I'm writing to give you a head's up on the release for the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study.
This brand new study evaluates small business satisfaction with 19 merchant services providers and explores the key variables that influence customer choice, satisfaction, and loyalty based on four factors (in order of importance): cost of service; service interactions; payment processing; and equipment & technology.
Four peer groups of merchant services providers were evaluated: Bank Acquirers (BB&T, Capital One, Chase); Bank/First Data Joint Ventures (Bank of America, Citibank, PNC, Wells Fargo); Fintechs (Intuit, PayPal, Square, Visa); and Scale Processors (Elavon, First American, First Data, FIS, Global Payments/Heartland, North American Bancard, TSYS, Worldpay/Vantiv).
Below are key findings of the 2019 study:
--Banks outperform fintechs and scale processors: On a peer group basis, merchant services offerings from Bank Acquirers have the highest levels of overall satisfaction, scoring 863 (on a 1,000-point scale). They are followed by Bank/First Data Joint Ventures (847), Fintechs (843), and Scale Processors (806).
--Banks benefit from having deeper customer relationships: Small business customers of large banks are more likely to use additional financial and business services, have assigned account managers, and receive proactive contact about their payment needs than are customers in other peer groups. The proportions of small businesses that use other financial and business services with their merchant services provider are strikingly different by peer group: 97% for large banks, 75% for fintechs, and 52% for scale processors.
--Technology engagement drives higher satisfaction: Satisfaction is higher for new technologies (e.g., cloud-based POS and mobile card readers) than established technologies such as countertop card readers and payment gateways. Small business satisfaction with equipment and technology increases the more they are used beyond payment acceptance, and especially if business tools associated with inventory and sales tax management, employee payroll and invoice generation are used.
--E-commerce merchants much more satisfied than card-present merchants: Small businesses that conduct sales online using a website or mobile app have far higher overall satisfaction with merchant services providers (849) than their counterparts in physical/card-present locations (809), which is due to higher satisfaction with cost of service and technology. However, satisfaction among e-commerce small businesses with annual sales less than $500,000 is 823, while satisfaction among those with sales above $500,000 is 857. Technology plays a role, as 31% of businesses below $500,000 use a cloud-based, dedicated or customized POS payment processing system vs. 51% of those above $500,000.
--Lower satisfaction with cost of service hurts scale processors: Given the prevalence of outsourced processing relationships, and at times having less control over pricing and servicing due to ISO relationships, it is not unexpected that scale processors achieve lower satisfaction. Also, many of the large banks and fintechs profiled in the study are strategically partnered with scale processors.
Quotes from Paul McAdam, who is Senior Director of Banking Intelligence at J.D. Power, can be found at the link above.
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Zero in on your passion word count: 330
Q: I’m 23, and I currently work at a community college as a student liaison where I help incoming students acclimate to college life. My dream job is to work specifically with first generation Hispanic students in the same sort of capacity, but instead of advising them as students, I would like to focus on life skills and steering them toward college and other post-high school educational outlets. Do you have any advice to help make this dream a reality?
A: I really admire what you’re doing, and how you’d like to apply your talents and skills to help a largely underserved sector of the community. For starters, let’s think in more specific terms. How exactly would you help these young Hispanic people? Do you want to function as a life coach, or do you see yourself more in a pre-college advisor role? These are both incredible things to offer young people, but I think you’ll need to focus on one specific area to be the best you can be. You’ll also need to come up with a plan to market and monetize yourself if you plan on making a career out of this.
Right now, you’re in your sweet spot. You’re communicating, connecting, listening, and problem solving. You’re using your talents and training to reach kids, and help them formulate plans for the future. I don’t think your current role will be the end of your story, but I would advise sticking with your job at the community college a while longer. Learn all you can in that environment, because I believe it will enable you to better serve those kids you want to help.
Remember, there’s nothing to keep you from planning and mapping out a path for your dream while you work at the college. The additional experience you get and encounters you’ll have will serve you not only in your dream job, but it will open your mind to ideas, needs, and strategies that will help make it a marketable reality!
Retaining company culture word count: 227
Q: I’m in leadership for a company with 250 employees across 25 states. It’s a great organization, but we’re having issues trying to sustain the culture we had in the beginning. What’s the best way of delivering information to our employees that will inspire them to grow and maintain the culture we want?
A: Driving personal development is one thing. If you’re trying to retain the culture you want as you grow, that’s something completely different. A culture is shared habits and behaviors, and this first means all members of your leadership team must be on the same page as to what the company culture should be and how it should be communicated and maintained.
After you all agree specifically on these behaviors, I’d suggest meeting once a week to exchange notes and determine what is and isn’t working. You’ll also need to get feedback from trusted members of your team in all locations to allow input and gauge responses.
