any people don't believe in luck; rather, they believe in preparation and opportunity. "Lucky" folks are prepared for the instance when opportunity knocks. Successful business professionals are prepared and able to use that opportunity to their advantage. George Sarantopoulos, Access One ATM Inc. President and founder, is someone who recognized an opportunity and uses it to the fullest potential.

In 1999 Sarantopoulos worked in the restaurant and catering industry. "I was approached by an ATM company and saw an excellent opportunity when the marketplace was first opening up," he said.

He said that he recruited some of the best in the business, including even members of his own family, to create an ATM sales and leasing company with corporate productivity and a personal touch. "I created Access One with the goal to focus on customer service," he said.

Since Sarantopoulos has experience on the other side of the ATM sale, his philosophy is that the merchant always comes first. "By creating a company that understands the merchant's perspective, I knew I could deliver outstanding service to every business," he said.

As the company grew, there was another instance when preparation met opportunity. The company's customers began requesting additional services. Sarantopoulos recognized this opportunity and was prepared for it. "Our direct customers weren't happy with their current merchant services, so they trusted Access One to handle their merchant services business."

More than six years later, Access One provides auxiliary products such as prepaid cards and bill payment in addition to ATM sales and service; however, ATMs are still the bulk of its business (about 80%) because, "We are not looking to compete with our agents on the street," Sarantopoulos said.

"We provide extensive merchant service packages for different sectors of the retail community," he said. Those sectors include bars, nightclubs, lounges, apartment complexes, quick service restaurants and high-risk businesses.

"We provide merchant services for a wide variety of businesses from small, family-owned businesses and convenience stores to chain stores, but our specialty is high-risk merchant accounts," he said.

Access One has more than 25 direct employees in the New York City Metro area who deal primarily with retail locations. The company also has sales agents and offices across the country.

"We value them as an integral part of the Access One family," Sarantopoulos said. "While Access One works with some of the giant ISOs of the merchant services field, many members of our best sales staff are independent professionals working from a home or small office."

A focus on merchants

Even though Access One has experienced massive growth, the company is still focused on merchant needs because it understands that its success hinges on more than an ATM sale.

"It is in our best interest not only to sell another ATM machine, but to build long-term relationships with our customers," Sarantopoulos said. "A happy customer ... is our best advertising.

"The most important thing about our company is: service, service, service. From Maine to Alaska we aim to deliver outstanding service to our ISOs, merchant level salespeople (MLSs) and merchants ... with a help desk that is supported by over 50 combined years of merchant service experience, providing fast and effective answers to merchant questions, and instant access to sales and customer support."

A preference for ISOs

Sarantopoulos believes that exciting opportunities still exist in the field, and he is always looking for professionals and organizations to join his team, preferably ISOs and MLSs. "We prefer the ISO/MLS sales channel because they have experience dealing with merchants via face to face, and despite some bad apples in the industry most MLSs ... strive for a degree of professionalism."

He is specifically interested in speaking with experienced agents and those willing to learn. "We are looking for reputable, long-term relationships with professional sales people who will look after the merchant after the deal is done," he said.

ISOs and MLSs who work with Access One have control over how involved they are in the sale. They can either simply refer merchants, or they can have a more inclusive role.

"We can custom tailor a program depending on how involved they want to be," he said. "We have some companies that just refer ATM deals, and we have some companies that we have an alliance with, and their sales force [will] sign up the merchant directly and do all the hand holding while we handle the installations."

Since Access One specializes in high-risk merchants, ISOs working with the company can access a market that they might otherwise not be able to serve. Access One provides high-risk credit card processing and works with several leasing companies to get deals approved.

When working with Access One, agents earn 100% above the ATM price, installation and shipping costs. Regarding residuals, Sarantopoulos said, "It's the cornerstone of our company. We've been paying residuals for six years and never missed a beat."

Agents are paid residuals for the life of the account, and they have access to online reporting. "We want transparency; we want agents to feel secure with us," he said. "For example, when we do leasing, we run credit reports so we can see exactly what [the] merchant's credit is, and we will share this information with the agent."

Access One also provides service to merchants. It has a full service maintenance program for parts, labor and paper, if merchants purchase a machine. All machines are repaired within 24 to 48 hours of calling in a problem. The program includes costs incurred, labor and paper.

An expanding market

Some in our industry believe the time for ATMs has come and gone, but Sarantopoulos is not one of them. "I've been in the business over six years, and I've always heard the market is saturated, but here we are, years later, still selling ATMs. Despite what a lot of people think, there is still a lot of growth in this industry such as [with] bars, lounges, shopping centers, apartment buildings and entertainment venues," he said.

He also pointed out that not only are there venues and merchant segments adding ATMs, the ATMs in place also need to be replaced. Due to the 3DES requirement, ATMs will need to be upgraded or replaced by Dec. 31, 2006. "ATMs can be retrofitted, but it is very expensive," he said. "I definitely think there is a lot of opportunity for machines to be replaced."

Developing projects

Access One is not content to sit back and enjoy its success. Rather, the company is continually working on new projects. Currently it has three projects in development. The first is an ATM enclosure.

"We are developing an affordable outdoor ATM enclosure that is perfect for gas stations and shopping centers, or wherever an outdoor enclosure makes sense," Sarantopoulos said. The company also is working to deploy kiosks for hotel lobbies that will combine guest check in with ATM cash withdrawal.

When guests check in with the machine, it activates their room key. And at the end of the transaction it asks if they would like to withdraw cash for their stay.

Finally, Access One has developed a "2 in 1 terminal." This is a credit card terminal that is also an ATM scrip machine. Merchants have the option of switching from scrip to credit card processing. This can eliminate the cost of accepting ATM cards for payment and result in a profit center for merchants.

Access One has a two-pronged approach. It focuses on offering a variety of services and providing exceptional customer service. "What makes our company unique is that we have high quality products matched with outstanding service," Sarantopoulos said. "We give small businesses the service and attention usually only accorded to major corporations.

"Merchants get hit with different offers and calls about merchant services all the time. The key is ... a consultative approach and with different products. We can help agents do that."