he "KISS" rule - "keep it simple, stupid" - is the mantra for one man who has made his mark on the merchant credit card services industry. His business philosophy also encompasses honesty, integrity, empathy and energy. He is Mitch Lau, and his company is the newly renamed Business Center USA, formerly Money Tree.

"The biggest problem facing us today is probably confusion and lack of direction due to all the changes resulting from recent mergers and acquisitions as well as the fact that even the industry doesn't know where it's going," Lau says. "Some people say sell terminals with all the bells and whistles. Others say keep it simple, but the problem is that merchants already have simple ones.

"Many are confused, not knowing which way to go. ISOs are just as confused. Do I sell the new ones? Do I continue with the old ones? Do I go to another bank for better rates?"

Lau believes that all those bells and whistles are confusing. That's why Business Center USA follows the "KISS" rule.

"By 'keeping it simple, stupid,' we offer low enough pricing that merchants will move over to us, yet we pay our reps enough so that they can make money," Lau says. "Everything is getting so complicated now. Even our lives are too complicated. Why not keep our business simple?"

Has this philosophy worked? Consider the fact that over the last 15 years, Lau's companies have processed more than $9 billion in transactions.

"Basically, if you are honest, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in karma and if you have empathy and energy and a little luck, you can do just about anything," Lau says.

And so he has. From his first venture, Mitch realized he had found an industry he enjoyed, and he was good at it and could make money doing it.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised and educated in California, Lau got a short introduction into the merchant credit card processing industry at CrossCheck before starting Crown Card Services with a partner in 1986 and becoming one of Imperial Bank's first ISOs.

Six months later, Lau dissolved the partnership and went out on his own to form National Bankcard Systems. He and his wife worked out of a third bedroom in their home in Santa Cruz, Calif.

In 1987, Lau moved to Carson City, Nev., and subsequently moved the business out of the house and into official offices, eventually incorporating in 1988 under the name Electronic Access Inc. Staying with Imperial Bank, Lau quickly added First USA in '88, then Rocky Mountain Bank Card shortly thereafter. In 1992, National State Bank of Metropolis came aboard, after Lau created its first merchant program.

More than 2,000 merchant accounts later, Mitch moved his entire family and operation to Austin, Texas, because, he says, "I couldn't find competent employees in Carson City." Lau stayed in Austin until 1995, when a pending divorce forced major changes in his life. He headed back to Nevada and started another merchant credit card processing organization, Money Tree.

"Then it was just a hobby because I had a non-compete, and I had three children and I wanted to spend time with them," he says.

Money Tree was his hobby for only two years. Mitch made it more of a vocation than a vacation in 1997 because, as he says, "it was time to get back into the business."

"I was forced into it because there were so many people calling and begging me to work with them again," he says. "We kept getting more sales, and I was forced back to the desk and off the playground."

Money Tree continued to grow. By year's end, its merchant accounts numbered 1,500. Then adversity struck.

Despite his efforts to keep his marriage together, which included returning to Reno as support for his wife, they divorced in 1998. To settle, he had to sell off all of his portfolios in '98 and '99.

"I pretty much started from scratch in 2000 with no merchants but great contacts and a great network and a stable reputation with the banks," he says. "I started building a new portfolio with the same corporate name."

Lau added NDC to Money Tree's roster as its exclusive merchant bank in 2000, dropping First USA. Today, the business is located in Reno with 19 employees in-house, more than 300 outside sales reps and almost 7,000 merchant accounts.

Until early 2001, Money Tree was the brand name synonymous with successful merchant services. So why change it?

"We were known as a conservative company with a conservative bank," Lau says. "We wanted the industry to know we've changed with a new name as well as fantastic new programs."

The new name, "Business Center USA," was chosen because, Lau says, "we wanted people to know that we are about business for business."

Lau says he works only 10 hours a week in the office and 20 from home. How can the president of a major company keep it running on just 30 hours a week? "We have great people in our office. We all really pride ourselves on servicing our partners," he says.

That pride has translated into professionals from other companies joining the team because of Business Center USA's reputation for stability, service and well-compensated employees. For example, he recently hired the Western regional manager of US Bank, Georgia Baker, to take over as vice president for partner development. Another recent hire came from First Bank Systems to work in risk management.

"Qualified people like these individuals know their stuff and take the pressure off me," Lau says. "I've been a divorced dad with four kids for the past 21/2 years. I don't have a lot of time." And now that he's a newlywed, his time has gotten even tighter!

No matter how his hourly schedule changes, Lau says he always will keep the same business model - servicing his sales reps and trying to give them what they need to be successful.

"I know it is up to our sales reps to present us in the best possible light," he says. "We pay residuals for the lifetime of the account and we pay them on time and we are fair to our people. If you want good people, you have to treat them well, be dependable as possible. We make mistakes, we own up to them and then do the best we can."

That commitment is seen in Business Center USA's dedicated partner support. "Our reps are our partners," says Mitch. "We have five people on our staff solely dedicated to our reps - answering questions, doing things for them, devising new programs when new technology comes along, like gift cards and smart cards. We dive in, find out the best and then offer it to our partners. Our reps don't have to do the research; we do it all."

Lau remains optimistic about the future of the industry but also realistic about what's ahead.

"There are always shakeouts," he says. "I think eventually, depending on the economy, as there have been before, there will be more shakeouts, especially with the Internet. ISOs and banks are advertising on the Internet, online applications are standard now.

"There are going to be even bigger changes in the industry in the next five years. The industry will shrink even more because it will become more competitive price-wise as far as discount rates go. A lot of companies won't be able to handle it. A lot of ISOs may go under or sell their companies and/or portfolios to larger entities to stay alive."

He's confident that Business Center USA won't fall into the latter category. "Within the next 15 years, we would really like to hit that $1 billion per month mark," he says. "Right now we are just under $1 billion annually. Realistically, the way we are growing we could probably do it in the next seven years."

When asked if he had any advice for ISOs so they won't get caught in any future shakeout, he responded, "Just be honest with your merchants and be honest with yourself and go out and do the best job you can."

Has Mitch done the best he can? "I just want to be remembered that I did it right and that I was an ISO before there were ISOs," he says.

GS would like to congratulate Mitch on the acquisition, announced Aug. 9, 2001, in which TransFirst LLC purchased a merchant portfolio from Money Tree. The transaction is expected to add about $350 million in annual processing volume for TransFirst.