We don’t spend much time writing about CheckFree, Metavante, and the other major epayments vendors. Most readers already have a relationship with those companies as clients or potential clients. Plus the major vendors receive extensive coverage in trade publications.

However, several startups whose names have not yet appeared within the pages of American Banker are worth a look. This month we introduce two newcomers: iPay LLC and PayCast. Keep in mind the extended coverage is not meant as an endorsement. We’ve known both chief execs for several years and have positive impressions of their operations, but we’ve not done the due diligence necessary to qualify a payments vendor.

Working with a relative newcomer has its pros on cons. On the plus side, nimble new suppliers can provide you with a fresh outlook on the market, lower costs, and more flexible terms. However, you generally take on more financial and operational risk, not to mention cultural differences that can be trying for both parties.*

But it’s almost always worth your time to talk to the new kid in town, if for no other reason than to introduce some competition into contract negotiations with your current vendor.

*Working with a startup to launch online banking via Microsoft Money in 1992-1994, I personally experienced the highs and lows. Highlight: watching an entrepreneurial team do in one-month what it took a year to do at the bank. Lows: running interference internally for the entrepreneurial business practices at odds with standard banking practices, e.g. explaining to your auditor why the backup tapes are stored in the president’s basement. – Editor