Q: Am I Legally Liable?

A: NOT USUALLY.  In most cases, the ISO is legally liable for the Merchants if the merchant defaults (for example; if a newspaper with recurring subscriptions closes and the business is no more, the ISO would usually have to reimburse the customers for the remaining months where the newspaper delivery stops).  Depending on the ISO, you may be liable for ensuring the Merchant is a legit merchant and not a fraud, but do note that all ISO’s run background checks on their merchants as well.  And when it comes to Chargebacks (when a Customer disputes a charge or when a fraudulent charge was placed on a Customer’s credit card), the Merchant is liable for covering that purchase plus a small Chargeback fee.  Generally speaking, the ISO Company assumes the risk of the credit card processing, and the Merchant assumes the risk of fraudulent charges.

Q: Can I Start Out As a Sole Proprietor With My Social Security #, And Then Switch to an LLC With an EIN # Once My Business Is Set Up?

A: YES. This depends on the ISO Company, but we have several great ones that will let you do this.  Contact us, and we will provide further details of how you can accomplish your goal.  We recommend beginning as a regular Agent for your first 5 deals, and then becoming a registered LLC in the state of Delaware for legal and tax purposes, thereby obtaining an EIN #.  We can walk you through how to establish your business, as well.

Q: Can I Offer Free Equipment?

A: SOMETIMES.  With some ISO Companies, YES.  But keep in mind… nothing is ever really free.  We remind merchants of this all the time.  If the Merchant is getting free equipment, the ISO is almost always charging higher rates to compensate for this, often the ISO company will tie in a few extra basis points or hard-to-notice fees elsewhere.  We do have relationships with ISO companies that offer free equipment, should you still desire to make that as an offer to merchants, but we generally caution against it– over longevity, merchants are better off with lower rates, and you are better off without having hidden basis-points that eat up your profit margin before the residual gets to you.  Keep in mind, you will be able to get rates directly at base cost with many of the ISO’s we work with, and we can help you work with the merchant to determine which plan is right for them.  Also keep in mind, we have been in this industry for years, and work with a number of ISO Companies. 95% of the time, the Merchant is better off not taking the free equipment.

Q: What is the Retention Ratio of Merchants Staying With Us Over Time?

A: Contact us, this is something we will go over during agent training.  Based on the techniques we will teach you, it can be very high.  Many of our agents have a 100% retention ratio.

Q: What is a Basis Point?

A: Basis Points are a unit of measure in the fees to merchants.  1 Basis Point = 0.01%.  We will train you on this and more, when you sign up as an Agent.

Q: Who Handles Customer Support for Merchants?

A: The ISO Company, although you are welcome to give your merchants your contact info if you would like.  Yes, that is a pretty sweet arrangement – you get the merchants and from there on out the ISO does all the work, and you share in life-long residuals.  Although we encourage Agents to establish a positive, long lasting relationship with their Merchants.

Q: Who Sets Up the Equipment for Merchants?

A: Usually the Merchants work directly with the ISO company, and tech support walks the merchant through this over a 10 minute phone call.  However we encourage Agents to assist the merchants when possible, it builds a positive relationship.

Q: How Do I Get Paid?

A: Monthly direct deposits to your bank account right from the ISO, typically.  Usually there is a 30 day wait from the end of the month to allow for possible refunds or chargebacks, which becomes fairly non-noticeable once residuals are flowing each month.

Q: If I Have Sub-Agents, How Do Sub-Agents Get Paid?

A: Several ways of doing this, and you have several choices.  You can choose to have the ISO directly cut a monthly check or direct deposit (depending on the ISO), or you can pay the Sub-Agent from your residuals after they come to you.  We recommend letting the Sub-Agents get their checks directly from the ISO.

Q: What Types of Sub-Agents are There, and How Does This Work?

A: Thanks to patented and patent-pending business models and economic models by Processing Consultants founder Brian Clopp, there are new cutting-edge commission splits available with some of the ISO’s we work with.  Contact us for further details of how this works (This information is proprietary and Confidential).

Q: What Countries Can I Sign Merchants Up In?

A: United States, Canada, and several others varying on the ISO Company. Contact us to find out a full list of countries if you have a particular country in mind.

Q: Can We Do High Risk Credit Card Processing?

A: YES.  But we suggest you proceed with great caution and have a good moral thinking before venturing into high risk credit card processing!  High Risk Credit Card Processing may be defined as several things; (1) A Merchant who has high-ticket items coveted by thieves (such as $3,000 plasma TV’s for sale on an online website). (2) A Merchant who does Subscriptions (such as a newspaper). (3) A Merchant who falls into a special category based on their type of business (such as Liquor Distributors, Gambling websites, Replica watch sellers and those selling other knock-off items, etc.). In this case of #1 and #2, we work with several ISO companies who have specialized gateways which help merchants reduce their number of chargebacks by providing extra security measures and safety checks on each transaction.  In the case of #3, we also do know ISO companies that will take on this kind of credit card processing, which often requires the ISO to funnel the money into off-shore bank accounts and in some cases can be a less-than-moral part of the industry… which is why we suggest you proceed with caution, and careful choose which types of merchants you would like to consult beforehand.  While it may have high payouts, it is often a grey part of the industry that we morally encourage our Agents to stay away from.  We do, however, have a few ISO’s who take on the very high-risk credit card accounts, and in some cases the experience can remain positive provided the merchant is good and moral (such as your high-ticket merchant who is providing a normal product, where the product just has a high price and is being sold online).