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Todo Latino Show
Ep.130 From Humble Beginnings to Industry Leader with Moises Heredia
Join us for this special 1 on 1 interview with the CEO of Global Processing Systems Moses Heredia. He shares his journey, obstacles, and success as CEO of one of the largest processing companies worldwide.
Global Processing Systems: https://gprocessing.com/
Global Processing Systems, Inc is a global leader in payment processing solutions. We partner with merchants providing the very best in secure, state-of-the-art, easy-to-use payment solutions. We’ve helped businesses save money, and we can offer merchants multiple easy-to-accept payment methods, such as credit and debit cards, gift cards, international payments, and electronic check guarantee and check processing.
All right, everybody. Welcome to the Todo Latino special interview Today, our guest is the CEO and founder of Global Processing Systems. Welcome, mr Moises Heredia. What's up, man?
Speaker 2:Hey, man, good. Thank you for having me. I'm blessed to be here in your presence. This is awesome, this is great Happy to be here with you.
Speaker 1:We have a lot to talk about. We're both founders. I love what you're doing. I'm big on origin stories. That's like what this show is a lot about. You grew up in New Mexico. What was that like for you and your family growing up in New Mexico?
Speaker 2:Growing up in New Mexico. It was very humbling. It was one movie theater, one high school. It was very humbling. It was, you know, one movie theater, one high school, very humble backgrounds. So I was born here in the US but my mom was from Mexico and married my father who was from Texas. So the upbringing was just amazing. I can't say enough, give you an idea. My humble beginnings started working in the fields and driving a tractor and farming. So, uh, people don't know that, but at the end of the day, it's been very blessed to be here today and tell you about a little bit about myself and the company so I'm actually curious about that process because we talk a lot about field workers, the amount of work that goes into that.
Speaker 1:Can you explain a little bit like what your schedule was like doing that type of work and even what you felt like at the end of the day from doing that?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, I can be very frank with you. And being there and going back to the days where my mom would take me there as a child, it was more of a lesson. It's not that we had to do it, but it was. She was teaching me a lesson, rafael, and I could tell you those grown men and women working uh, that would come from different countries and I was there working. It was just the vibe and learning that they would send the money, every paycheck home and tears would come from their eyes. Just how hard it was. I can tell you one of the hardest things, going back, was the cucumber. Listen, I worked in the bell pepper, cucumber, peanuts, cotton, pecans, but the one that I will never forget is the cucumber. That was one of the hardest lessons I've learned as a youngster.
Speaker 1:You're going to have to describe the story. Why the cucumber?
Speaker 2:Well, let me visualize it for you, okay. So just imagine a bunch of rolls and fields going, I would say, close to a mile, and in the middle there's a huge truck. I'm talking about a semi-truck, so you were giving me being green and not knowing any better. I was young at the time, so I got there a little late and all the veterans, I would say, got there early way before it started and they would give them two five-gallon buckets. Right, okay, fine, so I would be in line, I'd get two five-gallon buckets and the purpose of this thing is that you go to the left of the diesel and the right of the diesel and the diesel will be moving at all times, but very slow pace.
Speaker 2:Your job is to get one of those surcos we call it, and one of those rolls where the cucumbers is, and you're hunched back and you're putting the cucumbers in the five-gallon bucket. Then you have to run to the truck when they're both full and while it's running you've got to toss it to them and they give you a ficha. A ficha back when I was growing up. It's just a little aluminum circle right and at the end of the day you cash that in for a quarter, like tokens yeah it's like a token, right.
Speaker 2:So I remember seeing the old veterans and their back hurting and just in pain and in tears, you know and I was just a youngster at that time but that was one of the hardest lessons I've learned. That my mom taught me very well at a young age.
Speaker 1:Man, that is insane. I can't picture it, you know my first job was like McDonald's.
Speaker 1:So I give you props to be able to do that. But there's a lot of people, especially here since I moved to the West Coast there's a lot of people who have that story of being able to work the field. You know, new Jersey, we don't really deal with that at that level like they do, like florida, here in um california. So you know, much props to you that is. That is insane. I can't. I can't think of a harder job to do than to be grabbing you know crops and stuff.
