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Education

StreetSmarts SM

“Starting in the Street

and ending at the

Merchant’s front door”
Steve Norell

Some things I've learned

By Steve Norell ISOs are out to make money. All of the dinners, trips and
US Merchant Services Inc. promotional giveaways in the world cannot hide the fact
that, in the end, MLSs are paying for all of that. I'd rather
have the lowest of costs versus all the trips, dinners, get
Editor's note: It is with much gratitude that we bid farewell to Steve
Norell as author of Street Smarts . He jumped in to help last summer, togethers or whatever else they could think of. You know
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when we had an unexpected need for a new author. And what a superb what else I learned? Never get married to one ISO.
job he has done. His articles have been honest, fresh, insightful and Costly lawsuits
reflective of his extensive industry experience. We hope he will continue
to submit articles for our Education and Views sections as time allows. Avoid lawsuits like the plague. However if you do get
We are also thrilled to say that Dee Karawadra is returning as Street involved in a legal hassle with your ISO or an MLS, ask
SmartsSM author beginning with our April 13 issue. He wrote the col- these questions before you fork over a boatload of money:
umn from April 2007 through March 2008. And this time around, his
wife and business partner, Emily Karawadra, will co-author the articles. 1. What am I suing over and is it worth it?
Be prepared to be inspired. 2. What are my chances of winning?
n this, my final article as Street Smarts author, I'll 3. If I win, can I collect?
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go through some things I've learned, experienced
and witnessed, starting with the ISO-MLS relation- Also, most lawsuits between ISOs and MLS occur
I ship. When I entered the industry, I was a merchant because one of the parties didn't do an adequate job of
level salesperson (MLS) who knew next to nothing and reading the agreement or get qualified professional help
had no one to get answers from. So, like most MLSs, I in understanding the agreement. This can be avoided by
signed with an ISO. The relationship went as far as it hiring an industry attorney – not an attorney outside the
could until I moved my business to a different ISO, and industry, but one who knows the trap doors. I've seen
moved again, and again, and finally, I became an ISO. countless MLSs have their agreements reviewed and
approved by a family attorney, only to find out later that
Each of those other ISOs wanted me to feel like they had they were paying ridiculous rates and were prisoners to a
my best interests at heart, and we were one big, happy one-way contract.
family. Nothing could be further from the truth. Their
main goal was to get most, if not all of my business. Remember, the person at your ISO who treats you like
They did what was expected, but at the end of the day, family today is usually the same person who will be on
they failed to pass on important information and, dare I the other side of the conference table during depositions.
say, misled me on pricing, costs, software development, Often, it's the head of the ISO or someone at the top. Your
marketing programs and other particulars I've since best tool is the agreement. If you screw up your first one,
forgotten. get it right on the second.

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