According to experts, we might expect another economic downturn in 2020 or 2021. Transaction processing cost reduction is one of the ways to offset the negative impact of potential recession. The basic steps in this direction that merchant services industry players should take include: negotiating better credit card processing terms with acquirers and processors based on consolidated processing volumes; automating the basic processes, such as merchant on-boarding and funding; and making these processes more transparent for sub-merchants. Thus, they will be able to reduce both direct and indirect costs related to transaction processing. If you are seriously considering the prospect of switching to a new processing solution, now might be the best time for the transition. Implementation of a new gateway platform, that will allow you to save more on processing costs, takes at leas several months, and this might be just as much time as we have until the next economic downturn.