1 00:00:02,100 --> 00:00:04,650 Sean Murray: Okay, welcome back. It's Sean Murray here again at 2 00:00:04,650 --> 00:00:07,710 deBanked TV at the SCAA show. I'm here today with Andrew 3 00:00:07,710 --> 00:00:11,070 Altschuler from GRP Funding. Andrew, thanks for being here. 4 00:00:11,100 --> 00:00:13,290 Andrew Altschuler: Oh, it's my pleasure. You know, it's it's a 5 00:00:13,290 --> 00:00:16,740 great honor to be on the deBanked live. And thanks for 6 00:00:16,740 --> 00:00:17,880 bringing your people down in 7 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:18,210 Sean Murray: Sure. 8 00:00:18,330 --> 00:00:20,430 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah it's a great, great time a great show. 9 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:22,410 Sean Murray: So you're part of SCAA? 10 00:00:22,410 --> 00:00:22,950 Andrew Altschuler: Yes. 11 00:00:23,310 --> 00:00:25,170 Sean Murray: And you're part of the funding industry. 12 00:00:25,170 --> 00:00:25,620 Andrew Altschuler: Correct. 13 00:00:25,650 --> 00:00:27,120 Sean Murray: So what's your background in the funny 14 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:28,560 industry? You've been in it for a while, right? 15 00:00:28,590 --> 00:00:30,120 Andrew Altschuler: Correct. So I started in the merchant 16 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:35,280 processing industry in 2002. And then late 2008, we were 17 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:39,660 introduced to a gentleman named Jim D'Alessandro at Advance Me, 18 00:00:39,690 --> 00:00:42,870 and my colleague and I David Folden at the time, we said, 19 00:00:42,900 --> 00:00:47,640 wow, so we can get the merchant account and the merchant cash 20 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,400 advance with all of this commission at the same time, and 21 00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,850 we said let's do both. So that's kind of how the company evolved. 22 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,030 And that's how we got into the merchant cash advance business. 23 00:00:57,060 --> 00:00:58,920 But I've always had a love for the merchant processing 24 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:02,280 business. And hence why I've stayed close to it and work as 25 00:01:02,340 --> 00:01:05,610 on the advisory committee with the Southeast Acquirers. So I 26 00:01:05,610 --> 00:01:07,890 love both industries, my bread and butter is you know the 27 00:01:07,890 --> 00:01:10,560 merchant cash advance, and that's my, you know, my core 28 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:13,020 competency, but I've always loved the merchant processing 29 00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:15,990 business. So and I love to help them out and come down and you 30 00:01:15,990 --> 00:01:18,930 know, just just network and be part of this this space. 31 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:20,130 Sean Murray: Did you say 2002? 32 00:01:20,580 --> 00:01:22,110 Andrew Altschuler: 2002, we started with a merchant 33 00:01:22,110 --> 00:01:27,900 processing business. And then in 2000, I want to say like 2005, 34 00:01:27,930 --> 00:01:30,990 2006, Advance Me was the gold standard in the space. And as 35 00:01:31,020 --> 00:01:33,450 Jim D'Alessandro, as I mentioned, you know, introduced 36 00:01:33,450 --> 00:01:36,780 us to it, and at the time, you well remember from your 37 00:01:36,810 --> 00:01:39,330 background, the only way you could take a merchant cash 38 00:01:39,330 --> 00:01:42,030 advance was you had to switch your merchant processing and 39 00:01:42,030 --> 00:01:45,330 split the batch. And the company at the time that we worked with 40 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:48,360 was Cornerstone. And they were splitting the batch. So we got 41 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:52,500 introduced to Advance Me and we said, wow, we can get this cash 42 00:01:52,500 --> 00:01:54,810 advance for a really nice commission, and we get the 43 00:01:54,810 --> 00:01:58,710 merchant account as a byproduct. You know, the lights went off, 44 00:01:58,710 --> 00:02:03,120 and we excuse me, the light bulb went off, rather, and we were 45 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:03,540 all in. 46 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:06,030 Wow, you've really seen the progression? 47 00:02:06,060 --> 00:02:06,270 Yes. 48 00:02:06,270 --> 00:02:08,160 Sean Murray: From like the very beginning, you started literally 49 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:11,520 in the payment side and watched the funding part, get added on 50 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:12,090 top of it. 51 00:02:12,090 --> 00:02:12,480 Andrew Altschuler: Correct. 52 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,370 Sean Murray: And then evolve and now, do you feel like it ever 53 00:02:14,370 --> 00:02:16,860 split away from each other or are they still like, 54 00:02:16,860 --> 00:02:17,970 interconnected, in your opinion? 