Q2 2026 Usio Inc Earnings Call
Speaker #1: Excuse me, this is the conference operator. Thank you for your patience. The call will begin in a few minutes. We are giving parties a chance to dial in.
Speaker #1: Thank you for your patience. The call will begin in a few minutes. Thank you. Welcome to Usio's second quarter fiscal 2026 earnings conference call.
Operator: Welcome to Usio's Q2 Fiscal 2026 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Speaker #1: All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key, followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions.
Speaker #1: To ask a question, you may press star, then one, on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Please note, this event is being recorded.
Operator: To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Michael White, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Please go ahead, sir.
Operator: To ask a question, you may press star then one of your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Michael White, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Please go ahead, sir.
Speaker #1: I would now like to turn the conference over to Michael White, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Please go ahead, sir.
Speaker #2: Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining our call today. Welcome to Usio's second fiscal quarter 2026 conference call. The earnings release, which we issued today after the market closed, is available on our website at usio.com, under the Investor Relations tab.
Michael White: Thank you, operator, and thank you everyone for joining our call today. Welcome to Usio's second fiscal quarter 2026 conference call. The earnings release, which we issued today after the market closed, is available on our website at usio.com under the investor relations tab. On this call with me today are Louis Hoch, our Chairman and CEO, and Greg Carter, Executive Vice President of Payment Acceptance and Chief Revenue Officer. In addition, Houston Frost, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, and Jerry Uffner, Head of Card Issuing, will be available during the question and answer session. Let me remind our listeners that certain statements made during the call today constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended and more fully discussed in our press release and in our filings with the SEC.
Michael White: Thank you, operator, and thank you everyone for joining our call today. Welcome to Usio's second fiscal quarter 2026 conference call. The earnings release, which we issued today after the market closed, is available on our website at usio.com under the investor relations tab. On this call with me today are Louis Hoch, our Chairman and CEO, and Greg Carter, Executive Vice President of Payment Acceptance and Chief Revenue Officer. In addition, Houston Frost, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, and Jerry Uffner, Head of Card Issuing, will be available during the question and answer session. Let me remind our listeners that certain statements made during the call today constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended and more fully discussed in our press release and in our filings with the SEC.
Speaker #2: On this call with me today are Louis Hoch, our Chairman and CEO, and Greg Carter, Executive Vice President of Payment Acceptance and Chief Revenue Officer.
Speaker #2: In addition, Houston Frost, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, and Jerry Uffner, Head of Card Issuing, will be available during the question-and-answer session.
Speaker #2: Let me remind our listeners that certain statements made during the call today constitute forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and more fully discussed in our press release and in our filings with the SEC.
Speaker #2: Following our prepared remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session for those who registered as a financial professional. Let me offer just a few brief comments on the quarter before turning it over to Greg and Louis.
Michael White: Following our prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session for those who registered as a financial professional. Let me offer just a few brief comments on the quarter before turning it over to Greg and Louis. We once again met or beat all analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines, while also delivering our second consecutive quarter of positive GAAP net income and earnings per share. Revenue growth remained strong in the second quarter, up 19%, accelerating from 15% in the first quarter. Excluding the impact of interest income, growth at the business unit level was even stronger, approaching 20%. This has led to a very strong H1 of the year.
Michael White: Following our prepared remarks, there will be a question and answer session for those who registered as a financial professional. Let me offer just a few brief comments on the quarter before turning it over to Greg and Louis. We once again met or beat all analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines, while also delivering our second consecutive quarter of positive GAAP net income and earnings per share. Revenue growth remained strong in the second quarter, up 19%, accelerating from 15% in the first quarter. Excluding the impact of interest income, growth at the business unit level was even stronger, approaching 20%. This has led to a very strong H1 of the year.
Speaker #2: We once again met or beat all analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines, while also delivering our second consecutive quarter of positive GAAP net income and earnings per share.
Speaker #2: Revenue growth remained strong in the second quarter, up 19%, accelerating from 15% in the first quarter. Excluding the impact of interest income, growth at the business unit level was even stronger, approaching 20%.
Speaker #2: This has led to a very strong first half of the year. As we move through the second half, we remain focused on executing our strategy and leveraging our innovative technology and diversified business operations to drive continued growth across the markets we serve.
Michael White: As we move through the H2 of the year, we remain focused on executing our strategy and leveraging our innovative technology and diversified business operations to drive continued growth across the markets we serve. In three of our product lines, credit card, ACH, and Output Solutions, revenue was up over 20%, illustrating continued strength across Usio. Once again, a majority of the quarter's revenue was recurring in nature, with no one client accounting for more than 10% of total revenue. Client retention remains high. Total processing transactions also set new records, with total payment dollars processed up 27% and transactions up 27%. Profitability continued to improve. Gross profit dollars increased 12%, with margins improving sequentially from the Q1. Total selling, general, and administrative expenses were down approximately $190,000 from a year ago.
Michael White: As we move through the H2 of the year, we remain focused on executing our strategy and leveraging our innovative technology and diversified business operations to drive continued growth across the markets we serve. In three of our product lines, credit card, ACH, and Output Solutions, revenue was up over 20%, illustrating continued strength across Usio. Once again, a majority of the quarter's revenue was recurring in nature, with no one client accounting for more than 10% of total revenue. Client retention remains high. Total processing transactions also set new records, with total payment dollars processed up 27% and transactions up 27%. Profitability continued to improve. Gross profit dollars increased 12%, with margins improving sequentially from the Q1. Total selling, general, and administrative expenses were down approximately $190,000 from a year ago.
Speaker #2: In three of our product lines—credit card, ACH, and output solutions—revenue was up over 20%, illustrating continued strength across Usio. Once again, a majority of the quarter's revenue was recurring in nature, with no one client accounting for more than 10% of total revenue.
Speaker #2: Client retention remains high. Total processing transactions also set new records, with total payment dollars processed up 27% and transactions up 27%. Profitability continued to improve, gross profit dollars increased 12%, with margins improving sequentially from the first quarter.
Speaker #2: Total selling, general, and administrative expenses were down approximately $190,000 from a year ago. Excluding depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, SG&A was down marginally from a year ago.
Michael White: Excluding depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, SG&A was down marginally from a year ago, despite the 19% increase in revenues. We remain focused on maintaining a disciplined cost structure as we continue to grow, providing further opportunity for operating leverage. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.1 million for the Q2 2026, more than double that of the year-ago quarter. For the H1 of the year, we generated $1.9 million of adjusted EBITDA, our best H1 in years. We reported positive net income of $280,000, or $0.01 per share in the quarter. Again, net income was from core operations and does not include any unusual non-recurring, extraordinary, or one-time items. This marks our second consecutive quarter of positive GAAP net income, an important milestone in an area where we remain intensely focused.
Michael White: Excluding depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation, SG&A was down marginally from a year ago, despite the 19% increase in revenues. We remain focused on maintaining a disciplined cost structure as we continue to grow, providing further opportunity for operating leverage. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.1 million for the Q2 2026, more than double that of the year-ago quarter. For the H1 of the year, we generated $1.9 million of adjusted EBITDA, our best H1 in years. We reported positive net income of $280,000, or $0.01 per share in the quarter. Again, net income was from core operations and does not include any unusual non-recurring, extraordinary, or one-time items. This marks our second consecutive quarter of positive GAAP net income, an important milestone in an area where we remain intensely focused.
Speaker #2: Despite the 19% increase in revenues, we remained focused on maintaining disciplined cost structures as we continue to grow, providing further opportunity for operating leverage.
Speaker #2: Adjusted EBITDA was $1.1 million for the second quarter of 2026, more than double that of the year-ago quarter. For the first half of the year, we generated $1.9 million of adjusted EBITDA, our best first half in years.
Speaker #2: We reported positive net income of $280,000, or $0.01 per share, in the quarter. Again, net income was from core operations and does not include any unusual, non-recurring, extraordinary, or one-time items.
Speaker #2: This marks our second consecutive quarter of positive GAAP net income, an important milestone in an area where we remain intensely focused. While operating cash flow was lower in the first half compared to last year, adjusting for the $1.5 million employee retention credit received in the prior year period, operating cash flow actually increased year over year.
Michael White: While operating cash flow was lower in the H1 compared to last year, adjusting for the $1.5 million employee retention credit received in the prior year period, operating cash flow actually increased year over year. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter were $6.4 million, down from the beginning of the year, primarily reflecting the timing of several annual cash outlays during the H1. In addition, we used approximately $371,000 to repurchase 281,000 shares of our common stock during the six months ended 30 June 2026, including $235,000 in the Q2. We also continued to invest in strategic growth initiatives, including capitalized development work on Usio Ion. Overall, we are very pleased with our performance through the H1 of the year.
