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Slice Payments

Overview

Slice (Slice Business Marketing Inc.) came into being at the beginning of 2019 and has dedicated itself primarily to merchants looking to reduce their fees.  Understand, however, that though Slice is a newer entity, the management team has 25 years of combined experience serving merchants in the payments industry.  Slice is accredited with the BBB and has a rating of A- with two 5-star reviews and no customer complaint – so they’re off to a great start.

The first thing we want to point out about Slice Business Marketing Inc. is that they are first and foremost a cash discount-oriented company.  Their main focus is to work with merchants that share their same vision in cutting back fees to as little as possible.  Their goal, as shown on their site, is to provide a merchant with zero processing fees.  Now, that may not always or ever be the case, but that’s what they are committed to doing and it’s only through a qualified cash discount program that merchants can accomplish it.

When you partner with Slice, you benefit from their proprietary software that gets you started immediately offering cash discount, as well as ensures you’re compliant to legislative and card brand requirements.

Credibility

They are saddled with Wells Fargo which goes to show there is plenty of business credibility for you to share in.  When you look at what all they offer, it’s clear to see that they have thought a lot of things through to make sure the merchant is confident in the solutions, as well as has access the options they may need without having to piece a solution together from multiple resources.

Full-service

Another piece they offer is working capital.  Some agents represent a one-product ISO which limits your options as your business evolves and grows.  You’ll want to consider where your business is going and what options you’ll need and whether your current processor can manage those transitions for you?  Having this option at your fingertips can help obtain capital from someone who knows your business and knows how to get it to you quickly.

As an added benefit, they’re very familiar with traditional processing and surcharging so they can counsel with you on what is the best method for you to transact business to keep fees down and stay within regulations.  Our experience in communicating with them has been excellent!  They are a hungry firm, not for your money, but to share what they’ve learned in this exciting time where cash discount programs are taking flight.

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Hardware

• Slice offers the following options:
• Standalone terminals – Pax and Dejavoo
• CloverTM POS Family
• Slice POS
• Aldelo POS
• Paradise POS
• More…

 

Services

All of their services are focused on reducing or eliminating your processing fees where possible:

• Surcharge-ready
• Hardware
• EMV
• Virtual Terminal
• Debit Services
• Credit Services
• No Contract
• E-Commerce Processing
• Business Capital up to $500,000
• Credit & Debit Card Processing

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Customer Support

Responsiveness is the word that comes to our mind.  They are anxious to help their clients get started, of course, and keep running!  From what we have experienced with the management team and their past reputation, they employ hard working associates that will chase down a solution and make sure their merchant is protected.  No processor will ever be perfect, but it’s apparent they are aimed for perfection and have the merchant’s loyalty in mind.

To back that up, you can reach them by email or form on their site, as well as they have a phone number that will ring to an available agent to ensure your needs are met as quickly as possible.

 

Summary

We love what Slice is doing!  We love how versatile they are and that they’re not held back by traditional bureaucracy.  The landscape is changing in the payments industry and merchants need someone who can adapt, Slice is that option.  They are a great option for any size business whether you’re looking for cash discount processing, add-on features, or business capital.

They are focused on getting a merchant on a zero-fee program which is great news for the segment this really applies to.  However, if you discover that a cash discount program isn’t a good fit, then you still have all of the options at your fingertips.  We like their approach, feel they have the infrastructure to support merchants completely, and are really excited to see how they progress.

 

Cash Discount Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.cashdiscount.com

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Call 844-296-2160

PaymentCloud

Overview

We love PaymentCloud.  We’ve spoken with the CEO, Shawn Silver, and got a great response from him.  The words were not as important as the message in his tone and his actions.  He was pleasant to speak with, was professional and helpful.  After the call, the thought was – “He was that helpful?  And we’re not even a merchant he makes money off of!”  We bring this up to highlight a very important aspect of business.  If the CEO has an inclination to be service-oriented and helpful, then the organization will carry that mission statement as well.  Shawn, was awarded with a 40 under 40 badge which says something about the tenacious nature of the business as well.

