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Merchant Data Systems Inc. has named Drew Freeman as its president and a partner in the Miami Beach, Fla.-based independent sales organization. Freeman tells CardLine sister publication ISO&Agent Weekly he has revised the ISO's products by changing point-of-sale terminal leasing companies, by assembling a new payment-security plan and by taking the ISO's gift card program in-house. "We want to give our agents a better option," says Freeman, a former Chase Merchant Services executive. "I see what people need out there. It's not the next free-terminal program, but doing simple things remarkably well." Some ISOs began offering merchants free payment terminals a few years ago but required they sign a contract. Other ISOs said such programs eliminated hardware commissions that agents make in exchange for securing recurring revenue from transactions. Merchant Data Systems should see $2 billion in transaction volume this year, Freeman says. His plan is to grow the company, and he has little concern about doing so amid generally tough economic conditions. "The first quarter of 2009 was the best on record for Merchant Data Systems," Freeman says, though he declined to provide specific figures. "While there may be a shrinking fixed amount of volume merchants do, we just have to get a bigger piece of the pie." Freeman says besides using independent salespeople and sub-ISOs, Merchant Data Systems also is looking for acquisitions.