Michael White: While operating cash flow was lower in the H1 compared to last year, adjusting for the $1.5 million employee retention credit received in the prior year period, operating cash flow actually increased year over year. Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter were $6.4 million, down from the beginning of the year, primarily reflecting the timing of several annual cash outlays during the H1. In addition, we used approximately $371,000 to repurchase 281,000 shares of our common stock during the six months ended 30 June 2026, including $235,000 in the Q2. We also continued to invest in strategic growth initiatives, including capitalized development work on Usio Ion. Overall, we are very pleased with our performance through the H1 of the year.
Speaker #2: Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter were $6.4 million, down from the beginning of the year, primarily reflecting the timing of several annual cash outlays during the first half.
Speaker #2: In addition, we used approximately $371,000 to repurchase 281,000 shares of our common stock during the six months ended June 30, 2026, including $235,000 in the second quarter.
Speaker #2: We also continued to invest in strategic growth initiatives, including capitalized development work on Usio Ion. Overall, we are very pleased with our performance through the first half of the year.
Speaker #2: We are delivering strong revenue growth across the business and maintaining disciplined control of our cost structure to translate that growth into improved profitability. With that momentum and the opportunities we see ahead, we believe we are well positioned for a strong second half of 2026. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Greg Carter.
Michael White: We are delivering strong revenue growth across the business and maintaining disciplined control of our cost structure to translate that growth into improved profitability. With that momentum and the opportunities we see ahead, we believe we are well-positioned for a strong H2 of 2026. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Greg Carter.
Michael White: We are delivering strong revenue growth across the business and maintaining disciplined control of our cost structure to translate that growth into improved profitability. With that momentum and the opportunities we see ahead, we believe we are well-positioned for a strong H2 of 2026. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Greg Carter.
Speaker #3: Thank you, Michael, and good afternoon, everyone. It was another strong quarter for CARD. Revenue was up 28% year over year to $9 million, with growth accelerating from the first quarter and the best ever second quarter revenue.
Greg Carter: Thank you, Michael, and good afternoon, everyone. It was another strong quarter for Card. Revenue was up 28% year over year to $9 million, with growth accelerating from the Q1 and the best ever Q2 revenue. Dollars processed were up 13%, and transactions processed were up 19% from a year ago. Once again, results were driven by the strength of our PayFac business, where revenue was up 43% in the quarter. PayFac continues to represent over three-quarters of Card's revenue and is the primary driver behind the inflection in our revenue growth rate. The Q2 was consistent with the growth path we established years ago when we introduced our evolutionary PayFac technology. The formula is straightforward. PayFac's innovative technology attracts new accounts, they get implemented, they steadily bring their merchants onto our platform, and those merchants' volumes grow over time.
Greg Carter: Thank you, Michael, and good afternoon, everyone. It was another strong quarter for Card. Revenue was up 28% year over year to $9 million, with growth accelerating from the Q1 and the best ever Q2 revenue. Dollars processed were up 13%, and transactions processed were up 19% from a year ago. Once again, results were driven by the strength of our PayFac business, where revenue was up 43% in the quarter. PayFac continues to represent over three-quarters of Card's revenue and is the primary driver behind the inflection in our revenue growth rate. The Q2 was consistent with the growth path we established years ago when we introduced our evolutionary PayFac technology. The formula is straightforward. PayFac's innovative technology attracts new accounts, they get implemented, they steadily bring their merchants onto our platform, and those merchants' volumes grow over time.
Speaker #3: Dollars processed were up 13%, and transactions processed were up 19% from a year ago. Once again, results were driven by the strength of our PayFac business, where revenue was up 43% in the quarter.
Speaker #3: Payback continues to represent over three-quarters of CARD's revenue and is the primary driver behind the inflection in our revenue growth rate. The second quarter was consistent with the growth path we established years ago when we introduced our evolutionary Payback technology.
Speaker #3: The formula is straightforward. Payveris's innovative technology attracts new accounts, they get implemented, they steadily bring their merchants onto our platform, and those merchants' volumes grow over time.
Speaker #3: Just in the first six months of this year, merchant count has increased by 34%. So we have the flywheel of growth spinning nicely. For instance, our large bodega-oriented healthcare account has been steadily ramping.
Greg Carter: In just the first 6 months of this year, merchant count has increased to 34%. So we have the flywheel of growth spinning nicely. For instance, our large bodega-oriented healthcare account has been steadily ramping. In fact, based on the industry buzz created by this implementation, we now have another very similar opportunity. Headed into the school year, we are seeing nice growth with our education-oriented accounts, and we anticipate a nice pickup in the Q3 from a couple of new ISVs that are ramping up. There have also been more omni-channel sales wins, something we've been emphasizing with our sales organization. Whether they be entities that need one-time or on-demand printing services or a complementary disbursement solution, we signed more of those type of accounts in the Q2 and continue to do so.
Greg Carter: In just the first six months of this year, merchant count has increased to 34%. So we have the flywheel of growth spinning nicely. For instance, our large bodega-oriented healthcare account has been steadily ramping. In fact, based on the industry buzz created by this implementation, we now have another very similar opportunity. Headed into the school year, we are seeing nice growth with our education-oriented accounts, and we anticipate a nice pickup in the Q3 from a couple of new ISVs that are ramping up. There have also been more omni-channel sales wins, something we've been emphasizing with our sales organization. Whether they be entities that need one-time or on-demand printing services or a complementary disbursement solution, we signed more of those type of accounts in the Q2 and continue to do so.
Speaker #3: In fact, based on the industry buzz created by this implementation, we now have another very similar opportunity. Heading into the school year, we are seeing nice growth with our education-oriented accounts.
Speaker #3: And we anticipate a nice pickup in the third quarter from a couple of new ISVs that are ramping up. There have also been more omnichannel sales wins, something we've been emphasizing with our sales organization.
Speaker #3: Whether they be entities that need one-time or on-demand printing services, or a complementary disbursement solution, we signed more of those types of accounts in the second quarter and continue to do so.
Speaker #3: Our consolidated sales team is more cohesive and more interactive than it's ever been as part of the implementation of Usio One. And we only expect the system to improve overall sales performance.
Greg Carter: Our consolidated sales team is more cohesive and more interactive than it's ever been as a part of the implementation of Usio One, and we only expect the system to improve overall sales performance. In general, we're just getting more productive and efficient. In addition to the increased productivity of our sales organization, we are likewise seeing improved efficiency in our operations, which is helping margins. Essentially, everyone in Card's back office is a certified payments professional. So we now have an increasingly professionally educated and highly tenured organization, which has continued to get better in all facets of the business. Now, I would like to turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Louis Hoch.
Greg Carter: Our consolidated sales team is more cohesive and more interactive than it's ever been as a part of the implementation of Usio One, and we only expect the system to improve overall sales performance. In general, we're just getting more productive and efficient. In addition to the increased productivity of our sales organization, we are likewise seeing improved efficiency in our operations, which is helping margins. Essentially, everyone in Card's back office is a certified payments professional. So we now have an increasingly professionally educated and highly tenured organization, which has continued to get better in all facets of the business. Now, I would like to turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Louis Hoch.
Speaker #3: In general, we're just getting more productive and efficient. In addition to the increased productivity of our sales organization, we are likewise seeing improved efficiency in our operations which is helping margins.
Speaker #3: Essentially, everyone in CARD's back office is a certified payments professional. So, we now have an increasingly professionally educated and highly tenured organization. We just continue to get better in all facets of the business.
Speaker #3: Now, I would like to turn the call over to our chief executive officer, Louis Hoche.
Speaker #4: Thank you, Greg, and welcome, everyone. The second quarter was another strong quarter. For the second time this year, we met or exceeded analyst revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and EPS estimates, and we generated positive GAAP net income and EPS.
Louis Hoch: Thank you, Greg, and welcome everyone. The Q2 was another strong quarter. For the second time this year, we met or exceeded analyst revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and EPS estimates, and we generated positive GAAP net income and EPS. All of our key performance indicators were strong. Total payment dollars increased 27%. Payment transactions processed were also up 27%, and revenues were up over 20% in three of our business lines. At the midway point, we are on pace for one of our best years. Based upon our performance and outlook, we are raising our full-year revenue growth guidance, and we believe there is tremendous potential for even more growth ahead. There's a lot to talk about this quarter, so let me get right into our performance and the drivers behind our success.
Louis Hoch: Thank you, Greg, and welcome everyone. The Q2 was another strong quarter. For the second time this year, we met or exceeded analyst revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and EPS estimates, and we generated positive GAAP net income and EPS. All of our key performance indicators were strong. Total payment dollars increased 27%. Payment transactions processed were also up 27%, and revenues were up over 20% in three of our business lines. At the midway point, we are on pace for one of our best years. Based upon our performance and outlook, we are raising our full-year revenue growth guidance, and we believe there is tremendous potential for even more growth ahead. There's a lot to talk about this quarter, so let me get right into our performance and the drivers behind our success.
