Product: Rate Tracker
Company: Rate Tracker
Rate Tracker, a company dedicated to educating and empowering small and midsize business owners, launched Rate Tracker, a solution designed to add clarity and transparency to credit card processing. The AI-based solution, powered by Plaid, enables merchants to automatically keep track of their effective interchange rates; participating merchants are notified immediately when rate and fee increases occur, according to Adam Niec, founder and CEO of Rate Tracker.
Frustrated by rate hikes and hidden fees, Niec assembled a team of software developers and engineers to design Rate Tracker. "We provide merchants with educational and business resources along with the ability to automatically track their monthly credit card fees," he said. Niec summarized Rate Tracker's guiding principles as accountability, transparency and empowerment. He added that the company was first to market with the AI-powered rate tracking system, and the product is widely available to subscribers following a successful beta test, he stated.
Rate Tracker helps ISOs and merchant level salespeople (MLSs) generate more leads and qualify their prospects, Niec noted. Users have reported that the tool has helped them increase closing ratios and maintain higher margins. Early adopters have also claimed that Rate Tracker is helping them accelerate sales cycles and generate more referral partners.
"Rate Tracker is relatively new, but we expect to it help partners improve customer longevity and maintain relationships, even after deals are lost, as merchants continue to use the tool to track their effective rates," Niec said. The company looks forward to more feedback from merchants, MLSs and ISOs who share how the solution improves transparency and integrity in payments.
Niec additionally noted that Rate Tracker solves a problem that arose from lack of regulation and sheer greed. It's exciting to see the response so far, and with our current growth rate, our goal is to have a million end-user merchants by the end of 2021, he stated.
Rate Tracker stops the race to the bottom that has been prevalent in the processing industry, Niec stated. "Instead of asking to see a merchant statement or offering to help a merchant save money on fees, MLSs can give a merchant something that is free and valuable," he said. "It only takes the merchant a minute to download the app or go to the Rate Tracker website to verify a six-digit code and create a login portal."
Rate Tracker MLSs, ISOs and referral partners can view active users on their dashboards, where they can track each merchant's monthly effective rates and processing volumes, Niec stated. This enables agents to contact prospects when they see something out of the ordinary, such as a sudden rate increase, he noted, adding that when agents sign new merchants, Rate Tracker holds them accountable by monitoring merchants' transactions and notifying users of changes.
Niec acknowledged that business owners don't always have time to monitor credit card statements. He recalled an industry colleague whose business was impacted by COVID-19. While his processing volumes had substantially decreased, he continued to pay the same amount in processing fees.
"He had been priced very well for a while until the processor increased his rate by nearly $3,000 a month," Niec said. "I gave him pricing for life and an app that holds me accountable."
Niec expressed hope that others will join Rate Tracker's nationwide movement aimed at fostering education, transparency and accountability among processors and merchants. "Supporting the good companies will naturally drive out the bad ones," Niec said. "I envision a day where agents and ISOs can walk into an appointment and the merchant knows they are 'Rate Tracker Certified.' This will help them close more deals and earn more relationships."
Rate Tracker and payments industry stakeholders can help reform an industry that is crucial to business owners and consumers and ensure that business owners are treated fairly, Niec added. 
Website: www.ratetracker.io Contact: hello@ratetracker.io
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