Speaker 2:It literally feeds the entire united states yeah, one of the things, rafael, yeah, you also mentioned. How did you feel at the end of the day of that doing that at the end of the day of that, doing that At the end of the day, I tell you what, when I would leave that facility with all the crew, right, I would tell myself mentally when I get older, I'm not going to be in this position, I'm going to have definitely a career. I'm going to, you know, strive for the stars and if I land on a star and strive for the moon, whatever the case is, my mom would always teach that. So leaving at the end of the day was a very well-lessoned learned and I didn't understand it until now that I'm an adult why I was put in that position by my mother and it's rewarding At the time it was probably kind of like punishment.
Speaker 1:Why are you bringing me?
Speaker 2:here, absolutely At the time, you don't know any better.
Speaker 1:She's like why are we doing this now?
Speaker 2:Looking back, it's an amazing childhood I had. I can I mean, it's made me who I am today. I mean, obviously, my mother and God are number two.
Speaker 1:So question, because you said your mom was Mexican, your father was from Texas. What was like? The culture in the household? Was everything being celebrated throughout the year, all the different festivities and some of the cultural you know, I guess traditions?
Speaker 2:You know there was, but not so much. I mean, my mom was really Pentecostal Cristiana, so it was really hardcore Christian. So yeah, we celebrated here and then, but it wasn't like everything was a party. There was never alcohol or never tobacco or cigarettes in the household. I mean I never saw my father or my father or my siblings drink any substance, so it was pretty hardcore Christian. So not too much festivities where we would get all Latino crazy, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it was a good childhood man growing up, that's good man, because everybody I know was cinco de maring every day. It was one of those where they were just like what are you doing this weekend? Ah, we're just getting a bunch of coronas and you know, going especially my family, my family will party forever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was for the deals and the tias. But uh, I was uh hoping to go to those fiestas, right, and uh, no, I was never allowed to never allowed my mom would uh pull me back, and I was, I was, I was a church kid, so she would send me back to church oh okay, yeah, I know the pentecostal.
Speaker 1:My mom was a Pentecostal, you know Dominican. She was, you know, very tough woman when it came to that area. But it makes sense because I don't drink and I don't smoke. So there you go, all right, going into the business side of it. You know, you mentioned how it brought you to what you, you know, became today. What was the like? What inspired you to go into business and to kind of create your own company?
Speaker 2:A couple of things, rafael A good question, by the way. One of them was my mom was always an entrepreneur, herself Coming from another country. She never, you know, didn't have much education. However, she had a restaurant, she had a clothing store, she had rental property. So you know, it was always in my blood, believe it or not.
Speaker 2:I actually got a couple of degrees and I was going into law enforcement, being that, and did get a degree, I started doing what I'm doing today as a part-timer, so I started doing this and I loved it. It was talking to people, helping people. So one of the things that drove me to become a CEO and eventually, you know, do something for myself and my community, was number one. It was in my blood, it wasn't in my DNA to start. And number two is I was the only Latino that worked at that time. It was the second largest processor in the world by the name of National Processing Company, and the corporate office was Louisville, kentucky. So I handled most of the western region.
Speaker 2:So being there for 10 years and learning the culture. There was no Latinos. So, coming a kid from a small farm with no degree, no education, and I was able to allow that to the Latinos that had no education and I started penetrating the Latino market and then the executives at Louisville, kentucky, were like where's this kid coming? Where's he getting all these accounts, what's happening down there? But they, they, I mean I was bilingual, of course, and I was penetrating both markets and I just blew up in the Latino market, uh, here in Southern California, you know. So, uh, it was, it was a very rewarding, it was great. God's been good man.
Speaker 1:That's awesome because, like for me, I just started doing this as like a business guy. You know, I'm originally like we were talking off show where I was telling you I was a web developer, became a host, fell in love with being a host and then decided you know what I wanted to turn around and create Todo Wafi and put that plane out there. Some of the things that I've been struggling with, even while doing that, has been like okay, am I really a CEO? Like what? What is my way of shaping who I am? And so, do you have like those challenges in your mind when you were, when you were getting to that point where I think they call it today imposter syndrome, where you you kind of feel like you're, like you know you're a CEO, but you don't feel like you're there yet. If that means, at what point in your time did you kind of go through that stage?
Speaker 2:You know, and I still go through that stage and I wrestle with that Even today, I feel. You know, every day, day in, day out, I still talk to clients, I still talk to the account executives, I still talk to the banks executives, I still talk to the bank. So I camouflage man, I adapt and wrestle with that. I don't really carry my title. If you were to receive an email from me, I mean it has no title, it has just my name, and when my associates introduce me, they're like oh, this is Moses.