Speaker #4: All of our key performance indicators were strong. Total payment dollars increased 27%. Payment transactions processed were also up 27%. Revenues were up over 20% in three of our business lines.
Speaker #4: At the midway point, we are on pace for one of our best years. And, based upon our performance and outlook, we are raising our full-year revenue growth guidance.
Speaker #4: And we believe there is tremendous potential for even more growth ahead. There's a lot to talk about this quarter, so let me get right into our performance and the drivers behind our success.
Speaker #4: In our most profitable business, ACH, revenues increased 21%, with transactions up 34%, dollar volume up 28%, and return check processing up 35%. That momentum has continued into the third quarter.
Louis Hoch: In our most profitable business, ACH, revenues increased 21%, with transactions up 34%, dollar volume up 28%, and return check processing up 35%. That momentum has continued into the Q3, with July setting a new monthly ACH transaction record. If these trends continue, we will be on pace for our sixth consecutive quarter of ACH transaction volume growth. Pinless debit and real-time payment transactions have both remained strong. While we are seeing some customers shift transactions from pinless debit to RTP transactions generally generate higher margins despite carrying a lower cost per transaction. As a result, this shift will benefit overall profitability, although modestly weighing on the top-line revenue. We are now processing RTP transactions for 12 accounts from zero last year, and we expect to see RTP revenue continue to grow at a strong rate.
Louis Hoch: In our most profitable business, ACH, revenues increased 21%, with transactions up 34%, dollar volume up 28%, and return check processing up 35%. That momentum has continued into the Q3, with July setting a new monthly ACH transaction record. If these trends continue, we will be on pace for our sixth consecutive quarter of ACH transaction volume growth. Pinless debit and real-time payment transactions have both remained strong. While we are seeing some customers shift transactions from pinless debit to RTP transactions generally generate higher margins despite carrying a lower cost per transaction. As a result, this shift will benefit overall profitability, although modestly weighing on the top-line revenue. We are now processing RTP transactions for 12 accounts from zero last year, and we expect to see RTP revenue continue to grow at a strong rate.
Speaker #4: With July setting a new monthly ACH transaction record. If these trends continue, we will be on pace for our sixth consecutive quarter of ACH transaction volume growth.
Speaker #4: Penless debit and real-time payment transactions have both remained strong. While we are seeing some customers shift transactions from penless debit to RTP, RTP transactions generally generate higher margins despite carrying a lower cost per transaction.
Speaker #4: As a result, this shift will benefit overall profitability although modestly weighing on the top line revenue. We are now processing RTP transactions for 12 accounts from 0 last year, and we expect to see RTP revenue continue to grow at a strong rate.
Speaker #4: As one of the industry's new payment channels, our ability to capture RTP volume is indicative of our ability to innovate and develop new technology that is responsive to emerging payment needs.
Louis Hoch: As one of the industry's new payment channels, our ability to capture RTP volume is indicative of our ability to innovate and develop new technology that is responsive to emerging payment needs. Card issuing delivered an improved quarter despite continued revenue headwinds, demonstrating the strength of the business model, disciplined expense management, a meaningful progress on strategic growth initiatives. Purchase volume rebounded up 11%, although card loads were flat and transactions down slightly. These are all improvements on a sequential basis. In the quarter, issuing signed 16 new clients with over 20 clients in implementation or with volume scaling. Of course, one of our most exciting opportunities on the horizon is the school voucher programs. Some states have already begun going live, with additional states expected to follow over the H2 of this year and into 2027. The potential scale of these programs is significant.
Louis Hoch: As one of the industry's new payment channels, our ability to capture RTP volume is indicative of our ability to innovate and develop new technology that is responsive to emerging payment needs. Card issuing delivered an improved quarter despite continued revenue headwinds, demonstrating the strength of the business model, disciplined expense management, a meaningful progress on strategic growth initiatives. Purchase volume rebounded up 11%, although card loads were flat and transactions down slightly. These are all improvements on a sequential basis. In the quarter, issuing signed 16 new clients with over 20 clients in implementation or with volume scaling. Of course, one of our most exciting opportunities on the horizon is the school voucher programs. Some states have already begun going live, with additional states expected to follow over the H2 of this year and into 2027. The potential scale of these programs is significant.
Speaker #4: CARD issuing delivered an approved quarter, despite continued revenue headwinds, demonstrating the strength of the business model, disciplined expense management, and meaningful progress on strategic growth initiatives.
Speaker #4: Purchase volume rebounded, up 11%, although card loads were flat and transactions were down slightly. These are all improvements on a sequential basis. In the quarter, Issuing signed 16 new clients, with over 20 clients in implementation or with volume scaling.
Speaker #4: Of course, one of our most exciting opportunities on the horizon is the school voucher programs. Some states have already begun going live, with additional states expected to follow over the second half of this year and into 2027.
Speaker #4: The potential scale of these programs is significant. One state alone is expected to disperse approximately $1.2 billion. And while these programs represent an exciting opportunity for our CARD issuing business, a lot of the initial disbursements have been ACH.
Louis Hoch: One state alone is expected to disburse approximately $1.2 billion. While these programs represent an exciting opportunity for our card issuing business, a lot of the initial disbursements have been ACH. In line with our strategy, this one account is a revenue opportunity for multiple channels of our payments platform. Importantly, this program is with an existing client with whom we've already integrated, so some of the heavy lifting is finished. Consequently, we can focus all of our energies on getting these programs rolled out. We also expect to begin distributing university loan payment refunds for several universities through a fintech strategic partner during the H2 of the year. Our partner currently works with 30 universities through another processor, and we believe there is an opportunity to transition those programs to Usio over time.
Louis Hoch: One state alone is expected to disburse approximately $1.2 billion. While these programs represent an exciting opportunity for our card issuing business, a lot of the initial disbursements have been ACH. In line with our strategy, this one account is a revenue opportunity for multiple channels of our payments platform. Importantly, this program is with an existing client with whom we've already integrated, so some of the heavy lifting is finished. Consequently, we can focus all of our energies on getting these programs rolled out. We also expect to begin distributing university loan payment refunds for several universities through a fintech strategic partner during the H2 of the year. Our partner currently works with 30 universities through another processor, and we believe there is an opportunity to transition those programs to Usio over time.
Speaker #4: In line with our strategy, this one account is a revenue opportunity for multiple channels of our payments platform. Importantly, this program is with an existing client with whom we've already integrated.
Speaker #4: So, some of the heavy lifting is finished. Consequently, we can focus all of our energies on getting these programs rolled out. We also expect to distribute university loan payment refunds for several universities through a fintech strategic partner.
Speaker #4: During the second half of the year, our partner currently works with 30 universities through another processor, and we believe there is an opportunity to transition those programs to Usio over time.
Speaker #4: The potential payment volumes are significant, making this another exciting growth opportunity for Card Issuing. Output Solutions continues to have an outstanding year. Revenues increased 22% in the second quarter, accelerating from 19% growth in the first quarter.
Louis Hoch: The potential payment volumes are significant, making this another exciting growth opportunity for card issuing. Output Solutions continues to have an outstanding year. Revenues increased 22% in the Q2, accelerating from 19% growth in the Q1. Pieces processed and mailed increased 43%, while electronic documents processed and delivered were up 49%. It was Output Solutions' strongest Q2 by a wide margin, with the business setting a new monthly revenue record in each successive month of the H1 of the year. We also have our new high-speed printer online, representing a significant upgrade to our production capabilities. The new equipment is approximately four times faster than our existing printer and offers four times the resolution, expanding our ability to support both transactional and higher quality print work. Importantly, we expect it to be more cost-effective as well.
Louis Hoch: The potential payment volumes are significant, making this another exciting growth opportunity for card issuing. Output Solutions continues to have an outstanding year. Revenues increased 22% in the Q2, accelerating from 19% growth in the Q1. Pieces processed and mailed increased 43%, while electronic documents processed and delivered were up 49%. It was Output Solutions' strongest Q2 by a wide margin, with the business setting a new monthly revenue record in each successive month of the H1 of the year. We also have our new high-speed printer online, representing a significant upgrade to our production capabilities. The new equipment is approximately four times faster than our existing printer and offers four times the resolution, expanding our ability to support both transactional and higher quality print work. Importantly, we expect it to be more cost-effective as well.
Speaker #4: Pieces processed and mailed increased 43%, while electronic documents processed and delivered were up 49%. It was Output Solutions' strongest second quarter by a wide margin.
