Processing for a Cause gives businesses and charities a boost
The first time he attended a Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce meeting, Electronic Exchange Systems (EXS) vice president Szymon Kraszczynski had three minutes to introduce himself and make his pitch.
The provider of electronic credit card payment services for merchants had launched a new service, Processing for a Cause, that allows merchants to divert a percentage of credit card transactions to their favorite charities - at zero cost to the merchants. EXS actually makes the donation on the merchants' behalf.
Just that brief introduction generated interested, and several business owners approached him to learn more.
"That, to me, was the testimonial I needed that businesses in Gwinnett County are really interested in giving back to the community," Kraszczynski remembers. "We want to show business owners how they can do more than offer services and products. They can actually get involved in the community and make a difference."
Kraszczynski knows first-hand about the power of nonprofits to help people. A native of Poland, he immigrated to the United States at the age of four with his parents and sister. His father, Maciek, spoke no English when the family arrived in metro Atlanta. A business owner in Poland, Maciek Kraszczynski worked three menial jobs here to get ahead. A church paid for Szymon Kraszczynski's primary-school education at a Catholic school and other nonprofit agencies and individuals also helped the family.
Maciek Kraszczynski eventually got an engineering degree and landed a good job in Duluth at Nexpac, formerly Atlanta Precision Molding. Szymon (pronounced "Simon") was 14 when the family bought its first home, in Lawrenceville. He later served in the U.S. Marine Corps before starting his own electronic transaction services company, which he eventually sold.
When Ken Osaka, one of the founding partners of EXS, got the idea for Processing for a Cause, he approached Kraszczynski to help develop and launch it. "The job perfectly combines my experience and my passion," Kraszczynski says.
"I know there are people out there that need help, and now I can make a difference by making this program a success."
EXS has offices in Alpharetta and Irvine, California. The company serves small- to medium-sized retail merchants, financial institution partner programs, associations and independent sales offices nationwide. It ranks among the top 50 merchant services providers in the nation, with more than $1.5 billion in annual sales volume.
Osaka got the idea for the Processing for a Cause program after reading that so many Americans gave money to alleviate the high-profile disasters of the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina - a time when many local non-profit agencies were struggling to survive.
EXS says it will match or beat existing processing fees for merchants, and also automatically donate a small percentage of the processing fee it receives to a designated local charity through the program. Merchants can also advertise their affiliation with the charity of their choice, so that customers know their purchase is supporting a local cause.
EXS is "blessed" that it is successful enough to be able to make these donations, Kraszczynski says. He hopes to take the Processing for a Cause program nationwide within the next year, but he started building the business in the familiar territory of Gwinnett County. During the three months the program has been running, seven area businesses have signed on. Four Gwinnett County non-profits are already benefiting, including MARR (Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences), Gwinnett Disaster Relief Team, and Conquering Cancer.
"When we have (small businesses) say, 'We'd like to help, we just don't know how,' we tell them about Processing for a Cause," says Cheryl DeLuca-Johnson, director of marketing for MARR in Lawrenceville. "The program allows them to give to us without affecting their bottom line in any negative way."
Even a donation of a penny on every dollar can add up quickly, since credit card transactions represent a huge volume of business, Kraszyznski notes. The resulting donations, automatically and consistently flowing into local non-profits, could transform their ability to make a difference in their communities.
"The reaction we've been getting from both businesses and non-profits so far has been amazing," Kraszczynski says. "We believe this program will revolutionize the credit card industry."