Speaker 2:They don't associate to me as like the president or the CEO, because that's not how I've always, you know, wore the hat. We always just portray ourselves like, hey, we're a team, we work together and together all of us achieve more. So we've always, I've always had that, you know, and it comes back from my schooling, from my mother. She never really portrayed to herself like to be the boss or do it this way or that way. Actually, we all sit in a roundtable like this, rafael, when we have structures or new marketing or new websites or things that we're doing within our internal company and some people can contest for that where we sit and make the decision as a group. Yeah, I, never the most recent mechanic in the account for that. We were there building marketing material and the new logo for us and a corporate facelift, I would say right.
Speaker 1:Been there, those are easy.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness. So we all got together in the conference room and everyone threw their opinions and we all came up with the solution. So I've always been one of those that like to get the team together, but at the end of the day listen, the harder decisions where there's going to be a financial burden on the company I take, I make those decisions because there's no one else to blame but myself.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree with that. And yeah, going back to going back to the branding it was, it was quite a bit because we we were originally the latino media company and then we realized everybody was the latino media company. Like everywhere we looked there was a latino media company, llc, or latino, and um, so we're like we need to change that. And then we went to wafi and then our logo was just very like microsoft looking and so it was good for a time frame and after a while I was looking at it I was just like it's time for a change like this. The, you know it's not colorful enough, it doesn't show the, the multi you know, multicultural side of us and the diversity of us. So that's where we got like the, the, you know, the wafi side.
Speaker 1:So I, yeah, and that was a process it was, you know yes, I do relate showing it and then getting it approved and then being you know, know, taking a bunch of surveys, and the same with the name of the show. We went through and we gave you know the name of the show has actually been chosen by the audience. Awesome that we have. We put it up for a vote. That's amazing, Very cool, All right. So what are some of the biggest challenges that you've faced? You know as a CEO.
Speaker 2:We as a company, as a CEO, experienced a lot of hurdles and struggles. Two that stand out the most, though, was when the recession crashed and the market fell in 2008, 9, 10, around that era, I mean, we a lot of businesses closed, right. There was chaos going on, and, thank God, we pivot. What did we do? We stopped a lot of company parties, a lot of Christmas parties, a lot of promotions. We tightened up One thing I'm very blessed about Sorry, I get emotional, man we didn't let nobody go.
Speaker 2:I didn't get rid of no one. So I stopped taking a salary and we kept everyone as a whole. That was a big struggle there, Right. So that was one of the big accomplishments and and struggles that we hit, so thank God. And then the second one I could tell you that it was obviously COVID. I mean everyone. I mean how many businesses closed down for COVID? We, actually, as a company, we closed down the office for 14 months, and what did I do again? Hey, you know, left the hands up in. God man said help me in stride you know, take me to the next level.
Speaker 2:What do I do? So again, you know, there goes. My salary didn't take a salary. We cut down, we pivoted, we had to restart, we closed it down for 14 months and we had to reshape ourselves and pivot and figure out how we can, you know, diversify with our company. You know, we that was a big struggle. There I mean not knowing the future, not knowing what was going to happen. So there's been a lot of them, but those two are the ones that stand out the most. Where who comes, who gets hit first is me, man. I mean'm the leader, I'll come down, I'll go down with, with my as a captain, with the ship. So I'm the one that took the hit with my salary. But my staff, uh, uh, continued to get their salaries and we moved on and and I, I was so excited when we came back, man, and we came back harder, stronger, and we're here today and, uh, I can tell you that we're very blessed because a lot of businesses didn't survive, and thank God for that man.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was. I mean, we're a digital media company, so it was kind of like the opposite, like I started this entire process when COVID hit. One of the reasons I was able to do it is because we were able to kind of have the time to be able to focus on the show and a lot of the process from that. But kudos to you, man, because one of the things that you see now is a lot of companies like laying off a bunch of people in order to try to save money, and these are some companies that, for the most part, have a really big, you know, wealth behind it and for whatever reason they feel like letting go of the people is the most like the where their costs should be going down instead of probably spending less on different things or different items or avenues that aren't even productive to the company.
Speaker 2:Rafael, right there what you just said. Man, that hits home. Right what you said. Listen, there's a lot of companies out there that the CEOs are taking bonuses but at the same time, they're laying off.