Full-service

PaymentCloud is a full-service shop with traditional processing for e-commerce and retail.  But something they really go for is the high-risk merchant.  If you’re high risk, this is who you want to consider among any others that have in your top 3.  But why are we writing about PaymentCloud here on CashDiscount.com?  Because they also are one of the leaders in cash discount programs!

We also found several other reviews and accolades that speak to the ability for the company to manage several service offerings and to provide good customer service.  Our research upholds the statement that PaymentCloud is above average in their support and is near the top in the amount of services they offer.

Community

Something that stood out to us was how much the company is involved in community organizations.  Like the call with Shawn, this speaks very loudly that a company would put needs of cancer research, environmental improvement and child development above its bottom line.

 

Hardware

PaymentCloud offers the following options:

• Ingenico
• Verifone
• MAXXPAY
• POS w/ Cash Drawer
• PC POS Tablet

 

Services

All of their services are focused on reducing or eliminating your processing fees where possible:

• • Hardware
  • EMV
  • Virtual Terminal
  • Debit Services
  • Credit Services
  • E-Commerce Processing
  • Credit & Debit Card Processing

 

Customer Support

We all know that a product is only as good as how well it is supported.  Dare we reference Tommy Boy at this point?  But it’s true, and we have seen that PaymentCloud is a great company with a great name having looked at several online reviews.  It also helps that you can reach them by both email or phone.  Their support promise is posted on their site and we recommend that you hold them to it – “We will work hard to earn your continual loyalty, and we want to make sure that you are satisfied with our business. Your success is our success. We care about you and your business, and we will do our very best to serve you.”

 

Summary

Everywhere we turn, the PaymentCloud name seems to be held in an overall positive light.  They carry influence in the industry trade shows and are very well-dialed in to what is happening in the industry.  With compliance in your cash discount program being debated regularly, it’s important that you saddle up with a group that can help you stay with the changing tides.

 

Cash Discount Team
E: [email protected]
W: www.cashdiscount.com

Hard Facts

Numbers don’t lie.  Quarterly reports by several companies are showing trends that validate a concern shared by many merchants – increased profit is becoming more and more elusive.  And that pursuit just got a bit more difficult.

If you have a retirement account, you’ve seen how things have been going well in the ‘right’ direction since the beginning of 2019.  It seems the cuts in earnings at the end of 2018 were a bit too steep in anticipation of some financing melting and that has paid off in Q1.

But the melting hasn’t happened and that has lead analysts to one conclusion – costs are increasing.

 

Costs On The Rise

As a business owner, are your costs going up?  Have you noticed your revenues are up as well?  Business is great, as long as one outpaces the other, right?  Wrong.  On average, earnings are down, despite an average increase in revenues.  So, selling more doesn’t necessarily mean more profit.  Which lever can you pull to directly impact your profit?

Consider employing a cash discount program to offset your processing costs!

The Data

Analysts expect the S&P 500 will report year over year growth in revenues, while seeing a decline in earnings.

• Q1 Earnings: Down 1.8%
• Q1 Revenues: Up 4.9%

Source: Refinitiv

 

A group called FactSet surveyed 23 companies about their revenues and earnings in Q1 and found the following:

• Unfavorable foreign exchange 57%
• Higher wage and labor costs 43%
• Higher raw material costs 39%
• Higher transport costs 22%
• Weather 39%
• Europe 26%
• Tariff/Trade 26%

 

Wages Among Others

Certainly, tariffs and duties have contributed to the pain.  But there are many large chains (AutoZone, Costco, FedEx, Lennar) that are pointing the finger at wages and labor being the main contributors to higher costs.  It’s great for the employees, but the businesses are feeling a bit like Atlas trying to carry all of that overhead on their backs.

What about the local services, restaurants, retailers?  What about you?  Are you feeling the same pains?

If you spend any time at all during the day wondering how to increase your profits, then you should be considering a change to your payment processing as a quick and seamless option.  If your current processor doesn’t offer a cash discount program, consider one of our best processors.

 

Increase Profits Immediately

Merchants who offer a cash discount program save between 3.5% and 4% each month that is pure profit.  That profit is being used to hire personnel, purchase equipment, or increase marketing efforts.

If you haven’t heard of cash discount, or if you want to know more, feel free to look around our site.  Then, talk to a competent processor and ask if they offer a program.