55 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,220 Andrew Altschuler: They have split away, as we know now, 56 00:02:20,940 --> 00:02:26,070 probably like in the late 2008, 2010 timeline. Some really smart 57 00:02:26,070 --> 00:02:28,650 people in the space said we don't need to just base it on 58 00:02:28,650 --> 00:02:31,740 only their merchant processing volume, we can base it on their 59 00:02:31,770 --> 00:02:34,530 overall gross volume. So it wasn't necessarily just having 60 00:02:34,530 --> 00:02:38,370 to split the batch, we give the loan based on their gross sales, 61 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,910 right? And we take an ACH of a fixed amount out of their 62 00:02:41,910 --> 00:02:45,690 account each night, and boom. And from that moment on, the 63 00:02:45,690 --> 00:02:49,140 industry just went gangbusters. It was probably 10x. In the 64 00:02:49,140 --> 00:02:51,720 numbers. It's probably even way more. 65 00:02:51,750 --> 00:02:52,050 Sean Murray: Yeah. 66 00:02:52,050 --> 00:02:53,310 Andrew Altschuler: Because now you had all these businesses 67 00:02:53,310 --> 00:02:56,430 that didn't even take credit cards that you can lend to. And 68 00:02:56,430 --> 00:02:58,800 that's when you know the light bulb went off with David and I 69 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,310 again and said, okay, now now we can go all in, we kind of just 70 00:03:02,310 --> 00:03:04,830 put the merchant processing business on the side and said, 71 00:03:04,830 --> 00:03:07,620 let's go all in with merchant cash advance. 72 00:03:07,650 --> 00:03:08,130 Sean Murray: Sure. 73 00:03:08,250 --> 00:03:08,730 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah. 74 00:03:09,030 --> 00:03:10,830 Sean Murray: When did you come to GRP? When did you start 75 00:03:10,830 --> 00:03:11,100 there? 76 00:03:11,430 --> 00:03:13,560 Andrew Altschuler: So GRP, again, we were with we had 77 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,890 Capify, a merchant for many, many years. We're international, 78 00:03:17,460 --> 00:03:23,190 in the UK and Australia. And then late 2016, 17, we sold that 79 00:03:23,190 --> 00:03:27,930 US business to Capitas. And then a few years went by and I got 80 00:03:27,930 --> 00:03:30,510 recruited by GRP Funding. They've been in the business 81 00:03:30,510 --> 00:03:33,510 just as long as us out of Springfield, Massachusetts, and 82 00:03:33,510 --> 00:03:36,450 I started with them in late 19. And I said, come on, guys, let's 83 00:03:36,450 --> 00:03:41,160 go get it in the a minus b plus space. So I've been with them 84 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,820 since late 2019, which is kind of a unique time. 85 00:03:44,850 --> 00:03:45,060 Sean Murray: Yeah. 86 00:03:45,060 --> 00:03:46,290 Andrew Altschuler: Cause we started getting our bearings 87 00:03:46,290 --> 00:03:50,310 together. And then boom, boom, the world fell apart in March of 88 00:03:50,310 --> 00:03:53,880 2020. And we, you know, we were real cautious, and we took some 89 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:57,930 breaks in funding, but now that it seems to be, you know, kind 90 00:03:57,930 --> 00:04:01,020 of dissipating, we're just going like gangbusters again. 91 00:04:01,260 --> 00:04:06,390 Sean Murray: Okay, so, so GRP most people are familiar if 92 00:04:06,390 --> 00:04:08,160 they've been into the business for a long time. 93 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:09,690 Andrew Altschuler: Yes, they are name brand. 94 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,520 Sean Murray: They are name brand. Yeah, I've known them 95 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,670 since they started pretty much they're like a stalwart of the 96 00:04:14,670 --> 00:04:15,030 industry. 97 00:04:15,030 --> 00:04:15,810 Andrew Altschuler: Yes. Right. 98 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,540 Sean Murray: And if I understand it correctly, you guys are ISO 99 00:04:18,540 --> 00:04:19,530 only broker only. 100 00:04:19,530 --> 00:04:19,709 Andrew Altschuler: Correct. 101 00:04:19,709 --> 00:04:20,759 Sean Murray: Is that right, okay. 102 00:04:20,940 --> 00:04:22,620 Andrew Altschuler: At this point, we don't have our own 103 00:04:22,620 --> 00:04:26,040 direct in house sales group, which a lot of the ISOs like, 104 00:04:26,070 --> 00:04:29,100 right cause you're not competing against yourself. Right. A deal 105 00:04:29,100 --> 00:04:32,280 comes in as an ISO you send it in to us. Yeah from time to 106 00:04:32,280 --> 00:04:34,770 time, you may be competing with another ISO, but you know you're 107 00:04:34,770 --> 00:04:37,050 not competing with somebody sitting in our office in 108 00:04:37,050 --> 00:04:40,530 Springfield, Mass, who may see that deal that an ISO is 109 00:04:40,530 --> 00:04:44,850 competing on, it's just your deal as the ISO and we're gonna 110 00:04:44,850 --> 00:04:48,720 put out an offer fast. And our operations department is quick 111 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:52,470 and smooth. And that's the model. It's pretty cool. 112 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:54,570 Sean Murray: Yeah. What have ISOs has been telling you? I 113 00:04:54,570 --> 00:04:56,730 mean, you started you said late 2019. 114 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:57,060 Andrew Altschuler: Right. 115 00:04:57,090 --> 00:04:58,800 Sean Murray: Right. So you come on board. 116 00:04:59,820 --> 00:05:02,610 Andrew Altschuler: March March. What was it March 17? March 18. 