Speaker 1:You're laying off 2,000 people, but you're taking a $30 million bonus for the year. I mean what's?
Speaker 2:wrong with this? You're taking off 2,000 people but you're taking a $30 million bonus for the year. I mean, what's wrong with this world? You know, we've got to make it. We've got to do what's right, and what's right is helping each other out, lending a hand, like I said earlier, yeah, taking care of your people.
Speaker 1:First, you have to. Then, on that part, 100%, you were talking about you the fact that it is credit card processing, it's such a it's such a saturated field. So how did you take it to where you could be extremely competitive while that's taking place? Because, like you're saying, you're, you're in there with Apple pay and Google, you know, and Square, stripe, all these different companies. So what did you do, especially being a Latino, because it's even more of an accomplishment when you're in that realm what did you have to do in order to become just as competitive as some of these other companies?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, man, listen, I think they define it just like you have in your business, you pivot, you get creative, you have to think what and how can I beat my competition right? So, to give you an idea, here's a couple of things that I strategize right. So the difference between me and any other processor out there, uh, for instance, like a bank, like the big name banks I mean I can mention several of them you know that's my direct competition and we take their business all day long. I love those big banks, uh, that are well known.
Speaker 1:You said that all confidently. We're all looking at the camera like let me tell you why.
Speaker 2:See, here's the thing, the difference between us. Okay, number one is that we're both uh visa and msg registered. Right, so I'm. So I'm registered through that, so they have the same basic concept and fees that I have. Here's the thing they're more interested in your bank account, you're refinanced, your, your auto loan and, and they want the cd. Listen, global processing systems only cares about processing your credit cards and anything other than cash. So we focus and we are laser sharp in tune with that. So we can definitely modify things and help them, not only qualify, because some of the banks will not allow you to process with them because they're higher risk. Let's say Number one they don't have credit. Number two they can't finance the hardware. Number three is you know they're a startup company that the banks are like ah, we're not going to take the risk with you.
Speaker 1:So on that with the hardware, like if I'm, if I'm a company that's coming onto it, one of the biggest things that you're going to be asked is you know the rates and like what type of devices or you know what type of platform we'll be able to? Are the rates just as competitive as some of these banks and some of these other credit card processing companies?
Speaker 2:Absolutely A hundred percent, rafael. Let me explain that Because the banks are just like myself. Global processing systems is registered through Visa, mastercard, so, hello, they give you the same rates right Now. What happens is we can lower those as low as and thin as we can can go, because we don't have that box, uh cookie cutter that the banks have and like, hey, you have to stay within the circle, we're outside the circle, we're out there, we're hustling and bustling, we're creative and we can make a customer who's not, uh, credit savvy or credit worthy to apply for this type of POS.
Speaker 2:To give you an idea, there's been merchants who only speak Spanish and just came from another country, don't have a Social Security, and we let them and enable them to have the hardware where other banks would lease it to them or have to sell it. We're like you know what, as long as you process with us, we'll let you borrow this hardware and you can be our client. So, of course, they're never leaving us. We have customers, since the birth of the company, that have been processing with us because they're loyal customers to us.
Speaker 1:I'm going to pivot from the business aspect of that and into the personal life. One of the things that I know from a CEO or founder perspective and people make fun of me in is I work nonstop, like literally nonstop. And you know, even your people who have dealt with me can reach me at three o'clock in the morning. I'll still be there. Not that I want them to reach out to me at three o'clock in the morning, but in your like, in your case, how have you found a middle ground to be able to kind of deal with the company but at the same time, your personal life?
Speaker 2:I can tell you that that's something that I personally wrestle with daily. I've lost a lot of anniversaries, a lot of birthday friends, a lot of family gatherings because of the fact that you know, like you said, I eat and breathe the company and it's my baby. And right now I could say that I can afford it a little bit because the fact that I don't have children, I don't have a wife, right now I don't really have something that can tie me down. But at the end of the day, I'm just a game buster. I'm out there making deals, making things happen, but it is a struggle, it's a challenge.
Speaker 2:And now I'm somewhere in my day and age that I'm like okay, you know what I can afford if God blesses me with children and a wife to be soon Absolutely man. I mean, I'm all for the family and definitely we need a happy medium point. So it's not all about hustle, hustle, right, and I've had some older gentlemen that come up to me. It's like hey, listen, man, smell the roses, take a look back, look what you've accomplished. But I don't see that. I never look at that. I never see that. I don't look back, I just go one way and that's full speed ahead.