Increased wages are good for those receiving the wages but have unintended consequences in the form of less profit in an economy like ours today.  When that happens, business owners need to be open-minded and creative in finding new ways to increase profits.  Should analysts be correct, consider offering a cash discount among the other adjustments you’ll be making to stay ahead of your increasing costs.

Read the full review here.

 

Cash Discount Team
[email protected]
www.cashdiscount.com

It’s been said that the two most dangerous words in the English language, when combined, are What and If. 

• What if I married her?
• What if I took that job?
• What if I did this, instead of that?
• What if…?

Looking Back

I was tempted to embed a YouTube video of Cher belting out “If I could turn back time…” as she pines over lost opportunities, but I’ll refrain.

Actually, I won’t.  For those who need a soundtrack to this post, here you go – Video

But really!  What if?  What if you actually did something years ago and could have the benefit today?  While Marty McFly would argue that’s a real option, there are too many of us reading this that know that the sands of time only flow in one direction.

And that’s the point of this article!  There is still an option for each of us.  In his recent Annual Letter to Shareholders, Warren Buffett shared a personal story of saving his money from age 6 to 11 and then investing the $114.75 into a commodity service stock.  His best estimates revealed it would be worth $606,811 today.

You’re thinking, if only I could put $1,000 into that stock then, I’d be a bazillionaire today, right?

Bright Future

Well, Buffett goes on to talk about optimism in investing in tools like the S&P 500 and avoiding other things that many might think are worthwhile investments, like Gold. He places his confidence in another two-word idea – American Tailwind.

He continues that, for decades to come, there is much more for investors to take hope and determination in. And what, specifically, is he referring to? The people of America that are industrious!  The drive you possess to improve and achieve more is this “American Tailwind” he speaks of.

Now, most who will read this were impacted in some way by the recession in 2008.  But look at us now!  Others will remember the insanely high interest rates of the 80s.  But look at us now!  Wars, natural disasters, terrorism, political tensions and polarities, and on and on and on.  Look at us now!

As merchants, business owners, employees, whatever your station in life is right now, there is a reason to look ahead with optimism.  But you have to have a plan and you have to be willing to be part of the American Tailwind, or it will leave you behind.

I wish I could turn back time, sure!  I’d have become a pro-snowboarder and bought stock in Microsoft in the 90s.  But that will never happen.  And, I’m okay with that, because I have the future!  A bright future with all the lessons of the past.

So, dig in and stake your claim on the future. Prosperity is yours if you’ll take a step forward and open your mind to new ideas.  Stop living in the lost opportunities of the past wishing you could turn back time.

You can do this because the future is as bright as you make it and, as Buffet wrote, “All engendered scary headlines; all are now history.”

Read a summary of the Annual Letter here.

Damon Luke, CEO
CashDiscount
Visit us at www.cashdiscount.com.

Will it make you money or will it cost you?

PayPal CEO Dan Schulman recently shared his thoughts on digital payments and what we can expect in the future.

Venmo payments have “surged 80 percent year over year” and is expected to process more than $100 billion in transactions in 2019.  E-commerce and P2P payments have been around for quite some time already, but industry experts believe an explosion of activity is still ahead.

As a company, are you offering the right services?

Schulman said. “I think it’s going to be less and less about how does one company hyper-serve customers. I think the new way of the world going forward is how do companies take the best of their platforms [and] put them together to better serve companies.”

Take Zelle for example.  There has to be some validity to the claims around digital payments when large institutions are throwing their hats into the same ring together in order to consume as much market share as possible, then settle the scores later.

On the surface, the competitive nature of companies may look like a game of King of the Mountain.

But when we consider the market mentality, and financial giants have, we see that in fact it’s the team mentality that will win in the end.

That’s probably a lesson we can all benefit from in our own restaurants, mechanic shops, e-commerce stores, etc.  By leveraging technology to participate in various social sectors, we can cast a wider net.  And in the end, we might just see that the wider net is actually a wider net profit.

 

Read the full article here – https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/19/digital-payments-could-grow-into-a-100-trillion-market-paypal-ceo.html

Cash Discount
[email protected]