Building blocks for SMB success

Nearly 20 years after opening its West Coast sales office, CreditCardProcessing.com now serves 153,000 merchants in the United States and Canada that process an estimated $22 billion annually. Under parent company iPayment Inc., CCP continues to build an internal sales force and partner channel, while iPayment provides the underwriting, processing, customer service and back-end support, and manages the external sales channel. "We actually specialize in helping out small to medium businesses lay down the blocks to their future because it's tough out there," said Ryan Mirpanah, Director of Sales at CCP. "We understand what that's like because we started out as a really small business back in the late 1990s. Through hard work and understanding the industry, we have been able to grow."

Knowing the importance of being transparent is one focal point. "We really pride ourselves on not only disclosing everything from rates and fees, but also monthly fees and any type of costs that are out there," Mirpanah said. "We truly focus on building long-standing business relationships, which is an important piece of this industry."

Another critical piece is that merchants are not locked into any long-term agreements. Instead, businesses can add or drop services on a month-to-month basis without facing cancellation fees, he noted. The company's suite of value-added programs includes the Quiq payment gateway, PIRQ digital loyalty program, merchant cash advance, payroll, and wireless services, among others.

As a full-service company, CCP merchant coverage includes acceptance of all major card brands, as well as POS solutions targeted to retail, restaurant, e-commerce, mobile and MO/TO businesses. It also maintains a low-cost guarantee that promises a gift card reward should CCP be unable to beat a competitor's offer.

Putting merchants in control

According to Mirpanah, some providers charge $300 or more for EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) POS equipment. "We have a couple different programs, and we're one of six companies [as of May 2016] to offer mobile EMV card readers," he said. "In addition to free EMV terminals, we're also running programs where we're offering free EMV POS systems. There are some specific guidelines to it, but that is something that does separate us from the crowd."

Another key differentiator is CCP's white-label approach, with the digital PIRQ loyalty program being one example among its broader offerings. "You don't have to be a multibillion dollar international organization," Mirpanah said. "You can just be a local mom-and-pop shop and, through the PIRQ program, set up a specialized loyalty program to drive clientele."

With PIRQ and other CCP offerings, merchants are able to fine tune programs as needed. "They can adjust programs anytime they like, but what's great about the PIRQ system, for example, is it's value-added," he said. "It might not be beneficial for a brand new business starting out, but once you get some money flowing, that's the perfect time to add it."

Merchant cash advances apply similarly for businesses with some experience under their belts. "We do have that option for anyone that has been in business at least six months, who may be looking to add a new location, extra help or an extra bump where they don't want to dip into their own funds," he said.

Not being locked in and fee transparency have created trust within the CCP merchant community, Mirpanah noted. "It's all about keeping the ball in your court, which as a business owner, that's why you do it; you want to have control," he said. "And that's what we give to our customers."

For merchant level salespeople who sign on, CCP offers signing bonuses based on certain criteria being met, revenue share programs, bonus plans, residual payments for the life of the account, personalized training, opportunity for promotion, and advanced sales and reporting tools. For partners, Mirpanah is also the direct point of contact.

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