Just Good Business 🍁 – Details, episodes & analysis

Al welcomes Douglas Porter, Chief Economist at the Bank of Montreal, to the podcast to discuss Canada’s current economic landscape. They delve into topics such as Canada's economic performance in the first quarter of 2025 and the effects of trade wars with the U.S. on Canadian businesses and consumers. 

Porter shares valuable advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs navigating this uncertain economic climate. He also offers his perspectives on the 'Buy Canadian' movement and inter-provincial trade barriers, and what they could mean for the economy.

 To lighten the mood, Sean McCormick, VP of Business Development at Moneris Data Services, joins Al to share early consumer spending data from this year’s NHL Playoffs.

Links of Interest:

• BMO Economics
• Moneris Data Services

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

Rising costs, labour shortages, sustainability, and yes, tariffs, these are just a few of the challenges facing the food service industry in Canada. What is being done about it? Al sits down with Max Roy, VP of Federal and Quebec at Restaurants Canada to talk about it.

Also, we all know how important trust is in business, but how do you measure trust? Bruce MacLellan, Chair at Proof Strategies has been measuring trust in Canada for the past decade and each year they release the Cantrust Index to share their findings. Al speaks with Bruce about their findings.

Links of Interest:

• Restaurants Canada
• RC Show 2025
• Proof Strategies
• CanTrust Index
• Moneris’ ESG Report

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

As an entrepreneur in this country you may not be aware of all the help available to your business, and frankly, who has time to research? 

In this special bonus episode of Just Good Business we do the work for you. James Hicks, President and CEO of Moneris has a sit-down with the Honourable Rechie Valdez, Federal Minister of Small Business to talk about the state of small businesses in Canada, and some of the supports available to entrepreneurs and small business owners and where to find them.

Links of Interest:

• Government of Canada Benefits Finder

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

Al meets with 4 members of Team Moneris. All of them have represented Canada in international competition, all of them elite athletes, and all of them are part of Moneris’ sales team.

What is it about sales that attracted them to a career in sales? What is it about their pursuit of athletic excellence that makes them good sales professionals? How can you apply this knowledge to your sales process?

Listen now to find out.

Also in this episode:

• Mallory McWirtier, Sr. Social Media Specialist at Moneris cohosts.
• Jacqueline Tsai, Head of Client Relationships at Interac talks about Moving Day in Quebec.
• Sean McCormick, Director Business Development at Moneris shares consumer spending data.
• Teagan Hollenberg, Communications Intern at Moneris talks about July's events calendar

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

June is National Indigenous History Month and to celebrate, we’re talking about Indigenous business development in Canada. Al welcomes Hosna Kadary, National Market Leader Zero Barriers to Business at BMO to talk about the support programs available for Indigenous Entrepreneurs in Canada and to share some of their success stories.

Also in this episode:

• Sydney Lupton, Marketing Intern at Moneris cohosts.
• Jessie Bell, Senior Product Manager at Moneris talks about Moneris’ latest integration with Apple Tap to Pay on iPhone.
• Sean McCormick, Director Business Development at Moneris shares consumer spending data around the 2024 NHL Playoffs

Links of Interest:

• Building trust with Indigenous businesses
• Specialty Lending: Zero Barriers to Business
• Slapshots and Spending Sprees: How the NHL Playoffs Put Canadian Cities on a Power Play

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

It’s May, and while in many parts of Canada we had a milder than usual winter, it seems Spring is taking its time getting started, but it’s here now. That means the start of tourist season.

So how can your business take full advantage of this year’s tourist season? What can we expect after a few years of rising numbers out of the pandemic? Is there still room for more growth?

Al welcomes Joe Passarelli from Discover Global Network to talk about what to expect from the upcoming tourist season and what advice he might have for businesses in tourist areas.

