Inspiring Conversations with Phil Beniamino of Cost Plus Processing LLC

Today we’d like to introduce you to Phil Beniamino.

Hi Phil, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Well, I started as a young boy growing up in a small town in upstate NY called Geneva. Having no water as a child taught me how important the little things are in life that we take for granted. My father worked for Pepsi for 42 years without missing a day of work while my mother worked 4 to 5 jobs always hustling to survive. My Parents worked hard but had to save up thousands of dollars to try and dig a well for water. Unfortunately, if the well came up dry they would lose their money, which happened multiple times. Finally, when we hit water after failing 3-4 times, we got the smelly water and had to get water softeners to be able to use if for laundry and flushing the toilets. Prior to that we would go next door and fill up buckets of water to do our dishes and to flush our toilets. I remember as a child every Friday around the house became divorce court as my parents would argue over bills and which ones could get paid and which ones had to wait. This tore me up always wondering with my sister if this happened who would we go with. This is when I realized that money was definitely something everyone needs to live and to relieve stress in life. This is what drove me as a young boy. I would wake up at 3:00am in the morning and go to the farms to pick corn with my mother before school and then after school I would go back to pick strawberries or apples. Whatever I could do to help my family. I was the kid always doing what people thought I couldn’t do. “You can’t beat this kid in wrestling, you can’t get into college, you can’t play football in college” These were just some of the things I would hear and so I proved them all wrong. After finishing college, I became a school teacher and coach for two years in NY. I was awarded rookie of the year the first year and teacher of the year the second year and that’s when I decided I wanted more in life. My grandmother told me “Take a chance, Columbus did”. Which brought me to Atlanta, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I didn’t want someone to tell me what I could make or what I was worth. I started working with a gorilla marketing group learning that walking door to door and gaining business was a lot easier for me than people thought it would be, it just came naturally. This inspired me to start my first business selling advertisements to businesses which I would later sell in life. Becoming a single dad and fighting for full custody of my child during a part of my life forced me into the corporate world again. Here I did mortgages at night and merchant processing during the day. I worked my way to top and became Vice President of a company that would later go against all my values in business. This is when I opened Cost Plus Processing myself, changing the market and opening the books to merchants and letting them know what true cost was when processing cards in their business. I also learned that there is a front end and a back end in the processing world and decided I would also own a piece of that. I have also owned multiple other businesses along the way where some I exited for a profit. For example, some of my endeavors such as: A Fast Way Out Bail Bonds, Defyne Direct Payments, Hollywood Properties, P&K Consultant’s, Hollywood Limos, Roccos Exotic Cars, Atlanta Xplosion Women’s Professional Football Team, Wam Bam’s Podcast, BR Builders, BT Builders, PBCW Builders, NOD Performance Institute to name a few. I was also in a movie recently as the sub lead role of “Vinnie The Viper” in Blood Money Vengeance. I am a devoted family man and carry a strong faith in God.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No lol. Having a child at a young age and fighting for custody from a woman in Georgia who I wasn’t married to during the OJ Simpson time. Visited every jail in Georgia because I wouldn’t give up. The one company I was VP of also the owner screwed me out of 8 million dollars. After 2 years of going through courts I took a settlement, winning because I was bleeding too much money in attorney fees. Lost a lot to learn a lot.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I built Cost Plus with the foundation of providing merchants with knowledge of the industry, loyalty, trust, and the true meaning of lifelong relationships. I am continuously trying to better myself as CEO, by staying involved. Cost Plus has over a 100 years of experience and counting. Cost Plus Processing brings strong leadership and knowledge to the credit card world by providing you with quality customer service. The term “Cost Plus” refers back to the interchange rates charged by Visa, Amex, Discover, and MasterCard. The “Plus” is our company’s gross profit, allowing us to be competitive with the industries rates. I have an immense amount of passion for not only the credit card industry, but for helping people. My biggest excitement is helping to make others millionaires. You can purchase my book on amazon “Money Management For Beginners!”

What matters most to you? Why?
God/Family God/Family without God I can’t do anything in my life and without family you don’t always find Purpose in life to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.costplusprocessingllc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wambamspodcast/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Wam-Bams-Podcast/100093606306095/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Twitter: https://x.com/WamBamPodcast
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lifeofwambam
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@wambampodcast

Image Credits
Will Mouldenhour