Six years ago, four Buckhead men started a business, which is now ranked among the fastest-growing businesses in the country.

According to Inc. magazine’s list in its September issue, Repay, a Buckhead-based electronic transaction processing services provider, ranks 330th out of 500 companies. Last year, Repay ranked 1,121st on the Inc. 5,000 list.

“What makes us different is really our customer service and our ability to understand niche marketplaces, and facilitate integration of niche marketplace platforms to our payment processing platform,” said Repay President Shaler Alias.

In 2006, Alias, along with his father Fred, chairman, his brother Andrew, director of sales and marketing, and John Morris, CEO, started Repay. The foursome collaborated to launch Repay’s merchant services platform, which is unrelated to checks. Shaler Alias said his father and Morris previously owned Security Check of Atlanta, a check collection and verification company. He and Andrew were then brought on to “grow the card platform.” “As checks were going away, we knew the future of payments was in the electronic transaction processing industry,” Shaler Alias said.

“In 2008, we sold the check platform. As part of its “diversification strategy,” the business provides services for retail merchants, in both big box and “mom-and-pop” stores, he said. Repay also has offices in Chattanooga and Chicago.

“Our organic sales team here focuses on selling large box retailers,” Shaler Alias said. “Our largest retailer has 3,000 stores.” To grow, Repay’s strategy is “buy, build and develop,” Alias said, and he attributes its success to two key factors: organic growth and acquisition.

“When prices go up, we focus on organic growing through sales. When prices go down, our sales people are continuing to focus on sales, … however, it then gives us the ability to acquire portfolios at a lower multiple,” Shaler Alias said. “It’s extremely exciting obviously for any company to be able to grow, especially where we are from an economic condition standpoint.”

Morris said Repay is now in acquisition mode and is “always launching new products,” with the soonest launch set for the first quarter of 2013.

“Our products typically will solve problems or will be solutions for payment challengers or payment issues,” Morris said.

Repay’s success is a “big team effort” among its employees, partners and vendors, he said.

“It’s humbling that we’re on such a list of all the companies in the U.S.,” Morris said. “It’s an honor from our perspective. … That’s a big deal for us.”

http://www.repayonline.com/