Meet Karen Widas
Your Partner in Efficient Payment Processing
Karen Widas is an Account Executive with CoCard and owner of DevPlus, Inc. She specializes in customizing payment processing systems for cash-based healthcare practitioners, including chiropractors and physical therapy clinics; auto parts & repair shops; B2B, including wholesalers, manufacturers, and distributors; and e-commerce businesses.
These businesses often grapple with high credit card processing rates when they should be re-investing in their business. Karen has been championing affordable rates and hands-on customer care for her clients since 2009.
Karen received her Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Before joining CoCard, she worked for Wisconsin Energy in several roles, including Portfolio Manager, Progress Energy as Portfolio Manager, and Ventyx as a Business Analyst. All of these roles required keen attention to detail and finding creative solutions to reduce/minimize costs.
Karen lives in Green Bay, WI with her husband, Eric. They have three adult children and one in high school. The whole family enjoys ice hockey but when the weather is nice, you’ll find Karen golfing. No matter the season, Karen is always reading a good book.
Karen’s Story: In Her Own Words
The Beginning
Remember those timed math tests in grade school? The teacher would walk around and hand out the tests face down on each desk. Then on her signal, you’d frantically flip the test over. You’d have 60 seconds to do as many problems as you could while getting them right. Most of the kids in my class dreaded those tests. But I was not one of them. I was downright giddy about those tests.
And order of operations? Don’t even get me started. I was a master.
Not me. But you get the idea.
When I Grow Up I Wanna Be…
Not many little girls would say, “I want to be a credit card processor when I grow up!” The number is probably pretty small, and I definitely wouldn’t include myself in that dream, even though I liked doing math.
I loved solving problems so much that I decided to become an engineer. Engineering is all about equations, numbers, and math. Obviously, this was a career field that was right up my alley. Everything I loved about those tests so long ago, I was able to do with engineering. It was a perfect match!
The thing I love about math the most, is that there is only one right answer. Period.
2 + 2 is always = 4.
There’s just something so assuring about that. Don’t you think?
Me. Graduation Day 1991, Michigan Tech University
The Credit Card Processing World
So, what exactly does all of this have to do with credit card processing? Surprisingly, when it all comes down to it, credit card processing is all about figuring out equations, just like those math tests.
After many years, I somehow ended up in the credit card processing world. And I absolutely love it, because it’s all numbers!
Now I get to help businesses with the often-confusing world of credit card processing. I get to help people and do math! And while most people scratch their heads at this kind of thing, I thrive.
Your Rate
Most businesses associate credit card processing with rates and fees. And rates and fees are numbers.
Let’s say you want to figure out what your rate is - what your real rate is.
It’s simple math.
You can do this in less than one minute by plugging in two numbers you already have.
Ready?
Take the amount you paid in fees for the month and divide it by the amount you processed that month.
Boom. That’s your rate. (More specifically known as your effective rate).
Effective Rate = Amount Paid ($) / Amount Processed ($)
But just like a Ginsu Knife deal, there’s more.
Processing Statements
Processing statements are loaded with numbers.
Trying to decipher what these numbers actually mean will often times lead to confusion.
Many people do not understand the numbers. And that’s okay. A large part of my job is to understand those numbers and work through them to find ways to reduce your fees.
When I get a statement to analyze, I get excited like I did when I was about to flip over that math test. Each statement is an opportunity to dissect the numbers. I know the equations and understand them. From the numbers and the equations, I can find the markups that are costing you money.
In Conclusion
Credit card processing is really just a more advanced version of those math tests I loved so much. With my help, you can understand them too - if you want to understand them. If you don't want to understand them, you're not alone.
You don't have to understand any of it to lower your fees and improve your bottom line.
It's easy to get started. And it's painless. I promise.
I'll bet your math teacher never made that promise.
