The Payments Experts Podcast

Expert payments attorneys discuss the electronic payments industry from a legal perspective.

The Payments Experts Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 124 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 82.

Unknown Host hosts The Payments Experts Podcast, a business show with 124 episodes published.

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  Episode #125

  Thousands of Merchants Could Be at Risk: Understanding VAMP with Rey Pasinli of Total Apps | PEP125

  Sep 24, 202635 min

  The payments industry is changing fast, and Visa’s VAMP program and Mastercard’s merchant monitoring approach could fundamentally reshape how e-commerce and high-risk merchants operate. In this episode of the Payments Experts Podcast, Christopher Dryden and Jeremy Stock of Global Legal Law Firm sits down with payments veteran Rey Pasinli of Total Apps (https://www.total-apps.com/) for a detailed conversation about merchant processing, contracts, chargebacks, TC40 data, VAMP, Mastercard monitoring, processor relationships, and the growing compliance pressures facing merchants, ISOs, agents, and acquirers. Rey explains how Total Apps evolved from spreadsheets and paper files into its own technology and CRM infrastructure, and why technology, data, and automation have become essential to operating efficiently in payments. The conversation also tackles one of the industry's persistent problems: merchants and sales agents often don't know what they don't know. Christopher and Rey discuss contracts, surcharging and cash discount programs, legal compliance, processor relationships, merchant education, and how short-term decisions can damage long-term merchant relationships. The episode then goes deep into Visa's VAMP framework and the data behind merchant risk. Rey discusses TC40 reporting, chargebacks, friendly fraud, dispute-management tools, portfolio-level exposure, and why accurately understanding the underlying data matters. He also explains how processors and acquiring banks may respond as monitoring pressure increases. Rey also compares Visa's approach with Mastercard's monitoring methodology, including the role of chargeback and refund ratios and the potential implications for newer and higher-risk merchants. His closing message to e-commerce merchants is simple: question everything. Merchants need to understand their processor, their data, their VAMP and monitoring ratios, their TC40 activity, and whether the tools they're using are actually working. For merchants, ISOs, agents, processors, acquirers, fintech professionals, and anyone operating in e-commerce payments, this episode offers a granular look at changes that could have significant consequences across the payments ecosystem. **Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.** PEP Links: https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695 A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

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  Episode #124

  Beyond Normal: Adam Spencer’s Wild Journey Through Banking & Payments | PEP124

  Sep 15, 202627 min

  What does it take to build, scale, and ultimately create real value in the payments industry? In this episode of the Payments Experts Podcast, Global Legal Law Firm Managing Partner James Huber sits down with payments veteran Adam Spencer (Beyond Normal) (https://beyondnormalpartnerships.com/) for a wide-ranging conversation about banking, merchant services, ISO growth, technology, entrepreneurship, portfolio value, and one of the most consequential chapters of Adam’s career: his involvement in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Adam’s payments journey began after roughly 25 years in banking, including 15 years at JPMorgan and later work at BBVA. His experience eventually expanded across issuing, acquiring, digital wallets, sponsor banking, and international payments before he moved into the private sector and consulting. The conversation explores what agents and ISOs should be doing differently today. Adam argues that smaller payments businesses need access to economies of scale, broader platforms, alternative payment capabilities, and strategic partnerships if they want to compete. He also explains why building a valuable merchant portfolio requires more than simply signing accounts. Retention, customer relationships, technology, vertical specialization, and predictable residuals can ultimately determine what that portfolio is worth. One surprisingly simple lesson? Answer the phone. Adam explains why strong customer service can dramatically improve merchant retention and why payments professionals who remain valuable to their merchants may also make their portfolios more attractive to potential buyers. The episode then takes a major turn into Adam’s experience with the PPP program. Adam recounts how his own difficulty obtaining a PPP loan exposed weaknesses in the system and eventually led him into lending technology and services. He describes working with bank relationships, technology, merchant portfolios, APIs, KYC, BSA and AML processes to help make the application process more accessible to small businesses. Adam also discusses the controversy and scrutiny that followed, including his account of the technology and fraud-prevention processes involved. He states that the system ultimately processed applications at enormous scale and that approximately 2.5 million suspected fraudulent applications were turned over at the application stage. This is a candid conversation about what happens when banking, payments, technology, entrepreneurship, government programs, and risk all collide. **Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.** PEP Links: https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695 A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

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  Episode #123

  Peptide Merchants: Payment Processing MATCH & Solutions | Peptides and Merchant Services | PEP123

