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Many merchant-level salespeople are staying with the independent sales organizations they currently work with instead of seeking new ISO relationships during the economic downturn, according to Mike McCormack, executive vice president of Noblett & Associates LLC, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based consultancy. "In the downturn and the economic issues of the last six months, I've observed as long as the ISO continues to service merchants properly and pay residuals promptly and without issue, agents don't want to move," says McCormack. There is some revenue risk for agents associated with moving among ISOs, he says. An ISO may stop paying an agent's residuals if he or she leaves the company, and "agents may not have the resources to pay for the battle to get them back," says McCormack. Residuals are monthly payments agents receive, typically from credit and debit card processing, but they also can come from such products as gift cards and ATM programs.
