t's a rare workday that doesn't last well into the night for Jared Isaacman and his partners at United Bank Card (UBC). They operate with a hands-on approach toward every aspect of the business - and for this credit card processing company, that includes everything from setting up merchant accounts and processing transactions to providing equipment and tech support.

Isaacman, UBC Director of Operations, said even though the hours are long, "It's very rewarding. I started this company with friends from college, and it's a privilege being able to work with them. The fun part of this business is doing it on my own, not working for somebody else."

Energy and determination to succeed have fueled the company's growth for five years. Isaacman and 12 others started United Bank Card in 1997. A registered member service provider (MSP), UBC offers the full gamut of services to all major retail venues.

Working through an FDIC insured national bank, it processes and approves transactions for gas stations, grocery and supermarkets, retail locations, mail and telephone order businesses, the hospitality industry, Internet merchants and home-based businesses.

The business was built on setting up new and existing merchant accounts to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and a variety of private label cards; providing access to a nationwide network of debit card processing centers; and authorizing fleet, corporate and EBT government cards.

UBC has been in expansion mode from the beginning, with a focus on being a leading-edge credit card processing solution and at the same time keeping prices competitive and emphasizing customer service.

A recently purchased two-story building in Highbridge, N.J., is the corporate headquarters where the staff of 26 handles customer service and tech support. While the bulk of UBC's business is generated through ISOs, a small direct sales staff takes care of accounts in New Jersey.

UBC works with agents and ISOs nationwide. It originally set out to make it easy and attractive for ISOs to come on board and has stuck with that plan since. Its goal is to keep its ISOs profitable and happy.

A "Design Your Own Program" lets ISOs do just that - choose revenue streams and areas of profitability to offer their merchants from UBC's available services.

These include same-day approvals and equipment deployment; true 24-hour tech support; selecting interchange plus pricing programs; being able to set your own buy-rates; nationwide debit and EBT access; Discover, American Express and Diner's Club signing bonuses; and a free Web site hosted by UBC. All ISOs have a dedicated manager to work with at UBC.

At UBC, it's all about relationships - establishing and maintaining excellent relationships with everyone. The close connection within the management is passed on to UBC's merchants as well as the ISOs it works with and translates into a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to customer service.

"We definitely don't have the 500-pound gorilla mentality here," Isaacman said. "When somebody calls with a question, we'll never say, 'I don't know.' We'll always find out the answer for them."

From customer service to tech support, nothing is outsourced. "We are here to sell credit card machines and processing to merchants. I hate relying on third parties," Isaacman said. UBC carries state-of-the-art card processing equipment at wholesale pricing to its ISOs and agents, Isaacman said. Each machine is pre-programmed to only dial a toll-free number for authorizations to help eliminate overhead. ISOs can offer Hypercom, VeriFone or Nurit equipment to fit its merchants' specific needs. There is also a strong emphasis on offering ISOs the lowest rates in the industry. "We give a 5.75-cent transaction fee over the interchange rate. On The Green Sheet Forum, we advertise the lowest transaction fees in the industry. No one has challenged that so far," he said.

On the transaction-processing side of things, Isaacman said all processors are pretty much on the same page. UBC isn't really all that different from the competition in terms of services being offered. What really sets UBC apart, though, is its aggressive dedication to being better than the rest with pricing and support.

"We undercut everybody. We have to keep up with what our competition is doing and we have to beat them," he said. "We're far more aggressive. We control every aspect, so our costs across the board are lower.

"ISOs are the lifeblood of our business, and we have to give them what they want. The ISOs and agents can do one app or 100. The long-term relationships are essential. Our ISOs don't leave."

If UBC's 25 to 30 percent quarterly revenue growth rate is any indication, it must be doing something right. Overall, company revenue went up $3 million last year. Isaacman said UBC is increasing its new application count by 15% a month. "It's never gone down yet."

As Director of Operations, Isaacman oversees UBC's ISO programs and relationships. Brendan Lauber heads up the day-to-day ISO relations. Isaacman said agents can count on UBC to be there in the future.

"We'll be here forever," Isaacman said. "We are absolutely in the acquisition mode right now. We're here to help our ISOs build their portfolios, and when the time is right they will hopefully sell to us. We also intend to pursue acquisitions of other large ISOs."

To prove his point, Isaacman cited the investment of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" UBC is making in tech development. The new headquarters gives additional elbow room to expand tech and customer support, and new systems will offer more automated features.

For example, ISOs can track account information through the Interactive ISO System (IIS), an online advanced tool for ISO and agent portfolio management, communication and residual reporting. The system is free and essential for every ISO and agent working with UBC.

For ISOs, working with UBC is a win/win proposition with nothing but profits on the horizon, according to Isaacman. Its fixed Interchange rates and fees are guaranteed to be the lowest in the industry. There are no application charges, start-up costs or miscellaneous fees.

UBC approves 100 percent of all retail and 99 percent of mail, phone, and Internet business applications it processes, and those merchants receive their funds as fast as 24 hours after settlement. UBC puts the full contract control in the hands of its ISOs and agents.

UBC is trying to make it as easy as possible for ISOs to be as successful as they want to be. As Isaacman put it, "We're just here to approve the deals."