I have my own credit card — WWYD
I posted this on I-Atn and didn’t get a lot of comment. Maybe here will be better.
Like a lot of you, I accept the Car Care One credit card. I
have always been a little shocked at the discount rate,
especially for the 1 year interest free promotion; but what
really sticks in my craw is the lack of ability to customize
the cards with my logo (I strongly believe in branding) and
the fact that cards issued at my store can be used anywhere
is also a big irritant. I want customers tied to me!So, eight years ago I decided to issue my own credit card.
As it turns out, this is a much harder task than you would
think. I had to find a way to pull credit reports on
applicants. I had to find a way to manufacture the plastic
cards but hardest thing was finding a software package that
would keep tract of all the account balances, print
statements and keep track of the interest and fees.Such a software package did not exist, so wrote my own. I
now have software that runs my credit card operation that
web based. My two shops use the software to take payments,
make sales and issue cards. My customers have 24/7 access to
their accounts and can make payments online as well as print
statements.So how has it worked?
Since I started I have had $1,249,608 in sales on the credit
card. $ 180,445 in interest and fees and have written off
$62,695 to bad debts. I am currently owed $171,684.I am convinced that ½ of the above sales would not have
happened without the credit card. There are no processing
fees and I get to decide who get credit and who doesn’t.Now for the WWYD part.
I am quite happy with my credit card as it stands, but
recently I was approached by another shop owner who would
like to do the same thing. He wants to license my software.
This is something I never considered. How would you charge
for such a thing? What would be a fair price? Is this even a
good idea? What does this do to my competitive position in
the market place if everyone around me suddenly had their
own credit card too? Are there any pitfalls you can foresee
and what could I do about them?I realize that you may need more information to answer the
WWYD question. I’ll answer anything you want to know.I need guidance — Help me Ob Wan Kenobi – you are my only
hope!
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