Merchant Sales Podcast

AI is changing the way ISOs compete, build integrations, and grow their payments businesses. James Shepherd sits down with Alex Benjamin, General Manager of the Americas at Aevi, to discuss how AI is leveling the playing field against major players like Stripe and Adyen, creating new opportunities for ISOs and ISVs, and making integrated payment solutions more accessible. They also explore the imp...

What does the future look like for ISOs as AI, vertical software, and changing payments models reshape the industry? James Shepherd sits down with Brian Abernethy, founder and CEO of Straata, to discuss the opportunities hiding in residuals, interchange optimization, merchant pricing, and the growing role of AI in payments. They also dive into why the ISO and ISV worlds have struggled to work toge...

What does it take to build a stronger, more competitive ISO in today’s payments industry? James Shepherd sits down with Duayne Haskett, Chief Revenue Officer at Netevia, to discuss the strategies, products, and support systems that can help ISOs grow and compete in an increasingly crowded market. Duayne shares lessons from building Define Payments, the importance of staying focused on what you do...

The payments industry is changing—and according to Vlad Sadovskiy, CEO of Netevia, the agents who win in the next phase won't necessarily be the ones with the highest residual splits. They'll be the ones with the right solutions for the right merchants. In this episode, James Shepherd sits down with Vlad to discuss the changing ISO market, the growing importance of Square and Clover, and why solut...

What does it take to build a successful payments business in today’s market? James Shepherd sits down with Chris Sandifer, CEO and founder of Peak Pay, to discuss why ISOs need to evolve beyond simply selling payment processing and start thinking like fintech companies. They cover building merchant stickiness through technology and service, adding business financing and consumer finance, processor...

James Shepherd sits down with Mike Collins, Head of the Reseller Channel at Square, for an in-depth conversation about the rapidly evolving role of technology in the agent and ISO channel. They discuss the Square Reseller Program, the build-vs-buy decision for ISOs, how agents can expand their sales opportunities, what successful Square resellers are doing differently, and the importance of techno...

In Part 2 of this two-part series, James Shepherd and Lane Gordon of 733Park take a deeper look at what happens when an agent or ISO decides to sell their payments portfolio. They break down right of first refusal, why approaching a single buyer may leave money on the table, how competing buyers and market conditions can affect an offer, and what buyers look for during due diligence. They also dis...

What makes a payments portfolio valuable—and what should agents and ISOs understand before selling? In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James Shepherd sits down with Lane Gordon, CEO of 733Park, to break down the process of selling a portfolio of merchant accounts and residual income. They discuss the key factors that influence valuation, including revenue attrition, merchant concentrat...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James Shepherd sits down with Roman Vanegas from The POS Cloud to explore how agents and ISOs can overcome two major point-of-sale challenges: managing installations and support, and securing processing business when merchants want to keep their existing system. They discuss processor-agnostic integrations, outsourced hardware deployment, implementati...

Why is merchant sales so difficult—and could giving software away actually make it easier and more profitable? In this episode, James Shepard breaks down why traditional merchant sales has become a numbers game, why disruptive products create a much easier path to the sale, and how free software can lower customer acquisition costs while increasing payment processing revenue. He also explores how...

Blockchain and crypto may still feel complicated or distant to many merchant services professionals—but that could be changing quickly. In this episode, James Shepherd sits down with Eric Brown of BlockWyre to break down what ISOs, agents, processors, and acquirers need to understand about blockchain, Bitcoin, and the growing role of stablecoins in payments. The conversation goes beyond the hype t...

The merchant services industry is changing fast. ISOs are becoming ISVs, software companies are moving deeper into payments, and the traditional model of selling a merchant account and a terminal is no longer enough. In this episode, James Shepherd sits down with Tim McWeeney of Ingenico to discuss the convergence of payments, software, and technology—and what that means for the future of the indu...

What happens when one of the biggest names in payments decides to build a serious reseller channel? James Shepherd gets the answer directly from Mike Collins, who heads up Square’s reseller division. They discuss why Square believes ISOs and agents can help it move further into the middle market, where Square sees significant opportunity. Mike also explains how the reseller experience works, from...

In this episode, James Shepherd sits down with Allen Kopelman, CEO and co-founder of Nationwide Payment Systems, for an in-depth look at the rapidly growing threat of identity theft and merchant fraud—and how AI is making these scams more sophisticated. Allen explains how scammers are using stolen identities, manipulated documents, fake websites, and business profiles to open merchant accounts and...

Merchant services has changed—and if you're still leading with rates and payment processing, you're already behind. In this episode, James sits down with Steve Trovillo, President of Cygnus Payments, to discuss why software, AI, and vertical specialization are redefining success for agents and ISOs. They explore how top-performing sales professionals are shifting from selling commodities to solvin...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Mark Wagner, CEO of Disputifier, to discuss how new card brand initiatives like Mastercard's Scam Merchant Monitoring Program (SMMP) and Visa's VAMP are changing the way ISOs, acquirers, and merchants approach fraud prevention and chargeback management. Beyond breaking down the latest rule changes, they explore practical strategie...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with payments industry veteran and consultant Ken Musante to explore how the payments ecosystem is evolving. From processor cost structures and software platforms to reseller programs, integrated banking, AI, and the growing influence of companies like Square, Stripe, and Clover, they discuss the trends reshaping the industry and what...

This week’s Merchant Sales Podcast is a special throwback episode. While on vacation, James revisited one of his favorite sales training recordings from nearly a decade ago—back when he was personally walking into businesses every day and building a portfolio of more than 700 merchant accounts. In this short but practical episode, James shares timeless field sales techniques for approaching busine...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James Shepherd is joined by James Huber, Partner at Global Legal Law Firm, for a practical discussion on the legal and strategic decisions that shape a successful payments business. From ISV partnerships and embedded payments to raising capital, protecting residuals, negotiating investor agreements, and planning for acquisitions, they share real-world...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Ron Halversen, President of Clarity Ventures, to discuss what it really takes to win enterprise and B2B payment opportunities. From ERP integrations and payment automation to faster cash flow, operational efficiencies, and lower processing costs, Ron explains how ISOs can solve meaningful business problems instead of competing sol...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Bob Lovinger, Founder and CEO of FlexxBuy and CEO of Coach Financing, to discuss why consumer financing remains one of the biggest untapped opportunities for agents, ISOs, and software providers. From coaching programs and professional services to home improvement and medical practices, Bob explains how financing can help merchant...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Sebastian Builes Jinete, CEO of Arcum, to discuss how AI and payments data are transforming the way ISOs, acquirers, and processors manage their portfolios. From merchant activation and retention to win-back campaigns and partner monitoring, Sebastian shares how actionable intelligence can help organizations maximize revenue and m...

In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Lane Gordon, CEO of 733Park, to discuss how AI is reshaping software, payments, and business valuations. From merchant portfolios and SaaS models to vertical software strategies and acquisition trends, Lane shares what buyers are looking for today—and what business owners should be thinking about if they hope to build long-term va...

Tap on Phone has been one of the most talked-about innovations in payments, but many agents still aren't offering it to merchants. In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Vlad Sadovskiy, CEO of Netevia, to discuss why Tap on Phone is gaining momentum, the challenges behind bringing it to market, and how ISOs can use it to compete more effectively in a Square-dominated s...

Traditional ISO models often leave agents waiting on approvals, relying on multiple systems, and giving up control throughout the merchant lifecycle. In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Simon Kemp to discuss the growing opportunity around PayFac for ISOs and how new models are helping bridge the gap between traditional ISO relationships and full payment facilitation...