelecom has
recently acquired all of the company’s assets and technology and
according to John Beebe, Chairman and CEO, “upgraded and enhanced it
tremendously.” One
of the biggest perks of the Global eTelecom program is that it has the
ability to provide full imaging of the check taken at the POS. But, the
beauty of the program is that it does not slow the transaction time. The
images are uploaded to the server at the end of batch out which, according
to Beebe, keeps the transaction time down to that of a credit card
transaction. As we’ve stated in many Green Sheet articles, ECP at the POS is a prime target for fraud
and loss, however, Global eTelecom has programmed numerous proprietary
measures in its system to protect against fraud and loss, regardless of
whether or not imaging is used. Another
unique industry first is the search capability. Beebe tells us that
through a secure site, merchants can log on to http://www.globaletelecom.com
with a passcode, and track their sales and deposits, real time, 24 hours.
Merchants are then able to customize and save their own report format,
with the data tailored to suit each merchant’s individual needs. Beebe
reports that no one else in the industry provides merchants a similar
service. The
Global eTelecom service also differs from other programs in that the
customer can chose ECP with or without guarantee or verification. The
company uses Rocky Mountain (see lead story) for its verification and also
uses Thompson services if necessary. According to Beebe, the company does
not own their own database as they feel doing so would get them locked
into only one data source and limit their verification and guarantee
abilities. The company also offers Phone Checks, Internet Checks,
Recurring Debit, and Lock-Box truncation capabilities. While
Global eTelecom is just a year old, their advisory board and board of
directors have financial institution, sales, marketing, legal, bankcard,
underwriting, collection, and check industry backgrounds. The company
plans to go public in the next 18-24 months and is currently in
discussions with many large national financial companies to develop
strategic partnerships, including First National Bank of Omaha, to process
Visa and MasterCard transactions. The company also enjoys a strategic
relationship with Dassault to use the Talento terminal to process check,
MasterCard, Visa, AMEX, Discover, and debit transactions with imaging
capability. The program works on all terminals including IVI Checkmate,
VeriFone, and NURIT. Beebe
tells us that the key to Global eTelecom is their focus on customer
service. They feel that there are processors who sign up many merchants
per month only to lose many others. “We believe in honesty and integrity
toward customers, ISOs, and merchants. We strive to set ourselves apart
and take care of business the right way. “ ISOs
are paid lifetime residuals and are compensated 100% above the buy rate.
The system is programmed to automatically disperse monthly commissions and
deposit them directly into the ISO’s account. As far as what kinds of
business they will or will not accept, they will work with almost anyone,
depending on risk for that particular case. Beebe says they will look at
each business individually and that it depends on the particular risk and
individual players associated with the business. Beebe stated, “We have
an open mind. We are interested in growing our business. We look for ways
to put a merchant on our service as opposed to looking for ways to not put
a merchant on our service.” Global
eTelecom is looking for ISOs who are honest and have integrity. Beebe
stresses that they are not interested in working with someone who can send
them 200 deals per month, only to have the deals go nowhere. Their goal is
to build long-term relationships with ISOs and merchants, and they are
seeking ISOs who will help foster those relationships. Global eTelecom
also provides its own in-house customer service and a new technical
support service to better serve its merchants. For
more information about Global eTelecom and the business opportunities for
ISOs, contact John H. Beebe, Chairman and CEO or Michael Varley, Chief
Operating Officer, at (850) 454-5385 or visit www.globaletelecom.com. © Copyright
1995-2000 |