Also in this episode:

• Niyati Budhiraja, Blog Content Specialist at Moneris cohosts.
• Sean McCormick, Director Business Development at Moneris shares consumer spending data around tourist season.
• Sydney Lupton, Digital Marketing Intern presents the final instalment of Merchant Journey
• Daniel Stranges, Senior Events & Sponsorship Specialist talks about May’s events calendar

Links of Interest:

• Starry-Eyed Spending: The 2024 Total Eclipse doubles consumer spending in Niagara Falls and Hamilton
• Discover Global Network
• Discover Signage
• Saving Graze

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

This month we’re talking about the RC Show by Restaurants Canada. It’s Canada’s leading foodservice & hospitality expo. Al talks to Anna Pham, Director of Content & Programming at Restaurants Canada about what to expect at this year’s show and how you can make the most of your visit. Al is also joined by Maryam Saeed, Chief Risk Officer at Visa Canada to talk fraud prevention and what entrepreneurs can do to keep their business safe from fraudsters.

Also in this episode:

• René-Pier Plourde, Content Marketing Manager at UEAT cohosts.
• Sydney Lupton, Digital Marketing Intern presents the fourth instalment of Merchant Journey
• Matt Rovet, Senior Events Producer at Moneris talks about April’s busy events calendar

Links of Interest:

• eCommerce North
• RC Show
• Ecommerce Success Blueprint: Your Ultimate Guide to Marketing and Shipping
• UEAT
• Saving Graze

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

This month’s episode is going to have a sport theme, but if you don’t follow sports you may want to listen anyway because it’s about how sporting events affect your business.

Last month a couple of major sporting events took place. One, we cannot legally mention—it involves American football, Taylor Swift and Usher. The other big event was the NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto.

Whenever there is a bid for a large sporting event, a new sport venue, or even a new team, you’ll hear owners and politicians talk about the positive economic impact it will have on business in the area. This month we’ll share with you some real data showing that impact. Is it real? Listen to find out.

Also in this episode:

• Sean McCormick, Director Business Development at Moneris co-hosts and takes us Behind the Numbers.
• René-Pier Plourde, Content Marketing Manager at UEAT shares restaurant data from last month’s big events.
• Sydney Lupton, Digital Marketing Intern presents the third instalment of Merchant Journey

Links of Interest:

• Saving Graze
• UEAT
• Moneris Data Services

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

February is the perfect month to show your customers some love! To help you with that, we’re going to share some helpful tips you can use to boost sales leading up to this Valentine’s Day.

We’ll also bring you the second instalment in our Merchant Journey series with Sydney Lupton featuring Saving Graze.

Also in this episode:

• Sam Wong, Marketing Strategy Manager at Moneris co-hosts.
• Kip Macartney, Director of Emerging & Value Add Services/Products at Moneris is our expert on gift cards.
• Sydney Lupton, Digital Marketing Intern presents the second instalment of Merchant Journey
• Amber Lynn, Solution Sales Consultant at Moneris
• Ella Urquhart, Events Manager at Moneris  gives a rundown of February’s events calendar.

Links of Interest:

• Saving Graze
• Valentine’s Day Spending on Significant Others to Reach New Record, NRF Survey Shows
• Is Your Small Business Ready to Win Hearts This Valentine’s Day?

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.

We hope you had a safe and happy holiday season!

This time of year, many businesses are getting back to normal after a busy holiday retail season, others are just getting back to work after a welcome break.

As we all look ahead to what 2024 may bring, it is common to make resolutions for the coming year. These usually involve some form of self-improvement. Businesses are no different. If their fiscal year lines up with the calendar, right now, they are setting up their resolutions—or goals and targets—for the coming year. What are your business’ resolutions? Don’t have any? Maybe we can help you think of some.

Also in this episode:

• Rick Stephan, Director, Digital Channels co-hosts.
• Sydney Lupton, Digital Marketing Intern presents the first instalment of Merchant Journey

Links of Interest:

• Forbes Article: Five Practical Small Business New Year’s Resolutions For 2024
• Saving Graze

Subscribe now!

If you have a payment-related or business question you’d like to submit to one of our experts, you can email us at podcast@moneris.com.

Just Good Business is a Moneris podcast production hosted by Al Grego.