31 Flavors for ISOs

W e are the Baskin-Robbins of ISO services," says Vaden Landers, President of the ISO Line of Business for Global Payments Inc. "You can pick and choose from what we sell, both from product and services, to a complete set of front- and back-end operations to meet the specific needs of your business and more importantly, your merchant needs."

A worldwide provider of payment products and services that manage, support and speed the processing of funds for merchants, corporations, financial institutions and government agencies, Global Payments also is in the business of delivering comprehensive, end-to-end processing and information- management solutions, especially to financial institutions and ISOs. In processing more than 2.4 billion transactions per year and serving more than 915,000 merchant locations throughout its network, Global Payments offers:

+ Credit and debit card services.

+ Gift/loyalty programs.

+ Electronic benefits transfer.

+ E-commerce payment options.

+Terminal management and point-of-sale support services.

+ Check guarantee, verification and recovery services.

+ Emerging payments.

+ Business-to-business payments.

+ Fund-transfer services.

With a track record encompassing more than 30 years of experience through its former parent company, National Data Corp., Global Payments spun off from NDC on Feb. 1, 2001 and started trading as a separate entity. Since going public, Global Payments has doubled its market cap.

Impressive, but what does this mean to the ISO community? In a word, variety.

ISOs want it all, and Global Payments is eager to accommodate the unique needs of a vastly competitive marketplace. From the basic flavors of credit, debit, check guarantee and verification to leasing, terminal driving networks and merchant accounting platforms, to the more special assortment of EBT, gift/loyalty and e-commerce, Global Payment has amassed a comprehensive fleet of solutions - all under one umbrella.

ISOs need to establish only one relationship with one organization to enjoy a multitude of services without involving a slew of partners. For example, take the all-important financial institution relationship.

"We set you up with a sponsor bank, incorporating the costs with transaction fees in an effort to make it transparent to ISOs," Landers says. "You don't have to go out and search for a sponsor bank and try to sell them on what you have to offer as a particular independent sales organization.

"We've already established that relationship for you and more importantly, have indemnified each financial institution against any ISO losses, which may arise from our participation in this arena. All our potential partners have to do is substantiate themselves with us, and we facilitate the rest. We underwrite you."

Allied with such world-class financial institutions as HSBC Bank (Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corp.), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, and Comerica, Global Payments guarantees a worry-free banking component.

Once a bank gateway is established, Global Payments then serves up tasty front-end terminal driving networks and follows that with a full suite of payment services, back-end support services, custom programs and even help desks that are personalized for each ISO.

All those features make it easy to see how Global Payments is indeed the Baskin-Robbins of ISO services. But the savory solutions don't end there.

Global Payments also provides risk-management services and support for its ISOs. By using Global Payments' front-end network, transaction files can be filtered through Global's risk-management system for exception-reporting purposes.

Parameters are established on the merchant level, and constant checks are done and exceptions are flagged. Research is conducted on each flagged account - i.e., what percentage of liability the ISO is carrying, potential for loss, increased average ticket, increased sales volume, etc.

Ultimately, however, the decision to act is one that Global and its partner ISOs make jointly. Global Payments recognizes the fact that, in many instances, the ISO holds some liability in the relationship, and it works in concert with each ISO to insure that both organizations are protected from potential fraud and are in a position to prosper over the long term.

Landers says Global's outstanding offering is solution-oriented.

"The biggest bang for your buck - any problem that requires attention at any level," Landers says. "We have a team of skilled individuals geared toward business development and client relations within the ISO community. You can contact us at anytime. We are a relationship-oriented organization, dedicated to building strong solid partnerships with our ISOs and to becoming the market leader."

Landers adds, "Our goal is to put ourselves in a position where ISOs have to sit and think, 'What would I do without these guys?' as opposed to, 'What would I do with these guys?' We strive to assert ourselves as an indispensable business partner."

Landers readily acknowledges the other players in this space, such as Concord EFS, Nova and First Data. But before joining Global Payments, Landers was the president and founder of Bancard Consulting Group, an independent consulting firm that worked explicitly with ISOs in forming strategic alliances around the industry.

Constantly researching the market, Landers and his team gained extensive knowledge not only of the ISO marketplace but also of the competition and what each organization had to offer. From that, they set out to build the ideal ISO program.

Now that it's built, what are the next plans for this super infrastructure? "Our direction is creating and investing in technology," Landers says.

Global Payments is constantly asking itself, "How do we make it easier for people to do business with us? How do we help our partners grow and develop their business?" Global Payments has answered by spending money.

"Over the past six months, we've spent millions developing a Web-based interface, a merchant-enrollment system that ISOs can log onto, key in merchant data to open an account, and transmit the file to Global for activation," Landers says. "Once we receive the merchant data, it is systematically loaded to various internal and external systems, where in the past it had to be keyed an exorbitant number of times."

Imagine having to input data only one time, in one place and instantly issuing an MID. With a turnaround time ranging from a few minutes to a few days, depending on specific operational functions and liability, what ISO wouldn't want to choose this service?

Regarding the liability ingredient, Landers outlines Global Payments' approach: "We offer ISOs a number of options when it comes to taking on liability. Depending on where a certain group is in its ability or appetite to manage and withstand losses, we offer full-, shared- or zero-liability programs. Because the earnings each organization retains is important to them, we help our partners focus on the factors that drive revenue - liability, sales volume, operational responsibilities and so on. Each of these things is critical to the wholesale pricing and nature of relationship you can expect to structure with Global."

An ISO who opts for 100 percent liability has the ability to underwrite and enroll accounts, thus allowing the ISO to take advantage of that "few minutes" turnaround time from input to increased residuals.

But the Global Payments' Merchant Enrollment System doesn't end at enrollment. Through its in-house terminal management division, which includes equipment deployment, full inventory, repair and refurbishment, Global Payments truly completes the ISO turnkey program. At the time of the deal submission, ISOs can buy equipment and ship with customized programs from Global's facility, all because the data inputted contained specific equipment instructions. Now that's yummy!

Global Payments also plunked down another $2 million for a customer- and merchant-centric reporting tool. Called Global Access @dvantage, this merchant-information tool allows ISOs and merchants alike to go online and review transaction detail, batch reports and previous statements - all of which can be electronically printed anytime.

"We want to give ISOs complete autonomy, so we try to customize everything so that our partners are working to build and nurture their brands, not ours," Landers says. "We understand our role - at the end of the day we are widget movers! As a processor, we want to increase our transaction volumes; we're not looking for glory in the ISO world. Our glory will come from playing a strategic role in our ISOs' successful and continual interaction with their merchants."

Global Payments is partnered with more than 40 ISOs and has a pipeline full of prospects who are ready to take their business to the next level.

"We want to be dealing with all major, significant ISOs," says Landers - significant being defined as new merchant signings of 100 or more per month. "Above all else, we know that the marketplace has changed to the point that ISOs no longer buy or make crucial business decisions based on price alone. That was the competitive environment of yesterday.

"Today's market demands that your pricing be aggressive, but the depth and width of your business partnerships must be significant to the point you know you can always count on the level of support required to grow and prosper. I know that my team and my organization are all on board with this concept, and that is why we are winning, and will continue to win, new ISO opportunities now and into the future."

Headquartered in Atlanta with more than 1,500 employees worldwide, Global Payments has offices throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. For ISOs looking to share in the success, visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com or contact Vaden Landers at 800-801-9552, ext. 213.