The Great Transition

I’ve been “off the grid” for the past week or so as our household has been “in transition.” I’m not sure if it shows great faith or great insanity to make sudden business changes with a large family to support. Maybe it’s a little of both. Nevertheless, last week, our company amicably separated from our business partners because we realized that what we set out to do just couldn’t be done as long as that partnership continued.

Here’s where things get exciting. Through the formation of our new, independent agency Diversified Payments Group(TM), we are now able to offer a host of new products and services that will actually make a difference to our clients. The response to these new options has already been overwhelmingly positive. We now offer:

-Back office electronic check conversion: If you own a business, it is quite possible that you no longer accept checks at all given the complications with returned drafts and collection procedures. You’re probably familiar with electronic check conversion, a few national chains now process your check and hand it back to you at the register, you sign a copy of a receipt that says you understand that your transaction is processed electronically. But for small businesses, implementing “point of sale electronic check conversion” has been out of reach. For starters, it is expensive. Every register must be equipped with the proper processing terminal, and each cashier must undergo training on how to process a transaction, and how to educate the customer on the conversion process. Back office electronic conversion is the solution for small businesses. You still get the security of electronic check conversion, but rather than processing check payments at the register, the checks are collected and processed together by the back office staff--the manager or bookkeeper, or whomever is responsible for making bank deposits. Whether a business processes 10 checks a day or 200, they only need ONE processing terminal, and ONE employee educated on how to use it. What’s better? Every check is guaranteed by our company. Every. Single. Check. You will never again have to handle collections, or worry about “bad checks” impacting your bottom line.

-Smart customer loyalty programs: There are loyalty programs, and then there are smart loyalty programs. The difference is that a smart loyalty program will retain vital information that teaches business owners about their clients’ spending habits, preferences and contact data. This is not another loyalty card that takes up space in a wallet. This is a comprehensive program that allows you to keep a finger on the pulse of your most valuable customers. We give you all the information you need, and we’ll even give you tips on how to use this information to build your relationships with your customers.

Of course, some things about our business didn’t need to be changed. We are still leading the way in low-rate merchant credit card processing. There have been a lot of phrases tossed around in the news lately, convenience stores have gone a long way to get action from Congress to lower the rates charged by Visa and Mastercard. We applaud those efforts and hope that Congress takes action. Our low processing rates will save businesses money now, regardless of what happens on Capitol Hill.

Questions about electronic check conversion? What’s your favorite “convenience store” product? Tell me here: @AmySwipeRite

Oh, and to appease those who love the legalese, Swipe-Rite, Diversified Payments Group, SaveSome and SaveSome Solutions are all registered Trademarks of SGM Media, LLC.