ATM Deployers Say ‘ISO’ Term Is Not Independent Enough

Juliet posed an eternal question to Romeo: “What’s in a name?”

If she similarly were to query independent ATM deployers, they would say “plenty.” Enough that the ATM Industry Association has replaced the phrase “ATM ISO” with “IAD.”

So instead of referring to independent ATM deployers and managers as independent sales organizations, the group instead would prefer that they be called independent ATM deployers.

The organization’s members began experimenting with the new name a year ago, partly to differentiate themselves from card-services ISOs, says Haze Lancaster, chairman of the association’s IAD committee and a partner in Raleigh, N.C.-based ATM USA LLC.

“ISO was too generic and could mean ATM ISO or credit card ISO, or both,” Lancaster says.

“Also, whether deserved or not, the term ISO does not have the greatest brand when talking to financial institutions,” he says.

Mike Lee, association CEO, agrees on the need for a change. “IAD is a term first chosen by European and [United Kingdom] independents and is much more accurate a description than ISO,” Lee says.

The name change came last year as deployers were beginning to take a more active role in the association, Lancaster says. The association formed the IAD committee as the new term came into use and now has about 70 member companies, he notes.

Previously, ATM deployers belonged to the association but often had “their heads in the sand” when it came to such issues as the Durbin amendment, Lancaster says.

Executives of Cardtronics Inc. believe the Houston-based ATM ISO possibly could benefit from the Fed’s proposed rules mandated under the amendment if the firm gains the ability to choose for routing purposes more payment networks, some of which might provide for higher interchange and charge lower fees (see story). ATM managers and resellers have faced declining interchange revenue because of changes in network rules (see story).

“We realized we needed a stronger voice and needed unity,” Lancaster says of the deployers’ decision to become involved and to change the name of their niche.

Despite some initial resistance among association members, Lancaster believes the new name will prevail. “Like anything else,” he says, “it takes a while to sink in.”

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