117 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:03,930 Right the whole world. 118 00:05:04,380 --> 00:05:06,660 Sean Murray: Whole world ended so were you in communication 119 00:05:06,660 --> 00:05:08,220 with like, ISOs during that time? 120 00:05:08,250 --> 00:05:10,800 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah, a lot ISOs. And you know this well, 121 00:05:10,860 --> 00:05:13,290 you know, that a lot ISOs started doing different things, 122 00:05:13,290 --> 00:05:15,810 right. A lot of them are getting into the PPP business, they were 123 00:05:15,930 --> 00:05:20,910 starting to sell the well, I'm sorry, they were selling the PPE 124 00:05:20,910 --> 00:05:21,780 business. Right, right. 125 00:05:21,780 --> 00:05:23,070 Sean Murray: Yeah. They were selling the mask. 126 00:05:23,070 --> 00:05:24,300 Andrew Altschuler: And I don't want to sell the . I don't want 127 00:05:24,300 --> 00:05:27,690 to screw up my PP, PPE, personal protective equipment, they were 128 00:05:27,690 --> 00:05:30,330 selling masks, and then a lot of them started getting into the 129 00:05:30,330 --> 00:05:33,270 PPP business and selling the government, you know, the 130 00:05:33,270 --> 00:05:35,580 bailout stuff. So a lot of those guys were doing that for a 131 00:05:35,580 --> 00:05:38,430 while. And I spoke to somebody recently at the show here, and 132 00:05:38,430 --> 00:05:41,430 they said, the PPP stuff, kept the lights on, right, it kept 133 00:05:41,430 --> 00:05:43,680 the lights on, but they weren't gonna make a lot of money 134 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:46,770 because the commission's that they made on that stuff was low. 135 00:05:46,830 --> 00:05:48,990 So there's a bunch of those guys were doing that for a while. And 136 00:05:48,990 --> 00:05:51,360 they some guys were still funding and they kind of just, 137 00:05:51,390 --> 00:05:54,840 you know, stayed alive. And now it's just going like gangbusters 138 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:56,460 because the app. 139 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:58,080 Sean Murray: Like what does like, what does that mean? Like 140 00:05:58,080 --> 00:05:59,550 what's gangbusters now? 141 00:05:59,730 --> 00:06:02,160 Andrew Altschuler: Okay, gangbusters is our applications 142 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,820 have doubled. You know, so far this year, our funding is 143 00:06:05,820 --> 00:06:07,500 doubled, you know, and even. 144 00:06:07,500 --> 00:06:10,170 Sean Murray: Funding doubled since the pandemic period or? 145 00:06:10,530 --> 00:06:14,040 Andrew Altschuler: The funding doubled really, since, that's a 146 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,200 good, that's a good question on the timeline. So the funding 147 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,620 really doubled as this year started, you know, it's just 148 00:06:19,620 --> 00:06:22,530 been getting higher and higher every month, as you know, like 149 00:06:22,530 --> 00:06:25,890 Texas loosens their guidelines, right. And Mississippi looses 150 00:06:25,890 --> 00:06:27,930 their guidelines. And Florida has always been a little looser. 151 00:06:27,930 --> 00:06:28,920 So some of those states. 152 00:06:28,950 --> 00:06:30,720 Sean Murray: If you can't, you can't tell it's pretty. 153 00:06:31,620 --> 00:06:33,660 Andrew Altschuler: It's pretty loose down here we get to do 154 00:06:33,660 --> 00:06:35,880 some of this stuff. Which is cool. 155 00:06:35,910 --> 00:06:36,240 Sean Murray: Yeah. 156 00:06:36,540 --> 00:06:38,220 Andrew Altschuler: Right. So those states started to come 157 00:06:38,220 --> 00:06:41,160 back. And it's been losing this year, I think, really, in this 158 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,310 year, it's loosening. So when I say gangbusters, we're able to 159 00:06:44,340 --> 00:06:46,140 we get that many more applications that many more 160 00:06:46,140 --> 00:06:48,780 offers that that many made that much more funding. 161 00:06:48,780 --> 00:06:49,050 Sean Murray: Yeah. 162 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:50,790 Andrew Altschuler: So it seems to become and some of it was the 163 00:06:50,790 --> 00:06:53,880 essential businesses at first. And now it's getting to be you 164 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,270 know, everybody and the PPP money is running out, a lot of 165 00:06:57,270 --> 00:07:00,570 these guys there's no more applications. My contacts at TD 166 00:07:00,570 --> 00:07:03,420 Bank specifically said there's no more funding going out. So 167 00:07:03,420 --> 00:07:06,510 now all these business owners, they're like, well, all the free 168 00:07:06,510 --> 00:07:09,300 money is gone. And like the plating money, a lot of it now 169 00:07:09,300 --> 00:07:12,060 like, okay, I need real money to out from my location to do my 170 00:07:12,060 --> 00:07:15,150 parking lot. Whatever they're trying to do with the money they 171 00:07:15,150 --> 00:07:18,180 gotta. They need the money to really sink back into their 172 00:07:18,180 --> 00:07:21,540 business, not just to stay alive, or have fun with now they 173 00:07:21,540 --> 00:07:22,560 gotta get serious. 174 00:07:22,590 --> 00:07:24,480 Sean Murray: Yeah. So I mean, what do you think happens now 175 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:26,970 you say you've doubled or, you know, it's progressing upward? 