That assumption proved right for Marc Gardner, President of North American Bancard (NAB). Installing himself in his father's large office space in Troy, Mich., Gardner set up a phone system, brought in a small staff and, with the guidance of a business consultant, opened his own payment processing company in 1992. Gardner established a banking relationship with an acquiring financial institution and educated himself in other aspects of the business.
"My degree was in economics. I was always involved in numbers," says Gardner. "When I was running a satellite sales office for the credit card processing company I saw many problems, and I thought by opening my own company I could correct mistakes I saw them making and turn those problems into successes."
Gardner's vision was to provide a higher quality of customer-care service, a strong sales structure with better sales processes and a higher degree of personal motivation of salespeople.
"My philosophy is to provide businesses, whether they be merchants or ISOs, with structure and processes that allow them to work efficiently and expeditiously with our internal organization," says Gardner. "In order to go from one level to another level, you need systems, processes and infrastructure. Part of infrastructure is people. People make everything work."
Those people differentiate North American Bancard, in Gardner's view.
"The people we employ set our company apart," says Gardner. "We went out and recruited talent - people who had worked at banks and had a tremendous amount of industry and management experience. If a CPA were to come in, he'd see we spend a disproportionate amount of our revenue on information technology. The systems we put in place not only make the salespeople who sell for us more efficient, but they also allow the merchant to obtain information in a more efficient manner."
Those systems didn't come into play from the onset. "We first started our sales channel without an ISO orientation," says Gardner. "It was of much smaller significance. We were a regional player with corporate salespeople and personally held each individual's hand during the sales cycle. We have evolved into a multi-faceted company from a sales-channel approach."
North American Bancard has evolved into a 70-employee turn-key solution for its sales agents. NAB does its own risk management, credit and underwriting. NAB provides its own customer care, and part of that care is publishing account data in a timely fashion.
"Whether it be residuals, leasing, funding, etc., we make it available in real time so salespeople can access it all," says Gardner. "Info is not delayed. It's all posted to the Web site in real time."
Services such as real-time data access and multiple in-house programs keep North American Bancard neck-and-neck with its competitors, in Gardner's opinion. "If you don't see any competition, you live in a dark room," says Gardner. "This industry is very commoditized, and everyone plays close to the hip. But in our industry, competition is good."
North American Bancard competes in the popular small-to-midsize merchant market. Its target: across-the-board retail, e-commerce, lodging and MO/TO.
"My desire is to be able to handle 99% of all applications that come in the door and approve them," says Gardner. "We have what we call auto approval. For merchants not of unusual risk, we provide same-day approval service. If you're in by 9, you're out by 5. We are like a dry cleaner."
NAB has more than 12,000 merchants on its roster. And the hottest product they all enjoy? According to Gardner, it is North American Bancard's human resources.
"When the merchants call, they can talk to someone. When the ISOs call, they can talk to someone," says Gardner. "Our hottest commodity is the delivery of information. We have the correct amount of staff to support all those merchants and agents, from a people standpoint as well as a system standpoint."
Gardner sees this as very appealing for the ISO community. "Most salespeople aren't the best operations people," says Gardner. "They market well, but they don't have the infrastructure to support their merchants. They have the possibility to implode and have an astronomical rate of attrition. You can't have an open back door. North American Bancard closes that back door."
North American Bancard is able to close that back door, in part because of its strategic alliances. It has partnerships with the major equipment vendors. It also has multiple alliances with value-added resellers for software.
North American Bancard works with multiple leasing vendors, too, but with a twist. "We offer a guaranteed leasing program," says Gardner. "Any agent with a North American Bancard merchant number will receive a lease. And we make it easier. We do faxed leasing and agreements. We don't require an original to file the paperwork, and we are presently working on paperless leasing as well."
For its check services, Gardner partners with two vendors. "We use two because we took the best of each and instead of compromising our customers, we offer check presentation over the phone with one and at the point-of-sale with another," he says.
What does North American Bancard look for in a partner? "We look for people to be able to say what they're going to do because we do what we say we're going to do," says Gardner. "Some say they can do everything and fall short. Once it is in writing, we want partners to keep their contractual obligations, whether it's stock, turnaround time or inserting a thank you letter. We want companies that can live up to their service level and provide good economics."