Speaker #4: With the business setting a new monthly revenue record in each successive month of the first half of the year, we also have our new high-speed printer online, representing a significant upgrade to our production capabilities.
Speaker #4: The new equipment is approximately four times faster than our existing printer and offers four times the resolution, expanding our ability to support both transactional and higher quality print work.
Speaker #4: Importantly, we expect it to be more cost-effective as well. The increased speed requires less labor for the same level of output, while newer technologies should reduce maintenance costs and even lower ink costs despite the significantly higher print quality.
Louis Hoch: The increased speed requires less labor for the same level of output, while newer technology should reduce maintenance costs and even lower our ink costs despite the significantly higher print quality. To get a sense of these capabilities of this new equipment, I encourage you to take a look at the video that we posted on our Usio LinkedIn page. In Q2, Output signed 11 new contracts and renewed two other existing agreements. This includes a large alternative retail deregulated electric provider that happens to be one of the three largest in the state of Texas. It is also encouraging to note that their success is not going unnoticed. Inbound traffic is on the rise, which over time we believe will be a boost to the business.
Louis Hoch: The increased speed requires less labor for the same level of output, while newer technology should reduce maintenance costs and even lower our ink costs despite the significantly higher print quality. To get a sense of these capabilities of this new equipment, I encourage you to take a look at the video that we posted on our Usio LinkedIn page. In Q2, Output signed 11 new contracts and renewed two other existing agreements. This includes a large alternative retail deregulated electric provider that happens to be one of the three largest in the state of Texas. It is also encouraging to note that their success is not going unnoticed. Inbound traffic is on the rise, which over time we believe will be a boost to the business.
Speaker #4: To get a sense of these capabilities of this new equipment, I encourage you to take a look at the video that we posted on our Usio LinkedIn page.
Speaker #4: In the second quarter, Output signed 11 new contracts and renewed two other existing agreements. This includes a large alternative retail deregulated electric provider, which happens to be one of the three largest in the state of Texas.
Speaker #4: It is also encouraging to note that their success is not going unnoticed. Inbound traffic is on the rise, which, over time, we believe will be a boost to the business.
Speaker #4: In addition to the growth opportunities within our existing business, we have some new products under development that we expect to be launching in the near future.
Louis Hoch: In addition to the growth opportunities within our existing business, we have some new products under development that we expect to be launching in the near future. Most importantly is Usio Ion, the name we have chosen for Post-Credit. While there is still work to do, we are making great progress. The concept has been floated by a number of existing clients, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We expect to host a demonstration of Ion in the near future and look forward to giving you a closer look at the platform so you can get a feel for the opportunity we believe it represents. Let me close by reiterating our continued focus on margins and profitability. We have several tailwinds that we believe can support continued margin improvement.
Louis Hoch: In addition to the growth opportunities within our existing business, we have some new products under development that we expect to be launching in the near future. Most importantly is Usio Ion, the name we have chosen for Post-Credit. While there is still work to do, we are making great progress. The concept has been floated by a number of existing clients, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. We expect to host a demonstration of Ion in the near future and look forward to giving you a closer look at the platform so you can get a feel for the opportunity we believe it represents. Let me close by reiterating our continued focus on margins and profitability. We have several tailwinds that we believe can support continued margin improvement.
Speaker #4: Most importantly, is Usio Ion, the name we have chosen for post-credit. While there's still work to be done, we are making great progress. The concept has been floated by a number of existing clients, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Speaker #4: We expect to host a demonstration of Ion in the near future, and look forward to giving you a closer look at the platform, so you can get a feel for the opportunity we believe it represents.
Speaker #4: Let me close by reiterating our continued focus on margins and profitability. We have several tailwinds that we believe can support continued margin improvement. These include a more profitable transaction mix from products such as RTP, lower production costs at Output Solutions, and the continued rollout of Ion.
Louis Hoch: These include more profitable transaction mix from products such as RTP, our lower production cost at Output Solutions, and the continued rollout of Ion. At the same time, we remain focused on our cost structure. As one example, our increased processing volumes have enabled us to secure improved pricing from our sponsoring banks beginning in Q3. Together, we believe these initiatives provide multiple opportunities to drive greater operating leverage and improve profitability as we continue to grow. As a result, we are now raising our full-year guidance. For fiscal 2026, we now expect revenue growth of 14% to 16%, up from our previous guidance of 10% to 12% expectations. We also expect to continue to generate positive adjusted EBITDA as we remain focused on driving greater profitability and operating leverage across our business.
Louis Hoch: These include more profitable transaction mix from products such as RTP, our lower production cost at Output Solutions, and the continued rollout of Ion. At the same time, we remain focused on our cost structure. As one example, our increased processing volumes have enabled us to secure improved pricing from our sponsoring banks beginning in Q3. Together, we believe these initiatives provide multiple opportunities to drive greater operating leverage and improve profitability as we continue to grow. As a result, we are now raising our full-year guidance. For fiscal 2026, we now expect revenue growth of 14% to 16%, up from our previous guidance of 10% to 12% expectations. We also expect to continue to generate positive adjusted EBITDA as we remain focused on driving greater profitability and operating leverage across our business.
Speaker #4: At the same time, we remain focused on our cost structure. As one example, our increased processing volumes have enabled us to secure improved pricing from our sponsoring banks beginning in the third quarter.
Speaker #4: Together, we believe these initiatives provide multiple opportunities to drive greater operating leverage and improve profitability as we continue to grow. As a result, we are now raising our full-year guidance.
Speaker #4: For fiscal 2026, we now expect revenue growth of 14 to 16 percent, up from our previous guidance of 10 to 12 percent expectations. We also expect to continue to generate positive adjusted EBITDA as we remain focused on driving greater profitability and operating leverage across our business.
Speaker #4: So, a great first half with a lot of strong results and increasing prospects for better growth and profitability. Most of our businesses are growing at better than 20 percent, and we have exciting opportunities to sustain, if not improve, our long-term growth.
Louis Hoch: A great H1 with a lot of strong results and increasing prospects for better growth and profitability. Most of our businesses are growing at better than 20%, and we have exciting opportunities to sustain, if not improve, our long-term growth. There is also an intense focus on profitable growth. I want to thank the Usio employees for their continued dedication and commitment to growing our business, strengthening our company, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. Operator, you can now open the call to questions.
Louis Hoch: A great H1 with a lot of strong results and increasing prospects for better growth and profitability. Most of our businesses are growing at better than 20%, and we have exciting opportunities to sustain, if not improve, our long-term growth. There is also an intense focus on profitable growth. I want to thank the Usio employees for their continued dedication and commitment to growing our business, strengthening our company, and creating long-term value for our shareholders. Operator, you can now open the call to questions.
Speaker #4: There's also an intense focus on profitable growth. I want to thank the Usio employees for their continued dedication and commitment to growing our business, strengthening our company, and creating long-term value for our shareholders.
Speaker #4: Operator, you can now open the call to questions.
Speaker #1: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad.
Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Again, it is star then one to ask a question. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from Neil Cataldi with Blueprint Capital. Please go ahead.
Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on your telephone keypad. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then two. Again, it is star then one to ask a question. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from Neil Cataldi with Blueprint Capital. Please go ahead.
Speaker #1: If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Again, it is star, then one to ask a question.
Speaker #1: At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from Neil Cataldi with Blueprint Capital. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: Hey guys, great quarter. Thanks for taking a couple of questions. My first one is—you mentioned PayFac merchant accounts, up 34 percent. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about this flywheel, as you called it, maybe for those newer to the story.
Neil Cataldi: Hey, guys. Great quarter. Thanks for taking a couple questions. My first one is, you mentioned PayFac merchant accounts up 34%. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about this flywheel, as you called it, maybe for those newer to the story. What's the flywheel, and why is it really kicking in right now?
Neil Cataldi: Hey, guys. Great quarter. Thanks for taking a couple questions. My first one is, you mentioned PayFac merchant accounts up 34%. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about this flywheel, as you called it, maybe for those newer to the story. What's the flywheel, and why is it really kicking in right now?
Speaker #3: What's the flywheel, and why is it really kicking in right now?
Speaker #4: Well, as I said, the beauty of our PayFac model is we secure these ISVs, or these software companies, that may have anywhere from 100 to 500 subscribers today.
Greg Carter: Well, as I said, the beauty of our PayFac model is we secure these ISVs or these software companies that may have anywhere from 100 to 500 subscribers today. Fast-forward, if their business model goes like our current ISVs, four or five years down the road, that merchant base goes to 500 to 1,000. As those onboard with the software companies, we get access for providing payments to those entities. So that combined with the number of ISVs we've put on over the past several years, that's the flywheel of growth. It's an incredibly robust business model. Again, as we add more ISVs, the ISVs then in turn add merchants, which become our merchants by default. That's the third leg of the stool. New ISVs, ISV growth, and then merchant growth within that community.