176 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:27,360 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah. 177 00:07:27,540 --> 00:07:31,650 Sean Murray: Are you envisioning that it's going to come back up 178 00:07:31,650 --> 00:07:35,970 to possibly come back up? But do you think it could surpass where 179 00:07:35,970 --> 00:07:39,150 it was like 2019? Like, is it gonna be like a people were 180 00:07:39,150 --> 00:07:42,390 talking about recovery right now. And I think some people are 181 00:07:42,390 --> 00:07:45,030 wondering, does that mean like, do we go back to the numbers we 182 00:07:45,030 --> 00:07:48,180 had before? Or are there possibilities for it to go even 183 00:07:48,180 --> 00:07:49,290 higher than it was before? 184 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,780 Andrew Altschuler: I think it goes back to the numbers from 185 00:07:51,780 --> 00:07:54,450 before at a minimum, but I think it's gonna go even higher, 186 00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:59,010 because the traditional banks are still tightening up, you 187 00:07:59,010 --> 00:08:01,470 know, they're, they still have to protect themselves, cause the 188 00:08:01,470 --> 00:08:04,440 fallout from their business, they still don't know, right, a 189 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:07,620 lot of it is still up in the air, right? The lending that a 190 00:08:07,620 --> 00:08:10,320 lot of the traditional banks did, they're still nervous about 191 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:12,870 they don't know, because they're, they have so many 192 00:08:12,870 --> 00:08:16,170 tentacles in different products, right? With mortgages and 193 00:08:16,170 --> 00:08:18,900 commercial mortgages and residential mortgages. Right. So 194 00:08:18,930 --> 00:08:21,150 I referenced TD before, they don't know what's gonna happen 195 00:08:21,150 --> 00:08:22,500 to their mortgage department, they don't know what's gonna 196 00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:24,570 happen to their commercial lending department, they have to 197 00:08:24,570 --> 00:08:28,350 be careful. So they're actually hiring their standards for 198 00:08:29,460 --> 00:08:32,490 typical regular commercial loans to businesses. So a lot of those 199 00:08:32,490 --> 00:08:35,370 merchants are dropping, you know, a little bit down the 200 00:08:35,370 --> 00:08:38,340 waterfall to guys like us. So I think that'll continue to 201 00:08:38,370 --> 00:08:41,790 happen. Because in our space, we can jump back in because we know 202 00:08:41,790 --> 00:08:44,910 what we're looking for TD or a bank, traditional bank may not 203 00:08:44,910 --> 00:08:47,610 jump in so fast, because they're still in a wait and see mode. 204 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:50,280 They want to see how everything is else is going to shake out 205 00:08:50,460 --> 00:08:52,560 because they don't want to be pregnant with all of these other 206 00:08:53,010 --> 00:08:55,980 loans that may go bad on them. So I think that's the long way 207 00:08:55,980 --> 00:08:58,680 around the answer to the question, but I think that guys 208 00:08:58,740 --> 00:09:02,310 are gonna take our money because they have to re outfit they have 209 00:09:02,310 --> 00:09:05,730 to reinvent themselves, these businesses to you know to get 210 00:09:05,730 --> 00:09:06,720 back out there and compete. 211 00:09:06,750 --> 00:09:08,670 Sean Murray: So you say you know what you're looking for? Well, 212 00:09:08,700 --> 00:09:11,490 what what kind of paper cause everyone's tried to put it out 213 00:09:11,490 --> 00:09:14,460 like letter grade, is it A paper, is it B paper, is it C 214 00:09:14,460 --> 00:09:17,670 paper, what type of deals does GRP look for? 215 00:09:17,700 --> 00:09:20,040 Andrew Altschuler: We I always like to categorize it as A minus 216 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:23,430 B plus stuff. So we like to see a guy in business for a year, 217 00:09:23,490 --> 00:09:26,400 you know, as long as he's north of 500 and credit, you know, a 218 00:09:26,400 --> 00:09:28,650 lot of people shake their heads said wow, that's that seems like 219 00:09:28,650 --> 00:09:33,870 it's lower grade, but north of 500 in business for a year. Not 220 00:09:33,870 --> 00:09:38,940 terribly poor bank statements with a lot of NSF, NSFs and, and 221 00:09:38,940 --> 00:09:41,940 negatives and things like that. But that kind of stuff. That is 222 00:09:41,940 --> 00:09:43,980 what we're typically what we're looking for. So I would 223 00:09:43,980 --> 00:09:46,710 categorize it as anybody's watching and understand like A 224 00:09:46,710 --> 00:09:50,130 minus B plus, now we're gonna go out probably 12 months, you 225 00:09:50,130 --> 00:09:52,620 know, things like that, and we'll get some low buy rates in 226 00:09:52,620 --> 00:09:56,580 the 120, or the 125, and we're getting aggressive also what 227 00:09:56,580 --> 00:09:59,220 we're doing is we're also working with our ISOs if he says 228 00:09:59,220 --> 00:10:03,150 I need this buy rate we'll adjust because we want to get 229 00:10:03,150 --> 00:10:05,550 that relationship in and we want to really help them we have some 230 00:10:05,550 --> 00:10:08,970 flexibility with our master lender. So that's I think that's 231 00:10:08,970 --> 00:10:11,670 the space that we're in, you know, the 12 month A minus B 232 00:10:11,670 --> 00:10:12,450 plus stuff. 