hirty-six years is a long time to be in the financial services industry. The only way a business can grow and thrive for that length of time is to constantly evolve and keep an eye on the future.

Comdata Corp. is an example of one such company. When it opened its doors in 1969, it provided the trucking industry with the first paper-based funds transfer service for cash advances. Today it provides end-to-end payment processing for a variety of payment types within all industries.

"Comdata is a full-service merchant processor, and its platforms support both its proprietary card networks as well as processing for any card tender a merchant may accept," said Mark Wilson, Comdata's Vice President of ISO Merchant Services.

In 2005 alone, Comdata processed more than 1 billion transactions worth a total surpassing $12 billion.

Headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., Comdata has an estimated 1,600 employees in 12 offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom serving more than 20,000 customers.

Some of Comdata's more high profile clients include Safeway Stores Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp., Sears Brands LLC and FedEx Corp.

Comdata began long before the advent of global positioning systems. However, it seems the company has always known where its trucks have been, where they are and where they are going. And, it's been able to map the best routes for its drivers.

Processing for any card, anywhere

Comdata provides a variety of services that include proprietary and co-branded payment products such as fuel cards, payroll cards, travel and entertainment cards, and fleet cards. It also serves diverse industries including transportation, retail, restaurant and entertainment.

"Comdata's core business is electronic transaction processing," Wilson said. "We provide companies with a variety of electronic payment options that help them save money on their payment management and processing."

Long-term loyalty

Comdata has evolved to serve multiple business sectors, but it has not abandoned the trucking industry. "In 1981, we were the first in the industry to offer card-based electronic data capture and information management services with our Comchek cards for over-the-road trucking customers," Wilson said. "This industry segment contributes the majority of company revenues today."

Comdata's proprietary fuel card network, available at more than 8,500 truck stops, travel centers, mobile fuelers and convenience stores, is the largest in the country.

The acquirer and the acquired

In 1995, Comdata was acquired by Ceridian Corp., a multibillion-dollar human resources and management company based in Minneapolis. For the past decade, Comdata has functioned as Ceridian's wholly owned subsidiary.

Wilson said that the acquisition didn't change how the company did business, but it did provide the capital necessary to expand the organization organically as well as through acquisitions. In fact, shortly after being acquired by Ceridian, Comdata acquired Trendar Corp. This allowed it to process its own transactions and cards.

The acquisitions continued. In 1999, Comdata acquired Stored Value Systems Inc., a former subsidiary of National City Corp. Today, SVS is a leading provider of retail gift card services and payroll card programs. SVS also issues smart cards to governmental agencies for electronic benefits distribution.

As a Comdata subsidiary, SVS has acquired Sash Management LLC, a firm doing business as Gift Card Solutions, an electronic cash card and check provider; and Datamark Technologies Inc., a provider of stored value and customer loyalty programs.

Last year, Comdata formed its full-service card processing subsidiary, Comdata Processing Systems, through the purchase of Tranvia Inc., a transaction processor. This expanded Comdata's capabilities beyond its own proprietary fuel and gift cards to include the ability to process any form of electronic payment.

According to Wilson, Comdata has aggressive growth plans in the bankcard processing industry and will be making more acquisitions in the next 18 months.

One-stop provider

Since Comdata provides all its card issuing and transaction processing in-house, it offers unique benefits to its merchants and its ISO and merchant level salesperson (MLS) partners.

"Comdata is a one-stop provider for the processing and issuing of credit, fuel, gift, loyalty and pay cards," Wilson said. "Our products are proprietary, and we know our products inside and out.

"The level of service is higher, and we can move quickly as new products are integrated. We are competitively priced, with the knowledge and resources to support these products at a very high level."

Wilson also stressed the company's reliability, citing its system uptime of nearly 100%. Comdata also focuses on providing excellent customer service, employing more than 300 customer service representatives who are available 24/7/365. Many of the help-desk employees speak multiple languages.

Also, Comdata has several customer-based committees established to provide input that will improve the company's offerings.

In addition to quarterly service and product meetings, Comdata hosts an annual users' conference to seek input from its customer base.

"Comdata is absolutely committed to its partners and is always seeking ways to improve our relationship with our customers, as evidenced by our 93% overall customer satisfaction survey," Wilson said. "We're extremely proud of this."

An invitation to ISOs and MLSs

Comdata Processing Systems is very focused on the ISO/MLS and agent-bank channel; it enables ISOs and MLSs to distribute all of its products.

The company invites ISOs of any size, from single-agent offices to larger organizations, to partner with it. "Our program is designed to accommodate MLSs, ISOs and agent banks of any size," Wilson said.

"We have the unique ability to structure programs for the MLS partner writing a handful of deals each month, up to ISO offices processing hundreds or even thousands of deals monthly."

Comdata provides all processing in-house. Thus, it offers its partners attractively priced, direct processor-to-agent pricing. This enables ISOs and MLSs to offer merchants highly competitive pricing without significantly impacting profit margins. Comdata's size and experience allow it to offer ISOs and MLSs a variety of partnership options including zero-, shared- or full-liability environments. Additionally, full-liability programs give ISOs the option of having their own BINs.

"Our experience, resources and extensive proprietary product offering have allowed us to bring a processing option to our resellers that is unmatched by our competition," Wilson said.

"Comdata is committed to providing our business partners with a stable, long-term processing relationship and building upon the impeccable product and service reputation we've earned throughout our company's 36-year history."

Simple residual structure

Comdata's core values are based on trust, listening, reliability and integrity. As such, it understands the importance of paying ISOs and MLSs on time and accurately. "We've paid residuals to many of our reseller partners for nearly 10 years," Wilson said. "Paying residuals on time and accurately every time is critical. This is an area where Comdata consistently delivers quality service."

Partners' revenue share is based on their production and ranges from 50% to 75%, with no liability. "Our cost and residual structure is very simple," Wilson said. "We pass through our true interchange and transaction cost and then share revenue with our MLS partners on all billing items."

Wilson noted that Comdata's partners can also earn bonuses. "We offer an aggressive signing bonus program," he said.

"We also have merchant funding, leasing, check processing and equipment purchasing programs which provide additional revenue streams for our MLS partners."

An ideal environment for partners

Wilson thinks that Comdata's pricing and the range of proprietary electronic payment products it offers will enable its ISO and MLS partners to create more revenue, strengthen merchant relationships and decrease merchant attrition. "This, coupled with our award-winning customer service team, creates an ideal environment for our business partners to thrive," he said.

Comdata began as a single-service provider to a niche industry. Today it is an international payment and transaction processor serving a variety of industries. This company has a clear vision of where it's been and where it wants to go. It invites ISOs and MLSs to join in the journey.