NEAA delivers again in Boston

The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel set the scene for the Northeast Acquirers Association's annual gathering from Jan.13 to 15, 2016. And Boston's newly developed Seaport district was a fitting backdrop for payments' longest-running regional show, which continues to evolve in response to the ever-changing payments industry. Approximately 90 exhibitors and 575 attendees used the NEAA's mobile app and Twitter hashtag #NEAA16 throughout the event.

In its 31st annual conference, the organization furthered its mission to educate and empower merchant acquiring professionals. Established in 1985, the nonprofit, non-membership regional association works diligently to offer vibrant, relevant programs that provide both educational fare and networking opportunities.

This year, association leaders hosted an appreciation dinner for new and long-standing sponsors on Tuesday evening, Jan. 12. A professional photographer treated exhibitors and attendees to free LinkedIn headshots. Even the weather cooperated; a few diminutive snowflakes added sparkle to the evenings without causing inconvenience.

Breakout sessions

Following is a sampling of the breakout sessions held Wed., Jan. 13:

• Electronic Transaction Association: The ETA's collaborations with regional payments associations have been highly praised by many as beneficial for the industry. The association hosted an ISO meeting and separate course titled "Introduction to Electronic Processing" from the ETA's College of General Studies.

• American Express Co. Tool and Resource Center: NEAA platinum sponsor AmEx hosted a session for ISOs designed to help merchant level salespeople acquire and engage merchants and promote the value of AmEx Card acceptance to their customers.

• Women's Network in Electronic Transactions: W.net hosted a two-person panel discussion exploring the intergenerational workplace. Millennial executives Alexis King of National Merchants Association LLC and Natalia Tango of CardFlight Inc. shared insights on how to work with this up-and-coming demographic segment.

• Catapult 2016 Innovation Program: Five finalists from the NEAA's 2016 startup competition had 10 minutes each to present their visions to a general audience and five-judge panel. First place winner IRIS CRM (from Integrated Reporting is Simple LLC) won $1,000 and a complimentary exhibit space in the Payments Next Zone at Transact 16: Powered by ETA, which is coming up April 17 through 21. Runner-up MePOS Electronics Ltd. won $500. Third place winner POPcodes Inc. won $300. Fourth place and $200 went to Click a Waiter Inc. and fifth place winner Pegasus CRM (from Pegasus Software) won $100. Competitors were judged on originality, revenue opportunity, presentation quality and impact to the market. As one judge said, "Without developers, our industry would have disappeared a long time ago."

Panels, keynotes

The NEAA's general session offered an array of viewpoints and presentations from industry leaders, including the following:

• Compliance, regulation and Capitol Hill: Deana Rich, Principal at Rich Consulting, moderated a legislative panel with Joan Herbig, Chief Executive Officer at ControlScan Inc.; Scott Talbott, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at the ETA; and Holli Targan, Partner at Jaffe, Raitt, Heuer & Weiss, PC. In closing statements, Targan encouraged attendees to "be transparent in dealings with customers and do the right thing." Herbig said to put security first and compliance will follow. "Put yourself in merchants' shoes in order to help them," Herbig advised. Talbott noted that the payments industry is in the government's crosshairs. "Work with others and serve your customers in a way that protects yourselves and our industry," Talbott said.

• Alternative lending, not so alternative : Kevin Woodward, Senior Editor at Digital Transactions, moderated a panel discussion with several leading executives from the alternative lending space: Mark Cerminaro, Chief Revenue Officer at RapidAdvance; Jason Rockman, Vice President Brand Marketing at CAN Capital Inc.; and John D'Amico, Managing Director at GRP Funding LLC, shared insights on how a variety of finance solutions can add value to merchant services.

• Realities and misconceptions about high-risk processing: Alexis King, Director of Partner Relations at National Merchants Association, moderated a panel discussion on high-risk processing with Heather Petersen, CEO, National Merchants Association; Nichole Pierce, President, CardMax Payments LLC; and Chris Dryden, Partner, Global Legal Resources LLP.

• Mobile market and payments industry evolution: Individual presenters explored the evolution of the mobile and payments industries. Will Graylin, Global Co-General Manager at Samsung Pay, shared Samsung Pay's innovation road map. Greg Cohen, President of iPayment Inc. and ETA President, addressed how to adapt to change and capitalize on the future of payments. Cohen encouraged audience members to think of themselves not only as payment professionals, but also as part of the retail value chain.

• How ISOs and acquirers can make an impact with big data: A panel discussion moderated by Brooke Ybarra, Manager, First Annapolis Consulting and featuring Charles Hogan, President and CEO at Tranzlogic LLC; Dave Hoffman, Vice President Business Development at Swipely Inc.; and Barry Davis, Vice President Business Development at Womply Inc., explored use cases and best practices related to the use of data analytics.

• In memoriam: NEAA participants and friends shared reminiscences of two influential payment professionals who recently passed away: Michael Grossman, Executive Vice President of Dejavoo Systems, and David Hurley, a long-time NEAA member and President at National Electronic Access, a New York ISO.

Editorial Note:

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