Thanks for the Information

Paul,

You and I met several years ago in the early Heartland days during the road show meetings for recruiting and training. At that point, I was just starting out in the industry, awakening to the many rewards (personal and financial) this business has to offer. [These] days I am with an ACH service bureau as the National Sales Manager. A lot has changed since 1995 when we met in Long Beach, [including] the landscape of industry ... I wanted to say that The Green Sheet has been my main resource for gaining knowledge and has helped guide me to a higher plateau in my career. Thanks so much for your contribution.

Steve Lovato, Sales Manager
Checkgateway.com

Agents Gone Bad … Revisited

Editor's Note: In the May 23, 2005 issue of The Green Sheet (issue 05:05:02), we published a letter in Forum from someone inquiring how to warn others about a sales agent with unscrupulous behavior.

In our industry, we have a "Merchant Terminated File" list for obvious reasons. Do you know of an "Agent Terminated File" list? I have been in this industry for almost 12 years now and have seen or paid for almost every imaginable "BAD" agent tactic. … Any input would be greatly appreciated.

– Name withheld upon request

We referred this person to David H. Press of Integrity Bankcard Consultants, a risk management consulting firm. Press' response follows:

The ISO should contact the member bank about contacting Visa regarding listing of the agent in the Agent Reference File at Visa. The member should then contact Franchise Management at Visa regarding the Agent Reference File. Their contact information is e-mail: agentregistration@visa.com or fax: 650-432-1862. Visa may permanently prohibit an agent and its principal from providing services with respect to Visa products for good cause, such as:

• Fraudulent activity
• Any activity that causes the member to repeatedly violate the Visa U.S.A. Operating Regulations
• Operating in an unsound, unsafe manner
• Any other activities that may result in undue economic hardship or damage to the goodwill of the Visa system, if the agent fails to take corrective action.

If you have any further questions feel free to contact me.

David H. Press, Principal and President
Integrity Bankcard Consultants Inc.
dhp@integritybankcard.com

Clarification

The article "Check Businesses Adapt to Changing Industry" (The Green Sheet, May 9, 2005, issue 05:05:01), cited a statement from a Houston Chronicle article that First Data Corp. said was reported incorrectly:

… First Data Corp. subsidiary TeleCheck, announced plans to downsize its Houston office, saying it would eliminate 380 jobs … and might be the company's response to the "nationwide trend of fewer people using checks to pay for goods and services," the "Houston Chronicle" reported.

A First Data spokesperson said the jobs are being transitioned from Houston to newer First Data facilities in Corpus Christi, Texas and Daytona, Fla. "to take advantage of existing technology."