What does North American Bancard look for in an ISO? "We look for people who want to succeed," says Gardner. "There are two types of people; one type is just looking to make money. Our sales agents are the ones who are not focused on just providing a hardware solution. Ours are focused on delivering service and education to their merchants."
What does Gardner look for in himself? "I look at myself as a leader - a leader who is very accessible, not only to the internal infrastructure but to the entire sales force," says Gardner. "When you call my extension, no one screens it. I answer my own phone. I go out on sales calls. I always try to make myself accessible to our company, guiding all departments, steering them through their journey and providing direction."
It goes both ways: Gardner underscores the impact of his people on his leadership.
"One of a leader's biggest challenges, but one that brings the most success, is having a good team," Gardner says. "Just like our country's President is judged by his Cabinet, CEOs are as well. You may have great ideas, but you must have people to implement them. Otherwise, they'll just be thoughts and never become reality."
Recruiting good people has resulted in a unique ISO campaign at North American Bancard. Any sales agent who brings in 30 deals within 60 days will receive a $3,000 signing bonus on the 30th deal submitted. Together with training, education, a dedicated support staff and real-time Web access to portfolios, this program is a bonus for any ISO looking to fatten the revenue calf. "If I were an ISO looking for a new home, there are three components that one needs to evaluate," says Gardner. "Number one, look at the service-level commitment. Number two, what are the economics? Number three, how easy is it to do business with them? Those components need to be one-third, one-third and one-third. North American Bancard prides itself on being able to provide on all three levels, and that is what's fueling our explosive growth."
Gardner sees growth in the industry, particularly with the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions, as another good thing.
"There's great opportunity," says Gardner. "With mergers and acquisitions comes opportunity for our agents to provide merchants with stability. We have been registered for a decade, and we have services, processing and systems to handle growth. We welcome them. Attrition creates opportunity for new merchants to be signed, especially because of the fact that conversions are problematic."
What Gardner does see as challenging to the industry is the class-action suit environment and how these suits ultimately will affect merchants.
"If the suit goes against the associations in favor of the retailers that file, it will prove costly," says Gardner. "Where will they recover their losses from the suit? Will it ultimately affect the merchants with higher rates so those losses can be recouped? The suit is not the issue. Recovery of funds by increased fees is the issue."
On a more personal level, Gardner sees consistency as the biggest challenge facing North American Bancard.
"We see ourselves as one big team, and each component of the team performs," says Gardner. "We have invested so much money in human resources, systems and service. Constantly looking to recruit the optimal sales partners that will drive our growth is the biggest challenge. So many of the salespeople you look to recruit don't live up to their promises, and you spend an awful lot of time and money educating and training only to have promises be broken. Maybe not recruiting, but obtaining the best partnerships with vendors, processors and salespeople is the challenge." From a broader overview, Gardner believes the future of the industry is all about technology.
"Technology will play a greater role for the smaller merchants," says Gardner. "They're not accessing online transaction info via Web sites yet, while the larger merchants are manipulating that data. Technology will make business easier not only for salespeople but for their merchants as well. I see more and more software apps residing in the terminal. But just because it's available doesn't mean it's readily being adopted by merchants. I see more adoption. I see more penetration of multiple apps being absorbed more frequently."
Gardner believes the declining cost of telecommunications is a key portion of the credit card transaction equation. "More and more merchants will be able to get efficiency by obtaining frame relay or dedicated connectivity like the larger merchants," says Gardner. "They'll be able to get quality for better pricing." How will North American Bancard embrace the trend toward technology? "My prediction is that we will be able to add thousands of merchants per month and be able to do it as efficiently as we would if we were only adding one merchant per month," Gardner says. "We will be able to live up to same service-level commitment onboarding thousands of merchants as if we were just onboarding 10."
Credit card processor hiring 1,500 in Troy
by Sven Gustafson | Oakland Business Review
Thursday March 20, 2008, 1:55 AM
A Troy company that provides electronic payment solutions hopes to begin moving more than 100 employees into its new headquarters during the second quarter as part of a $25 million expansion.
North American Bancard Inc., which employs about 250, plans to hire as many as 1,500 workers over the next 12 years, said Marc Gardner, the company's president.
It claims 80,000 customers nationwide, and Gardner said it is adding nearly 4,000 new customers each month.
