Our Story
Background and History
iPayment is one of the largest providers of credit and debit card-based payment processing services in the United States. We provide our services to approximately 145,000 active small merchants throughout the country. iPayment’s payment processing services enable merchants to process both traditional card-present, or “swipe,” transactions, as well as card-not-present transactions.
We enable merchants to accept credit and debit cards as payment for their merchandise and services by providing processing, risk management, fraud detection, merchant assistance and support and chargeback services in connection with disputes with cardholders.
iPayment is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and maintains an operating center in Los Angeles, California. In May, 2003, iPayment completed an initial public offering (NASDAQ: IPMT). In May, 2006, the Company’s CEO and President led a going private transaction. The Company’s management remained in place during and after these transactions, making iPayment one of the most stable organizations in the industry.
Our Employees
As of December 31, 2008, we and our wholly-owned subsidiaries employed 329 full-time personnel, including 16 information systems and technology employees, 34 risk management employees, 213 in operations and 66 in sales and administration. Our future success will depend in large part on our ability to attract and retain such highly skilled employees.
Our Portfolio
We serve a diverse portfolio, providing processing services to approximately 145,000 active small merchants engaged in a wide variety of businesses. No single merchant accounted for more than 3% of our aggregate transaction volume for 2008. Diversification makes us less sensitive to shifting economic conditions so that the loss of any single merchant does not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.
While merchant attrition is expected in the payment processing industry, the low average transaction volume of the merchants whose accounts we service makes them less likely to change providers because of the inconvenience associated with a transfer. During 2008, we experienced monthly attrition ranging from 1.0% to 3.0% of our total charge volume.
We have extensive experience and resources, which allow us to assess the risks associated with providing payment processing services to small merchants. As a result of our exposure to potential liability for merchant fraud, chargebacks, and other losses created by our merchant services business, we view our risk management and fraud avoidance practices as integral to our operations and overall success.
