Sean Murray is the President and Chief Editor of deBanked and the founder of the Broker Fair Conference. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on twitter. You can view all future deBanked events here.
Articles by Sean Murray
Jack Dorsey Reveals Tweeting Irrelevant with Square
May 1, 2011Posted on May 1, 2011 at 11:33 AM
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey built his original company with toothpaste makers in mind. He might even say, “Thanks to Twitter, people in Istanbul can finally get tips on what makes the smiles in Shanghai so white. Tips on scrubbing those molars are transmitted in real time from Rio de Janeiro to Moscow!”
That’s good news for companies like Colgate, but for companies involved in technology, Dorsey reveals that Twitter is basically useless. “No one is following your company’s mundane tweets. No one cares if the Square card reader got a thumbs up from a business owner in Maine.” Of course he hasn’t actually said this in words, but his actions speak volumes.
Dorsey is also the founder and CEO of Square (https://squareup.com/), a credit/debit card reader that can plug right into an iPhone, iPad, or Android. We follow them on Twitter to keep an eye on news that might be worth sharing. But the only news, is no news. What’s up with that?
We compared Square’s tweets to three POS hardware companies, Verifone, Ingenico, and Magtek. We threw in Colgate for good measure.
Square, led by Twitter’s Dorsey, ranks last among peers in average monthly tweet volume. As Square seeks a permanent place for itself in the electronic payments world, it has undertaken a massive public relations campaign. None of which includes tweeting. Thank you Mr. Dorsey for revealing what most of the world already suspected, that commercial tweeting is useless.
Verifone just ate a bologna sandwich #yum
Ingenico just donated a credit card machine to a school in Sudan #charity
Magtek was mentioned in a newspaper in Andorra #werule
Colgate just came out with purple toothpaste #purple
Square just stole everyone’s customers while our competitors were tweeting about bologna #winning
Follow:
http://twitter.com/#!/VeriFone
http://twitter.com/#!/ingenico
http://twitter.com/#!/ColgateSmile
– deBanked
Merchant Cash Advance Forums Goes Quiet
March 31, 2011
The Merchant Cash Advance Forums is an old discussion board for those working within or looking into the Merchant Cash Advance industry. On March 25th, 2011 the Forums implemented stricter account policies that now require members to submit detailed information about who they are and who they represent. This includes:
- Real name
- Company you work for
- Company’s address
- Your phone number
A public notice on the forums states “For the sake of adding value and integrity to the MCA Forums, an additional layer of moderation as well as basic data collection have been implemented. Members MUST now complete their private profile with their basic contact information. This required information is confidential, and other members will NOT be able to view it. Data collected is NEVER sold to third parties remains strictly confidential.”
And since this went into effect, the bustling discussion board has been for the most part a ghost town. While a few active participants proudly make their company affiliations known, most users hide behind a nickname for privacy. This certainly makes sense from a personal standpoint (the internet is dangerous!), but it also helps protect employers from liability should one of their employees openly discuss their opinions.
For example: John Doe states his affiliation with ABC Funding Co. upon registering with the site and posts “tHe iNdUsTrY iS dOoMeD!” Many of the other forum members may interpret that to mean ABC Funding Co. is in serious trouble or because of the way John Doe posts, that ABC Funding Co. does not employ very intelligent people.
Though there is an explicit promise of confidentiality, this industry has bred many stone cold skeptics over the years. If Facebook can get someone in trouble, anything can.
Of course, we may be wrong completely and the dull conversation could be a result of more time spent working, there being little to talk about, or an unwillingness to talk as the news of what is happening in California spreads.
This is by no means an attack on the MCA Forums. We used to check in on it pretty often. We recommend anyone in the MCA, payments, or banking industry to sign up to for DailyFunder.com now as of 2013. Just be careful. Anything you post on the internet can be linked back to you by someone, somehow.
Merchant Cash Advance Resource Expanding Content
January 3, 2011
The Merchant Cash Advance Resource section of our site is expanding its content. We will roll out changes gradually over the next several weeks. Some of the new sections are already in progress:
Everything Business Owners Need to Know about Merchant Cash Advance
Merchant Cash Advance Dictionary
The Application and Underwriting Process – A step by step walkthrough
More Advance Provider contact information
We also look forward to releasing a fresh batch of comprehensive 2010 full year statistics! Coming soon…
– The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
Merchant Cash Advance Outlook for 2011
January 2, 2011
Happy New Year! Over the past few weeks we spoke with many Merchant Cash Advance(MCA) industry professionals, read blogs, and scanned forums to find out what is predicted for 2011. Here is what we learned:
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The number of businesses facing tax liens will rise, making it increasingly difficult for them to obtain a traditional MCA. Their only resort may be “starter” or “decline” programs, which come with low capital and high costs.
Credit card processors(CCPs) will venture into funding their own clients. Over the past few years, CCPs were a necessary third party to a MCA transaction. The CCP would split the business’s batch to allow the MCA provider to collect on their purchased receivables. Their years as a third party have granted them incredible insight into the funding business. In the latter half of 2010, some CCPs tested the waters and funded businesses on their own. In 2011, we will begin to see the role of MCA provider and CCP gradually merge into solitary entities.
Resellers of MCA began to drift away from their dependence on funding providers in 2010. In 2011, there will be a surge in the number of resellers funding businesses on their own. The MCA industry will become largely decentralized and may give rise to new challenges.
Decentralization will lead to greater competition and create downward pressure on costs. Businesses stand to benefit by the likely trend of decreasing retrieval rates and factor rates.
Businesses hanging on by a thread are less likely to obtain funds in 2011. Bank loans were never meant as a means to stave off bankruptcy and neither is a MCA. Most detractors of the MCA industry were business owners on the verge of bankruptcy before obtaining capital. This is not a lifeline. Good businesses grow, bad businesses fail. That’s the way it has to work in order for the economy and capitalism to be functional.
The Federal Reserve’s 12 cent debit fee cap may negatively impact resellers that depend on merchant residuals.
The MCA industry will continue to use less expensive means of marketing. Expensive regional trade shows are becoming less popular and UCC hunting is on the rise.
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2011 is yet to be told. One thing is for sure, MCA providers are not unlike the businesses they fund. It’s a tumultuous economy and there is no guarantee that we’ll all still be standing in 2012. Remember those who have come before us (look at the bottom of this page). Much luck to all!
-deBanked