Greg Carter: Well, as I said, the beauty of our PayFac model is we secure these ISVs or these software companies that may have anywhere from 100 to 500 subscribers today. Fast-forward, if their business model goes like our current ISVs, four or five years down the road, that merchant base goes to 500 to 1,000. As those onboard with the software companies, we get access for providing payments to those entities. So that combined with the number of ISVs we've put on over the past several years, that's the flywheel of growth. It's an incredibly robust business model. Again, as we add more ISVs, the ISVs then in turn add merchants, which become our merchants by default. That's the third leg of the stool. New ISVs, ISV growth, and then merchant growth within that community.
Speaker #4: Fast forward, if their business model goes like our current ISVs, four or five years down the road, that merchant base goes to 500 to 1,000.
Speaker #4: And as those onboard with the software companies, we get access for providing payments to those entities. So that, combined with the number of ISVs we've put on over the past several years, that's the flywheel of growth.
Speaker #4: It's an incredibly robust business model. And again, as we add more ISVs, the ISVs then, in turn, add merchants, which become our merchants by default.
Speaker #4: And that's the third leg of the stool: new ISVs, ISV growth, and then merchant growth within that community.
Speaker #3: Thanks. That's helpful. It's great to see that kicking in. A couple more. So last quarter, you got a gross margins to improve towards 23 to 25 percent.
Neil Cataldi: Thanks. That's helpful. It's great to see that kicking in. A couple more. Last quarter, you guided gross margins to improve towards 23% to 25% you said in the short term. 24% today is great, and I think the color on this call has been very helpful. With the new programs launching that you just discussed, is it reasonable to assume that maybe we can go even above 25% over the next few quarters?
Neil Cataldi: Thanks. That's helpful. It's great to see that kicking in. A couple more. Last quarter, you guided gross margins to improve towards 23% to 25% you said in the short term. 24% today is great, and I think the color on this call has been very helpful. With the new programs launching that you just discussed, is it reasonable to assume that maybe we can go even above 25% over the next few quarters?
Speaker #3: You said in the short term, 24 percent today is great. And I think the color on this call has been very helpful. With the new programs launching that you just discussed, is it reasonable to assume that maybe we can go even above 25 percent over the next few quarters?
Louis Hoch: The key to the growth there is going to be the full launch of Ion. The way we make money off of Ion is through float primarily, and some card spend, but float is obviously 100% margin for Usio. So Ion is going to be a big catalyst for increasing our margins.
Louis Hoch: The key to the growth there is going to be the full launch of Ion. The way we make money off of Ion is through float primarily, and some card spend, but float is obviously 100% margin for Usio. So Ion is going to be a big catalyst for increasing our margins.
Speaker #4: The key to growth there is going to be the full launch of Ion, which—the way we make money off of Ion is through float primarily, and some card spend.
Speaker #4: But float is obviously 100 percent margin for us. So ION is going to be a big catalyst for increasing our margins.
Speaker #3: Okay. And regarding that interesting comment—which I think is what you're talking about—how should we think about a recovery there through the second half as the education programs come on?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. Regarding that interest income, which is what you are talking about, how should we think about a recovery there through the H2 as the education programs come on?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. Regarding that interest income, which is what you are talking about, how should we think about a recovery there through the H2 as the education programs come on?
Speaker #4: Well, the education programs—some of them have already started a little bit. Most of that traffic is occurring through ACH, and we remain very excited about the two verticals in education, or the two instances.
Louis Hoch: Well, the education programs, some of them have already started a little bit. Most of that traffic is occurring through ACH. We remain very excited about the two verticals in the education or the two instances. One is school voucher programs that we talked about. I believe we have gone from 3 states to 2 states to, how many do we have now? Around 6. Around 5 or 6 that we will be doing voucher programs for. What is nice about these programs is it is not like all the money is dispersed when school starts. It actually happens over the course of a school year. So, we will start seeing some good volume from that occur once school kicks off here in August and September. The other program is Title IV payments. Those are school loan refunds. Yeah, school loan refunds, which we have one university coming live in this Q3, Q4.
Louis Hoch: Well, the education programs, some of them have already started a little bit. Most of that traffic is occurring through ACH. We remain very excited about the two verticals in the education or the two instances. One is school voucher programs that we talked about. I believe we have gone from 3 states to 2 states to, how many do we have now? Around 6. Around 5 or 6 that we will be doing voucher programs for. What is nice about these programs is it is not like all the money is dispersed when school starts. It actually happens over the course of a school year. So, we will start seeing some good volume from that occur once school kicks off here in August and September. The other program is Title IV payments. Those are school loan refunds. Yeah, school loan refunds, which we have one university coming live in this Q3, Q4.
Speaker #4: One is school voucher programs that we talked about. I believe we have gone from two states to—how many do we have now?
Speaker #5: Around six.
Speaker #4: Around five or six that we'll be doing voucher programs for. And what's nice about these programs is it's not like all the money is dispersed when school starts.
Speaker #4: It actually happens over the course of a school year, so we'll start seeing some good volume from that occur once school kicks off here in August and September.
Speaker #4: And the other program is Title IV payments. Those are school loan—yeah, school loan refunds. We have one university coming live in this third, fourth quarter.
Speaker #4: But that one customer, or that one reseller, works today with 30 universities. And we're hopeful that we're going to get all that traffic.
Louis Hoch: That one customer or that one reseller works today with 30 universities. We are hopeful that we are going to get all that traffic.
Louis Hoch: That one customer or that one reseller works today with 30 universities. We are hopeful that we are going to get all that traffic.
Speaker #3: Okay. And just to clarify, did you say five or six states on the school vouchers, or did I not hear that correctly?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. Just to clarify, did you say 5 or 6 states on the school vouchers, or did I not hear that correct?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. Just to clarify, did you say 5 or 6 states on the school vouchers, or did I not hear that correct?
Speaker #4: Yes, that's correct. I think the last time we talked, it was two, and we've added a few since then.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. That is correct. I think the last time we talked, it was 2, and we have added a few.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. That is correct. I think the last time we talked, it was 2, and we have added a few.
Speaker #3: Okay. And maybe some ballpark on what total volumes would be across the five to six?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. Maybe some ballpark on what total volumes would be across the 5 to 6?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. Maybe some ballpark on what total volumes would be across the 5 to 6?
Louis Hoch: Around $1.5 billion.
Louis Hoch: Around $1.5 billion.
Speaker #4: Around 1.5 billion dollars.
Speaker #3: Okay. Okay. And my last one is just on the ACH tailwinds. So, Nacha—I think I'm saying that right—data shows that P2P ACH is growing at about 21%.
Neil Cataldi: Okay. My last one is just on the ACH tailwinds. Nacha, I think I am saying that right, data shows that P2P ACH is growing 21%, same day is up 30%. The industry seems to be moving towards what you guys have built, which is this embedded multi-rail kind of infrastructure. My question is as AI, I think, sort of transforms SaaS companies and how they operate, do you guys have any thoughts on how embedded payments become more of a determining factor in which platforms win? Do you think that is sort of starting to show itself a bit in the ACH tailwinds you are seeing?
Neil Cataldi: Okay. My last one is just on the ACH tailwinds. Nacha, I think I am saying that right, data shows that P2P ACH is growing 21%, same day is up 30%. The industry seems to be moving towards what you guys have built, which is this embedded multi-rail kind of infrastructure. My question is as AI, I think, sort of transforms SaaS companies and how they operate, do you guys have any thoughts on how embedded payments become more of a determining factor in which platforms win? Do you think that is sort of starting to show itself a bit in the ACH tailwinds you are seeing?
Speaker #3: Same day is up 30. The industry seems to be moving towards what you guys have built, which is this embedded, multi-rail kind of infrastructure.
Speaker #3: So my question is, as AI transforms SaaS companies and how they operate, do you have any thoughts on how embedded payments could become more of a determining factor in which platforms win?
Speaker #3: And do you think that's starting to show itself a bit in the ACH tailwinds you're seeing?
Speaker #4: Well, it's definitely going to benefit PayFac, which includes card and ACH. But AI is making some software development tasks easier. What used to be competitive in software development was building the software and having great infrastructure.
Louis Hoch: It is definitely going to benefit PayFac, which includes card and ACH. AI is making some software development tasks easier. What used to be competitive in software development was building software and having great infrastructure. Now people are able to reproduce it easier. So those software companies are looking for ways to increase the value of their platforms. The best way to do it is to embed payments and make a financial tool out of your software application, which is absolute perfect fit for our PayFac-in-a-Box offering. We think as time evolves with AI, that that will create even more opportunities for us in PayFac.
