Expert portfolio acquisition and stewardship

David Daily, CEO of Cutter LLC, founded the company in 2006 with a primary focus of helping ISOs and merchant level salespeople (MLSs) leverage their residual income streams. At the time, he saw an increasing need for alternative financing resources for agents and ISOs seeking to build their businesses, the company stated.

Originally based in Franklin, Tenn., Cutter is now headquartered in Wyomissing, Pa., with branch offices in Birmingham, Ala., and Franklin. Since its inception, Cutter has completed hundreds of portfolio acquisitions of all sizes within the merchant services industry. More than 200 have involved MLS accounts, with several larger accounts recently added.

"We've seen an influx of larger portfolios coming our way the last few years," said Denise Shomo, Cutter LLC president. "We've continually diversified the company to proficiently handle these accounts and are now entertaining other types of portfolios, like software company and alternative payment accounts."

According to Shomo, this approach has earned Cutter consistent year-over-year revenue increases, as well as expansions in service offerings and staffing. Shomo reported the number of staff members at the firm tripled between 2016 and 2019. Broadened horizons Shomo joined Cutter in 2008, following its acquisition of Meridian Merchant Services. She served both MMS and Cutter in operations before accepting her current position at Cutter in 2012. In the last seven years, she has helped lead the company toward a host of new business opportunities. For example, as the firm has evolved, it has taken on new types of portfolios, such as residual accounts generated through payment gateway, ATM and automated clearing house businesses, she noted.

Most recently, Cutter applied its acquisition savvy to purchases involving larger ISOs, as well as independent software vendors (ISVs) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers that have payment integration capability but may not be fully monetizing the payments side of business.

In these cases, Cutter may purchase the residuals of the company or invest more deeply. "We are now buying whole ISOs and SaaS/ISV companies," said Alex Daily, business development director at Cutter. "The firm is really ready to accept all portfolio types and sizes, and nothing is too small or large for us since we've expanded our acquisitions team."

Highest standard of ethics

According to Cutter's website, the firm's strength, speed and trust are the "building blocks of our reputation for providing maximum value from the purchase of MLS Agent/ISO residual streams and merchant portfolios." And the Cutter leadership team publicly endorses the common goal of "improving the payments arena with a high standard of ethics" and ensuring "fair deals that are good for all the parties involved."

Shomo confirmed that Cutter "strives to handle every portfolio purchase with integrity and the best customer service possible." She also noted the company's flexibility, stating, "Our clients can continue to service their accounts if they prefer, or our retention and service team experts are prepared to step in and ensure each customer is well taken care of."

Cutter prides itself on having lowered portfolio attrition levels through its dedicated service and retention teams and on being known for structuring every deal to assure the seller receives all trailing earn-out payments. "We have a 13-year, trust-based reputation, and it shows, because clients often return to us again and again," Daily said, adding that the company won't move merchants or sell a portfolio, and all deals are tailored case by case.

Indeed, the Cutter website, https://cutterfinancial.com, contains a page of testimonials from satisfied clients validating the firm's ethics and dedication to creating a positive customer experience. In a separate endorsement, repeat customer Lew Chiarello, owner of Universal Merchant Services and a long-time Cutter client, summed it up, stating, "I have sold five portfolios to Cutter and felt the buyouts were more than fair, the company was professional and the time it took to complete the transaction was considerably less than I had expected."

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