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August 2026 • Issue 26:08:01

Raising the standard of

merchant sales – Part 2

Dee Karawadra, CEO
ImpactPays

1. The fact that this became such a hot topic actual-
ly gives me hope. It tells me our industry cares and
that we're willing to have the difficult conversations.
Thankfully, we've come a long way from the days of
the infamous $99 leases. Yet we still hear stories about
confusing contracts, hidden fees and sales tactics that
don't put the merchant first.

Protecting merchants is the responsibility of all of us:
SOs, agents, ISVs, payfacs and processors. Every orga-
nization in the payments ecosystem has a role in mak-
ing sure merchants understand exactly what they're
n Part 1 of this two-part Q&A, payments executives signing and what their long-term obligations are.
discussed where the industry should draw the line
between legitimate business protections and practic- Good business is built on trust, not surprises. If a mer-
I es that leave merchants feeling trapped or misled. In chant doesn't fully understand the agreement, we've
Part 2, additional industry leaders weigh in on those same already failed. As an industry, we should be calling
questions, offering perspectives on merchant responsibil- out the bad actors, promoting transparency and hold-
ity, contract transparency, professional standards and what ing ourselves to a higher standard.
it will take to strengthen trust in the payments industry.
We continue our discussion with the same two questions 2. I don't believe the answer is more government regu-
posed in Part 1: lation. I think we can prevent that if we do a better job

1. Stories about merchants feeling trapped by long-
term contracts, equipment leases and cancellation
penalties continue to surface in the payments in- Contributed articles inside by:
dustry. Where should the industry draw the line
between legitimate business protections and preda- Jaki Kackert .............................................................................................16
tory behavior, and how much responsibility falls on Melih Oztalay .........................................................................................18
ISOs, agents and their upstream partners to ensure
merchants truly understand the terms they are sign- Christopher Hernandez ......................................................................20
ing? Allan Lacoste ..........................................................................................30

2. Has the industry done enough to professionalize Chris Jones ..............................................................................................32
merchant sales — through CPP accreditation, for ex-
ample — or do ongoing concerns about hidden fees, Ken Musante ..........................................................................................34
confusing contracts and aggressive tactics point to a Jacob Spencer........................................................................................36
need for better training, oversight and accountabil-
ity? If so, what measures would you recommend? Jessica Walsh ..........................................................................................38

Continued on page 26