Wondering how to become a merchant services agent? Maybe you don’t know how the credit card processing program works and want to understand its basics? Well, whichever reason has brought you here, this comprehensive guide will help you understand how to become a merchant account reseller and how the merchant account reseller program works, along with many more useful things. So with that said, let’s get started:

Process of Becoming a Credit Card Processing Reseller

The process is not really hard; you just need to understand who is who and what is what and you will be quickly able to figure out how to become a merchant account reseller. So basically there are two ways you can become a merchant services agent, and we will discuss both of them below:

• Being MSP: Short for Member Service Provider, MSP, or also known as ISO (Independent Sales Organization), is usually a company (it can also be an individual) that is directly connected with the bank. However, if you go with this route, you will have to pay a large chunk of money to the bank on a yearly basis to establish a relationship with them and enjoy various perks like low buy rates and continuous support. However, the amount you pay to the bank per year can be up to $10k or more, and since you are just starting out, you won’t have this much money. Plus, some banks don’t even sign up individuals and require them to work with their registered MSP.
• Working with MSP: This is the second method of becoming an agent where you will be working with an MSP that is directly registered with banks like the NAB ISO agent program. Now obviously, you won’t get the buy rates that the bank is offering, you will get a rate that will have MSP’s commission added to it. But considering that the MSP is paying a hefty sum of money to the bank per year, this is more than a reasonable deal. A good MSP or ISO partner program will provide you with ample learning resources and continuous support so you will be able to learn quicker and ultimately earn quicker.

Now that you know the difference between both, you should not have any problem with joining a merchant services reseller program. However, there are some more things you need to understand before you dip your toe into this field. So for that, we will cover things like how this program works, what your responsibilities will be, and some things to look for in a suitable ISO partner program.

How Does The Reseller Program Work?

The process is pretty simple and straightforward. Assuming you are working with an MSP/ISO, you will get a ‘buy rate’ from the company. You can call it the profit of the MSP program. Now when you deal with a merchant, you will have to add your own profit to that buy rate and offer it to the merchant so that whenever a transaction is made, both you and the MSP will get a piece of it.

For instance, if you join a merchant services program that is offering you a buy rate of 2% + 20 cents, you can resell it to the merchants for 2.3% + 25 cents. These additional %0.3 + 5 cents will go in your pocket. Now, this looks like nothing compared to the work you will put in converting the merchant. However, this amount will be charged for each transaction the merchant makes on credit cards.

This means that if the merchant processes 100 credit card transactions with an average of $10 per transaction, then it becomes $1k. So you get, 0.25% x 1000 = $2.5. Now also add 5 cents for each transaction which will be $0.05 x $1000 = $50. So the total becomes $52.5 in recurring monthly income. Now that’s the income from just one merchant.

If you sign up 10 of them in your first year, your monthly income will be $520 per month in the second year. So you can keep adding merchants to your portfolio and keep increasing your income.

Responsibilities of a Merchant Services Reseller:

Your main responsibility will be to sign up as many merchants as you can because that is the sole factor behind your monthly income. Here are a few more things that’ll be on your plate once you become a credit card processing agent:

• You will have to first learn everything about the products/services you will be selling to merchants
• You will have to educate merchants about what you are selling and persuade them to sign up for your program.
• You will have to help the merchants in completing necessary paperwork and setting up their merchant accounts with the MSP.
• You will have to work continuously with the merchants you sign and offer them support whenever they encounter a problem.
• You will also have to actively search for new merchants and pitch them your products/services. Most of them will show reluctance, keep paying them friendly visits, and help them without asking for anything in return, some of them might convert soon.
• You will have to keep a continuous track of your progress, how many merchants you signed up, how much you are making, what your monthly goals are etc. (Some good ISO programs offer web-based dashboards for performance measurement).

These are a few important things that you will be doing on a daily and weekly basis as a credit card processing reseller program agent.

