The payments landscape is changing fast—and many ISOs are struggling to keep up. In this episode of the Merchant Sales Podcast, James sits down with Ben Griefer, COO of Maverick Payments, to break down what it really takes to stay competitive today, from choosing the right upstream partners to balancing risk, operations, and sales focus.

They dive into the tradeoffs between going direct vs partnering, how infrastructure decisions impact growth, and why the most successful ISOs are doubling down on sales while leveraging the right back-end support. If you’re building or scaling an ISO, this episode offers a clear look at what’s working right now—and where the industry is headed.