233 00:10:12,570 --> 00:10:14,400 Sean Murray: Are these daily payments, weekly payments, like? 234 00:10:14,430 --> 00:10:15,090 Andrew Altschuler: We have both. 235 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:15,540 Sean Murray: Okay. 236 00:10:15,570 --> 00:10:17,880 Andrew Altschuler: We have both we'll assess, you know, on the 237 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,520 underwriting process. And we'll put the offer out, let's say, 238 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:22,530 okay, you qualify for a daily or a weekly. 239 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:22,980 Sean Murray: Okay. 240 00:10:22,980 --> 00:10:24,480 Andrew Altschuler: Right, because a lot of merchants. 241 00:10:24,690 --> 00:10:26,850 Sean Murray: Is this is like an under this like an automated 242 00:10:26,850 --> 00:10:29,100 thing, or you guys do manual underwriting? Is there like a, 243 00:10:29,100 --> 00:10:30,960 is there like a computer in the back that's doing all the 244 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:31,350 decision? 245 00:10:31,350 --> 00:10:33,690 Andrew Altschuler: Well, we do put it through the computer. 246 00:10:33,690 --> 00:10:33,810 Sean Murray: Yeah. 247 00:10:33,810 --> 00:10:35,220 Andrew Altschuler: And we'll scrape the bank statements, and 248 00:10:35,220 --> 00:10:37,290 they'll put out a letter grade on it. So that'll kind of 249 00:10:37,290 --> 00:10:40,200 dictate, you know, how long will go out, it'll dictate the buy 250 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:44,280 rate, it'll dictate a weekly or a daily payment. And then, you 251 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,950 know, the underwriters do eyeball and take a look. And 252 00:10:46,950 --> 00:10:49,440 then the offer goes out, right? And then if somebody calls, and 253 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,140 needs an exception, We'll reevaluate it again and say, 254 00:10:52,140 --> 00:10:55,770 okay, hey, we put out for 10 months, we can go to 12, or we 255 00:10:55,770 --> 00:10:59,220 put out a 12 month and a one to two buy rate, okay, maybe we 256 00:10:59,220 --> 00:11:02,520 need to bring it down to a one to one or a 120. So we can 257 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:06,180 adjust it. And that's the beauty of GRP funding is we're not so 258 00:11:06,180 --> 00:11:09,600 massive, and it's not like this huge ship that you have to get 259 00:11:09,600 --> 00:11:13,260 you know to make a change in any of our policies. It's not such a 260 00:11:13,260 --> 00:11:16,740 massive move. Like we can huddle up, we get together the whole 261 00:11:16,740 --> 00:11:19,710 team every Tuesday and Friday, and we chat about what's going 262 00:11:19,710 --> 00:11:24,180 on, or we can move quick, you know, on our policies, as well 263 00:11:24,180 --> 00:11:28,830 as on specific deals, right? It's not like, we have to go to 264 00:11:28,830 --> 00:11:32,340 the CLO and then we got to go to the underwriting group. And we 265 00:11:32,340 --> 00:11:34,740 have to, you know, talk to so many people to make a change, 266 00:11:34,770 --> 00:11:35,700 it's on the fly. 267 00:11:35,730 --> 00:11:36,090 Sean Murray: Sure. 268 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:37,620 Andrew Altschuler: And our Director of Operations looks at 269 00:11:37,620 --> 00:11:40,680 a deal and says, okay, it's four here, I can do it, you know, he 270 00:11:40,680 --> 00:11:43,650 can make exceptions. We want to try to keep it within our box. 271 00:11:43,950 --> 00:11:46,320 But we all know, at some point you may have to hop out of the 272 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:50,520 box. But we're small enough, but experienced enough that we're 273 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:50,940 nimble. 274 00:11:51,150 --> 00:11:53,970 Sean Murray: What about splits? You mentioned ACH, do you do 275 00:11:53,970 --> 00:11:54,810 splits, still? 276 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:58,860 Andrew Altschuler: We still do splits. We still do splits. 277 00:11:58,860 --> 00:12:00,030 Sean Murray: Does anyone use that term anymore? 278 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,690 Andrew Altschuler: Like old guys, like, it's not a split, 279 00:12:03,690 --> 00:12:03,870 like. 280 00:12:04,050 --> 00:12:05,460 Sean Murray: Yeah. 281 00:12:05,580 --> 00:12:07,410 Andrew Altschuler: We still do them from time to time, because 282 00:12:07,410 --> 00:12:10,470 there are merchants that want to use that but so infrequently, 283 00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:11,070 that. 284 00:12:11,100 --> 00:12:13,440 Sean Murray: Who's initiating that, is that something that the 285 00:12:13,530 --> 00:12:16,620 that the broker is, I mean, how did that even come about? 