Speaker 2:But you know, I'm at a point in my life that I'm okay if children come my way, if God blesses me with that, hey man, all for it. But it is hard and, like I said, I felt it's. It's a struggle. It'll never end. It's always going to be a struggle. You uh, uh, you know, because at the end of the day, you're always putting your, your, your career first. You're putting your yeah, that's your baby, you know so. So it's tough for the fan.
Speaker 1:That's a tough one I put I put it on my story yesterday like even um, because we we, you know, as a team, one of the the things that we said, we're an internet media company. So when we started, you know, doing the show and so forth, one of the biggest struggles was, okay, who are we going to bring on as guests? We obviously know CEOs, we know founders and we were trying to bring in celebrity guests and so forth and, you know, we were able to kind of do that and I found myself having people celebrating me in DMs before I could if that made sense.
Speaker 1:And it wasn't until I saw the amount of DMs that I was getting, which was abnormal. I don't normally get that many DMs. I don't know that could say how many friends I have but I was getting, you know, an exuberant amount of DMs and that's when I realized I'm like, oh, okay, wow, we're like we accomplished something that was pretty big um in that. And for us I asked that question because I struggled too, like it was it was a part of that real where, or a part of that story where I was saying, you know, I don't celebrate a lot, I don't really take the time to do that, I'm just constantly focusing.
Speaker 1:I think a lot of people don't realize how much time you have to put into something in order for it to get to the level that you want to be. And then there's people out there in the social media who are like, oh, you know, if you know, if I could talk to the 20 year old version of me, I would have done things differently. Yeah, but that 20 year old version of you is what accomplished the 40-year-old version of you. So you really can't go and play Monday morning quarterback with somebody else's life because it took that amount of effort for you to get to where you were, and so it's going to have to take that amount of effort for anybody else to be able to get to that, unless they get like a lucky break, I guess, or something like that. But if they have to put their batteries at break, I guess, or something like that.
Speaker 1:Or but you know you're not going to see the rewards until you really get you know a sound, a sound product out there in a in a sound. You know, I guess you can say plan business plan to be able to get in there.
Speaker 1:Um, I want to talk about CEO percentages, because we're 20% of the of the country population wise, and I always the people creating businesses. But then when you go to, like Zipia, which keeps track of all of these things, you know, through job search and so forth, latinos make up only 7.9% of CEOs. Why, why is that number like that, and what do you think needs to happen in order for that to change?
Speaker 2:Rafael, you know what. I'm glad you asked that because this is something that I have given a lot of opportunities to individuals, and especially in the market, especially if they're bilingual. I was telling someone earlier this morning that you know we've been blessed enough now to go into Mexico and do business there for credit card processing. But to answer your question is we as Latinos need to start giving that younger youth and the Latinos an opportunity.
Speaker 2:I've seen so many challenges that we cannot keep our own Latinos down. We have to unite, man. We have to get, come together and lay a hand out there. You know for everyone and anyone that you can definitely help out, just to as a shout out, as a voice, as a handout If someone needs a way in, to, to a customer or even a presence like hey, we have to unite. You know, and I believe that that percentage can definitely grow if we come together and this is not a ship that we're all in it just for ourselves, man. We're all in it together and, like I said earlier, as a team. That's how I developed my corporation and together we'll all achieve more. So I believe that can definitely change if there's more people like yourself and like myself that come together and unite and help each other out.
Speaker 1:Did you experience gatekeepers as you were coming up in the ranks?
Speaker 1:Absolutely, man, and I laugh because— Within your own community, because that's the part that really bothers me it's like I will reach out to Latino organizations or Hispanic organizations and I'll present a vision and they'll just look at it like nope, it doesn't align with what we're doing, regardless of what capability they have to, you know, be able to kind of expand on another area, whereas I will reach into a different community and they'll just be like hey, you know what we got you, let's do that. Did you experience it, because I know I experienced it in the last couple of years.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Dealing with that years, absolutely dealing with that, absolutely, and that's what I meant. Uh, you know some people. Hopefully, thank you for elaborating a little bit so that way people don't have to read between lines. But yeah, absolutely that's what I meant. Hey, give, I'm extremely intentional, so that's like I'm gonna say it right into their face. No, latinos are gatekeepers.
