Choose the Best Merchant Services ISO Program
When it comes to merchant service companies, there is a very long list to choose from. This can make finding the right one to do business with challenging. How do you choose? What do you need to look for? If you need advice on what a good ISO program looks like, check out the following tips for choosing the best merchant services ISO program:
High Risk Merchant Accounts
Many business owners struggle to secure the merchant services they need because they are deemed to “risky” to work with. Some business owners struggle with bad credit, while some business types consist of higher risk transactions and operations (e.g. CBD companies, travel agencies, collection agencies, etc.) Other merchants simply lack the financial history traditional lenders and processors want to see. Find an ISO program that specializes in helping these businesses get up and running as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Same-day Funding
Why same-day funding? The answer is simple: customer expectations. Consumers today expect everything to be convenient, seamless and fast. Partnering with a merchant service company that offers same-day funding ensures that merchants won’t have to wait another business day before they receive their funds in their bank account; they have access to what they need in as little as 24 hours. When going into businesses and promoting payment products, this is a great service to be able to offer.
Residual Analytics
It’s really important for the merchant services company to have some sort of tracking for residual analytics (e.g. CRM). This is essential to assess ahead of time for the success of your business. A CRM, for example, has built-in dashboards to help you make decisions faster. It also allows you to view how many merchants you have processing, what their average net profit is and what their average ticket is. Unfortunately, false advertising is a growing problem, so make sure you always double check.
Executed Sales Partner Agreement
Once you have chosen a partner, signed and submitted the sales partner agreement, make sure you also request an executed version of the document. Many partners overlook this or forget to ask. It is important to always possess a copy of the agreement executed by both parties.
Support
Another overlooked item is support. When choosing the right ISO partner, it’s very important to seek out a company with a great support team to back up any of your clients. You’ll also want to make sure that the merchant service company has years of experience in working with the business types they service, that they offer 24/7 support and that they know all the ins and outs of payment processing. This ensures if equipment goes down – a merchants POS system or terminal, for example – there is always someone to service it.
Hardware
Every year, payment technology changes. The array of payment options has changed drastically over the last couple of years and continues to do so. You will want to work with a partner that offers a wide range of payment processing products to ensure buyers have exactly what they need to run their business. Here are just a few of the hardware options you should look for:
- Smart terminals
- Different point-of-sale options
- Mobile payments
- Payment gateways
- Different payment terminals
- Check processing
If you would like more information on being an ISO partner with First American Merchant, contact our team today. Our agent network and support team are dedicated to providing the tools and knowledge you need to succeed as an agent. Signing up is quick and easy.