Sterling Buying Group (SBG) has been around for more than six years, spearheaded by credit card processing industry veterans Howard Cooper and Kevin Schifrin, who have grown the company in excess of 40 percent annually. To Cooper, running the business is not just about getting clients in the door, it is about taking care of those clients and making sure that customer service is consistently at the forefront of every client interaction. Boasting one of the highest client retention rates in the business-to-business industry, SBG's client loyalty surpasses 96 percent. Cooper attributes this outstanding accomplishment to, "holding clients' hands in every step of credit card processing, in every scenario, through every issue, no matter what happens along the way." The company has developed for the B2B market a superior infrastructure to support its clients, better technology to process their data and robust ad hoc reporting programs to satisfy all management reporting needs.

  Several years ago, SBG trademarked the term "Interchange Management" and created a program around it. The program identifies savings opportunities within costs paid, not just to the broker or processor, but to the issuing banks and card brands as well. "In B2B credit card processing, the majority of the opportunity to reduce fees is on the hard cost side," Cooper explains. "Approaching processing in this way produces three to five times the cost savings impact on bottom line, over the typical reduction tactics. The soft cost side of the equation has become commoditized. It is a race to give the processing away without any semblance of service." The cutting edge Interchange Management Program allows Sterling Buying Group to help clients reduce costs and manage their credit card payments more effectively. Often times, Cooper encounters companies that have been offered a phenomenal deal by the bank, but all of the savings are over and above interchange costs. The bank may charge its customers next to nothing, but Cooper says SBG still beats bank quotes by focusing on the largest portion of what companies pay, the interchange fees. "We often attract companies that are publicly traded because, frankly, we have a better mousetrap than other credit card processing companies," notes Cooper. "With our newest technology added to the Interchange Management Program, we're the only company in the U.S. that can effectively control interchange fees on 99 percent of any credit card sale, regardless of software or ERP program used, including those performed on credit card terminals. It's technology that no one else has successfully developed."

  Additionally, the company is very hands-on when it comes to assisting its clients with Payment Card Industry compliance, which defines the responsibility of merchants to protect cardholder data. The Sterling Buying Group Online PCI Compliance Library is pulled from the PCI Standards Council and goes through all of the Council's documents. "For those who don't understand what PCI compliance is all about," Cooper continues, "we help untangle the confusion of PCI, so businesses have a better understanding of what their responsibilities are." Wholesale Central and Buyers Network members can get a free cost analysis by going to Sterling's website.

 For more information:
 Sterling Buying Group
 3802 Ford Circle
 Cincinnati, OH 45227
 Toll Free: 888-564-9564
 Fax: 888-564-9565
 Email: howard.cooper@sterlingbuyinggroup.com
 Website: www.sterlingbuyinggroup.com