The original partnership creating Signature Card Services was formed in December 1996, and during more than a decade of service to the adult merchant community the company has earned a reputation for reliable, ethical business practices among many banks and merchants in the “special risk” category.
“Myself and two other VPs of a competing ISO decided we could do it better and more ethically than our current employer,” said Cliff Teston, president and CEO of Signature Card Services. “I was the VP of sales, Kirk Allen was the VP of information technology and Christine Bednar was the VP of marketing. We had become close friends over the years and when an opportunity to buy a small company in the adult industry arose, we jumped on it. We were fortunate enough to earn back our initial investment in 45 days. The new revenue from the company enabled us to use our financial industry knowledge to start our payment processing company Signature Card Services, and we built it understanding the needs of special-risk businesses like our own.”
As the current financial crisis grips all industries reliant on credit card payments, including adult online and other special-risk merchants, the search for payment processors capable of reliably providing a high approval rate has intensified.
“Signature Card Services is a payment processor for adult merchants, and we are one of the oldest existing domestic payment processors for the adult industry,” Teston said. “We are highly focused on internet and direct marketing business. While we can accommodate any industry, we cut our teeth in these industries and developed specific expertise in the acquisition and the day-to-day management of adult businesses. Our approval rate is unrivaled given the number of banks we represent, the trust we’ve built with these banks, and the chargeback management systems that we offer to protect merchant accounts and their income.”
Since its inception Signature Card Services has continued to add banks, develop innovative products, and strengthen relationships with existing clients. The inclusion of multi-currency settlement, cash advance services, gift card processing, loyalty card management and check processing have allowed the company to build a suite of financial services capable of satisfying the expanding billing needs of merchants who are understandably intent on maximizing their potential revenue streams by opening all options for the convenience of their customers.
When asked what the most significant challenge was in initially building the Signature Card business, Cliff Teston replied, “Gaining the trust of our banks while safely placing unusual or special-risk merchants.” Successfully navigating through those early obstacles has also brought significant rewards, most notably customer loyalty. Teston said, “We have hundreds of adult merchants that have been with us for over 10 years.” In a relatively new industry that is not particularly known for long-term relationships among customers and vendors, that is quite an accomplishment.
The current credit climate caused by the recent economic meltdown and recent rash of questionable practices by some special-risk merchants presents new challenges for all processors. In the special-risk category, news recently surfaced that Israel Discount Bank (IDB) chairman Shlomo Zohar was being issued a large payment to convince him to resign while an IDB subsidiary—Israel Credit Cards-Cal Ltd., which issues Visa cards and handled high-risk merchant accounts outside the U.S.—is in big trouble. IDB announced that ICC-Cal is being fined 9 million euros and it has been reported that Visa Europe may withdraw ICC-Cal’s permit for international clearing or might even kick it out of Visa entirely.
That news positions a clean company like Signature Card Services, with a strong reputation as one of the oldest existing domestic payment processors for the adult industry, to make significant strides gaining an increase in market share. “We are launching a new loyalty program for the adult industry,” Teston said. “I think technology as it relates to this industry is going to continue to play a large part in our success. We pride ourselves on finding the best technology solutions for our merchants.” That willingness to stay on the cutting edge, along with the company’s lengthy record of ethical service and its solid portfolio of quality merchants, establishes a bright outlook for Signature Card Services as it continues to grow into the future.
For more about the company, call (888) 334-2284 or go to SignatureCard.com.
This article originally ran in the January 2010 issue of AVN.
