Boston, MA, November 30, 2009 – A new report from Aite Group, LLC discusses
the similarities between ISOs and merchant acquirers, as well as the many differences that shape their distinctive approaches to the market. Based
on Aite Group interviews with 17 bank acquirers and 28 ISOs spanning the top 100 merchant acquiring entities in the United States, the report also
explores each group's views on the merchant acquiring market, and their unique perceptions of events in the payments industry.
Many in the payments industry confuse independent sales organizations (ISOs) with merchant acquirers. Beyond the strict definitions of
the card networks, ISOs and merchant acquirers have as many differences as they do similarities. These differences lead ISOs and acquiring banks to have
different views of where the market is headed in 2010, and differing demands from merchants. Consequently, each entity must take an individual strategy in
order to compete for the acquisition of new merchants, individual approaches in their investments for 2010, and individual sets of internal initiatives to work on.
"While an acquirer's business is impacted and influenced by the bank's entire operations and the banking industry's regulatory framework, ISOs
only have to deal with the merchant processing side," says Adil Moussa, analyst
with Aite Group and author of this report. "The nature of their respective businesses, and their exposure (or lack thereof) to other elements in the payment ecosystem
makes each entity view the world differently, therefore, taking very different routes toward finding and keeping merchants in their portfolio."
This 25-page Impact Note contains 16 figures. Clients of Aite Group's Retail Banking service can download the report by clicking on
the icon to the right. 
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