Speaker 1:You know, this ain't shea shea, but it's one of those things where you know I gotta be, I gotta be honest, it's, it's, that's, that's out there We've, I'm experiencing it. You know, I experienced it last year, especially with revolution. We, we it took us a really long time to to, you know, get sponsorships for two specific panels like Afro Latinidad, lgbtqia, for whatever reason, they just didn't want to jump on that and be able to share those stories, and so that's the reason I ask you that, like as you as a CEO, have you experienced that?
Speaker 1:same those same type of people gatekeeping what you were trying to do to excel, or they could have provided that type of resources and it wouldn't have been even in competition, but still refused to.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And what we have to do, rafael, is not let that bring us down. I mean, we've partnered up with a lot of associations this past year. One of them is the Latino Business Association and we received an award from them. So what I do when those things happen to us and my staff? I tell them hey, listen, find an angle, find another way, because the roadblock's there, but you know what? They can't keep you down. So we can't just go in our shell and say, hey, listen, find an angle, find another way, because the roadblock's there, but you know what? They can't keep you down. So we can't just go in our shell and say, yeah, everyone's against me or they're holding me back. But to answer your question, yeah, they're out there and they're still going to continue to be out there, but we just need to know a way to turn it into a be positive, proactive and productive. Find a way. Yeah, you're a better person than I am.
Speaker 1:I put it on social media, I go and I put it on a story and I'm just like I spoke to somebody today and that's I mean I'm not, I'm not even holding back, because I think for me one of the most important things was always, you know, creating a table, creating a space where you know they always say you need a seat at the table, and I've noticed that it's really hard to get a seat at that table, and so what I started doing is I started creating the tables and I started allowing all of these seats.
Speaker 1:We, we promote a lot of businesses and a lot of, you know, small businesses to try to get them to elevate we, you know, we have a great product that's coming out called Just Period. She's just starting out, latina business owner. For us it was really important to kind of put her in that space that nobody else would give you know, and so for me, I just I'm I'm curious as a statistic, because the statistic doesn't match the population or what people are saying are the new business owners coming out? If I hear that 29, 25.9 percent of all businesses are being created by latinos, I should be hearing that there should be 25.9% CEOs or business owners out there, 100%, you know. So something just doesn't match with the reporting that's being done, with whoever's doing that reporting and the other. So yeah, just curious about that, you know.
Speaker 2:No, I hear you 100%. You know I appreciate what you're doing for the small latinos, uh businesses out there in general.
Speaker 1:I mean, uh, you know, uh, my staff speaks very highly of you and your company, so continue supporting us now you're gonna make me blush right in the middle of a whole last, I was like somebody give me no one paid me for this either. No so continue. All of a sudden, he's checking his phone. Oh oh, so yeah, that was a good investment.
Speaker 2:Thank you, rafael, I mean you guys are killing it out there and it's an honor and I'm blessed, just like I said earlier to be here in your presence, man. That's awesome, so you mentioned the award.
Speaker 1:So that's a Latin community. Help him receive the award for 2023 Business of the Year, and it was presented by the latino business association.
Speaker 2:What was your reaction to to receiving that, you know, just to be nominated, uh. So, you know, one of my staff members at the office said, hey, listen, uh, you know we belong to this association and our company's nominated. I'm like, okay, okay, great, you know, it's good to be nominated. So, uh, we attended the gala. You know I had to go get a tux. You know I had to shine the shoes I had to. You know, look presentable, right Shave, I mean, look at that, I'm over here going to get that camisa like a dad shirt.
Speaker 1:He's over here with a three-piece suit.
Speaker 2:So, you know, we took some key executives from the company and I think there was a total of 10 of us that went not some key executives from the company, and I think there was a total of 10 of us that went not expecting anything, to be honest, with you, other than being surrounded by a lot of entrepreneurs and a lot of movement and shakers out there. So we were having a great gala, a great dinner and, sure enough, one of the awards, and they mentioned global processing systems and Moses. I'm like I turned around like, wow, this is really happening. So, you know, I I didn't accept the word on my by myself. I took my whole table with me, I took all my executives with me, went to the podium and, first of all, I'm like an.
Speaker 1:Oscars type thing Did you? Everybody at the Oscars? Everybody was behind you.
