The Changing Landscape of Payments Takes Center Stage at TRANSACT

LAS VEGAS, April 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) brought together the payments technology ecosystem for the second day of TRANSACT to connect, learn and display the latest products and services that will shape the future of the payments. Featuring more than 200 exhibitors, 40 educations sessions and 120 speakers, TRANSACT is the world's largest gathering of the payments technology industry. 

"The payments industry is undergoing significant change spurred by rapid technological innovation and new partnerships which will define our future," said Jason Oxman, president of ETA. "TRANSACT brings together latest trends, technologies, and products under one roof. We are in the golden age of payments innovation, powered by ETA members. TRANSACT allows us to foster the next generation of payments making commerce more secure, convenient, and rewarding for merchants and consumers."

Keynotes

Partnerships between software and hardware companies are the future of the payments industry. During the morning keynote, Poynt founder and CEO, Osama Bedier and talech CEO and co-founder, Irv Henderson announced a partnership that will enable talceh's suite of software on the Poynt terminal, unlocking new capabilities for merchants to take more than just payments on their payment terminal. "The core thing we are trying to solve is to reduce business owners' stress. Software, if well executed, makes that work so simple," said Henderson.  

Jess Turner, senior vice president of digital payments, Mastercard, was joined by TS Anil, head of global products, Visa; Amy Parsons, senior vice president and head of global acceptance and customer experience, Discover Financial Services; and Garrett Goff, global payments, fraud, analytics, Netflix for a conversation on shaping the future of digital payments through their endorsement of the EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce technical framework. The card companies announced they will leverage EMV Payment Tokenization to create a simple, streamlined verification and consistent digital shopping experience while decreasing fraud. "The consumer will see a consistent experience, so that they feel safe and secure in knowing their transaction is happening as it should," stated Turner.

During the Future of Commerce keynote, Kim Fitzsimmons, U.S. president, Chase Commerce Solutions; Jennifer Miles, executive vice president North America, Ingenico; Reetika Greewal, head of payments and strategy solutions, Silicon Valley Bank; and Julie Pukas, head of U.S. bankcard and merchant solutions, TD Bank had a comprehensive discussion on the future of omnichannel and digital commerce. "The expectations have changed around payments. Payments is not the centerpiece anymore. It's the experience around the payment that has evolved." stated Grewal. 

Traditional payments companies like Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), merchant acquirers and processors, and hardware manufacturers must nimbly adapt to new technology and opportunities to seize the future of payments. Executives Jamie Walker, CEO, Elavon; Paul Galant, CEO, Verifone; and Neil Randel, CEO, First American Payments provided insight on how to thrive in this ever-evolving space. "Payments is an 'and' business not an 'or' business. Experiences have to be finessed. Everything that matters going forward is software," stated Galant.

Payments Pitch-Off and Star Awards

The Payments Pitch-Off, sponsored by Vantiv, now Worldpay, included ten participants who pitched their groundbreaking payments solutions before a panel of venture capitalists and payments executives. After a lengthy deliberation, Matt Ozvat, head of developer integrations at Vantiv now Worldpay, announced the Payments Pitch-Off winner as Modo, a cloud-based payments utility that works with banks, networks, payments processors and their partners to enable interoperability between systems. Stephen A. Aschettino of Loeb & Loeb LLP also presented Menusifu's Restaurant Go app, a contactless and human-free payment solution, enabling diners to pay anywhere in the restaurant, the Crowd Favorite prize.

The day prior at the Visa's Presidents Dinner and Star Awards Gala, ETA announced the winners of the 2018 Star Awards. The awards honor individuals and companies that have made a significant difference in the payments industry through innovation, business practices, or contributions to the association. Henry Helgeson, President, Integrated Solutions for TSYS, was honored as the Distinguished Payments Professional; Mastercard received Business Partner of the Year; David Leppek, of Transaction Services, was awarded Committee Volunteer of the Year; iPayment, Inc received ISO/Merchant Sales Organization of the Year; FIS won the Pay It Forward award; and IRIS CRM was selected to receive the Technology Innovation award.  

TRANSACT, April 17-19, 2018, brings together all parts of the payments ecosystem ? from ISOs/VARs to ISVs and large financial institutions to technology companies, to meet, see what's new, and learn what it takes to grow. Through extensive networking events, education and a robust exhibit hall filled with more than 200 companies, attendees learn about groundbreaking technology, trends and policies affecting the industry.

For media inquiries, contact Laura Hubbard at 202.677.7406 or [email protected].

About ETA

The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the global trade association representing more than 500 payments and technology companies. ETA members make commerce possible by processing more than $6 trillion in purchases in the U.S. and deploying payments innovation to merchants and consumers.

SOURCE ETA