MWAA 2026 Ep 7: Stephen McIver and Johnathon Kiriakos on Merchant Perks & Point Rewards
The Paycast NetworkShow Notes
In this episode of our Paycast Network series live from Chicago, Stephen McIver and Johnathon Kiriakos from Loyalty Merchant Rewards (LMR) join us to discuss how ISOs and sales agents can break free from the traditional credit card processing rate race to the bottom. Stephen and John explain how offering volume based merchant rewards flips the script on standard cash discounting and margin cutting. By earning points directly through their processing volume, merchants can redeem rewards for Disneyland trips, Pebble Beach golf getaways, iPhones, and gift cards, turning merchant processing into a perk instead of a cost. Plus, stick around to hear John take on our famous Sell the Duck sales challenge. In this episode, we cover: Why credit card processing fee cutting has become a race to the bottom.
How Loyalty Merchant Rewards lets ISOs offer real value through point programs.
How merchants earn points toward Disneyland trips, golf getaways, and tech.
Winning cash discount accounts by pitching rewards instead of lower rates.
The Sell the Duck sales pitch challenge with Johnathon Kyriakos.
Curious about the true value of your payment processing residual portfolio? Whether you are looking to retire, reinvest in your business, or secure liquidity, Cutter purchases residual portfolios from agents and ISOs with no obligations, no new business requirements, and no lock in contracts. Find out what a full or partial residual sale could do for your business today: https://cutterfinancial.com/paycastnetwork/ If you are enjoying our MWAA coverage, follow the show on Spotify, leave us a rating, and share this episode with fellow payments professionals! Sponsored by Cutter
More from The Paycast Network
What takes an IT professional from printing mainframe code to executive leadership and spearheading diversity strategy across thousands of employees? In this episode of The Paycast Network, host Chase sits down with fintech veteran Dr. Gail Burgos (CEO of PayTech Women, former Chief of Staff to the CIO and Senior Diversity Officer at TSYS) to break down three decades of executive experience in the payments ecosystem.
What happens when your sales team shatters company records, but leadership refuses to acknowledge your existence? For Tina Waldrup, founder of Anchor Payment Solutions, that breaking point sparked the decision to walk away from corporate merchant services and launch an independent agency rooted in partnership and mutual respect.
Welcome to the final installment of our Pay It Forward series on The Paycast Network! In Part 3, Scott Morley from linked2pay shares advanced strategies specifically for experienced high-risk merchant agents looking to scale, protect, and eventually exit their business.
Welcome back to Pay It Forward on The Paycast Network! In Part 2 of our high risk series, we sit down with Scott Morley from linked2pay to discuss how established agents with low risk portfolios can safely expand into high risk merchant processing.
Welcome to the debut episode of Pay It Forward on The Paycast Network! In this segment, we sit down with industry leader Scott Morley from linked2pay to break down what every new agent and ISO needs to know about entering the high-risk payment processing space.