FECFIN Scores Major Processing Wins in 2023
After just a year and a half of doing business, FEC Financial Group (FECFIN) says it has amassed nearly 500 customers across 46 states.
“We’ve had explosive growth over the past year and a half,” said founder and CEO Scott Heit, an industry veteran who created FECFIN after sales stints at Elaut and Coast to Coast. “I think the sheer number of customers in such a short time, and the fact that every single one would be a referral, goes to show how badly an industry voice was needed in processing.”
He said people typically don’t like processing companies because they can be “cold and impersonal,” a trend that FECFIN eschews by focusing on the FEC industry.
FECFIN prides itself on being comprised of having industry veterans. “The main thing is, when you pick up the phone, you’re getting someone you know,” Heit explained. “We carry that over to nights, weekends and holidays. We are here for our customers 24/7/365.”
FECFIN’s Erik Weasenforth, Heidi Olsen-Hughey and CEO Scott Heit visit with Sheryl Golf’s Sheryl Bindelglass (in blue) at the International Adventure and Trampoline Park Association convention this year. FECFIN has been very visible at industry events to educate the trade on how their industry-experience and focus can save them money on credit card processing.
Companies like Intercard and BMI Leisure are official partners (hear from them directly at www.fecfin.com/partners). FECIN also works with many others: Embed, Amusement Connect, Clover and more.
“If we don’t already have an integration, we do our best to make it happen,” Heit said.
FECFIN also offers partner specials (www.fecfin.com/specials) – one of which, we’d like to add, is a free year subscription of RePlay. Heit said offering these specials in conjunction with the partner company helps further customer appreciation and loyalty.
“FECFIN’s growth is driven by a focus on the FEC industry and providing the best customer service,” he reiterated. “The speed at which we’ve grown has been beyond our expectations, which goes to show how great of a need there is for credit card processing in this industry.”
Heit touted that FECFIN offers competitive processing rates with no additional or hidden fees, noting that other processors might add unnecessary costs like a statement fee, monthly or annual fee, batch fee or PCI fee. He takes pride in helping FECs eliminate those costs and reduce their overall processing price.
The company also offers dual pricing as an option to operators who want to pass the credit card processing onto their customers. They also usually do processing for the entire business – from the arcade to restaurant to waterpark, for example. This means “less reports, less people to contact for customer service and less headaches.”
Most importantly, they offer a wide range of choices for operators.
“We are FEC people. Our focus is the FEC industry,” Heit said. “We are in a huge but tiny industry. Maintaining our reputation trumps anything and everything.” He continued: “Saving money is nice. But we also save you from headaches and give you peace of mind.”
FECFIN also provides other kinds of financing needs – from real estate to leasing, factoring, working capital, asset-based lending, commercial real estate, merchant cash advance, equipment financing and any potential financial support FEC operators may need.
Be sure to stop by IAAPA Expo booth #3763 to meet the team and see what’s in store for 2024. And don’t just take their word about how great they are… check out what their partners and customers have to say:
Bill Allen, North America sales manager at Intercard
“One of the things that attracted me to FECFIN is the fact that they are willing to take that onboarding process off our hands directly. They take the ball, they manage the process, they get the customer up and running and we’re able to focus on issues of our systems, not credit card processing issues. They understand the terminology, they understand the business and they’re easy to get ahold of. They’ve got 24/7/365 support, which is phenomenal. You’ve got to have it in this industry. If you’re a customer and you’re unable to take credit cards on a Saturday evening and you’ve got a game room full of 300 people, you could be losing thousands of dollars there. So, immediate access to support is paramount and Scott’s team is able to provide that.”
Marissa Garris, senior business development manager at BMI Leisure
“One of the things that we really like about FECFIN is they’re the only dedicated merchant services provider within the family entertainment industry. Their service is unparalleled. They’re a phone call away. We’ve experienced this at different times, so there’s no doubt they’re going to be there when our customers need them and that’s something that’s really important to us as a company.”
Brian Lopez, Director of Operations at Elev8
“Elev8 chose FECFIN for credit card processing and couldn’t be happier. The integration with Intercard and BMI Leisure was seamless. Scott and his team have been very helpful with anything we need. We look forward to using FECFIN for all of our locations.”
Brandon Wooldridge, owner of Big Play Entertainment
“Switching to FECFIN has been a great transition for Big Play. Scott and the team are knowledgeable and responsive. We’ve had multiple payment processors over the years, and they have been the most financially competitive and in tune with our industry. We look forward to the new frontier of cash discount with the FECFIN team.”
Sarah DiCello, exec VP of the International Adventure & Trampoline Park Association
“IATP selected FECFIN to be the official processor of the new Profitable Parks Program, which was launched to connect members with industry leading vendors. FECFIN offers a service that meets the growing demand for seamless financial services throughout the trampoline parks industry.”
