allas tends to be larger than life, with everything from Texas longhorns to $20 million mansions, and technology also is big in Big D. As for credit card processing and merchant services, is there a more appropriate locale for a provider than the birthplace of Neiman Marcus?

No wonder Certified Merchant Services is so successful.

CMS, located in the Dallas suburb of Plano, was formed in 1991 as a sales organization soliciting merchant accounts for other processors, and it has been on a mission ever since to provide cost-effective electronic transaction processing for retail and professional merchants nationwide.

In 1998, CMS began performing customer service and underwriting functions in-house. Today, CMS is a full-service provider for its customers and offers data-capture services utilizing hardware, software and e-commerce solutions for all major credit card transactions as well as electronic processing of debit/ATM cards and checks with its own check guarantee and conversion.

CMS also offers merchants private-label gift cards and e-commerce sites. Rather than outsourcing these services, CMS minimizes its dependence on third-party companies by managing and servicing all of its offerings in- house. Add equipment sales and leasing, equipment warranty and 24-hour customer support, and Certified Merchant Services is a one-stop service center for retailers, restaurants and professional merchants.

As seasoned ISOs know, there are more than a few providers whose slogan is "one-stop shopping." What sets Certified Merchant Services apart? Perhaps it's the advancements CMS has made in technology. Perhaps it's the $750,000 it has invested in just the last year in infrastructure, phone systems, hardware, programmers and technology. Perhaps it's attitude.

"We are a young, committed, aggressive, compassionate environment," says Jon Frankel, President/CEO of CMS. "Everyone has capabilities to compete in our space. There are very few companies, if any, that are committed to not outsourcing as much as we are. Most companies don't want the headache."

While credit and debit cards are CMS's core competence, CMS is increasingly focused on check conversion, in part because of its high growth potential. CMS anticipates the market size for check conversion to triple in the next 10 years, and its ElectroCheck division is poised to become a dominant player in this new arena. Value-added or stand-alone, this service targets an area that is still in its infancy.

"ElectroCheck is up and coming. We see it converting checks into electronic payments as a huge opportunity for growth," says Frankel. "We don't only do check conversion, we do it with guarantee. We do guarantee without conversion. We also do verification and collection."

In fact, CMS provides more guarantees without conversion than with it. According to Frankel, "I see more people seeing conversion as a convenience. It doesn't always have to be about money. How about just the convenience of it?"

For industry insiders who argue against check conversion, Frankel offers his company's approach as a strong argument for it.

"We are supporting our conversion 100 percent in house. We designed the software, settlement, statement- issuing, customer support, the works," he says. "Possibly, other companies are dependent on someone else getting the job done, and that's why they're failing. If we make a mistake, I like to do it in- house. I don't want to rely on third parties. We control our own destiny."

CMS hopes that philosophy will appeal to ISOs who control their respective universes. CMS even built and owns its own 40,000-square-foot building, which sits on 3 1/2 acres. Now that's a universe - a universe that also includes e-commerce.

CMS's Electro Commerce product strategy is twofold. First, a scalable in- house Internet payment gateway solution has been constructed, enabling merchants to accept a variety of payment options, including credit card and ACH. Second, CMS has acquired the technology necessary for small merchants to take their business online simply and cost effectively through turnkey solutions, including a professionally built e-commerce-enabled Web site, complete with domain registration and promotional tools.

CMS is a total Web package provider, having designed all software in-house. How does it all come together? The independent agent has the merchant fill out the Electro Commerce application. Once it is received, CMS builds the merchant Web site, homepage and shopping cart; registers domain; hosts the Web site at its facility, including e-mail; offers the payment gateway; and processes merchant transactions - all with a turnaround time of less than 48 hours, sometimes same day.

"The merchant doesn't do anything," says Frankel. "We even test it within 48 hours. All downloads happen in our building. We outsource nothing. When we build the front and back end, we also build the download file, so the merchant number is there and ready to go."

According to Frankel, the construction is pretty basic. Should the merchant want to add bells and whistles or plan on future updates, CMS will provide each merchant with a disk containing special data with 24-hour tech support for any changes, free of charge.

For gift cards, CMS offers ElectroGiftcard. Hosted in house, either value- added or as a stand-alone solution, CMS immediately responds after the application is received, making the card, activating it, testing it and getting it back to the merchant in record time. Because ElectroGiftcard is Web-based, merchants can check their program anytime in real time via CMS's Web site.

Leasing is provided through an in-house division, Certified Leasing, funded by Lease Finance Group. All accounts that get a merchant number get an automatic lease approval. CMS's equipment is provided through a partnership with Horizon Group, with special pricing and 24-hour replacement with no charge for shipping or replacement.

CMS also offers 24/7 customer support. Its in-house help desk has two departments - one for customer support and one for technical support.

What are CMS's rates for all these impressive solutions? "Our credit and debit programming is literally the best in the industry," Frankel says. "We will compare to anyone. We keep making our pricing better and better. Now it's the best. Because ISOs have made this company, they deserve to get our economies of scale."

How many ISOs is CMS reaching out to? "As many as possible because we always stay a step ahead of the game," Frankel says. "We have more employees than needed because we want to stay ahead of our growth. We added over 100 employees just this year. We can handle as many ISOs as want to be part of CMS."

While CMS has grown by relying on merchant applications from independent agents, it also is working on creating a presence in markets where there are no independent agents and has begun a direct sales program to increase its national presence. Could this create conflict? Frankel says no.

"We are honest with our public," he says. "Most other companies do have an in-house sales force, and they don't admit it. We take the approach of not misleading our independents.

"We don't see ISOs in competition because we don't focus on areas where we have representation. We have had almost zero head-bumping. Again, that's because we appreciate our independents and recognize they have been our bread and butter for the last 10 years."

In addition to CMS's aggressive internal-growth strategies, it has begun to pursue acquisitions of merchant portfolios in order to exploit scale advantages and rapidly expand market share. CMS plans to pursue merchant portfolios that can provide immediate earnings while it also looks at other payment-related companies that can provide complementary products and/or functionality.

"In the past, CMS has sold a few portfolios, and that's how we generated money to expand the business," says Frankel. "Now we are ready to start acquiring portfolios. From now to December 2002, our goal is to purchase up to $50 million in portfolios."

What CMS doesn't plan on changing is its commitment to service.

"In the past, we really didn't appreciate the true 100 percent commitment to service, probably because we weren't as long-term focused as we are now," says Frankel. "Ninety percent won't cut it. You're either 100 percent or nothing. CMS provides service not just for customers but for everything we do - independents, customers, employees, even our infrastructure. Our company's growth can be directly attributed to our commitment to service."

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, CMS already has 500 independent agents as well as 300 in-house employees. By the end of 2001, CMS hopes to have approximately 50,000 open merchant accounts, adding an estimated 10,000 new accounts per quarter.

To kick that growth up a notch, CMS is planning a big celebration, Texas style, at the ETA show next month in Dallas. CMS invites ISOs to join the party at its booth, complete with daily entertainment and a drawing for a trip to Las Vegas.