Speaker 2:So you know I thank God of course first and my mother, and then I, everyone I'm. You know I thank God of course first and my mother, and then everyone, you know everyone that was with me. So we, like I do everything else, I do it as a team man, as a team, and so definitely I don't do anything, I can't do anything by myself. It all takes an army man to make it happen.
Speaker 1:So the award itself. What were some of the I guess some of the requirements to be even nominated for the award?
Speaker 2:You have to do a certain volume, amount and have the presence in the Latino community. So we made a lot of connections and partnerships that the LBA themselves had referred us clients. So we were fortunate enough, not only that we received those clients and we also were able to help them excel on their merchant services and lowering their fees and the other referrals. So there was a lot of presence there that we were able to help and that's how that came about, where, beyond me I mean my staff is doing such a great job that I had no idea they were doing all that. Of course I know they're working every day, right, they get a paycheck, but I really don't know to how extent. So it's it was really uh, uh, I was really honored and it was a blessing to get that. Uh, just, you know, it came about, uh, out of nowhere so what would you say?
Speaker 1:because I think for us, you know, it's really important to be able to partner with, with organizations that the support the latino community. Um, I don't know if you even that number, but what would you say? The percentage of the businesses that you have that are under the global processing system are Latino, hispanic-oriented?
Speaker 2:That's a good question, rafael, because I can tell you that we get a term, I mean, every time HR hires and she's a huera, right, so she's always like, okay, we have to get bilingual, of course, because we have that presence, right, so she has to call someone in there to make sure that can, uh, you know, speak the language and do the uh, uh, read and write Spanish, right, because we have such a presence in that. And I couldn't tell you the percentage, but I would say it would be in the high forties, high forties.
Speaker 1:That's a pretty big number?
Speaker 2:Yes, that we have To give you an idea. We do critical process throughout the country Miami, texas, mexico, throughout the states, even Alaska, hawaii, wherever there's presence. Now, like I mentioned earlier, we're stepping into Mexico. That's a big accomplishment for us.
Speaker 1:Looking back and looking at what you've accomplished. What are you most proud of?
Speaker 2:One of the things, rafael, that really gets me emotional about what I'm proud of is seeing my people rise, man, seeing some of the guys that walked in. They didn niggles two nickels to rub together, you know, and there's a lot of success stories there, uh, that they went up the ranks and they've been with me for 20 years uh, some 15, some 12, and now they've bought homes. Now they've uh got married and they bought another second home and now they use it as rental property. So if you're to say, hey, moses, like you asked me that right now, it it's like just seeing, just seeing my employees uh succeed. That's that's really. That's really rewarding to me and touching, because I I remember how I started, uh, and where God had blessed me, and just looking back and seeing my staff and taking taking a snapshot of my staff and, uh, several of them, I can tell you that'm very proud of them, where they are at today.
Speaker 1:Man, that's an amazing answer. You almost got me there. I was about to get tissues.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:So if people wanted to utilize the service and go and, you know, be a part of the global processing system, which we recommend, by the way how would they go about doing that? How would they start that process?
Speaker 2:absolutely they can. Uh, uh. First of all, they would have to mention rafael, of course, and told latino, you know they'd have to mention you and we'll give them, uh, uh, definitely, a promotion where there's no, we'll loan them something, not even charge them, and we'll lower the rate. So if they mention uh yourself, uh, they can go on my ig, where it's moses heredia, and DM me and we'll definitely get them on board and help them out.
Speaker 1:All right, guys, you heard it here. Look, it was amazing, obviously talking to you, that the you know just from the inception of what you had to go through all the way to what you've accomplished now, for you know, with global processing systems, and I'm sure that your staff is just extremely proud to be a part of that. Um, you know, kudos to you, man, I give you as as an hermano. As you know, as a fellow latino, it's inspiring to see somebody go up the ranks like that, especially with everything that you had to go through, and can't wait to work with you. You know, through the entire year I know we work together with Revolution and so forth, with the credit part, processing part, on our side, so really excited about that. But thank you for joining us man.
Speaker 2:No, thank you for having me. It's been an honor and a pleasure meeting you today. Blessings to you and your company. You're doing well. You're killing it out there.
Speaker 1:I'm happy to have this opportunity to share with you. Thank you so much for having us guys. You can catch this interview on all of our social media platforms. Just go to the todo wafi or todo latino. You can go on youtube. You can go to all of your favorite listening apps, whether it's apple, spotify. I'm rafael, that is moses, and we're out.
