A legacy like no other

As payment company lifecycles go, the 34-year Payroc journey has been particularly dynamic. Founded in 1994, Payroc has moved through multiple acquisitions and mergers, a significant branding overhaul, and extensive organic growth. All of these created a legacy few companies in the industry can parallel.

Payroc and its family of affiliates comprise one of the largest merchant acquirer, processor and payment facilitator organizations in payments; the enterprise operates in 46 countries and processes $23 billion in annual charge volume for more than 55,000 merchants, the company reported. Headquartered in Chicago, Payroc employs over 200 staff and operates 11 facilities across the United States, Canada, Latin America and the United Kingdom. The company added that it also works with more than 2,100 referral partners.

Honoring sales, quality product

Payroc's president, Adam Bloomston, indicated the delivery of a quality product set and Payroc's reputation for valuing its sales force are what have enabled Payroc to achieve ongoing success. "Whether we're developing it ourselves, such as gateway APIs, RewardPay and CashRewards programs, or partnering with industry leaders like Quantic, CardFlight and eConduit, we ensure our partners have access to the best the industry has to offer," Bloomston said. "We believe our emphasis on product has contributed in large part to our uptick in new partners."

Payroc has been publicly recognized for nurturing its base of sales professionals, decade-by-decade, as well as contributing innovative tools, technology, and backing into the sales marketplace. In 2019, Payroc was crowned ISO of the Year by the Electronic Transactions Association, a highly regarded distinction within the payments industry. "The biggest focus of our business will always remain on our partners, agents and ISOs," Bloomston said. "These relationships are the lifeblood of our business, and we've always echoed that people do business with people."

The leader also noted sales-side dynamics are ever-changing and Payroc remains sensitive to these changes. "Another trend we're seeing is the rise of the gig economy and an increasing number of people retaining more than one profession," he stated. "Payroc is continuing to make our platform accessible to both industry veterans and the gig economy workforce."

An evolving landscape

Over time, Payroc has taken on numerous mergers and acquisitions, but 2019 proved to be a banner year as Payroc's leadership executed a four-way merger. "Since the merger of Payroc, Payscape, NXGEN and BluePay Canada back in October of 2019, we've worked tirelessly to combine cultures, teams, products, technology and capabilities across the globe," said James Oberman, Payroc chief executive officer. "We believe we've created the foundation to make us a leader in the payments space and a fantastic home for future acquisitions." "I feel we are in the middle innings of a monumental shift in the fundamental merchant acquisition model for payment solutions," said Marcus Dagenais, president of Canada at Payroc. "Traditional human-centric distribution channels such as ISOs, agents, direct sales, referral partners, etc., are being disrupted and replaced by software-centric distribution."

Looking forward

Dagenais added that he expects this trend will accelerate and bring good news for the industry as well. "Embedding payment solutions within software creates exponential top- and bottom-line growth for the underlying software firm via ancillary revenue on the processing volume, increased client stickiness and ultimately longer lifetime client value," he said. "So, while we increasingly need software, software increasingly needs payment processing infrastructure."

As far as the future, Bloomston predicts compliant surcharging will become widely accepted by merchants and consumers alike. "We believe this is the dawn of the mass acceptance of surcharging," Bloomston said. "Protecting every dollar is extremely important for the small business owner, and consumers are becoming more accustomed to the idea as it picks up speed in the market." Bloomston said Payroc has seen a dramatic rise in surcharge adoption and he expects it will continue. "It's part of our philosophy that businesses can't just reopen, they need to reinvent," he said.

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