n 2005, processing giants Paymentech LP and Chase Merchant Services were integrated. The result was Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC, which is the nation's largest financial transaction processor, according to the company. It is an end-to-end processor for merchants of all sizes and industries.

Before the merger, Chase Merchant Services was a joint venture between Chase Merchant Ventures Inc., a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co., and First Data Merchant Services Corp., a subsidiary of First Data Corp.

That alphabet soup of names means this processor has some serious power - in terms of both financial backing and workforce quality. Mike Duffy, Chief Executive Officer of Chase Paymentech, said the merger "combined the sales prowess and culture of Chase Merchant Services with the leading edge technological skills of Paymentech."

The company now functions as an independently managed joint venture. JPMorgan Chase holds 51% ownership; First Data holds the remaining 49%.

Some may believe a company loses its ability to be responsive and flexible when it grows. However, Duffy said Chase Paymentech's mission is to "be the most responsive, the most innovative, the most far-reaching electronic payment solutions provider that has ever been."

That may sound ambitious, but with more than 2,000 employees, and 12 offices throughout the United States, it isn't farfetched. Chase Paymentech handles 30% of the nation's processing. It has offices in Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, New York City and Dublin, Ireland, among others. In 2005, more than $560 billion in sales volume flowed through its channels.

Peer and industry recognition

Chase Paymentech is an active participant in the payments arena, and the company's achievements have been widely recognized. It has a presence on the boards of major payment networks and associations, including Visa U.S.A., MasterCard Worldwide and STAR Networks Inc.

The company has also been honored for achievement by Visa, MasterCard and VeriFone. It won the Visa Service Quality Performance Award for highest copy request fulfillment rate four times. It also received the MasterCard Processing Excellence Data Integrity Award for outstanding accuracy four times.

In 2002, it was recognized by the Information Management Network for excellence and innovation in the use of security technology. That year it also won the VeriFone Innovation Award.

These achievements, and others, are not coincidence. "We focus on our service commitment: to provide our partners with the most innovative and the most far-reaching electronic payment solutions," Duffy said.

This focus has enabled Chase Paymentech to become the largest processor of consumer payments on the Internet, the company stated. "We provide a variety of easy-to-use tools that enable our partners to assist merchants to set up a payment gateway and Internet merchant account for e-commerce transactions," said Bill McNally, Group Manager of Operations for Chase Paymentech's Strategic Partner Group.

Customer care is No. 1

Duffy and the executives at the Strategic Partner Group know if they provide exceptional service to their partners, they, in turn, will be able to provide exceptional service to their merchants. Kevin Sisk, Group Executive, Strategic Partner Group, said the company's goal is not to simply provide service, but also to build relationships.

"We take great pride in our commitment to ensuring that customer care is always our No. 1 priority," Sisk said. To that end, the company provides 24/7/365 customer service and help-desk support.

"Because we know quality people are at the heart of any successful partnership, we've assembled a great customer service team that's dedicated to helping you achieve your business objectives," Sisk added.

Chase Paymentech's commitment to service also influences the company's research and development projects. "Because of our relationships with our customers, we're able to gather customer information and use it to maintain, improve and innovate our products and processes," Sisk said.

Consultative services and FIRSTeam support

Chase Paymentech's focus on customer service extends to its internal customers - its ISO partners. The company provides ISOs with FIRSTeam relationship management services as well as portfolio executives to help them reach their goals.

FIRSTeam assists ISO partners with day-to-day issues. "We found that if a portfolio executive is traveling, it slows things down," Sisk said. "And when things slow down, it's hard to sell and no one wins. So we built the FIRSTeam."

The FIRSTeam comprises 14 relationship managers and three managers. They are available to all partners Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. FIRSTeam's mission is to assist partners with all tactical and operational issues that pop up throughout the day, such as how to log into a reporting tool, how to use it, etc.

Partners can call to speak with a live person or initiate communication via e-mail. "We have assisted many partners in becoming financially successful and have the right team to help new partners meet their financial goals," Sisk said.

Portfolio executives differ from the FIRSTeam in that they are purely focused on strategic initiatives and ISO growth. "We can help them [ISOs] establish and meet specific revenue goals, evaluate processes and share best practices for continual improvement," Sisk said.

Portfolio executives visit partners quarterly or semiannually. During visits, executives analyze portfolios and determine areas for improvement to help partners' businesses. "This is for the life of the relationship. Their growth is our growth," Sisk said.

Access to proprietary solutions

Since Chase Paymentech is a large organization with many resources, it is able to offer its ISO partners access to proprietary solutions, such as its authorization network, Paymentech Network Service (PNS).

"We have a proprietary network that they [ISOs] can't get anywhere else," Sisk said. "The people who really do their homework choose our network first, and that says a lot. They choose us because of reliability, uptime, breadth of POS applications and hundreds of value-added resellers that are certified to our network."

The company also offers robust Web-based reporting packages. Lydia Kuhl, Director of Marketing, Strategic Partner Group said, "We allow our partners to utilize our state-of-the-art platforms and tools and give them the ability to represent Chase Paymentech in the marketplace."

Solutions for ISOs of all sizes

Just as Chase Paymentech provides services to merchants of all sizes, it partners with ISOs of all sizes as well. From large ISOs, which require less assistance, to mid-tier and smaller ISOs, which appreciate more support, the company aims to provide each ISO with a service level that suits it best.

"We try to bring best practices, trends, benchmarks, etc., to particular ISOs in a particular market," McNally said.

ISOs are free to choose the programs that suit them best. Chase Paymentech will customize a program that works for an individual ISO. Offerings include recourse and nonrecourse programs, front-end-only solutions and agent-matching programs.

Sisk pointed out that most agents choose no-liability programs in which they simply register with Visa and MasterCard and leave the rest up to Chase Paymentech. "We do have liability programs for larger, more sophisticated ISOs who have risk management tools and people who know how to do it," he said.

The company also offers partners revenue-sharing programs in which they split revenue above factory pricing. "We have a very flexible approach to compensation and work with our partners to design a program that will fit their business goals," McNally said.

"We have an accurate and timely residual process, which is key to this business," Sisk added.

Community involvement

Chase Paymentech is a large entity, but it hasn't lost sight of the importance of community involvement or grassroots efforts.

It supports charitable organizations that offer health and human services or educational services within the communities Chase Paymentech serves. Each office adopts a local public school, and employees volunteer their time, money and tutoring skills.

Chase Paymentech has grown with its customers, rather than at the expense of its customers. As it has matured into a leading processor, it hasn't lost its customer focus. Instead, the company has used its strength and resources to create ways to provide individualized attention to its ISO partners and end users.