Finally, I would commit to a scenario where the entire company meets together at least once a year. This would be a great time to recognize and reward team members and pour resources into them. Show them they matter and how much they mean to you. If you’re intentional about maintaining or changing a company culture, involving your entire team is a great step toward making that happen!
* Ken Coleman is host of The Ken Coleman Show and the top-rated EntreLeadership Podcast, and author of One Question: Life-Changing Answers from Today’s Leading Voices. An acclaimed interviewer and broadcaster, Coleman equips, encourages and entertains listeners through thought-provoking interviews, helping them grow their businesses, pursue their passions, and move toward a fulfilled purpose. You can follow him on Twitter at @KenColeman, on Instagram at @ KenColemanShow, and online at kencolemanshow.com or facebook.com/ KenColemanShow.
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Dear Dave,
I want to roll over a 401(k), and my bank is encouraging me to roll it over to fixed annuities. Is this a good investment?
John
Dear John,
More times than not, when you go to a bank for investment advice, what you’ll get in the bargain is bad advice. And that’s the case here.
I’d move toward a traditional IRA, in a series of good growth stock mutual funds. Put it across four types of accounts: growth, growth and income, aggressive growth and international. What you’re looking for, John, is a great track record for your investments. You want a track record so ridiculously good that it gives you a great sense of comfort, even though there’s no guarantee of what’s to come. And there are mutual funds out there that can do just that for you. I own one that’s over 70 years old, and it has averaged nearly 12 percent over that time.
Lots of people talk in “what ifs” when it comes to investing. Well, you can play that little game all day. But if the economy goes completely down the tubes, and the government destroys things like mutual funds and real estate completely, your little bank-recommended annuity isn’t going to make it, either. The banking system as a whole will fail if all the mutual funds close because they’re all based in publicly traded companies. And that means virtually every business you drive by on your way to work would be out of business. A bank’s not going to survive that kind of thing.
If you’re looking for things to help you survive the apocalypse, you’re talking about food and water. But if you want rational, well-reasoned investments, you need to look at growth stock mutual funds and paid-for real estate. That’s what I do!
—Dave
(Number of payments isn’t the problem)
Word count: 283
Dear Dave,
Why do you think debt consolidation is such a bad thing?
Tessa
Dear Tessa,
Debt consolidation is a bad thing because it makes you feel like you really did something to get out of debt and change your financial world when you didn’t. People come to me all the time saying stuff like, “Dave, I got a second mortgage. I paid off all my debt!” Well, no you didn’t pay off all your debt. You just moved it around.
That’s part of the catch when it comes to debt consolidation. If you get a lower payment and move things around a little bit, you feel like you actually accomplished something. The problem with that is you don’t do anything to address the real problem, which is you.
Interest rates aren’t your problem, and the number of payments isn’t your problem. Your problem is the person you look at in the mirror every morning, Tessa. Until you fix that person and get mad enough at your financial situation and the real cause of it, you’ll never make any progress toward getting control of your finances.
Trying to borrow your way out of debt is not a good plan!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It releases on April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com
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Dear Dave,
My husband and I are debt-free, and we have several hundred thousand dollars in savings. We pay for our children and grandchildren to visit during Christmas each year, but my mother thinks this is foolish spending. What do you think?
Linda
Dear Linda,
I’m sure your mom loves you guys a lot, but she’s wrong twice on this one. First, she should mind her own business. Second, you guys have obviously worked hard and been extremely smart and disciplined with your finances. For someone in your situation, bringing your family together for one of the most important days of the year isn’t foolish on any level. I think it’s awful that you’re even having this conversation with her.
One of my great dreams years ago was to have the ability to do things like that for my family. When I was 22, I worked for a real estate guy who would bring his entire family in from all over the country once a year to go skiing for a week. He and his wife would pay for everything. They would rent a nice chalet, and spend that time having fun as a family and growing closer together. I sort of borrowed that idea a while back. Once a year we’ll take all our kids and their spouses on a nice vacation. We pay for everything, and it’s just one of our gifts to them because we love them.
So, I think your mom is completely wrong. There are three things you can do with money: spend, save and give. Trust me, giving is the most fun of all!
—Dave
(Book a hotel room without a credit card?)
Word count: 246
Dear Dave,
Is it possible to book a hotel room without a credit card?
James
Dear James,
Absolutely, it is. Just use a debit card.
I don’t have a credit card. When it comes to finances, the only pieces of plastic you’ll find in my wallet are two debit cards—one for my business, and the other for my personal account.
A Visa or Mastercard-branded debit card can be used anywhere credit cards are accepted. And the best part is that you’re not borrowing money when you use one. The funds come directly from your checking account. Some hotels might put a temporary hold on your account for the amount in question, so you need to make sure you actually have the money in the bank. But that just makes sense, doesn’t it? You shouldn’t be traveling without money in the first place.
If you’re too broke to travel, then you need to stay home. Pretty simple!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He has authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It will be released April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 8 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com
