Bringing a 140-Year-Old Business Into the Future of Payments: Nashville Tent & Awning Company

Founded over a century ago, the Nashville Tent and Awning Company (NTACO) has been a long-standing player in the tent and awning industry – but for years, their payment system was a game of telephone. They would take payments over a call, asking customers to recite their credit card numbers. Employees then had to leave their desks, walk over to a physical terminal, and key in these details. 

There were two options for this process: keep customers on hold, which was inconvenient, or write down credit card numbers, a practice that was not secure and nor PCI compliant. And the lack of individual login credentials for each employee raised further security concerns. They were in need of a comprehensive payment system overhaul.

‍The Challenge

NTACO needed improvements in 3 key areas:

1. Efficiency: The payment process was slow and interrupted workflow, diminishing productivity and inconveniencing customers.
2. Security: Employees were recording sensitive credit card info, increasing exposure to fraud or human error.
3. Technology: Management lacked the ability to assign specific permissions to individual employees or remove access when employees left the company.

‍The Solution

Polaris Payments provided NTACO with a payment gateway that allowed them to securely store credit card information, eliminating the need for re-entering card numbers for repeat customers. This new gateway also gave management the ability to issue each employee their own login and edit permissions – such as restricting certain employees from issuing refunds – and the power to delete employee logins upon leaving the company. 

It also gave them the freedom to run transactions from anywhere. This transformed the workflow at NTACO. No longer chained to their desks, employees could work efficiently from home or out in the field. Additionally, Polaris Payments set up an email link for customers to make payments – further easing the burden on employees.

Lastly, this new gateway wasn't just a tool to streamline their processes – it brought about significant cost savings as well. Polaris Payments helped NTACO save over $5,000 per year in processing fees in addition to soft costs, like time and productivity. Polaris Payments made a tangible, positive impact on their bottom line, and NTACO had control over their payment process like never before.

With Polaris Payments as its guide, NTACO transformed its payment operations with enhanced security, technology, and efficiency, leading to greater productivity, customer service, and employee satisfaction.

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