Growing with the industry

On the verge of its 18th anniversary, Impact PaySystem LLC is celebrating the company's growth from a few hundred merchant clients shortly after launching in 2001 to thousands of satisfied merchants today. The reason for this, according to the Memphis-based ISO's executive team, is that the enterprise as a technology company focused on creating systems to help the payments industry grow. And as the industry grows, so does Impact PaySystem.

"Our focus has moved from the traditional ISO product offering to a highly charged technology company," said Dee Karawadra, CEO of Impact PaySystem. "Bridging the gap between merchant processing services and this highly charged mobile business world we find ourselves in today, we have an in-house development team that is now focusing on application development for business owners who need to run their businesses from mobile devices or tablets."

Impact has invested heavily in developing technologies that assist agents, ISOs and financial institutions with running payment businesses, streamlining services and integrating platforms. These efforts have enabled Impact and its partners to discover new avenues of commerce and maintain long-standing relationships.

One notable development Impact PaySystem prides itself on is a solution known as the Proposal Wizard. This application was created to help Impact's partners quickly analyze complex information from merchant statements and estimate go-forward pricing during a proposal meeting. The application not only speeds up the review and approval processes, it also aides with making the sale, the company stated.

"One of the hurdles we have in this industry is training and getting the feet on the street and our partners ramped up," Impact PaySystem President, Emily Karawadra, said. "The Proposal Wizard for iPhone and Android devices reduces training time by half and generates an immediate proposal, leading to more closed deals."

Exclusive help for verticals

Founded with an initial focus on petroleum merchants, Impact is no stranger to serving niche verticals. And over the past decade, the company's merchant portfolio has diversified significantly. It now currently serves organizations in the ecommerce, restaurant, retail, lodging and nonprofit sectors, among others.

"One way we differentiate ourselves is by focusing on niche markets," Dee Karawadra said. "We become the expert in areas we know, and then offer a variety of products needed to run businesses in these markets." Impact PaySystem sales partners can choose from a number of standard payment products and EMV (Europay, Mastercard and Visa) solutions, as well as specialty applications for mobile payment acceptance, same-day funding, integrated POS functionality, and more. In addition, the company offers unique products designed for the petroleum industry, hospitality and lodging establishments, and restaurants.

As part of a recent initiative focused on the restaurant industry, Impact developed the To Go Wizard product, which targets small restaurants. It also plans to release a new product that enables restaurant merchants to export their takeout menu to a mobile phone app or online ordering platform. This product enables true integration with the merchant's POS, and rewards and loyalty tracking systems, bringing new functionality to the restaurant industry, the company stated.

Partners first

When it comes to sales partners, Impact PaySystem noted its comprehensive lineup of products and services, including training, online customer relationship management (CRM) access, competitive buy rates, flexible compensation options, and a superior merchant product and support model.

The company also helps merchant level salespeople (MLSs) who wish to pursue a successful ISO venture through a transition program that guides them through all the necessary steps to become a registered ISO. In addition, Impact provides new ISOs with tools for boarding and supporting merchants, as well as a CRM system that includes residual payouts.

"This is one area we'd hoped would be available when we became registered 18 years ago," Emily Karawadra said. "We decided to create a program to cultivate well-rounded ISOs within the industry that can successfully attract and nurture new agents."

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