How ISOs Can Stay Ahead of Industry Change

In this week’s episode, James Shepherd sits down with Allen Kopelman, CEO of Nationwide Payment Systems and host of the B2B Vault podcast, for a wide-ranging discussion on the biggest shifts reshaping merchant services today. From the Visa/Mastercard settlement and VAMP chargeback rules to the growing pressure on ISOs to own their tech stack, Allen shares what he’s seeing firsthand — and why agents must rethink how they sell, support, and position technology to compete in 2026 and beyond. They break down the rise of processor-agnostic software, the future of hardware, the growing push for ISOs to streamline onboarding with automated funnels, and how agents can stay relevant by focusing on the right verticals, the right partners, and the right products. After the interview, James and Patti Murphy dive into a new Today in Payments, breaking down fresh data on holiday spending, the continued rise of Buy Now, Pay Later, and the growing momentum behind real-time payments like RTP and FedNow—and how they compare to legacy ACH rails.