An ISO of, by and for the MLSs

Could a person who can't dribble a basketball coach a championship NBA team? Is it possible for someone who has never house-trained a puppy to teach effective dog training classes?

How about those who have yet to knock on a merchant's door or install a POS terminal? Are they likely to have a true grasp of the merchant level salesperson (MLS) experience? No way.

Money Movers of America understands MLSs. The ISO was founded in 2004 by financial services professionals who have more than 50 years' combined experience in credit and automated clearing house (ACH) processing, agent relations and micro-ticket leasing.

MMOA treats agents the way its founders wish they had been treated when their shoes were of the wellworn MLS variety.

Promises honored

MMOA operates from its corporate headquarters in Westchester, Ill., and a second office in Dallas, Texas. "Since our inception, MMOA has been one of the fastest growing ISO/ MSPs in the nation," said Anthony W. Holder, MMOA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are currently providing services to several thousand merchant accounts nationwide."

Even with such rapid current and projected expansion, MMOA intends to grow in ways that help MLSs. Holder, a former agent, draws from his personal experiences in an ongoing effort to create better opportunities for ISOs and MLSs.

"I have been through a program where you … were promised the world and it was never delivered," he said. "We are not going to allow our growth to reach a point where we can't service our merchants or our agents."

MMOA values ISOs and MLSs and uses the independent sales channel exclusively to sell its products. The company has 10 direct employees. The rest of its business is outsourced to third parties. "All of MMOA's new accounts are generated by independent sales agents," Holder said. MMOA provides payment services to all types of businesses throughout the United States and Canada. But its special focus is on the educational and instructional market.

"With premier provider status for several major associations in this emerging market, MMOA expects to enter 2008 with over 5,000 active accounts processing well over 3 billion in annual sales volume," Holder said.

Money in the open

MMOA has structured its business to have maximum appeal for ISOs and MLSs. "We are the ultimate ISO's ISO, taking our agent partnerships to a whole new level of service and support," Holder said. When it comes to compensation, MMOA provides something the company's principals wish they had when they were agents: direct reporting and no markup of sponsoring bank fees.

"It is a bit of a revolutionary concept, but it's not a revolutionary product," Holder said.

"We give the agents direct pass-through. We do not mark up anything." MMOA is aiming to raise the industry bar for residuals reporting. Holder noted that the chief complaint among MLSs is that reports are late or difficult to understand due to varying report formats or fields.

Since MMOA does not mark up sponsoring bank fees, it can provide agents with residual reports directly from its sponsoring bank.

"Residual reports are generated from our sponsor program, not leaving room for adjustments or delay," Holder said. "There is no way to change or manipulate reports or data."

Agents can manage their accounts online, and they can view their merchants' transaction activity daily in real time. MMOA also uses an online application solution that allows agents to simply and securely upload completed applications, rather than e-mail or fax them.

Holder sees MMOA as well-suited to serving ISOs and MLSs who either do not want to or are unable to pay the $10,000 fee to register with the card Associations and who prefer not to manage compliance issues and regulations. According to Holder, the majority of MMOA's ISOs use only the company's ACH services because they have their own direct bank relationships for merchant account acquisition. That's fine with MMOA.

The company does not use buy rates. Instead, it employs a revenue sharing commission structure and lifetime residuals. It also does not require agent exclusivity. "If we don't get them business, we are failing them, and I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to leave," Holder said.

In addition, MMOA requires no monthly minimums or quotas. "It doesn't matter if they get one deal or 100," Holder said.

ACH innovations

MMOA's first core product was ACH processing. The business is a third-party processor for ACH transactions and has its own Web-based software and interface. MMOA recently combined that interface with a credit card interface to create a single platform.

"We now have a combined dual interface for Web or MO/TO merchants, providing them with the ability to conduct both credit card and ACH transactions through one application," Holder said.

He noted that other companies, such as Authorize.Net, may offer such a product, but it is outsourced. MMOA's solution is not. "This also provides our agent base the ability to control and manage two different revenue streams through one system," he said. "Our agents never leave money on the table."

According to Holder, MMOA's ACH processing solutions are by far the most popular for its merchants. Approximately 80% of MMOA's clients are now taking advantage of the combined ACH and credit card offerings. MMOA's goal is to convert the remaining 20% to ACH processing as well.

MMOA recently debuted private branding of its ACH products. "Each ISO or MLS who uses our product can market an ACH interface that is unique to their brand requirements," Holder said.

Currently three agents are using this service, and the company expects many more to take advantage of the program as it matures.

Support multiplied

Committed to agent education, MMOA offers onsite training at its headquarters, as well as offsite training at agent offices.

The offsite training costs $1,500 for two days. The fee includes the trainer's travel and lodging expenses. The company also provides free webinars, which are on-demand for initial training sessions and scheduled twice a week for ongoing education. Topics of scheduled webinars change monthly, and agents are free to attend as many as they wish.

MMOA also believes in the importance of expert, accessible customer service and technical support. It offers top-level support Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. To provide support 24/7, after hours support calls are referred to a help desk at Chase Paymentech Solutions LLC.

Through its in-depth industry knowledge, partnership strategy and innovative solutions, MMOA endeavors to provide ISOs and MLSs the products and support they need to be competitive.

"MMOA offers a first-class suite of products and services and customized processing programs uniquely tailored for any business type," Holder said. "We can compete on every level."

With MMOA in their corner, it looks like ISOs and MLSs are a long way from perishing from this earth.

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