Kyle Supe, The Web Extreme
“It’s easier to get service from them and a response. It also seemed more seamless. With our last system, for example, we had to go through several different screens. With FECFIN, it integrates directly with Intercard, so it makes it a lot simpler.”
Rob Pollard, owner of Claw Daddy Arcades
“FECFIN provided the lowest rates, gave prompt answers to my questions and helped guide me into the processing world. Their rates were better than the competition. I immediately saved money on processing and FECFIN even covered or reimbursed certain items that the competitors wouldn’t. The integration between Amusement Connect and FECFIN has been seamless.”
Paul Kermizian, owner of Barcade
“It’s been great. The rates have been competitive, and we are actually paying less than we were with our previous systems.”
Shannon Anthony, owner of Gravity Trampoline Park
“The majority of our sales at Gravity Trampoline Park is with a card, so I felt like it was important to switch to somebody like Scott with FECFIN because of how much he knows about the industry. And we run Intercard with our arcade, so all that integrated seamlessly. There was no downtime whatsoever. He had my card readers to me within just a few days.
Mike Ewald, president of LaserBlast
“We recently switched our credit card processing over to FECFIN from one of the big guys. We really wanted to keep it in the FEC industry. Scott and his team have a lot of experience. They understand our processes and how the business works. I’m very comfortable with them. Their customer support has been great. They’ve saved us a lot on our fees. The integrations are easy, so we’re tied in with our QuickBooks so we’re not spending our time double entering transactions. Autopays are very simple. We look forward to working with them for years to come.”
Gary Balaban, owner of Pipeline Games
“We saved a lot of money switching to FECFIN and set up was a breeze.”
Jim Rowe, owner of Nickel Mania
“We recently switched our credit card processing to FECFIN. We were hesitant to change at first as there always seems to be complications when changing processors. Let me tell you, the change over to FECFIN was absolutely seamless. It also helps to have a direct line to the CEO Scott Heit.”
Stephen Wooley, COO and partner at Vlocker North America
“Vlocker is rolling over 300 of our merchant accounts from our existing provider over to FECFIN due to the amazing opportunity of saving in excess of over $250,000 per year just on those 300-plus accounts.”
Richard McVay, owner of Dart’Em Up
“We made it through the pandemic. We were looking to rebuild the business and looking for different ways to save money. One of the best ways that we found was teaming up with FEC Financial Group to save us money on credit card processing, which we are utilizing with Intercard because they are very interactive with Intercard.”
Nick Greife, owner of The Alley
“We had many issues with our previous processor getting the pin pad set up, which led to us being without card processing for many weeks. Then, they gave up on trying to fix the issue and just stopped communicating with me. That’s when I was referred by a friend to FECFIN. I called Scott and told him my issues. He seemed to take it as a personal conquest to get us a pin pad and get us up and going. He communicated to his team about us, and they got us a new pin pad within a day. They also got all the paperwork and back-office work set up while the pin pad was in transit. The whole process took about two days and we were accepting card payments in our facility. Since then, we have added four more pin pads and I do not have a second thought in my head about trying another card processor.”
Trevor Gianaris, CEO of Elaut
“Our rates were probably around 5% a month with all the extra fees that some of the other credit card companies threw in there. Scott was able to get that down. With the amount of processing we do monthly, that can mean $20,000-30,000 a year back into our pocket to use for something else, which is important.”
Meet the FECFIN Team!
Scott Heit, founder and CEO of FEC Financial Group, has been involved in the amusements industry for years. He prides himself on being accessible, customer satisfaction, and relationships he’s built in the amusements industry.
CFO Andrew Altschuler is a seasoned leader and takes pride in his demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry for more than 20 years. Altschuler excels in business development and client relationship management. Along with his reputable skillset in electronic payments, working capital products and merchant acquisition, he’s also an ETA-certified payment professional.
VP of Sales Heidi Olsen-Hughey started her career in the family entertainment and amusement industry in 2001 and has never looked back. She has worked as a manufacturing representative for novelty vending equipment, arcade games and merchandisers and merchandise. She is currently working as a distributor representative for arcade games, merchandisers and equipment. She has served on the CEMA board of directors since its inception. She also does consulting work in the industry and she has worked with FEC Financial Group since its inception.
Sales pro Brock Swindle began his working life managing his family’s soda fountain in their local drug store. He entered the FEC industry in 1990 managing the Putt Putt Golf and Games in Albuquerque. He has worked for the U.S. government for more than 25 years and began working with Heit in 2018.
CMO Erik Weasenforth started his career in marketing and creative services in the sports and entertainment industries in 2013. He entered the FEC industry in 2018 working at Creative Works, then went on to start his own company, Funworks Media, in 2021, which focuses on creative services for the FEC industry. Erik joined the FECFIN team in 2022.
Ron Lindeman, Director of Route Sales, has 20-plus years of management experience in vending and OCS with Aramark Refreshments and Sodexo Vending and Canteen. He was also director of sales and marketing for Polycade. He is focused on growing FEC and route sales in his role with FECFIN.