The company executed a purchase agreement on an existing, 105,000-square-foot building in Troy that it hopes to close on within four weeks.
"North American Bancard is currently going through dynamic and explosive growth due to the fact that we are exceeding customer service expectations on behalf of our current customers in a business environment and space that is very competitive," Gardner said. "We are offering a point of differentiation from our competitors via technology, service and overall a very user-friendly customer experience."
The company offers electronic credit, debit, electronic benefits transfer and gift-card payment solutions to merchants in the retail, B2B, hotel and restaurant, financial and other industries. Formed in 1992, NAB has been growing at more than 50 percent year over year, Gardner said.
The new jobs would span the spectrum from sales and customer support to information technology and software developers, he said. The company told the state the jobs would pay an average weekly salary of $672.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority March 18 approved a tax credit worth $21.5 million to seal the plans.
Companies such as NAB are able to capitalize on the profusion of electronic payment options, said Amy Smith, president and CEO of The Payments Authority, a Troy-based industry association focused on direct-deposit transactions. Smith was not familiar with the company, but said the rates it offers to merchants appear to be competitive.
"Because there's so many cards out there there's so many more processors needed to be able to process the load," she said.
The MEDC recommended that the company be granted a 12-year, 100 percent employment tax credit, but it came with conditions. In order to realize the full credit, North American Bancard must meet certain job-creation targets during the last five years or forfeit part of the incentive.
The company also received in-kind services from Oakland County economic development officials and two years worth of a foundation-level membership in Troy-based Automation Alley.
The company told the MEDC it also received an incentive offer from Florida valued at $6.5 million. Michigan law requires companies seeking state tax incentives for expansions to first prove that they have considered relocating to other states.
"It's highly competitive and we need to have all the tools in our toolbox to keep expansions like this happening in Michigan and in Oakland County," said Mark Adams, an Oakland senior business development representative who worked with the company.
The company, which has outgrown the 20,000 square-foot office it owns at 969 Chicago Road, is in the process of selecting an architecture firm to help renovate the new facility, said Gardner. He would neither confirm nor deny that the new building was located on Stephenson Highway, where Adams said the company had been looking at vacant buildings.
The company's Chicago Road office would eventually be put up for sale, Gardner said.
Granholm Announces North American Bancard to Expand in Troy, 1,899 New Jobs
March 18, 2008 -- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced North American Bancard Inc. (NAB) is expanding in Troy. The company will invest $25 million to purchase, renovate and outfit a new facility in the city. The project is expected to create 1,500 new jobs at the company and an additional 399 spin-off jobs over the next 12 years. Assistance provided by Michigan Economic Development Corporation helped convince the company to choose Michigan for the expansion over a competing site in Florida.
"North American Bancard is the kind of dynamic company that is helping us transform and diversify our state's economy," Granholm said. "This expansion, and the nearly 2,000 new jobs it will create, is further evidence that we are a great state for companies to grow and do business."
NAB Founder and CEO Marc Gardner praised the state's efforts to recruit and train a high-quality workforce as one of the key reasons the company chose to stay and expand in Michigan.
"Although a financial services company like ours can operate almost anywhere, we put a real premium on the ability to find highly-skilled employees," Gardner said. "We looked all over the country, even much warmer locations, but we have a lot of jobs to fill and the quality and availability of Michigan's workforce was simply hard to beat. The responsiveness of the governor and the MEDC, and Oakland County's help in facilitating membership with Automation Alley, were also key factors in our decision to remain a homegrown Michigan business."
Based on the MEDC's recommendation, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority board today approved a state tax credit valued at $21.5 million over 12 years to win the company's expansion.
To support the project, Oakland County plans to contribute up to $50,000 in federal training dollars under the Workforce Investment Act and provide additional job recruitment services. Automation Alley, a technology business association driving the growth and image of Southeast Michigan's economy through a collaborative culture that focuses on workforce and business development initiatives, will provide additional support through a two-year foundation level membership valued at $30,000.
"When competing for new jobs and investment, our competitive business climate and highly-specialized workforce certainly give us an upper hand," MEDC President and CEO James C. Epolito said. "Together with Oakland County and Automation Alley, we made a strong business case to win this expansion and secure North American Bancard in Troy for years to come."
