So what is an ISO in the electronic payments field doing by offering a development contest? That’s a good question!
Typically, or perhaps more accurately, almost never do ISO’s take part in development projects for a processor. While we are asked quite often to consult on development projects from a business specification position, we do not fancy ourselves as developers. Far from it. Sure, we understand the development process and what takes place, but we know our core competency; Sales, marketing and providing the support to our clients to make certain the solution they are after is achieved.
The Open Payments endeavor was created for a number of reasons. First and foremost to bring forth new developments that our clients and prospective clients might be able to utilize. We also hope the development world has some ideas that we have yet to think of. And thirdly, our relationships with our partner processors are important to us. We believe that there are rewards greater than compensation agreements that are already in place. While we are already in good stead our processing partners, we believe that giving something not having been asked for places us above and beyond others, and only strengthens our position.
Do we have an interest with the current processor for who we are sponsoring the first contest? Absolutely not! We have no stock, futures interest, or provisional stock with the processing company. Our only revenue from the processing company comes in the form of services sold to clients. Period.
And in case you are wondering, the prize money for the current contest is being provided, 100% of it, by us. The processor is not responsible for a single dime of it. What we think we have created is a win-win proposition for not only the processing company who we are sponsoring a contest for, but also for our company, our clients, interested parties, and for the developers who have the creativity and time to put forth an entry. Aside from those reasons, we hope to grow what can be a more open way of connecting the development community to the payments industry, which happens to be a dynamic and ever evolving arena.
