The merchant service provider has found a niche in working with high-risk merchants like travel agents and ISPs.

by Jeff Goldman [February 14, 2007]

National Transaction Corporation was founded in 1997 as a merchant service provider for payment processor NOVA Information Systems. The company now serves about 5,000 merchants, including five different travel associations: the American Society of Travel Agents, the Outside Sales Support Network, REZconnect, the Association of Retail Travel Agents, and the National Association of Commissioned Travel Agents.

Company relationship manager Jerry Miller says National Transaction's strengths with regard to travel agents also help it meet the needs of Internet service providers. "We do a lot of medium and high risk transactions," he says. "Internet is a high risk transaction—as opposed to restaurants or retail, where you walk in and give someone your card, an Internet transaction has a higher chance of fraud."

National Transaction Corporation 11951 N W 37 Street Coral Springs, FL 33065 Tel: 888-996-CARD Web contact form

Industry experience
In helping merchants like ISPs or travel agents deal with that higher risk, Miller says National Transaction's experience in the industry makes a big difference. "I've been in the business for over 15 years," he says. "When you're in the business that long, you learn how to underwrite something to ask the right questions to be able to get things approved."

Particularly in the travel industry, Miller says, it can be a real challenge for a merchant to get approved. "A lot of guys will say, 'Oh yeah, we'll do travel,' they'll have them do an application, they'll have someone process it—and then they'll get it declined," he says. "I have very little competition in travel, because 98 percent of the market won't even touch a travel merchant account."

Miller says one of National Transaction's key differentiators is the fact that all new merchants are taken through a ten-point checklist that includes a privacy statement, cancellation policy, refund policy, and more. "Many of our competitors don't do all that stuff, which means they're not following Visa/MasterCard regulations—they're just signing them up and getting them approved—but a customer's entitled to know that their credit card and other information will not be shared," he says.

National Transaction also offers its providers a choice between real-time and batched processing solutions. Choosing not to process transactions in real time, Miller says, can save a provider a significant amount of money per transaction, and can also simply be a logical choice if instant processing isn't required. "A lot of times, guys in our business literally don't understand the customer's needs, so they'll just sign them up for real time—and the ISP thinks that's the only way to go," he says.

Pricing and service
Miller says National Transaction's rates are very competitive—but more importantly, he says, they're far more straightforward than other companies that hide behind a low qualified rate, then charge far more for rewards cards or other non-qualified transactions. "My job is to educate the customer on the reality of what they will be paying," he says. "My total rates are very competitive—but we are going to charge you a real qualified rate, because we're not banging you over the head on all the other rates."

The company's high level of customer service, Miller says, is another key differentiator. "All of my customers have my cell phone number— every single one of them," he says. "I've had people call me on a Sunday afternoon, which is fine. It doesn't happen that often, but when they do, I'm there—at whatever time. On Friday night at 11, I've gotten a call: 'I'm putting a transaction through, I don't know what I'm doing, I'm panicked, it's a big transaction.' Great—let me talk to you for a minute."

The point, Miller says, is that his is a residual-based business— he only makes money over the long term, so the relationship with the customer is key. "We find it very important to treat each person right, and tell them the right thing on the front end—because we want to keep them for ten years," he says.

— End