Louis Hoch: It is definitely going to benefit PayFac, which includes card and ACH. AI is making some software development tasks easier. What used to be competitive in software development was building software and having great infrastructure. Now people are able to reproduce it easier. So those software companies are looking for ways to increase the value of their platforms. The best way to do it is to embed payments and make a financial tool out of your software application, which is absolute perfect fit for our PayFac-in-a-Box offering. We think as time evolves with AI, that that will create even more opportunities for us in PayFac.
Speaker #4: Now people are able to reproduce it more easily. So those software companies are looking for ways to increase the value of their platforms. And the best way to do that is to embed payments and make a financial tool out of your software application.
Speaker #4: Which is an absolutely perfect fit for our PayFac and the Box offering. And so we think, as time evolves with AI, that will create even more opportunities for us in PayFac.
Speaker #3: Great, thanks, guys. Appreciate you taking the questions, and excellent quarter. Talk soon.
Neil Cataldi: Great. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you taking the questions and excellent quarter. Talk soon.
Neil Cataldi: Great. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you taking the questions and excellent quarter. Talk soon.
Speaker #4: All right. Thank you.
Louis Hoch: Thank you. Thank you.
Louis Hoch: Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker #5: Thank you.
Speaker #2: Thank you again. If you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Barry Sine with Litchfield. Please go ahead.
Operator: Thank you. Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Barry Sine with Litchfield. Please go ahead.
Operator: Thank you. Again, if you have a question, please press star then one. The next question comes from Barry Sine with Litchfield. Please go ahead.
Barry Sine: Hey, good afternoon, folks. Very good quarter, both the results and the nice surprise in positive guidance. It's almost as if you guys are carrying around lucky rabbit foot. I'm trying to understand the drivers. You gave out a lot of key points, and it seems to me that the new, well, I guess not so new anymore, Usio One strategy really is working. You've changed the compensation. Your team is cross-selling all the products. We're seeing new customers, we're seeing new products with existing customers. You also have introduced new products like RTP, and it sounds like Ion is part of the new guidance. Can you elaborate a little bit more, please?
Barry Sine: Hey, good afternoon, folks. Very good quarter, both the results and the nice surprise in positive guidance. It's almost as if you guys are carrying around lucky rabbit foot. I'm trying to understand the drivers. You gave out a lot of key points, and it seems to me that the new, well, I guess not so new anymore, Usio One strategy really is working. You've changed the compensation. Your team is cross-selling all the products. We're seeing new customers, we're seeing new products with existing customers. You also have introduced new products like RTP, and it sounds like Ion is part of the new guidance. Can you elaborate a little bit more, please?
Speaker #1: Hey, good afternoon, folks. Very good quarter—both the results and the nice surprise in positive guidance. It's almost as if you guys are carrying around lucky rabbit's feet.
Speaker #1: I'm trying to understand the drivers. You gave out a lot of key points, and it seems to me that the new—well, I guess not so new anymore.
Speaker #1: The UCL1 strategy really is working. You've changed the compensation, and now your team is cross-selling all the products. So we're seeing new customers, and we're seeing new products with existing customers.
Speaker #1: And then you also have introduced new products like RTP, and it sounds like Ion is part of the new guidance. Can you elaborate a little bit more, please?
Speaker #4: Well, obviously, we're very excited about Ion. We think that's a catalyst for not only top-line growth, but will increase our margins. And we look forward to the full rollout of that.
Louis Hoch: Well, obviously, we're very excited about Ion. We think that's a catalyst for not only top-line growth, but will increase our margins. We look forward to the full rollout of that. It's going to take time for us to do that. We already have a handful of customers beta testing for us, and the results are good. Every part of our business is doing really well. It's showing credibility to our strategy of having all payment channels, too. We're seeing some pinless transactions go to RTP. While RTP transactions have less revenue, they have higher margins. If we didn't have RTP, we would've missed out on that traffic, and that traffic continues to grow really well. When RTP allows for debits instead of just pushing funds, we'll see a big jump in usage of RTP for our customer base.
Louis Hoch: Well, obviously, we're very excited about Ion. We think that's a catalyst for not only top-line growth, but will increase our margins. We look forward to the full rollout of that. It's going to take time for us to do that. We already have a handful of customers beta testing for us, and the results are good. Every part of our business is doing really well. It's showing credibility to our strategy of having all payment channels, too. We're seeing some pinless transactions go to RTP. While RTP transactions have less revenue, they have higher margins. If we didn't have RTP, we would've missed out on that traffic, and that traffic continues to grow really well. When RTP allows for debits instead of just pushing funds, we'll see a big jump in usage of RTP for our customer base.
Speaker #4: It's going to take time for us to do that, but we already have a handful of customers beta testing for us, and the results are good.
Speaker #4: And every part of our business is doing really, really well. And it's showing credibility to our strategy of having all payment channels too. We're seeing some pinless transactions go to RTP.
Speaker #4: And while RTP transactions have less revenue, they have higher margins. But if we didn't have RTP, we would have missed out on that traffic.
Speaker #4: And that traffic continues to grow really well. When RTP allows for debits, instead of just pushing funds, we'll see a big jump in usage of RTP.
Speaker #4: For our customer base. But our existing customers continue to grow. And we're doing a great job at landing new deals as well. And so we're just we're optimistic about this year.
Louis Hoch: Our existing customers continue to grow. We're doing a great job at landing new deals as well. We're optimistic about this year and our future growth.
Louis Hoch: Our existing customers continue to grow. We're doing a great job at landing new deals as well. We're optimistic about this year and our future growth.
Speaker #4: And our future growth.
Speaker #1: So if I can drill down a little bit more on PayFac, so in the past, you've talked about I don't know if I missed it, but the PayFac growth rate in the quarter.
Barry Sine: If I can drill down a little bit more on PayFac. In the past, you have talked about, I do not know if I missed it, but the PayFac growth rate in the quarter. You have also, in the past, had a bit of a challenge onboarding PayFac customers or PayFac merchants rather, not customers. It seems like you have solved that. Could you give us a bit of an update on PayFac and where you are now? It seems much improved versus a couple of years ago.
Barry Sine: If I can drill down a little bit more on PayFac. In the past, you have talked about, I do not know if I missed it, but the PayFac growth rate in the quarter. You have also, in the past, had a bit of a challenge onboarding PayFac customers or PayFac merchants rather, not customers. It seems like you have solved that. Could you give us a bit of an update on PayFac and where you are now? It seems much improved versus a couple of years ago.
Speaker #1: But you've also in the past had a bit of a challenge onboarding PayFac customers. Or PayFac merchants, rather, not customers. It seems like you've solved that.
Speaker #1: Could you give us a bit of an update on PayFac and where you are now? I mean, it seems much improved versus a couple of years ago.
Speaker #4: Yeah, Barry, it's really lather, rinse, and repeat. I mean, we've been doing the same thing for the last seven years, and what we're seeing now is all that come to fruition.
Greg Carter: Yeah, Barry, it is really lather, rinse and repeat. We have been doing the same thing for the last seven years. What we are seeing now is all that come to fruition. While we sincerely appreciate everyone's patience, if you will look back historically, there has been a slow but steady upward climb of the PayFac revenue model, and now we are just seeing the benefits of that. It is not that we have found some secret sauce. Really, the key is adding as many ISVs as we can possibly accommodate into the implementation queue, and then working with each entity, each ISV individually to help them with that transition on their merchants. Really, that has been the secret. I think it is also just a culmination of doing this for many years, and that patience and persistence is paying off.
Greg Carter: Yeah, Barry, it is really lather, rinse and repeat. We have been doing the same thing for the last seven years. What we are seeing now is all that come to fruition. While we sincerely appreciate everyone's patience, if you will look back historically, there has been a slow but steady upward climb of the PayFac revenue model, and now we are just seeing the benefits of that. It is not that we have found some secret sauce. Really, the key is adding as many ISVs as we can possibly accommodate into the implementation queue, and then working with each entity, each ISV individually to help them with that transition on their merchants. Really, that has been the secret. I think it is also just a culmination of doing this for many years, and that patience and persistence is paying off.
Speaker #4: While we sincerely appreciate everyone's patience, if you look back historically, there's been a slow but steady upward climb of the PayFac revenue model, and now we're just seeing the benefits of that.
Speaker #4: So it isn't that we're we found some secret sauce. Really, the key is adding as many ISVs as we can possibly accommodate into the implementation queue.
Speaker #4: And then working with each entity, each ISV, individually to help them with that transition on their merchants. And really, that's been the secret.
Speaker #4: But I think it's also just a culmination of doing this for many years and that patience and persistence is paying off.
Speaker #1: What was PayFac growth in the quarter?
Barry Sine: What was PayFac growth in the quarter?