An economic analysis conducted by the MEDC estimates that increased economic activity created by the expansion will generate more than $691.6 million in personal income for Michigan workers over the life of the tax credit. The North American Bancard Inc. expansion is one of 12 economic development projects the governor announced today. In all, they are expected to create and retain a total of 6,066 Michigan jobs.
"Financial services is one of the fastest growing segments in our Emerging Sectors program," Deputy Oakland County Executive Dennis R. Toffolo said. "The significant investment North American Bancard will make in Troy and the 1,500 jobs that will result speak volumes about our ability to compete with other states in attracting and retaining quality businesses. They could have landed anywhere in the country but they chose to remain here and we're thrilled."
Founded in 1992, North American Bancard Inc. has become a leader in the electronic payments industry. The company's leading credit card e-commerce technology, including point-of-sale equipment and check verification, hardware and software allows its merchant customers to process credit, debit, check, gift card transactions, merchant advances, and ATM placement. Processing more than $5 billion in annual volume on 90,000 active customers nationally, NAB has seen its business double annually for the past three years. NAB's current growth rate estimates will see it doubling its labor force within the next 12 months, supporting in excess of 3500 new customers added each month. This aggressive growth demands larger facilities and an available skilled labor force that can support their continued expansion.
"Automation Alley applauds and supports the MEDC and Oakland County in their efforts to retain and grow North American Bancard in Southeast Michigan," Automation Alley Executive Director Ken Rogers said. "Automation Alley's local community illustrates our desire to welcome the company into Southeast Michigan's technology community from day one. We're pleased that the company has not only chosen to remain in Troy, but that they will expand and create new jobs. Efforts like these bolster the region's economy and move Michigan forward."
In her 2007 State of the State address, Granholm emphasized the importance of creating opportunity in the changing world of the 21st century. Since January 2005, the Governor and the MEDC have announced the creation or retention of more than 226,000 jobs as a result of targeted assistance provided by the MEDC.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, a partnership between the state and local communities, promotes smart economic growth by developing strategies and providing services to create and retain good jobs and a high quality of life. For on the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's initiatives and programs, visit the Web site at www.TheMEDC.org.
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North American Bancard Inc. to Deploy MasterCard(R) (Public, NYSE:MA) PayPass(TM) Acceptance Devices Into the US Marketplace
Troy, Michigan, September 15, 2006 -- North American Bancard Inc. (NAB) of Troy, Michigan, a multi-faceted payment solutions provider dedicated to providing the latest technology, today announced that it will deploy thousands of MasterCard PayPass(TM) acceptance devices to all NAB merchants, free of charge.
The Vivotech terminals, which NAB calls "Tap-Here" devices, will afford all of NAB's merchant customers the latest technology in card acceptance. MasterCard PayPass improves the customer experience at the point of sale and improves the merchant's bottom line by speeding consumers through check out lines. The devices are also capable of accepting American Express and Discover cards right out of the box. North American's "Tap-Here" devices are in stock and ready for national deployment to all new and existing customers, free of charge.
"Once again, we are taking the lead in pushing the latest technology out to our merchant customers," says Marc Gardner, President of North American Bancard. "Providing these Vivotech devices will give our merchants a more convenient way to do business with consumers, thereby improving their own profitability. We are excited to offer this technology which fits nicely into our customer-centric philosophy."
"MasterCard is pleased to see the commitment NAB has made to support our rollout this year," says T.J. Sharkey, Group Head, National Accounts, U.S. Commerce Development, MasterCard Worldwide. "Their efforts will create a better buying experience for MasterCard cardholders who frequent their merchants."
MasterCard PayPass is a "contactless" payment feature that provides consumers with a fast and convenient alternative to cash for their everyday small purchases. Consumers simply tap their PayPass-enabled card or device on a specially equipped merchant terminal, eliminating the need to fumble for cash and coins, hand their card over to a clerk or swipe the card. Signatures are not required for PayPass purchases under $25, further speeding customer's transactions. PayPass provides better record keeping than cash.
For further information, or to order a Tap-Here device, contact North American Bancard at 1-877-Tap-Here.
