Kate Osterfeld

Heartland Payment Systems Servicing Manager

(206) 450-2227  (888) 963-3600
www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com

What fun! I’m the hat lady most of you have seen throughout my many WBE years. I started coming to the breakfasts in 1988 (I first volunteered at the Bill Gates breakfast) and have been Advisory Board member, Vice-President, Executive Board member, Networker of the Year and Chair of the Board of Directors between then and now. I’m one of the founding members of the WBE alumni Bunko group who’ve been meeting for the last ten years. I’m one of the lucky people who was personally tutored by Donna Nunn, our founder. She taught me so many things over the years and I’ve incorporated them into my business, personal and spiritual life. My long history with WBE has served me well as I helped guide the organization the last two years. We’ve worked to keep the good aspects of the past while looking to the future and making or proposing changes that will make us successful for years to come.

Indeed, WBE has played a large part in shaping who I am. The friends, experiences and memories I have because of WBE are too many to count and I appreciate all of them. I’ve lead many board meetings, retreats and conference calls. I’ve helped put on innumerable breakfasts, solicited sponsors and written brochure copy. I’ve recruited volunteers and board members. I had the plum job of interviewing and selecting breakfast speakers such as Senator Patty Murray and explorer Helen Thayer. I thoroughly enjoyed every time I spoke at the breakfast podium. Donna always said that being on the board is like earning an MBA and I agree.

What great fun it is to be the featured member as I step down from the board! I encourage any of you who feel drawn to the work to step up to the WBE board experience. I wish you an experience as wonderful as the one I’ve had.

After many years as a sales representative for McBee Systems, I took a giant step November 1st and moved into an entirely new field that suits me very well. I’m pleased to be part of Heartland, the sixth largest credit card processing company in the U.S. Now someone else gets to sell the products and services and I get to install, train and support our merchants, who are primarily in the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries. I’m having great fun learning, growing and generally loving this new adventure in my life.

Having never owned a business, I didn’t realize how complex it is for business owners to accept credit and debit cards. We consumers just hand over our cards and think nothing of it! The owners have to decide which processor to partner with and that can make a world of difference to their business. The industry has changed so much in the past few years, adding debit cards, mileage and gift cards, each one having a different impact on the rates paid by the business owner. Some processors have taken advantage of the confusion caused by all these new features. So 10 years ago, when Heartland was formed, Chairman and CEO Robert Carr decided to stand up for the merchants.

The Merchant Bill of Rights was created for owners of small and mid-sized businesses and it’s the foundation of how Heartland Payment Systems does business. The Merchant Bill of Rights promotes fair credit and debit card processing practices. Proposed as an industry standard, it calls for the clear and straightforward presentation of card processing costs. Its purpose: to enable merchants who don’t have the resources of large purchasing organizations to effectively manage their costs, determine which processor best meets their needs and realize significant savings.

The Merchant Bill of Rights

1. The right to know the fee for every card transaction – and who’s charging it.
2. The right to know the markup of Visa/MasterCard fee increases.
3. The right to know all Visa/MasterCard fee reductions.
4. The right to know all transaction middlemen.
5. The right to know all surcharges and bill-backs.
6. The right to a dedicated local service representative. (that’s ME!)
7. The right to encrypted card numbers and secure transactions.
8. The right to real-time fraud and transaction monitoring.
9. The right to reasonable equipment costs.
10. The right to live customer support 24/7/365.

If you’d like to partner with a payment processing company that protects and preserves your rights, please contact me at (206) 450-2227. We’d love to partner with you!