Page 26 - GS181102

Spotlight Innovators

lectronic Merchant Systems (www.emscorporate.
com), has been helping small and mid-size busi-
ness owners realize their full potential since 1988.
E Headquartered in Northeast Ohio, with sales offic-
es across the country, EMS provides trouble-free deployment
of customizable payment applications to increase business
profitability. EMS serves tens of thousands of retail, internet,
and start-up businesses nationwide, processing over $3 bil-
lion in annual payment card transactions. EMS, a recognized
payments industry leader and brand, increases its clients’
financial wellbeing through its innovative suite of business
solutions, high-quality service and professional employees.

What’s New:
Three top payment professional challenges, solved

lectronic Merchant Systems (EMS) welcomed its first customer in 1988, when countertop terminals began
replacing paper receipts. Through the years, the company continues to evolve while remaining true to its
founding principles. EMS CEO Daniel Neistadt attributes the company’s growth to its expanding network of
E talented payment professionals. “Our mission is to lead the industry through innovative solutions and high-
quality service, while increasing the financial well-being of our clients,” Neistadt stated. “Working closely with agents
enables us to execute on these objectives. Their expertise and close merchant relationships help us understand small
and midsize business owners and deliver the timely solutions they need.” As technology companies enter the payments
industry, Neistadt said payment professionals can maintain their competitive advantage by leveraging their industry
knowledge and close ties to merchants. “Our agent partners are frequently first to spot new trends; they provide valu-
able insights to EMS product and marketing specialists,” he noted. “As new entrants disrupt the market and increase
competition, they only deepen our resolve to support payment professionals and remove any barriers to entry.” Payment
professionals face numerous barriers every day; most describe the following as their three biggest challenges:

Challenge 1: CNP Approvals
In a study published Feb. 16, 2018, The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce found ecommerce transactions
reached $453.5 billion in 2017, a 16 percent increase over the previous year. Despite year-over-year growth in ecommerce
and improvements in transaction security, many issuing banks continue to decline card-not-present (CNP) merchants.
Card not present (CNP) transactions generally carry at higher risk for chargebacks than card-present transactions, which
can raise a red flag during the application review process.

EMS believes an agent who has discovered a merchant opportunity, closed the sale and helped a new customer through
the application process, deserves personal attention, not an automatic decline by a risk-averse bank. The company’s
underwriters work with multiple sponsor banks and know each bank’s preferences and areas of expertise. This knowledge
helps them match incoming applications with banks most likely to approve them. EMS Agent Relationship Managers
advocate for agent partners, working with underwriters and executive managers to fast-track each new deal. Automated
status emails keep agents notified of each application’s status from receipt to approval. An online portal provides
additional real-time updates, status and reports.

"We have no line item vetoes for credit scores and legitimate business types – our underwriters look at the entire deal,”
Matt Shepard, EVP Agent Program, explained. “EMS has been providing payment processing services for Card Not
Present merchants since 1988 and we currently service tens of thousands of retail, Internet, and start-up businesses
nationwide. We have multiple sponsor banks to send an application to. If one bank doesn’t like it, we will see if another
one will. Our company mantra is No Good Merchant Left Behind."
Challenge 2: Agent Support

Customer service is a companywide effort at Electronic Merchant Services, and its service commitment is reflected in
every merchant, ISO and agent relationship. We go in to each merchant interaction with two goals – solve the issue and
solve the customer so our agents do not have any “fence-mending” to do. The company’s Agent Relationship Management
team has more than fifty years of collective experience. From sales support to tech support to residual expertise, they are
an agent’s one stop shop. "I built a solid foundation of skills, knowledge and experience in my 8 years working in EMS'
customer service, and technical support departments,” stated Thomas "Ace" Shorter, Agent Relationship Manager. “I

26