Things to Look for in a Suitable Reseller Program:

The policies, procedures, and rules of merchant programs vary, which is why you need to be very careful when choosing one. We have already discussed the things you need to look for in a program in this guide - Selecting the Best Merchant Services Agent or ISO Program. However, to provide you with a basic idea, we have covered some basics you should remember below:

• Their Buy Rate: The MSP/ISO you will be working with should have a lower buy rate as merchants will prefer to pay a low fee, which is why a program with a high buy rate won’t get you high sales. North American Bancard eliminates the concept of buy rate with cash discounting, making it easier to get more merchants. Read about it here (Link to the guide on cash discounting)
• Monthly Sales Quota: Some merchant processing programs require you to make X number of sales to keep earning the residual coming from your merchants, avoid them at all costs. Your residuals should stay yours no matter how many sales you make.
• Customer Support: Go with the merchant processing program that offers the best customer support. You don’t want to be stuck in a position where a merchant is having a technical issue, but the processing company is not answering your phone.
• Freebies: Some of the top merchant services programs offer freebies like a free POS terminal and signage to let customers know the merchant accepts credit cards. These things really help when you pitch your program to the merchants.

There are many more important factors you need to look for when joining a credit card processing reseller program, make sure to read out detailed guide this subject.

FAQ:

Who Can Become a Merchant Services Agent?

To be honest, anyone can become a merchant services agent as long as they are disciplined, self-reliant, and go-getters.

Granted, you will have to study a lot at the start about the programs you will be selling and the techniques to sell effectively, but once the ball starts to roll, you will find it easy to work in the industry.

How Much Can a Merchant Services Reseller Make?

There is a lot of potential for how much you can make. If we look at the example above, then you might make $50 off of a single merchant.

If you manage to sign up 15 merchants per year, then in 5 years, you will be making $3750 in monthly recurring income without doing much. Keep increasing merchants, and your income will increase.

How Do I Become a Merchant Account Reseller?

It’s simple, just select a good merchant account reseller program, talk to them, discuss your concerns, and once you are satisfied, fill their form.

You might be required to provide them with some documentation, just follow what they tell you, and after some verification work, you’ll be registered as their merchant accounts reseller.

Over to You:

See, it’s not really hard to be a merchant account reseller, plus the perks of being your own boss and no income cap really make it an appealing business model. However, just be careful when joining a credit card processing reseller program as you don’t want to be bound by unfair rules and regulations.

The industry is filled with credit card processing resellers claiming to be the best. They will make promises of bringing the moon for you, but the curtain from the reality is lifted when you start working with one, as most of them usually make false promises.

So if you want to become a merchant services agent but don’t know which merchant services agent program is the real deal, then we’ve got your back.

Top 5 Merchant Services Reseller Programs

We will tell you about the top 5 merchant services reseller programs that are leading the charts right now, and then you can decide which one you want to work with. Sounds good? Let’s get started then:

1. North American Bancard Agent Program

If you are looking for a corporation that has the most experience in the industry and is considered a goliath when it comes to the best cash discount program, then look no further than NAB (North American Bancard) agent program. They are regulated by top banks like Wells Fargo, BMO Harris, and Bancorp Bank, which speak for NAB’s credibility.

The company has been in the merchant processing game for nearly three decades now, and because of their vast knowledge and connections, they offer the best benefits to their agents. This allows their partners to rise above the competition and get maximum sales. Out of the many strengths that this program has to offer, the most appealing one is its cash discount.

They offer the best cash discount program where the merchants don’t have to pay any fee for processing credit card transactions. The amount is offset to the end customers allowing the merchants to save heaps of money in monthly processing fees. Furthermore, they offer excellent customer support and are always present to help out their agents and merchants.

2. Shaw Merchant Group:

If you want to work with someone who has an impeccable track record in the industry, then Shaw Merchant Group is another option to consider. Their merchant services ISO agent program offers tons of benefits and opportunities to ambitious agents looking to make a killing in the credit card processing industry.

Furthermore, they have an excellent customer support team working with the agents to solve any issues their merchants might come across. Shaw Merchant Group also offers a wealth of learning resources to the sales agents looking to expand their knowledge and be savants in their fields. They offer a great residual income split with lifetime availability allowing their agents to work without worrying about meeting sales targets to keep their bills paid.

Although you might want to do your own research before joining the merchant services ISO agent program of any single company, the ones we are talking about in this article are truly the cream of the crop. That being said, let’s move to number three on our list.

3. PayProTec:

Another reliable merchant services reseller program that is, although a small company, but has a track record of being very reliable. Since PayProTec is a family-owned business, they work closely with their agents and merchants, which creates a strong bond of trust, respect, and understanding. The company was launched in 2006 with headquarter in Warsaw, Indiana, and is a registered ISO of Wells Fargo Bank.

