Our Local Merchants are the heartbeat of our communities!

Supporting Local Businesses: Investing in the Heart of Our Communities

In a world increasingly dominated by large corporations and online marketplaces, it’s easy to overlook the incredible impact that local businesses have on our everyday lives. But the truth is simple: local businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. They are the dreamers, the risk-takers, the job creators, and the neighbors who help shape the towns and cities we proudly call home.

At Jupiter Payments, supporting local businesses isn’t just part of what we do, it’s part of who we are.

The People Behind the Storefronts

Every local business has a story.

It’s the family who invested their savings to open a restaurant. The retailer who spends long hours ensuring customers have exactly what they need. The salon owner building a business while raising a family. The entrepreneur who turned a lifelong passion into a livelihood.

Behind every storefront is someone who took a chance on a dream.

These business owners aren’t just serving customers, they’re coaching little league teams, sponsoring local events, donating to school fundraisers, and helping their neighbors during difficult times. They are woven into the fabric of our communities in ways that large corporations simply cannot replicate.

Why Shopping Local Matters

When you support a local business, your dollars do much more than purchase a product or service.

They help:

  • Create local jobs
  • Support local families
  • Strengthen the local economy
  • Fund community events and youth programs
  • Encourage entrepreneurship and innovation
  • Keep our neighborhoods vibrant and unique

Studies consistently show that money spent at local businesses circulates within the community at a much higher rate than money spent with national chains. Every purchase becomes an investment in the place we live.

Simply put, when local businesses succeed, communities thrive.

Building Stronger Communities Together

A strong community isn’t built by buildings or infrastructure alone. It’s built by people supporting one another.

We see it every day, the coffee shop owner who knows every customer by name, the retailer who sponsors a local charity event, the restaurant that donates meals to those in need, and the service providers who step up whenever their community needs them most.

These businesses are often the first to give back and the last to ask for recognition.

Supporting them means supporting the values that make communities special: connection, trust, generosity, and pride.

Why This Matters to Us at Jupiter Payments

As a locally focused business ourselves, we understand the challenges that entrepreneurs face. We know what it means to work long hours, make difficult decisions, and invest everything into building something meaningful.

That’s why our mission extends beyond payment processing.

We believe in helping business owners grow, compete, and succeed. We believe that independent businesses deserve the tools, technology, and support needed to thrive in today’s marketplace. Most importantly, we believe that when we help local businesses succeed, we’re helping entire communities prosper.

Every merchant we partner with represents more than an account. They represent a family, a dream, and a commitment to serving their community.

A Simple Choice That Makes a Big Difference

Supporting local businesses doesn’t always require a major investment. Sometimes it’s as simple as:

  • Choosing a local restaurant for dinner
  • Shopping at a neighborhood store
  • Leaving a positive online review
  • Sharing a business on social media
  • Referring friends and family
  • Attending local events and markets

These small actions create meaningful impact and help ensure that local businesses continue to grow for generations to come.

The Future Starts Local

The communities we love are built by the people who live, work, and invest in them every day. Local businesses create character, opportunity, and connection. They turn neighborhoods into communities and customers into friends.

At Jupiter Payments, we are proud to stand beside the business owners who make our communities stronger. We believe that supporting local businesses is one of the most powerful ways to invest in our future.

Because at the end of the day, local businesses don’t just power our economy, they power our communities, our families, and our dreams.

And when local businesses win, we all win.

From all of us at Jupiter Payments, thank you for continuing to support the small businesses that make our communities extraordinary. Together, we can keep local dreams alive and build stronger communities for generations to come.

– Blake Perez, VP of Sales & Marketing

🎅Sleigh the Season With Smarter Tech (and Less Stress)

This holiday guide for merchants and agents is here to help you stay prepared during the busiest time of the year. Retail shops, cafĂŠs, restaurants, and service businesses all see a major jump in traffic. Without strong systems in place, that rush can feel overwhelming. With the right tools and planning, the holiday season can become one of your most successful months.

Agents feel the pressure too. Merchants lean on you more than ever during busy periods. Clear guidance and the right recommendations make the season smoother for everyone. When both sides are prepared, the entire operation runs with less stress and more confidence.

Below is a practical holiday guide for merchants and agents with strategies that boost efficiency and reduce frustration.

Make Ordering and Shopping Easy With Online and Mobile Options 📲

Holiday shoppers want quick and flexible ways to order. Offering online ordering, mobile ordering, or QR-based menus gives customers more control. They can browse, order, and pay without waiting in long lines.

Digital ordering also reduces mistakes and keeps orders flowing. Staff can focus on fulfilling orders and helping customers instead of managing a crowded counter. This creates a smoother and more enjoyable experience.

For agents, recommending digital ordering tools shows you understand what today’s customers expect and how merchants can meet those needs.

Use Last Year’s POS Data to Plan Ahead 📊

Your POS system holds valuable insight into holiday trends. Reviewing last year’s sales helps you see what items sold quickly, when traffic spiked, and what inventory ran out.

This kind of preparation helps merchants stock smarter and schedule staff more effectively. It prevents costly surprises and makes the entire season easier to manage.

Agents who encourage merchants to look at their data become true partners in planning, not just product providers.

