Page 22 - gs251102
P. 22
CoverStory
Fragmentation is causing problems for merchants
From the desk of Allen Kopelman working with Emily Baxter, partner at RPY Innova-
tions. "Reconciliation is a hot topic: as merchants con-
To deepen our look at what merchants really want, tinue to expand supported payment methods to in-
Allen Kopelman, CEO of Nationwide Payment Sys- clude cards, ACH and alternative payment methods,
tems, Street Smarts columnist and Green Sheet Ad- the reconciliation process becomes fragmented across
SM
visory Board member, tackled a complementary set multiple deposits and data sources," she said.
of questions tailored to his work with merchants.
Fintech expert Max Sinovoi mentioned he has always
1. What pain points are merchants telling your loved talking to his merchants. "During my whole ca-
team about most often right now? reer I've made it a point to speak with merchants when-
ever possible with my trusted ISO/agent," he said. "I've
Merchants are looking for software solutions for been having a lot of conversations with merchants late-
all types of verticals. Software is driving our busi- ly who are feeling squeezed—not necessarily because
ness right now. Free is not always the answer and their payment rates have gone up, but because every-
that frustrates business owners when they need thing else has.
something with complex inventory and pricing or
something very specific. Nothing that is out of the "Labor, rent, supplies and marketing costs have all
box solves those issues. climbed, while their margins haven't kept pace. So even
a few extra basis points in processing fees hit harder
Another thing we hear is how come our terminals than they used to. From their side, it's not just about
don't have buy now, pay later, like Square has. lowering fees anymore; it's about predictability and
Others have loans from these fintech companies, value."
and that is why I wrote the article "Is it time to
go Fintech?" [published by The Green Sheet in Au- Sinovois emphasized that merchants want to under-
gust 2025, https://www.greensheet.com/emagazine. stand what they're paying for, get their money faster
php?article_id=7963]. and know that their payment partner is truly invested
in helping their business grow. "That's the real chal-
2. Do you hear ISOs/MLSs or merchants specifi- lenge (and opportunity) for those of us in this busi-
cally asking for faster or new payment methods, ness," he said. "The days of 'just processing payments'
such as instant or crypto payments? are over. Merchants want someone who protects their
margins, finds ways to make operations smoother and
Merchants think everything is free. They do not brings new ideas to the table. If we can do that, price
want to pay for faster payments or crypto. Most becomes less of the conversation, and partnership be-
have no clue about the current tax laws surround- comes the focus again."
ing crypto and the volatility of it. We were using
two vendors and processing $2 million to $4 mil- Dana Sills, director of partner relations at VyaPay,
lion a month of crypto-to-fiat transactions. Once emphasized the importance of professional guidance.
the crypto tanked and the United States changed "Merchants don't want to be sold a solution based on
crypto currency to digital assets and changed the what an agent wants to make a commission on that ul-
tax law, all that spending stopped, as it was origi- timately doesn't fit their business," she said. "Merchants
nally intended to not be tracked similar to cash. want to be heard and understood.
But that has been shut down. It's all tracked and
people have to pay taxes "They want a knowledgeable, experienced payments
professional to guide them through the process just as
3. Beyond technology speed and options, what a CPA guides them on accounting, their financial ad-
other priorities are merchants and their custom- visor guides them on retirement planning, their me-
ers raising (for example, cost, reliability, charge- chanic guides them on long-term car care and so on.
backs, security, support)? Too often the customer empathy experience falls short."
Chargebacks are a big issue—VAMP, RDR, CDRN, 2. Are shoppers asking for faster payments or
Ethoca Alerts. Merchants are trying to figure out new options at the point of sale, or are other i
how to navigate this and run their businesses. I ssues more pressing?
explain to ecommerce companies that they need
to look at their checkout process, check boxes Dana Sills has found that shoppers crave the use of mo-
and policies on websites and learn how to protect bile wallets so that they can pull out their phone in-
against chargebacks. Learn what to look for from stead of their wallet, as that makes for a faster checkout
the scammers and have a chargeback vendor who experience. "This is even more critical as we are now
can help you defend against chargebacks. entering into the holiday shopping season, which is tra-
ditionally met with greater demand and longer lines at
22