286 00:12:17,010 --> 00:12:18,690 Andrew Altschuler: It's usually there's an experienced broker 287 00:12:18,690 --> 00:12:21,360 who's been around understands the split. And it's usually 288 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,790 based on the on the cash flow, right? If it's on the bank 289 00:12:23,790 --> 00:12:26,250 statement, and if the cash and if they're like, on the line 290 00:12:26,250 --> 00:12:29,550 with the credit or the score, or their they have like the online 291 00:12:29,550 --> 00:12:32,430 with their NSFs or their negatives in the bank statement, 292 00:12:32,430 --> 00:12:35,370 we could say, okay, let's use a split, because that'll make us 293 00:12:35,370 --> 00:12:38,400 feel a little bit more comfortable with the collection. 294 00:12:38,430 --> 00:12:41,460 So we'll offer somebody a split. And we do do them from time to 295 00:12:41,460 --> 00:12:44,880 time. That's not really our bread and butter. Because even 296 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:47,790 operationally, it's a little harder to engage that, because 297 00:12:47,790 --> 00:12:49,920 you gotta go to the processor, you gotta get them to sign off 298 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,320 on it, you gotta, you gotta wait a couple of days to see the 299 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,140 split. But to answer your question, we still do them from 300 00:12:55,140 --> 00:12:59,190 time to time in the right spot. But we try not to where we don't 301 00:12:59,790 --> 00:13:00,150 need to. 302 00:13:00,450 --> 00:13:02,310 Sean Murray: Right, because I guess it could add to just 303 00:13:02,310 --> 00:13:04,800 another layer, time layer component to it. 304 00:13:05,580 --> 00:13:07,290 Andrew Altschuler: Right, we bring in another vendor, because 305 00:13:07,290 --> 00:13:08,460 we're not a merchant processor. 306 00:13:08,490 --> 00:13:08,730 Sean Murray: Right. 307 00:13:08,730 --> 00:13:10,050 Andrew Altschuler: So we gotta bring somebody else into the 308 00:13:10,050 --> 00:13:13,620 equation. And they have to, like, initiate it for us. So we 309 00:13:13,620 --> 00:13:15,360 try because you know, the business, it's got to be done 310 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,660 fast. Otherwise, you can get run over by somebody else. So we'll 311 00:13:18,660 --> 00:13:19,110 do them. 312 00:13:19,650 --> 00:13:22,140 Sean Murray: Yeah. Are you hearing about any companies in 313 00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:25,080 there that might have like a, like a, get funded button in 314 00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:26,220 like their point of sale? 315 00:13:26,460 --> 00:13:27,690 Andrew Altschuler: But as we're talking about, it's funny, 316 00:13:27,690 --> 00:13:29,820 because I had dinner with a gentleman last night, he's a 317 00:13:29,820 --> 00:13:32,880 pretty big ISO, and he wants to get into that space. He says, we 318 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,880 have all this data. And we want to push the button and get the 319 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:38,160 offer out. I said it's a great idea. Because companies like 320 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,650 Square are doing that all day long, right? Push the button and 321 00:13:40,650 --> 00:13:43,800 the money comes. I said, you can push the button and get some 322 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,040 offers out as a general idea. But you know, we still have to 323 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:50,130 set up like a customer service or a sales group, because it's 324 00:13:50,130 --> 00:13:52,830 money. So people do want to call in from time to time. But I 325 00:13:52,830 --> 00:13:56,550 think that's the future, right. For groups like us, I think 326 00:13:56,550 --> 00:13:59,970 it'll it'll get more commonplace. I think it'll get 327 00:13:59,970 --> 00:14:03,180 out there. But you know groups are working on it. I think I 328 00:14:03,180 --> 00:14:05,640 think it is the future. You know, I think some other 329 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,310 companies have like a shopping cart checkout and things like 330 00:14:08,310 --> 00:14:11,310 that. So guys are doing it. But we're treading lightly on that. 331 00:14:11,310 --> 00:14:14,370 At first, we want to kind of see what's some of these other guys 332 00:14:14,370 --> 00:14:17,910 do. But to answer your question. I think it's I think it's a 333 00:14:17,910 --> 00:14:19,650 valid way to do it. 334 00:14:19,770 --> 00:14:22,230 Sean Murray: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think it's a competitive 335 00:14:22,230 --> 00:14:22,740 advantage. 336 00:14:22,740 --> 00:14:23,040 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah. 337 00:14:23,070 --> 00:14:24,540 Sean Murray: You know what I mean, like the fact that a 338 00:14:24,540 --> 00:14:27,180 merchant can just press the button and you don't have to 339 00:14:27,270 --> 00:14:29,490 cold call. You don't have to send them mail. They're just you 340 00:14:29,490 --> 00:14:32,940 know, they're initiating that ample offer. I want to ask you 341 00:14:32,940 --> 00:14:36,480 just one other question about salaries requires. What do you 342 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,670 think about you know, the turnout in the event so far? 343 00:14:38,700 --> 00:14:42,570 Andrew Altschuler: I am blown away. I was like, last night, I 344 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,240 actually missed the opening reception because I was so wiped 345 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:48,030 out. I started eight in the morning, and you saw we we're 346 00:14:48,030 --> 00:14:50,010 setting up setting up and running around running around 347 00:14:50,010 --> 00:14:50,250 running. 