Consulting and Project Management
Experienced in all operational and technical aspects of the payments environment with a track record of minimizing costs and maximizing operational efficiency.
While Savage Consulting Group provides consulting in all aspects of payments, the most common projects include:
ATM, Debit, and Credit Card Vendor Evaluation
Manage the RFP process to evaluate ATM, Debit, and Credit card processing vendors. Service includes product feature comparisons, vendor strengths and weaknesses, and apples-to-apples pricing analysis. Our goal is to identify vendor solutions that balance the needs of the institution in the areas of cost, feature/functionality, and operational efficiency.
ATM Driving - In-house or Outsource Review
Complete analysis of the in-house versus outsource options for ATM driving. Service includes client needs analysis, detailed pricing analysis of in-house and outsourced options, terminal driving feature comparison, and evaluation of operational impacts.
Card Program Profitability Analysis
Complete profitability analysis of ATM, debit, and credit card programs. Evaluate all revenue and expense components including interchange, fee income, interest income, fraud losses, processing and third party service costs, as well as hardware and software costs.
Credit Card Operations - In-house or Outsource Review
Complete analysis of the in-house versus outsource options for credit card processing. Service includes client needs analysis, detailed pricing analysis of in-house and outsourced options, product and feature comparison of core system modules against third party solutions, and evaluation of operational impacts.
Card Program Best Practice Review
Provide a high level review of how well the ATM, debit, and credit card programs are managed. The best practice review identifies opportunities to reduce risk, reduce processing costs, and increase operational efficiencies. Operational areas evaluated include: network membership, system performance, settlement and reconciliation, ATM management, fraud management, card penetration, and program profitability. Vendor contracts, invoices, and processor reports are also reviewed for potential cost savings that can be achieved with configuration changes.
Project Management
Project management services are provided for card, processor, and ATM conversions. A certified Project Management Professional (PMP) manages all projects. With superb project management skills, conversions are managed with a disciplined approach that includes:
- Well defined objectives, timelines, and costs.
- Regular communication about project progress with the client.
- Documentation and training for on-going operations.
Other Services Include:
- Payment systems process improvement, including the comprehensive review of settlement and reconciliation functions, adjustment and chargeback processing, payment systems accounting, and other back office operations.
- Assessment and evaluation of payment systems, including the alignment of strategic goals with payment system solutions that optimize operational processes, leverage technology, and minimize costs.
- Settlement and reconciliation, including resolving out-of-balance conditions, streamlining reconciliation procedures, and training on this critical EFT function.
- ATM Operations, including all aspects of ATM operations from vendor management, ATM cash management, deposit processing, and advanced ATM functionality.