They work with tons of POS solutions, including HotSauce, Paradise POS, Linga POS, Growthzilla, Revel Systems, Vend, and NCR Silver. Furthermore, they also offer eCommerce payment processing solutions for various platforms ranging from Shopify, and Magneto to WooCommerce and OpenCart. The company offers ample resources to help agents build their businesses, such as a free website that can be used for lead generation. Plus, they provide their agents with a portal where they can check their performance stats based on metrics like the number of sales, total residuals, and so on. The best part of working with PayProTec is that they don’t just claim to offer excellent support; they do care about their agents, which is one of the main factors behind their success.

4. Shift 4 Payments:

Launched in 1999, HarborTouch is one of the leading merchant services reseller programs in the U.S. With headquarters in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the company processes over 120,000 businesses and the total value of these transactions exceeds a whopping $10 billion. HarborTouch offers POS equipment, credit card processing services, card processing terminals, and electronic cash registers.

The company used to operate under the name of ‘United Bank Card,’ but then it became a subsidiary of Shift4 Payments. HarborTouch currently promotes the POS systems of SkyTab, Echo, and Oryx, which are mainly designed for cafes, food trucks, spas, and retail businesses. Furthermore, they also offer a payment gateway for eCommerce businesses backed by Authorize.Net.

All in all, you can say that HarborTouch is a one-stop solution for all payment processing and POS equipment needs for most of the businesses. Lastly, just like Shaw Merchant Group ISO agent program, they offer free POS terminal to their clients, which makes it pretty easy for the agents to make an attractive pitch to their merchants.

5. eMerchant Broker:

Nothing shouts disappointment more than being limited to working in just a few niches, and that is what most of the merchant services agent programs do. They pull their hands out of the high-risk niches like pharmacy, eCommerce, or Cannabis. This limits the agents’ earning potential as they are only allowed to work in a handful of industries. eMerchant Broker, on the other hand, doesn’t put a limit on niches. They deal in virtually all sorts of niches, and in fact, 99% of merchants get their accounts approved with them, which is perfect for agents working hard in the field to convert as many merchants as they can.

Established in 2011, eMerchant Broker’s headquarter is located in Thousand Oaks, California. The company is backed by BMO Harris Bank and deals in all kinds of niches, including retail, mobile, MOTO, eCommerce, and virtually all of the high-risk ones. The company offers ample processing products and services, including merchant cash advances, virtual terminals, POS equipment, check processing, credit card processing, and debit card processing.

Since eMerchant Broker deals in high-risk niches, they understand that chargebacks are going to be a major issue, which is why they work with Verifi to leverage their CardHolder Dispute Resolution Network. Furthermore, they also work with Ethoca to get chargeback alerts. With the help of these two partners, eMerchant Broker efficiently handles chargebacks and prevents the loss of their customers’ funds.

So Which Merchant Services Agent Program to Join?

Now that you know about the leading merchant services agent programs in the industry, you can become a merchant services agent with the knowledge of things to expect from them. If you ask us, our personal favorite is the Shaw Merchant Group ISO agent program, and there are lots of good reasons for this. Let’s discuss some of them below:

• Multiple Products: They have a diverse range of products ranging from POS systems to EMV enabled terminals and mobile card readers. The availability of these options will ensure you can capture as many physical stores as you want.
• Multiple Banks on Back: Unlike many credit card processing resellers that work with one or two banks at most, SMG works with three different banks that include Wells Fargo, BMO Harris, and Bancorp Bank. This allows them to work with different kinds of businesses and offer multiple processing options.
• Lucrative Payment Plans: Not only they pay their merchants and agents without any delays, but they also offer various bonuses to the agents working hard to bring lots of sales. Furthermore, they provide lifetime residual income, which means as long as the merchant is in business, the agent will keep getting residuals from it.
• Cash Discounting: They also offer the best cash discount program that allows merchants to offset processing fees onto their customers and not pay anything whenever a card is swiped from the terminal.
• Advanced Technological Infrastructure: They offer lots of technological benefits to their agents like a dashboard depicting the sales numbers, residuals, and merchants’ data in one place. Furthermore, they provide their agents with a free landing page that helps them attract more leads and eventually get some sales from the internet too.

There are many more benefits of working with them, such as their own online university filled with a wealth of knowledge that you can consume like a sponge and get an edge over competitors.

Over to You

We are certain that now you can become a merchant services agent with full confidence as you know about the top players in the industry and what to expect from them. Joining a merchant services reseller program is the most crucial step that will dictate the direction of your career’s growth. However, there will be a lot of things that you will have to learn after signing up for a merchant services agent program. This is where the learning resources and customer support of the processor will help you out.