TSG Launches Embedded Pricing Tool, Enhancing its AIM Platform for Channel Partners

Unprecedented solution helps clients and their channels price merchants competitively

OMAHA, Nebraska--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TSG (The Strawhecker Group), a globally recognized analytics and solutions-focused firm in the payments industry, is excited to launch its Embedded Pricing Tool, a value-added service for subscribers of its Acquiring Industry Metrics (AIM) platform. The tool enables merchant acquirers to share go-to-market pricing benchmarks with their channel partners, which helps partners ‘right price’ their merchants at the time of boarding.

TSG found that merchant acquiring channels like software companies (e.g. PayFacs) often unintentionally price their merchants below market rates by as much as 40 basis points. Embedded Pricing solves this problem by allowing merchants to be priced accurately at the time of boarding.

“Money is being left on the table because merchant processing channel partners don’t have the data to accurately price their merchants befitting of their strategy,” said Mike Strawhecker, President at TSG.

For ten years, AIM has revolutionized how leading payments companies tackle their data problems and maximize profitability, with seven of the top ten U.S. merchant acquirers subscribing to AIM. Using the same harmonized dataset, AIM users can now offer Embedded Pricing to channel partners, such as software companies, financial institutions, ISOs, and agents. Embedded Pricing provides access to specific pricing benchmarks based on industry, account size, vintage, and geography.

“Like every other product or service, a large veterinarian in San Francisco may pay a different price for processing than a smaller veterinarian in Jackson, Mississippi. Software companies (and other channels) currently price their merchants in a vacuum because they don’t have market comps. This tool solves that problem. It is unprecedented in the market as it allows merchant acquirers to share market pricing benchmarks to boost partner margins while also unlocking a new value-added service. It’s a win-win for both sides and helps increase partner retention,” said Josh Istas, Senior Director of Product Strategy at TSG.

The Embedded Pricing Tool is only available to AIM subscribers. Users gain access to benchmarks via API, which can be integrated into existing partner, or white-labeled portals. As a value-added service, merchant acquirers may turn the solution into a revenue generator.

In addition to Embedding Pricing, AIM enables access to portfolio-specific and market benchmarks at a micro and macro-level of detail, derived through TSG data harmonization of multiprocessor settlement data (completed in an anonymous and aggregated fashion). Subscribers regularly use the platform, and the seamless user interface, AIMvision, for merchant-level analysis, portfolio optimization, vertical strategies, and comparing KPIs.

AIM is populated with credit/debit card data on over 4M merchants across the U.S. Further, it represents 25% of total card volume from merchants with more than $100M in annual card volume. AIM closely mirrors the overall makeup of the U.S. card acceptance market and positively correlates with other data sets, such as the U.S. Census, with a 98% correlation by U.S. state establishment population.

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About TSG

TSG (The Strawhecker Group) is a globally recognized analytics and consulting firm that supports the entire payments ecosystem, serving over 1,000 clients from Fortune 500 leaders to more than a dozen of the world's most valuable brands. Trusted by industry leaders, TSG's strategic services, market intelligence, and analytics merge to empower clients with actionable and accessible information. Please visit www.tsgpayments.com.