Erik Verryden built his merchant services company from door-to-door telemarketing in Oregon into an Arizona business he has run since 2003. On this episode he demystifies credit card processing, walking through the reporting tools that turn confusing statements into plain English and explaining why locally staffed, first-name support beats overseas call centers. He digs into two costs that quietly drain business owners: PCI compliance questionnaires that spiral into unanswerable question trees, and invalid TIN issues that can let the IRS withhold 30 percent of deposits when application details do not match a tax return.
Verryden also warns about point-of-sale contracts that bury early-termination clawbacks and clauses granting vendors access to a merchant’s customer list. He urges owners to have an attorney read any agreement before signing. Beyond business, he tells how relocating his office to Anthem led him to join the chamber, meet the community, and eventually take a board seat. He closes on Blur Fitness, his North Scottsdale gym with a recovery room and family atmosphere.
Key takeaways
- Erik Verryden owns NextGen Partner Strategies, a B2B point-of-sale and electronic payments company he founded in 2003 with roots going back to around 2000.
- NextGen offers Arizona-based, first-name customer support and online reporting tools so merchants can decode hard-to-read processing statements.
- An invalid TIN mismatch on a processing application can trigger the IRS to withhold 30 percent of deposits and add a $50 monthly fee until corrected.
- PCI compliance surveys can balloon into confusing question trees; a good processor can complete them in under five minutes and stop non-compliance charges.
- POS contracts can hide steep early-termination clawbacks on 'free' hardware and clauses letting the vendor market to a merchant's customer base, so have an attorney review before signing.
- Verryden joined the Anthem Area Chamber of Commerce after moving his office to Anthem in 2022 and now serves on its board; he also runs Blur Fitness in North Scottsdale.
Related: More Eye on Anthem episodes