348 00:14:50,250 --> 00:14:50,640 Sean Murray: Yeah. 349 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:52,440 Andrew Altschuler: I was so wiped out. I had to go upstairs 350 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,810 and close my eyes for a few minutes. For a few minutes. I 351 00:14:54,810 --> 00:14:57,180 didn't miss the whole thing. But I had to like take a break. 352 00:14:57,180 --> 00:14:57,420 Sean Murray: Yeah. 353 00:14:57,450 --> 00:14:59,190 Andrew Altschuler: Because the turnout I think the number is 354 00:14:59,190 --> 00:15:03,150 like 700 or something like that, and I think, and we were very 355 00:15:03,150 --> 00:15:06,390 much we're on the calls every week, we were like, are we gonna 356 00:15:06,390 --> 00:15:08,250 be able to do it? Are we not gonna be able to do it and I'll 357 00:15:08,250 --> 00:15:10,620 give credit to John McCormack. And some of the other guys, they 358 00:15:10,620 --> 00:15:13,320 said, we're gonna do it, we're gonna go forward. And I said, 359 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,440 okay, you know, it's Florida, and people are just pent up and 360 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:17,130 they want to come. 361 00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:17,520 Sean Murray: Yeah. 362 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:19,290 Andrew Altschuler: And we're gonna do it. So the turnout has 363 00:15:19,290 --> 00:15:22,230 just been dynamite. And you know, these shows, it's similar 364 00:15:22,230 --> 00:15:23,430 to deBanked. It's like an old family. 365 00:15:23,460 --> 00:15:23,790 Sean Murray: Yeah. 366 00:15:23,790 --> 00:15:26,220 Andrew Altschuler: See, you know, Greg walking by, hey, bud, 367 00:15:28,020 --> 00:15:30,060 I see people walking by and I go friend. 368 00:15:30,090 --> 00:15:30,690 Sean Murray: You planned that too. 369 00:15:31,260 --> 00:15:34,530 Andrew Altschuler: So Greg, just walked by at 1034. 370 00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:34,800 Sean Murray: Yeah. 371 00:15:35,070 --> 00:15:36,480 Andrew Altschuler: Right. So it's like old family and you see 372 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:38,010 these people, you know, I'm forever especially being in the 373 00:15:38,010 --> 00:15:41,340 business since 2002. So that's the cool aspect of it. And 374 00:15:41,340 --> 00:15:43,980 people just pent up in their homes, wherever they are. You 375 00:15:43,980 --> 00:15:48,180 know, I'll get on a plane from New Jersey and come to Fort 376 00:15:48,180 --> 00:15:48,930 Myers, Florida. 377 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:49,200 Sean Murray: Yeah. 378 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:51,720 Andrew Altschuler: Not unlike yourself, right. Let's go to 379 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:53,850 Newark, and let's go to Florida. Okay, I'll do that. 380 00:15:53,850 --> 00:15:55,500 Sean Murray: Yeah, that's, that's the spirit. I got into 381 00:15:55,500 --> 00:15:59,400 it. And I assumed everyone was gonna be wearing that too. 382 00:15:59,430 --> 00:15:59,820 Andrew Altschuler: Right. 383 00:15:59,820 --> 00:16:01,830 Sean Murray: Yeah, I might have been a little too proactive. 384 00:16:02,430 --> 00:16:03,780 Yeah, and we're getting into Florida. 385 00:16:04,290 --> 00:16:06,000 Andrew Altschuler: Right. But they gave me a shirt. So I said, 386 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:07,770 Wow, this shirt you know looks pretty good. 387 00:16:07,920 --> 00:16:09,240 Sean Murray: They gave you that one? 388 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:09,990 Andrew Altschuler: Cause everybody, if you noticed 389 00:16:09,990 --> 00:16:13,470 everybody on the committee wears their shirt and the name tag 390 00:16:13,470 --> 00:16:15,540 with my name spelled wrong, but like, that's okay. 391 00:16:17,190 --> 00:16:19,140 Sean Murray: Yeah, don't ignore the name tag. 392 00:16:19,860 --> 00:16:21,030 Andrew Altschuler: Just just look at Andrew. 393 00:16:21,690 --> 00:16:22,410 Sean Murray: Okay, that's good. 394 00:16:22,410 --> 00:16:23,760 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah. So back to your question. People are 395 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:26,250 just so excited to come down and see see each other and then 396 00:16:26,250 --> 00:16:29,070 like, that's the beauty of the Southeast Acquirers, because you 397 00:16:29,070 --> 00:16:31,920 know, the shows, right? You have like, dude, the ETA is the big 398 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,010 standard, and then you have Money. 2020. But it's, you know, 399 00:16:35,010 --> 00:16:38,580 there's this huge, massive shows with like, like, 10s of 1000s of 400 00:16:38,580 --> 00:16:41,160 people. But here, it's 700 people, you know each other. So 401 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:42,360 it's a lot more intimate. 402 00:16:42,390 --> 00:16:42,720 Sean Murray: Yeah. 403 00:16:42,750 --> 00:16:44,040 Andrew Altschuler: So that's what's cool about it. 404 00:16:44,370 --> 00:16:45,960 Sean Murray: Do you think we'll have more funders come to these 405 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:47,100 shows in the future? 