New banking relationship enables fast-growing merchant processor to expand its aggressive push into “card-present” channel and increase services to merchants

TEMECULA, CA (July 28, 2017) — National Merchants Association (NMA), a global merchant advocacy group and leader in merchant services, recently announced its new sponsor banking relationship with Commercial Bank of California (CBC), a full-service, FDIC-insured bank that is built and run by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.

The deal follows NMA’s 2016 double-digit growth in revenue and workforce, and an appearance on the Inc. 500 list of America’s fastest growing companies. The new banking relationship is the company’s latest move to expand services, lower merchant processing costs, speed up transactions and attract new categories of higher volume transactions from “card present” merchants — an aggressive push the company has been making since mid-2016.

“This partnership is a huge step forward for NMA. We’re extremely impressed with the team at CBC, in particular their commitment to entrepreneurship,” said Heather Petersen, CEO of NMA. “Merchants and agents look to us as an industry advocate — they know we will do whatever it takes to help their businesses succeed. They demand both flexibility and exceptional value, and this more direct banking relationship will help us deliver both.”

NMA is already a proven leader in “high risk” and card-not-present processing services. This new relationship will allow NMA to provide a stronger offering to card-present businesses such as retail and restaurants, adding to the company’s growth while broadening its merchant portfolio.

The relationship is a natural fit for the two Southern California-based companies and promises to be mutually beneficial.

“Working with CBC will allow us to lower our merchants’ processing costs, speed up deal turnarounds, increase overall value, and ultimately provide exceptional support for businesses of all types,” said Brian Berkenbile, Senior Vice President of Sales and Support. “At the same time, it will help us provide even more competitive commission splits for our agents.”

This new sponsorship is also a key part of NMA’s plans to provide industry-leading promotions and equipment programs starting in Q3 2017 — including state-of-the-art POS systems — at greatly reduced costs for many brick and mortar merchants, to further increase its foothold in the “low risk” market.

“With the help of our new CBC relationship, we believe that no one in the industry will be able to touch the new equipment programs we can provide,” said Berkenbile. “Our unique position in the payments ecosystem gives us the ability to do things with pricing and services that no conventional processor can. We live and breathe profitability for our merchants and agents, and I challenge anyone in the marketplace to beat our combination of pricing and personal service.”

For more information about the new banking relationship, or to learn about National Merchants Association, visit dev-nma.pantheonsite.io or call (866) 509-7199.

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About National Merchants Association
National Merchants Association is a global merchant advocacy group and a leader in merchant services dedicated to helping merchants and agent partners grow their businesses by generating sales opportunities and maximizing profits. National Merchants Association works on behalf of businesses to eliminate the unnecessary and unreasonable fees associated with accepting electronic transactions and provides products and services to help them continue to be successful. Visit www.NationalMerchants.com or call 866-509-7199 for more information.

About Commercial Bank of California
CBC is a full-service bank headquartered in Irvine, California, serving the business and professional communities of Los Angeles and Orange counties. Recognized as a BauerFinancial, Inc. “Five-Star Bank” for its financial strength and stability, CBC is owned, built and run by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. Local business leaders such as William Lyon, Paul Folino, and Alex Meruelo serve on the Board of Directors. CBC specializes in delivering customized, highly personalized banking services to small and mid-sized California businesses and entrepreneurs. Visit http://www.cbcal.com or call (714) 431-7000 for more information.