Promote Gift Cards as a Top Holiday Seller 🎁

Gift cards are one of the easiest ways to increase holiday revenue. They appeal to last-minute shoppers and customers who are unsure what to buy. They also bring people back after the holidays, often spending more than the card’s value.

Merchants should promote gift cards at the counter, online, and across social media. Even small reminders can create strong seasonal sales.

Agents can support merchants by encouraging early promotion and making sure their gift card tools are set up correctly.

Keep Lines Moving With Mobile Checkout and Line-Busting Tools 🚶‍♂️

Long lines can cause customers to walk out. Mobile checkout helps staff move freely and ring up customers anywhere in the store or restaurant. This keeps traffic flowing and reduces frustration.

Line-busting tools help teams take orders tableside, on the sales floor, or curbside. They ease pressure on the main checkout area and increase overall throughput.

Agents who recommend mobile checkout tools show they understand real business challenges and can offer immediate solutions.

Reduce Processing Costs So Everyone Wins 💵

Holiday sales increase, but so do processing fees. Many merchants do not realize they are paying for the customer’s rewards, points, and cash-back perks.

With Jupiter Payments’ Freedom Program, merchants can reduce or remove these fees entirely. This protects their revenue during the busiest season and strengthens their margins.

For agents, this becomes a powerful value-add. Lower fees lead to happier merchants, better retention, and more referrals.

Final Thoughts

This holiday guide for merchants and agents is designed to make the season easier and more efficient. With the right tools, clearer planning, and cost-saving programs, both merchants and agents can move through the holidays with confidence.

If you need help choosing mobile checkout tools, reviewing POS data, or exploring how the Freedom Program can help your merchants save money, the Jupiter Payments team is always here to support you.

What Fiserv’s Q3 Miss Teaches Every Growing ISO

What ISOs Can Learn from Fiserv’s Q3 Miss

Fiserv’s Q3 2025 earnings call was rough and not just for investors. From an operations standpoint, it’s a case study every ISO can learn from.

Fiserv reported just 1% organic revenue growth this quarter, with adjusted EPS  (earnings per share) down 11% year-over-year. They cut full-year guidance to 3.5 – 4% growth and $8.50 – $8.60 EPS, after forecasting closer to 10% earlier in the year. The market’s reaction was brutal, the stock dropped nearly 40% in a day.

Underneath those numbers are lessons that hit home for growing payments companies and ISOs trying to scale sustainably. Here’s what I took away:

1. Forecast from the ground up.
Fiserv’s big miss shows what happens when forecasts are too top-down. For small ISOs, build projections from real merchant data, weekly approvals, activations, and attrition, not wishful thinking. You can’t fix what you can’t see.

2. Diversify your book early.
Fiserv pointed to slowing growth in the Latin American Market, a large cross boarder newer area for them, as a key drag. Clover’s underperformance and pricing restructure really hurt them as well. For a smaller ISO, the same thing happens when one vertical like restaurants or e-commerce makes up most of your portfolio. Spread risk by industry, geography, and processor.

3. Document processes before scaling.
Fiserv launched its “One Fiserv” plan; great in theory, light on details. As you grow, write down every repeatable process now like boarding, support, chargeback handling. When you start adding staff, you’ll scale consistently instead of reacting to chaos. Proactive instead of reactive.

4. Communicate early and clearly.
Fiserv’s investors and employees were blindsided. In an ISO, that could be your agents, processors, or merchants. When something changes like pricing, funding delays, or support issues, communicate before they find out on their own. Communication builds trust and trust is the foundation of relationships.

5. Spend where it counts.
Fiserv spent over $5 billion on stock buybacks while growth slowed. For a smaller ISO, that’s the equivalent of pouring money into branding while back-office ops lag. Reinvest in automation, better CRM tools, staff and training. Short-term optics is not how you succeed.

6. Make performance visible.
Fiserv’s slowdown didn’t appear overnight. A tighter handle on metrics could have flagged it earlier. As a smaller operator, track your KPIs weekly such as: merchant churn, funding errors, equipment failures, tickets resolved etc… Fast visibility means fast course correction.

7. Stay close to the customer.
Fiserv lost touch with the ground-level signals, something smaller teams still have as a superpower. Keep talking to merchants and agents. They’ll tell you where friction is building before the data does. Listen to your customers and don’t be afraid to pivot when you see a need. At Jupiter Payments we have always said, and will always live by a golden rule our CEO, Colton Partlow, set when we established. “No one can service and support our customers and agents better than we can”.

Fiserv’s stumble wasn’t about one bad quarter, it was about operational drift. ISOs can avoid that by keeping forecasts honest, communication clear, and investments focused on execution. Im sure after this call Fiserv will pivot as they have share holders to answer to, but this can teach everyone a lesson or two. Growth doesn’t hurt a business; losing sight of the fundamentals does. When you combine a clear plan, grounded projections, and a team that executes with discipline, growth takes care of itself.

Written by: Vickie Partlow, VP of Operations


#Operations #Payments #ISO #Leadership #Execution #BusinessLessons #Fiserv #Growth #Acquisition #Plan #JupiterPayments

Sources:
• Fiserv Q3 2025 Earnings Release – Investors.Fiserv.com
• PYMNTS.com: Fiserv Slashes Outlook, Promises Revamp to Close Competitive Gaps
• GuruFocus: Fiserv Inc. Q3 2025 Earnings Call Highlights