Merchant Account Glossary:

ISO Definition

Merchant Account ISO Explained:

What is an ISO? “ISO” stands for “Independent Sales Organization” and is a formal designation that a company must have in order to sell Visa credit card processing services under its own company name. Visa displays its registered and approved ISOs on the Visa ISO List. In many cases, sales organizations operate as “ISOs” under a Visa-approved ISO in a sales partnership. In these cases the sales organization may have its own company name, but it sells merchant accounts branded under the actual Visa-approved ISO.

Visa-approved ISOs represent an Acquiring Bank, or Processor, or both. ISOs are also allowed to set terms of their own merchant account contracts and mark up processing rates and fees. Although a Processor can also be an ISO, most ISOs are solely sales organizations that act as “middle men” that market point-of-sale solutions (terminals, payment gateways, mobile accessories, etc.) and pair them with acquirers and processors.

MasterCard has a similar designation called an MSP.

ISO Video Explanation

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About Phillip Parker

Why I'm Qualified to Write About Credit Card Processing

I’m a small business owner who previously worked in the credit card processing industry. I started this blog in 2009 to help other business owners by exposing credit card processors that engage in unethical marketing, rate and fee trickery, and fine-print-contract schemes. Over the last decade, I’ve reviewed hundreds of merchant services providers which has helped to educate over 5 million businesses on the nuances of credit and debit card acceptance. I’ve appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Inc. Magazine and a host of other publications to offer insight on the subject of card acceptance.

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