406 00:16:47,100 --> 00:16:48,870 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah, I think they'll start coming back. 407 00:16:48,900 --> 00:16:52,200 Because there are a handful that are here and myself. I come, you 408 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:54,840 know, with the SCA. But obviously, part of GRP I think 409 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,570 guys will start getting into it, and crossing over. Right? That's 410 00:16:57,570 --> 00:16:59,760 what we've been talking about for a while, right, is we're 411 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:01,650 gonna have crossover, you guys wanted to come down and 412 00:17:01,650 --> 00:17:04,680 represent merchant cash advance with the media? And they said, 413 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,260 okay, well, we have deBanked, I'll send some of my colleagues 414 00:17:07,260 --> 00:17:08,340 from the Southeast Acquirers. 415 00:17:08,339 --> 00:17:08,639 Sean Murray: Yeah. 416 00:17:08,670 --> 00:17:10,350 Andrew Altschuler: And start representing merchant 417 00:17:10,350 --> 00:17:12,900 processing, again, because I think there's just so many 418 00:17:13,290 --> 00:17:16,080 really interconnected ways for those businesses. And we talked 419 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:18,180 about that right at the beginning, right, is that they 420 00:17:18,180 --> 00:17:19,230 kind of like are cousins. 421 00:17:19,260 --> 00:17:19,620 Sean Murray: Yeah. 422 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:21,120 Andrew Altschuler: And maybe they'll start getting back 423 00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:24,360 together, because I just think, you know, all the cash advance 424 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:26,580 ISOs need to start looking at merchant processing again, 425 00:17:26,910 --> 00:17:29,790 because it's such a great business. It really truly is. 426 00:17:30,300 --> 00:17:32,700 Sean Murray: I agree. Well, Andrew, thank you very much for 427 00:17:32,700 --> 00:17:33,810 being here. Appreciate your time. 428 00:17:33,810 --> 00:17:34,470 Andrew Altschuler: My pleasure. Yeah. 429 00:17:34,500 --> 00:17:36,600 Sean Murray: You know, we were talking earlier, I was talking 430 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,020 earlier with Johny about how the handshakes are. It used to be 431 00:17:40,020 --> 00:17:42,690 more like hey how's it going, but now everyone's so desperate 432 00:17:42,690 --> 00:17:43,770 for that human connection. 433 00:17:43,770 --> 00:17:44,070 Andrew Altschuler: Right. 434 00:17:44,100 --> 00:17:44,850 Sean Murray: And it's a lot more like. 435 00:17:44,850 --> 00:17:46,140 Andrew Altschuler: So we're gonna get a big hug, right. 436 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:46,830 Sean Murray: We're gonna do a big. 437 00:17:47,370 --> 00:17:48,420 Andrew Altschuler: A big hug for with the closing. 438 00:17:48,420 --> 00:17:48,750 Sean Murray: Yeah. 439 00:17:48,750 --> 00:17:50,520 Andrew Altschuler: One more thing I want to say before you 440 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,400 and I know each other for so many years, we worked across the 441 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:55,830 street, right? When you started over at MCC and I was in 442 00:17:56,100 --> 00:17:57,630 Amerimerchant on Park Avenue South. 443 00:17:57,630 --> 00:17:57,900 Sean Murray: Yeah. 444 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,120 Andrew Altschuler: At 32nd street. You know, you weren't 445 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:02,610 long after 2008, was that? 446 00:18:02,730 --> 00:18:04,410 Sean Murray: As soon as the funding part started in the 447 00:18:04,410 --> 00:18:06,900 industry, but you know, I started it was payments and MCA 448 00:18:06,900 --> 00:18:08,370 at the same time. I did a lot of payments. 449 00:18:08,580 --> 00:18:09,930 Andrew Altschuler: Was right with Stephen and he was they 450 00:18:09,930 --> 00:18:12,810 were they were first with Synergy and right when. 451 00:18:12,990 --> 00:18:14,700 Sean Murray: I was working out of their office, the Synergy 452 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:15,420 office in Queens. 453 00:18:15,450 --> 00:18:15,780 Andrew Altschuler: Okay. 454 00:18:15,780 --> 00:18:16,650 Sean Murray: That's when I started also. 455 00:18:16,650 --> 00:18:18,270 Andrew Altschuler: Yeah, we were sending merchant processing 456 00:18:18,270 --> 00:18:21,360 deals to Synergy. Cause synergy was splitting the batch. So we 457 00:18:21,360 --> 00:18:22,800 know that each other a long time brother. 458 00:18:22,950 --> 00:18:23,730 Sean Murray: Good times. 459 00:18:23,730 --> 00:18:24,540 Andrew Altschuler: So we're ready for it. 460 00:18:25,020 --> 00:18:26,670 Sean Murray: Okay, this is the official the official. 461 00:18:28,110 --> 00:18:28,920 Andrew Altschuler: I'll give you a little kiss too. 462 00:18:29,190 --> 00:18:30,240 Sean Murray: Okay, yeah. 463 00:18:30,570 --> 00:18:31,140 Andrew Altschuler: Make sure you get that. 464 00:18:31,140 --> 00:18:32,940 Sean Murray: Yeah, anything can happen on deBanked TV 465 00:18:32,940 --> 00:18:33,900 apparently, yeah.