  Aug 31, 202628 min

  Peptide merchants are facing an increasingly complicated payments landscape. MATCH placements, card brand violations, large assessments, processor terminations, and uncertainty over which products are actually creating problems can put an otherwise operating business in a difficult position almost overnight. In this episode of the Payments Experts Podcast, Global Legal Law Firm Managing Partner James Huber and Senior Associate Bryce Van De Moere discuss what they are seeing firsthand while representing peptide merchants, processors, and other participants in the payments ecosystem. Topics include: • Why peptide merchants are being classified as high risk • Peptide businesses and payment processing • Mastercard MATCH list placements • Challenging peptide-related MATCH placements • Card brand violations and assessments • Processor and acquiring-bank relationships • Changing standards surrounding peptide products • Compliance considerations for peptide merchants • Monitoring websites for potential issues • AI-powered merchant monitoring • Alternative payment processing solutions • What peptide merchants should expect going forward One of the central problems is that the regulatory and card-brand landscape surrounding peptides continues to move. Products and compounds that trigger scrutiny today may be treated differently tomorrow, while merchants can find themselves dealing with the consequences of decisions made under earlier standards. The episode discusses situations in which merchants have faced MATCH placement over products they contend they did not sell, as well as changing treatment of particular peptides. James and Bryce also examine why peptide merchants can struggle to maintain reliable payment processing even when they are attempting to operate compliantly. They discuss the firm's experience working with both merchants and processors, the importance of understanding exactly what triggered a card-brand action, and emerging processing alternatives for businesses in this space. A major focus is the Mastercard MATCH list. Bryce explains the firm's approach to challenging peptide-related MATCH placements by working with processors and acquiring banks, seeking greater specificity regarding the alleged violation, and pursuing a resolution that can make sense for the merchant and other parties involved. The conversation also tackles card-brand fines and assessments. Where a MATCH placement forms the basis of an assessment, the attorneys discuss the potential implications if that underlying placement is subsequently removed. **Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.** PEP Links: https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695 A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

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  Episode #122

  Personal Brand Is the Untapped Edge in Payments with Guest Charles Bayani The Payment HQ | PEP122

  Aug 25, 202629 min

  What does it take to leave the security of corporate banking, build your own payments company, and create a brand merchants actually trust? In this episode of the Payments Experts Podcast, Christopher Dryden and Jeremy Stock sit down with Charles Bayani, founder of The Payment HQ, (https://www.thepaymenthq.com/), for a conversation about entrepreneurship, merchant services, sales, personal branding, agent training, and what it takes to build a payments organization for the long term. Charles traces his journey from Wells Fargo, where he spent more than a decade developing his career in banking and merchant services, to launching The Payment HQ in 2022. He explains how the structure, training, mentorship, and sales discipline he learned in corporate banking ultimately became building blocks for his own company. But leaving corporate America also meant learning how to operate without layers of management and approval. Charles and Chris discuss the freedom and responsibility that come with entrepreneurship, why mistakes can become valuable business lessons, and the importance of creating SOPs, training programs, standards, and repeatable processes rather than simply chasing the next merchant account. A major focus of the episode is one of the most overlooked assets in merchant services: personal brand. When Charles first launched The Payment HQ, merchants didn't recognize his new company. What they could recognize was Charles himself. His reputation, banking experience, LinkedIn presence, endorsements, and professional track record became a powerful source of credibility. That realization led Charles to invest more heavily in video, marketing, social media, and building a personal brand that could help establish trust before the sales conversation was over. The conversation also tackles a larger problem facing the payments industry: agents who receive too little training and are left competing almost exclusively on price. Charles explains why payments companies should invest in education and develop professionals who can provide genuine value to merchants rather than participating in a perpetual race to the bottom. **Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.** PEP Links: https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695 A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

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  Episode #121

  The Ugly Side of Merchant Processing: Fees Reserves & Bad Contracts | Guest Rey Pasinli | PEP121

  Aug 17, 202635 min

  What separates a great payments partner from one that simply sells a merchant account? In this episode of the Payments Experts Podcast, Global Legal Law Firm Managing Partner Christopher Dryden sits down with Rey Pasinli of Total Apps (https://www.total-apps.com/) for a candid conversation about merchant processing, high-risk payments, reserves, contracts, ethics, underwriting, and the practices that continue to give the payments industry a black eye. Rey brings nearly three decades of payments experience and says he has worked with roughly 85,000 merchants throughout his career. His entry into the industry began from the merchant side, after his own early business experience left him locked into an expensive equipment lease. That experience helped shape his philosophy that payment professionals should advocate for merchants, bridge the knowledge gap between businesses and banks, and build relationships around transparency and service. The conversation digs into an issue many merchants overlook: the processing rate isn't always the most important number. Approval ratios, processor selection, reserve structures, chargeback management, timely funding, and the ability to recover reserves can have a far greater impact on a company's bottom line. Rey explains why merchants should think about their payment infrastructure as a complete system rather than simply shopping for the lowest rate. Christopher and Rey also tackle merchant processing agreements, excessive termination provisions, reserve transparency, residual disputes, and the importance of negotiating contracts before problems arise. They discuss how poor incentives and a lack of accountability can ripple through processors, ISOs, agents, and ultimately merchants. Finally, the conversation turns to high-risk and emerging verticals. From CBD and peptides to entirely new online business models, Rey explains why successful processing requires understanding the merchant's entire operation, matching the business with the right acquiring partner, and actively managing risk rather than simply approving an account and walking away. **Matters discussed are all opinions and do not constitute legal advice. All events or likeness to real people and events is a coincidence.** PEP Links: https://www.globallegallawfirm.com/podcasts/ https://www.buzzsprout.com/2176695 A payments podcast of Global Legal Law Firm

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