Criticom antes up

IRVINE, Calif.--Whereas some central stations lure new dealers with free monitoring, Criticom International announced at the ISC East conference in New York this week a program that offers interest-free loans based on the amount of accounts transferred to the company. The cash advance incentive program, or CAIP, is available to any dealer that does not monitor 100 percent of its accounts with the company. Tom Few, Jr., vice president of marketing and sales for Criticom, said the company envisions attracting business people that seek financing for either professional or personal reasons. The company will not distinguish between the two when entering into this agreement. Dealers with any number of accounts are eligible for the program, whether their portfolio has fewer or more than 100 accounts. Although there are several different financing options available, one example is a dealer with 100 accounts, of which 80 are not monitored by the company. Dealers can enter into a five-year contract with Criticom; during that time, it is understood that the dealer will simultaneously experience attrition and expansion. In one scenario, Criticom will advance a 10-times multiple on those 80 accounts transferred to the central station at a $5 monthly monitoring fee. Those accounts are then valued at $4,000 and the dealer receives an interest-free loan. Every year for five years, Criticom will waive 20 percent of that amount until the fifth year and then the entire amount is forgiven. Therefore, that dealer owes nothing on the amount Criticom provided when the contract started. "You owe me no interest, no principal and you own the accounts," Few said. "I think it is a huge opportunity compared to what our competitors are offering." For more on this story, see the September issue of Security Systems News.