Barry Sine: What was PayFac growth in the quarter?
Speaker #4: 43% over a year ago.
Greg Carter: 43% over a year ago.
Greg Carter: 43% over a year ago.
Speaker #1: Wow. Okay. And I want to zero back in on Ion. When you announced the acquisition of PostCredit, maybe I'm wrong, but I didn't give it a lot of thought.
Barry Sine: Wow, okay. I want to zero back in on Ion. When you announced the acquisition of Post Credit, maybe I am wrong, but I did not give it a lot of thought. It was a relatively small transaction. I am not sure it was even operational. It was a platform that was used to handle expenses for movie productions in Hollywood. You guys have taken that, you have revamped it, and I am very surprised that Louis called that out as one of your three catalysts for this year. You have taken a tiny little product that you paid very little for, maybe you can remind us, revamped it, and now you are looking at it as a major catalyst for growth this year?
Barry Sine: Wow, okay. I want to zero back in on Ion. When you announced the acquisition of Post Credit, maybe I am wrong, but I did not give it a lot of thought. It was a relatively small transaction. I am not sure it was even operational. It was a platform that was used to handle expenses for movie productions in Hollywood. You guys have taken that, you have revamped it, and I am very surprised that Louis called that out as one of your three catalysts for this year. You have taken a tiny little product that you paid very little for, maybe you can remind us, revamped it, and now you are looking at it as a major catalyst for growth this year?
Speaker #1: It was a relatively small transaction. I'm not sure it was even operational. It was a platform that was used to handle expenses for movie productions in Hollywood.
Speaker #1: You guys have taken that, you've revamped it, and I'm very surprised that Louis called that out as one of your three catalysts for this year.
Speaker #1: So you've taken a tiny little product that you pay very little for. Maybe you can remind us. Revamped it. And now it's a major you're looking at it as a major catalyst for growth this year?
Speaker #4: Well, you know what's exciting about Ion is that it was on our roadmap to develop. And then when Houston located this company and did its due diligence, we figured out we could implement the product faster.
Louis Hoch: Well, what is exciting about Ion is that it was on our roadmap to develop. When Houston located this company and did his due diligence, we figured out we could implement the product faster. We really just bought software, and it kind of leapfrogged our development. What we were looking at developing 18 months to 2 years, we are able to do in 6 months. That implementation timeframe for us was really shortened, and it allowed us to potentially go to the market quicker. The most exciting thing about Ion is the margin that is created from float. It is also going to increase our visibility for risk and fraud. It potentially will allow us to settle funds quicker to our customers, which we will definitely charge for that action.
Louis Hoch: Well, what is exciting about Ion is that it was on our roadmap to develop. When Houston located this company and did his due diligence, we figured out we could implement the product faster. We really just bought software, and it kind of leapfrogged our development. What we were looking at developing 18 months to two years, we are able to do in six months. That implementation timeframe for us was really shortened, and it allowed us to potentially go to the market quicker. The most exciting thing about Ion is the margin that is created from float. It is also going to increase our visibility for risk and fraud. It potentially will allow us to settle funds quicker to our customers, which we will definitely charge for that action.
Speaker #4: So we really just bought software and it kind of leapfrogged our development. So what we were looking at developing 18 months to two years we're able to do in six months.
Speaker #4: So that implementation timeframe for us was really shortened. And it allowed us to potentially go to the market quicker. And Ion is the most exciting thing about Ion is the margin that's created from float.
Speaker #4: But it's also going to increase our visibility for risk and fraud. It potentially will allow us to settle funds quicker to our customers, which we will definitely charge for that action.
Speaker #4: And then we're going to see usage on cards when they use the program—the product—as an expense management system. So, it is the first product that sits on top of all of our divisions, and that is really exciting to us.
Louis Hoch: We are going to see usage on cards when they use the product as an expense management system. It is the first product that sits on top of all of our divisions, and that is really exciting to us because it works for Output Solutions customers to be sending in their prepaid postage to Usio. For card issuing, it works for card load money to go into. For acquiring, it works for Usio to settle funds from ACH and from card transactions for the merchants to go in and either leave the funds there or withdraw it to whatever bank of their choice. We believe that there is over $200 million on a daily basis that we could potentially have in the Ion platform. Today, at any given time, we have $80 to $100 million that is not ours.
Louis Hoch: We are going to see usage on cards when they use the product as an expense management system. It is the first product that sits on top of all of our divisions, and that is really exciting to us because it works for Output Solutions customers to be sending in their prepaid postage to Usio. For card issuing, it works for card load money to go into. For acquiring, it works for Usio to settle funds from ACH and from card transactions for the merchants to go in and either leave the funds there or withdraw it to whatever bank of their choice. We believe that there is over $200 million on a daily basis that we could potentially have in the Ion platform. Today, at any given time, we have $80 to 100 million that is not ours.
Speaker #4: Because it works for output customers to be sending in their prepaid postage to us. For card issuing, it works for card load money to go into.
Speaker #4: For acquiring, it works for us to settle funds from ACH and from card transactions. For the merchants to go in and either leave the funds there or withdraw it to whatever bank of their choice.
Speaker #4: But we believe that there's over 200 million dollars on a daily basis. That we could potentially have in the Ion platform. So today, on any given time, we have 80 to 100 million dollars that's not ours.
Louis Hoch: If we can increase that to $300 million, that is substantial float for Usio.
Louis Hoch: If we can increase that to $300 million, that is substantial float for Usio.
Speaker #4: If we can increase that to 300 million, that's substantial float for us.
Speaker #1: So, to understand that, it sounds like Ion revenue will show up in a number of the product categories or service categories that you guys announce.
Barry Sine: To understand that, it sounds like Ion revenue will show up in a number of the product categories or service categories that you guys announced, including interest income or interest revenue. Is that correct?
Barry Sine: To understand that, it sounds like Ion revenue will show up in a number of the product categories or service categories that you guys announced, including interest income or interest revenue. Is that correct?
Speaker #1: Including interest in income. Or interest revenue. Is that correct?
Speaker #4: Yeah. Well, it's definitely going to the card transactions will show up in card issuing. And interest income will leave that up to Michael to figure out where that one's going to go.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. The card transactions will show up in card issuing. Interest income, we'll leave that up to Michael to figure out where that one's going to go. But it's a product that sits on top of all of our divisions. Where we book it is a good problem to have, right?
Louis Hoch: Yeah. The card transactions will show up in card issuing. Interest income, we'll leave that up to Michael to figure out where that one's going to go. But it's a product that sits on top of all of our divisions. Where we book it is a good problem to have, right?
Speaker #4: But it's a product that sits upon all of our on top of all of our divisions. So where we book it is a good problem to have, right?
Speaker #1: Yeah. Yeah. High-class problem to have. Lastly, you just hit on it sounds like you hit another home run with Ion. You did that several years ago.
Barry Sine: Yeah. A very high-class problem to have. Lastly, it sounds like you hit another home run with Ion. You did that several years ago with Output Solutions. Do you have any more rabbits in your hat, Louis, in terms of acquisitions? What are you guys looking at? What are the priorities? Is there anything imminent? You've now got a very good track record with acquisitions. Are you going to follow that up with additional ones?
Barry Sine: Yeah. A very high-class problem to have. Lastly, it sounds like you hit another home run with Ion. You did that several years ago with Output Solutions. Do you have any more rabbits in your hat, Louis, in terms of acquisitions? What are you guys looking at? What are the priorities? Is there anything imminent? You've now got a very good track record with acquisitions. Are you going to follow that up with additional ones?
Speaker #1: With output solutions—do you have any more rabbits in your hat, Louis, in terms of acquisitions? What are you guys looking at? What are the priorities?
Speaker #1: Is there anything imminent? I mean, you've now got a very good track record with acquisitions. Are you going to follow that up with additional ones?
Speaker #4: Yeah, we look at deals all the time, and we're just very selective. I guess that's part of the reason why we've been successful.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. We look at deals all the time, and we're just very selective, and I guess that's part of the reason why we've been successful. But we continue to look, and if it's complementary and we can buy it right, and whatever we're buying doesn't have any issues, we'll go for it.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. We look at deals all the time, and we're just very selective, and I guess that's part of the reason why we've been successful. But we continue to look, and if it's complementary and we can buy it right, and whatever we're buying doesn't have any issues, we'll go for it.
Speaker #4: But we continue to look. And if it's complimentary and we can buy it right and whatever we're buying doesn't have any issues, we'll go for it.
Speaker #1: But it doesn't sound like there's anything imminent on the horizon right now.
Barry Sine: But it doesn't sound like there's anything imminent on the horizon right now.
Barry Sine: But it doesn't sound like there's anything imminent on the horizon right now.
