CrossCheck Blog

“Today is the slowest technology will be in our lifetime,” said Xerox President and COO Steve Bandrowczak in a Corporate Board Member article. “The pace of change will accelerate and leadership skills and leading through change are going to create a tremendous amount of winners and losers.” His observation about speed should hold true in places where electricity and internet connections are commonplace while his insights on leadership sound like a corporate application of natural selection.

Did you ever wonder what happens when you use your credit card at a merchant to buy goods or services? If you’re like most people, you probably never give these type of electronic payments a second thought. You just know that everything happens magically and instantly as you insert your chip in the reader or swipe the card, or enter the card information into the merchant’s online payment gateway. The next time you see it is when you get the bill from your card issuing bank a few weeks later. There is a lot going on behind the scenes, and it is pretty interesting how it all works. Here is a high level view of that process, but first a little background.

“TRANSACT is the one show focused solely on the business of payments technology,” states its producer, the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the world’s largest payments industry trade group. Payments technology, however, is not the only focus. There are no less than 11 opportunities for electronic payments experts to socialize with peers, vendors and organizers over food and beverages.

TRANSACT 2019 is where professionals working in electronic payments want to be. ETA, the leading organization in electronic payments, presents its annual conference April 30 to May 2 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The event features three-plus days of seminar sessions, keynote presentations by leaders in payments technology, an exhibit hall, and networking events such as business luncheons and dinners, galas and awards presentations, and a golf tournament.

If you’re reading the CrossCheck blog, you’re undoubtedly interested in what’s happening in the payments industry and may be attending TRANSACT 17, the mega trade event produced by the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA). CrossCheck’s Partner & ISO Relations department will be behind booth 924 to discuss lifetime residuals for ISOs, our most popular merchant programs, and Focus, our desktop app that places merchants one click away from check guarantee services. Those of us who have been here for a while tend to forget there are many new entrants every year: new merchant-level salespeople and independent sales organizations (ISOs), new vendors, new payment platforms and new hardware manufacturers — it’s a busy place!

Every April, the Electronic Transactions Association, known as the ETA, holds its annual conference. This is the Main Event for people working in the payments industry. You can see the agenda at the Transact16 conference website and register to attend. The show is typically held in Las Vegas every other year, and this year it returns to Mandalay Bay April 19-21. Last year it was in our backyard, San Francisco. It is the ultimate networking opportunity for anyone in what used to be called the credit card industry, but also has multiple seminars on current topics in “Payments,” as well as a very large trade show floor, which is challenging to cover in depth in the time available.

See us at Transact 15, Booth 1002

CrossCheck is Exhibiting at ETA's Transact 15, Booth 1002 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, March 31st - April 2nd

Staying current in the payments industry is a challenge. Blink and there's a new digital wallet or app on the market. New inventions, associations, regulations and software innovations are emerging at lightning speed. Move too fast, you might invest in the wrong technology, move too slowly, you could be stuck with yesterday’s equipment and obsolescence. What’s a payment provider (or business who works with one) to do? Here are a few suggestions that can keep you in the know rather than in the dark.

It’s my fifth day here in New Orleans. Day one – fly in. Day two – set up booth. Day three – look sharp for the evening reception. Day four – attend opening session, get inspired!, staff booth, meet a million new contacts, celebrate 30th anniversary, give away iPad, tweet, go to the Discover party, return to hotel, collapse. Day five – catch up on everything I didn’t do yesterday and then pack up. Wow! What a whirlwind. But I’m ready to start it all again tomorrow and here’s why.