About MasterCard PayPass
MasterCard PayPass is ideal for traditional cash-heavy environments where speed is essential, such as quick serve restaurants, drug stores, gas stations, vending machines, convenience stores, sports arenas, movie theaters, transit systems and parking garages. There are approximately 10 million PayPass cards and devices in the market & approximately 32,000 merchant locations around the world that accept PayPass, including participating 7-Eleven, CVS, McDonald's, Regal Entertainment Group theaters and many others. PayPass is also accepted at numerous National Football League and Major League Baseball stadiums. For more information about MasterCard PayPass and a full list of participating merchants, visit www.mastercard.com/paypass.
About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Worldwide (www.mastercardworldwide.com) advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link between financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes close to 14 billion payments each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R), MasterCard Worldwide serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories.
About North American Bancard (www.nabancard.com)
Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, North American Bancard is a multi-faceted payment solutions provider dedicated to providing the latest technology, as well as committing to the highest service levels. As a registered MSP/ISO of HSBC Bank, National Association, Buffalo, New York. Since 1992, North American Bancard has provided its more than 50,000 clients with a full suite of products and services including Credit, Debit, EBT, Check Conversion and Guarantee, ATM, Gift and Loyalty Cards and Online Payment Gateway solutions.
North American Bancard Places Big Order with VeriFone; Leading MSP/ISO Purchases Top of the Line Products to Enhance Free Terminal Program
Troy, Michigan, September 8, 2006 -- North American Bancard, Inc., one of the industry's leading acquirers, announced today it has acquired Vx570 terminals and 3,000 Cr1000i check imagers from VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PAY) to include in its innovative Free Terminal Program. This multi million deal represents NAB's latest proactive business strategy in support of its commitment to provide cutting-edge technology and superior customer service to all its merchants and sales partners.
"VeriFone provides tomorrow's technology today and their value points can't be touched by their competition," says Marc Gardner, President of North American Bancard. "We are utilizing an aggressive marketing strategy similar to that of wireless providers. When you walk into a wireless store, they offer the latest and greatest phone for free in exchange for a service agreement. We take the same approach. The Vx570's capabilities include industry leading features and functionality enabling our sales partners with the number one industry product offering. By marketing this terminal to prospective new customers, we're making our merchants future proof."
North American Bancard has structured this large investment for the future of its customers by providing them with a free terminal that will not become obsolete during the life of the merchant agreement. NAB's sales partners will equally benefit from this deal as they will have a best-in-breed product that will open more doors.
"The VeriFone Vx570 will empower our sales force with advanced technology and provide them with an offering not available to most merchants," says Gardner. "MasterCard recently announced that only 32,000 merchants have PayPass. Why not give merchants a terminal that is already configured with a contactless reader. It is a win-win scenario for everyone as this program benefits not just the merchant but the sales agent as well."
The VeriFone Vx570 combines speed and power to offer exceptional payment processing, plus increased memory to support a wide range of value-added applications, including contactless payment. The Vx570 is the successor to the VeriFone Omni 3750 and provides merchants with maximum flexibility, superior speed and high performance, in addition to compatibility with existing applications. It is ideally suited to North American Bancard's complete suite of payment processing applications and provides an ideal migration path both for existing users of the Omni 3750 and others who want a more powerful countertop payment solution.
"The North American Bancard contract is a tremendous competitive win for VeriFone and reflects the increasing market traction for our premier countertop payment solution," says Jesse Adams, VeriFone Executive Vice President, North America Sales.
About North American Bancard (www.nabancard.com)
Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, North American Bancard is a multi-faceted payment solutions provider dedicated to providing the latest technology as well as committing to the highest service levels. North American Bancard is a registered MSP/ISO of HSBC Bank, Buffalo, New York. Since 1992, North American Bancard has provided more than 50,000 clients with a full suite of products and services including Credit, Debit, EBT, Check Conversion and Guarantee, ATM, Gift and Loyalty Cards as well as Online Payment Gateway solutions.
About VeriFone Holdings, Inc. (www.verifone.com)
VeriFone Holdings, Inc. ("VeriFone") (NYSE:PAY), a global leader in secure electronic payment technologies, provides expertise, solutions and services for today with a migration strategy for tomorrow. VeriFone delivers solutions that add value to the point of sale, resulting in improved merchant retention and the generation of new sources of revenue for its partners and customers. VeriFone solutions are specifically designed to meet the needs of vertical markets including financial, retail, petroleum, government and healthcare.