Speaker #4: Barry, if there was, I wouldn't be able to talk about it on this call, right?
Louis Hoch: Barry, if there was, I wouldn't be able to talk about it on this call, right?
Louis Hoch: Barry, if there was, I wouldn't be able to talk about it on this call, right?
Speaker #1: Well, it's right after the call. All right, thank you very much.
Barry Sine: Well, it's the Regulation FD call. All right. Thank you very much.
Barry Sine: Well, it's the Regulation FD call. All right. Thank you very much.
Speaker #4: All right. Thanks, Barry.
Louis Hoch: All right.
Louis Hoch: All right.
Michael White: Thanks, Barry.
Michael White: Thanks, Barry.
Speaker #2: Thank you. Once again, if you have a question, please press star, then one. The next question comes from Chris Tuttle with Blue Caterpillar. Please go ahead.
Operator: Thank you. Once again, if you have a question, please press star then 1. The next question comes from Chris Tuttle with Blue Caterpillar. Please go ahead.
Operator: Thank you. Once again, if you have a question, please press star then 1. The next question comes from Chris Tuttle with Blue Caterpillar. Please go ahead.
Speaker #1: Hey, thanks for taking my questions. They're really more housekeeping. As you know, I'm kind of newly modeling you guys. And they were just a couple of minor variances.
Chris Tuttle: Hey, thanks for taking my questions. They are really more housekeeping. As you know, I am kind of newly modeling you guys, and there were just a couple of minor variances. On Output Solutions, is there some seasonality there on Q3, I mean Q2, I am sorry, which came in, it was a great improvement year over year, but just a little bit less than I expected, and I am just curious to know if that level, the $5,669, if that represents any kind of seasonality.
Chris Tuttle: Hey, thanks for taking my questions. They are really more housekeeping. As you know, I am kind of newly modeling you guys, and there were just a couple of minor variances. On Output Solutions, is there some seasonality there on Q3, I mean Q2, I am sorry, which came in, it was a great improvement year over year, but just a little bit less than I expected, and I am just curious to know if that level, the $5,669, if that represents any kind of seasonality.
Speaker #1: On output solutions, is there some seasonality there on Q2? I mean, Q2—I'm sorry—which came in, it was a great improvement year over year, but just a little bit less than I expected.
Speaker #1: And I'm just curious to know if that level, the 5,669, if that represents any kind of seasonality.
Speaker #4: Yeah, output does experience seasonality, but that happens in Q1, when we perform tax-related print and mail and electronic document delivery—1099s, property taxes for a lot of the counties.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. Output does experience seasonality, but that happens in Q1 when we perform tax-related print and mail and electronic document delivery, 1099s, property taxes for a lot of the counties. In Q1, we actually printed a large amount of voter registration cards for state of Texas, which is a reoccurring deal, but it only happens once every 2 years for us. So, the seasonality occurs in Q1. Q2, we just did a great job, and so majority of that is reoccurring.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. Output does experience seasonality, but that happens in Q1 when we perform tax-related print and mail and electronic document delivery, 1099s, property taxes for a lot of the counties. In Q1, we actually printed a large amount of voter registration cards for state of Texas, which is a reoccurring deal, but it only happens once every two years for us. So, the seasonality occurs in Q1. Q2, we just did a great job, and so majority of that is reoccurring.
Speaker #4: And in Q1, we actually printed a large amount of voter registration cards for state of Texas. Which is a reoccurring deal, but it only happens once every two years for us.
Speaker #4: So, the seasonality occurs in Q1. In Q2, we just did a great job, and so the majority of that is reoccurring.
Speaker #1: I get it. So Q1, you get a bit of an extra bump. And then Q2, Q3, Q4 are more just based on strength of the business.
Chris Tuttle: I get it. So Q1, you get a bit of an extra bump, then Q2, Q3, Q4 are more just based on strength of the business, which, as you pointed out, is at a new higher level.
Chris Tuttle: I get it. So Q1, you get a bit of an extra bump, then Q2, Q3, Q4 are more just based on strength of the business, which, as you pointed out, is at a new higher level.
Speaker #1: Which, as you pointed out, is a new higher level.
Speaker #4: Yes.
Louis Hoch: Yes.
Louis Hoch: Yes.
Speaker #1: Okay. The other variance really was in the cost of services. Pretty nice margin improvement. And I'm just making sure that that's it's not some sort of one-off thing that happened.
Chris Tuttle: Okay. The other variance really was in the cost of services. Pretty nice margin improvement, and I am just making sure that it is not some sort of one-off thing that happened. Maybe you could just talk a little bit about the mechanics of that, and you had a very good cost of services number this quarter.
Chris Tuttle: Okay. The other variance really was in the cost of services. Pretty nice margin improvement, and I am just making sure that it is not some sort of one-off thing that happened. Maybe you could just talk a little bit about the mechanics of that, and you had a very good cost of services number this quarter.
Speaker #1: Maybe you could just talk a little bit about the mechanics of that. And you had a very good cost of services number this quarter.
Speaker #4: Yeah, we're comfortable in a 23 to 25 percent gross margin range. To get above 25 percent, Ion is going to be a big catalyst for us.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. We are comfortable in a 23% to 25% gross margins. To get above 25%, Ion is going to be a big catalyst for Usio. So if you are modeling, if you are 23% to 25%, you will be in the ballpark.
Louis Hoch: Yeah. We are comfortable in a 23% to 25% gross margins. To get above 25%, Ion is going to be a big catalyst for Usio. So if you are modeling, if you are 23% to 25%, you will be in the ballpark.
Speaker #4: So if you're modeling, if you're 23 to 25, you'll be in the ballpark.
Speaker #1: Okay. All right. Great. And the last one—and this is really small—interest on ACH and complimentary services was sequentially, which is on trend a little bit.
Chris Tuttle: Okay. All right, great. The last one, and this is really small, interest on ACH and complementary services was down a bit sequentially, which is on trend a little bit, but I am just curious to understand what is driving that.
Chris Tuttle: Okay. All right, great. The last one, and this is really small, interest on ACH and complementary services was down a bit sequentially, which is on trend a little bit, but I am just curious to understand what is driving that.
Speaker #1: But I'm just curious to understand what's driving that.
Speaker #4: So this is Michael. I can answer that one. It's really just it's dependent on the amount of time that merchants are keeping funds in their UCO pre-funding balances essentially.
Michael White: This is Michael. I can answer that one. It is really just dependent on the amount of time that merchants are keeping funds in their Usio pre-funding balance, essentially. The number of deposits we have on hand on behalf of others fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. There really was not a change in rates or anything like that. It was the timing of cash that we had. To Louis' point, we are expecting with the rollout of Ion to have more of our customers' funds on hand at any given time. That is why we are expecting that interest income to jump up.
Michael White: This is Michael. I can answer that one. It is really just dependent on the amount of time that merchants are keeping funds in their Usio pre-funding balance, essentially. The number of deposits we have on hand on behalf of others fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. There really was not a change in rates or anything like that. It was the timing of cash that we had. To Louis' point, we are expecting with the rollout of Ion to have more of our customers' funds on hand at any given time. That is why we are expecting that interest income to jump up.
Speaker #4: So the number kind of the number of deposits we have on hand on behalf of others fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. So it really wasn't a change in rates or anything like that.
Speaker #4: It was the timing of cash that we had. So, to Louis's point, we're expecting, with the rollout of Ion, to have more of our customers' funds on hand at any given time.
Speaker #4: So that's why we're expecting that interest income to jump up.
Speaker #1: Okay. I got it. Thank you. And yeah, very much appreciate your updated guidance as we discussed in Vegas towards the upper end of what you had initially talked about earlier in the year.
Chris Tuttle: Okay, I got it. Thank you. Very much appreciate your updated guidance as we discussed in Vegas towards the upper end of what you had initially talked about earlier in the year. We look forward to seeing you perform against that and see where we end up for the fiscal year. Thanks a lot for all your fine work.
Chris Tuttle: Okay, I got it. Thank you. Very much appreciate your updated guidance as we discussed in Vegas towards the upper end of what you had initially talked about earlier in the year. We look forward to seeing you perform against that and see where we end up for the fiscal year. Thanks a lot for all your fine work.
Speaker #1: So, we look forward to seeing you perform against that and seeing where we end up for the fiscal year. So, thanks a lot for all your fine work.
Speaker #4: Thank you, Chris.
Louis Hoch: Thank you.
Louis Hoch: Thank you.
Michael White: Thank you, Chris.
Michael White: Thank you, Chris.
Speaker #1: Thank you.
Louis Hoch: Thank you.
Louis Hoch: Thank you.
Speaker #4: Thank you.
Michael White: Thank you.
Michael White: Thank you.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes our question and answer session. The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.
