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Trade Association News

The associations' events are listed in the Trade Show directory available on the Green Sheet Online. Additional information on the meetings, such as agendas and direct links for registration and hotels, are on our Web site when available. If you know of an association that is not listed or if you have a question you would like posted to the associations, please write to me at julie@greensheet.com.

NEAA Meeting Report

The 2003 summer meeting of the Northeast Acquirers Association took place June 11-12 in Atlantic City, N.J. This was a very successful meeting, with more than 325 attendees. The vendor comments were unanimously positive, and the consensus was that this show was highly focused on the Merchant Level Salesperson (MLS).

As I met with each of the vendors in the expo area, several factors for this meeting's success became apparent:

  • The expo organization created a level playing field for all of the vendors represented. Each vendor was allocated an identical skirted table and the same amount of floor space, and signage was limited.

  • The "low-hype" expo atmosphere was very conducive to conversation and networking. All of the vendors reported "closing more deals" than at other industry events.

  • Organizers purposely limited the number of vendors, enabling attendees to focus on each of the business offerings instead of becoming overwhelmed by the expo floor.

  • Networking opportunities included substantial vendor-to-vendor partnership building.

The NEAA seminar presentations were focused on business opportunities for the MLS. Each presentation was a concise 45-minute discussion. Presenters included American Express, STAR Network, MasterCard and Visa International. We will have detailed articles on each of the presentations in future issues of The Green Sheet.

Alan Forgione, Nancy Austin, Jacques Breton and the rest of the NEAA board deserve a substantial round of applause for their successful efforts in organizing this meeting. I had the opportunity to speak with many attendees who shared their enthusiasm for the event with me. Universally, the sales professionals I spoke with said:

  • The meeting was affordable and easy to attend.

  • It presented a high level of business opportunity.

  • They would recommend the meeting for peers in the Northeast.

The GS staff will attend each of the regional acquirers association meetings in the coming months. We look forward to the opportunity to support these events and would encourage our readers to attend the event in your area. The future meetings will be highlighted in this column and are listed online in the Tradeshow Directory.

NATIONAL AND MULTINATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Electronic Transactions Association

1101 16th Street NW, 4th floor

Washington, DC 20005

Phone: 800-695-5509

Fax: 202-828-2639

www.electran.org

The ETA committees for the 2003-04 year are being formed and will be announced following the July 18 board meeting. The new office in Washington, D.C., opened July 1, 2003.

Financial Women International, Inc.

200 North Glebe Rd., Suite 820

Arlington, VA 22203-3728

Phone: 703-807-2007

Fax: 703-807-0111

www.fwi.org

Next Event

FWI's 81st Annual Conference

September 6-9, 2003

Honolulu

Brochure and registration available online:

www.fwifoundation.org/81stconference.htm

Regional Meetings and Chapter Organizations

www.fwi.org/newevents/calendar.htm

National Association of Payment Professionals

Web site: www.naopp.net

The temporary Board of Directors for the National Association of Payment Professionals (NAOPP) met for the second time to ratify the by-laws and map out the short-term assignments for the board members and committees. Following the meeting in Atlanta, the interim board announced the reorganization of the association.

This organization is being designed to assist the Merchant Level Salesperson (MLS). NAOPP's Mission Statement states: "This organization shall exist for all those selling in the Payment Processing industry, by providing Education, Benefits, Liaison/Representation and Certification."

A great number of positive events occurred at the meeting. The overall feeling was that this organization has a fighting chance to succeed.

Interim Officers:

Interim Non-MLS Directors:

Next Event

The first open meeting for all members and potential members is tentatively scheduled to take place in Orlando in conjunction with the SEAA meeting in October. For more info on this organization and how to join, please refer to the Web site at www.naopp.net.

The National Clearing House

1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1500

Dallas, TX 75201

Phone: 214-953-4708

Contact: Barbara Lozzi, Director of Sales and Marketing

E-mail: Barbara.lozzi@thencha.com

Web site: www.thencha.com

The National Clearing House is a not-for-profit, nationwide payment transactions clearing house whose mission is to continually enhance the efficiency of the payment system of the United States for all financial institutions.

Member services presently include local, regional and national check clearing and settlement (for checks and check images), joint transportation programs and risk-management initiatives. Settlement services are also extended to other clearing houses across the country.

Members are divided into two classes: Regional Members and National Members.

Regional Membership is comprised of depository institutions that exchange and settle checks drawn on other Regional Members within a local or regional geographical area. National Membership is comprised of depository institutions located throughout the United States that exchange and settle checks and check images drawn on one another and one another's local check clearing house members under an operational and cost structure that ensures a common benefit to all participants.

The NCHA's goals and objectives are in step with the industry's goals of national standardized rules and a national settlement platform.

Recent accomplishments related to these goals and objectives include:

  • Developed and implemented the first Web-based, Internet-accessed, real-time National Settlement Platform (implementation date: February 28, 2003).

  • Added five new clearing house associations to the settlement platform. This added 45 financial institution processing sites to the existing group of NCHA members and settlement customers, bringing the total number to 338 processing sites of 213 National and Regional Members of NCHA and members of customer clearing houses.

  • Entered into an agreement with Endpoint Exchange to provide settlement services for its national check image exchange service.

  • Supported national efforts of drafting Uniform Rules for Paper Check Exchange.

Current initiatives include:

  • Continue expanding the use of the National Settlement Platform through services or alliances with other clearing houses across the country and with financial services companies.

  • National Transportation initiatives to improve the efficiency of the payment system.

  • Supporting the industry's transition from paper check exchange to image exchange.

Next Event

Annual membership meeting

September 18-19, 2003

Philadelphia

The purpose of the membership meeting is to communicate association goals and accomplishments, solicit members' thoughts and ideas and provide information on the latest industry issues.

Obtain the hotel event rate by registering before August 15, 2003. Contact Karroll Searcy, 214-953-4723, for registration information.

Officers:

  • Chairman of Board: Bob Bean, Bank of America

  • Senior Vice Chairman of the Board: James Lansing, Wells Fargo Bank

  • Vice Chairman of the Board: Walt Boyer, Southwest Bank of Texas

  • Secretary and Treasurer: Ron Ciechanowski, JP Morgan Chase

  • President: Fred Redeker, NCHA

For additional information, contact Barbara Lozzi, Director of Sales and Marketing, at the address listed above.

Western Payments Alliance (WesPay)

100 Bush Street, Suite 400

San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: 415-433-1230

Fax: 415-433-1370

www.wespay.org

Next Event

Payments Symposium 2003

September 28-30

The Palace Hotel, San Francisco

Please see GS issue 03:05:01 for complete details

Registration available online at Web site listed above

REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Bankcard Association of Southern California (BASC)

P.O. Box 301772

Escondido, CA 92030-1772

What is the BASC? It was founded in 1977 by a group of credit card and ATM managers, ISOs and service firms/vendors. The purpose of the BASC is to further the interests and use of electronic-commerce including credit cards, debit cards, e-commerce, ATM cards and all other products offered by the card industry.

BASC's goal is "to help educate our attendees on industry trends, including regulation updates, hardware, software applications, online banking services and overall the 'hot' topics related to the [payment processing] industry." Like the other regional associations, BASC is a non-profit group. However, it differs in that it is a membership-based organization. Members and non-members may attend the quarterly meetings.

Unlike the NEAA, SEAA and MWAA, this organization is not focused on the MLS/ISO but rather on providing banks and credit unions with information and access to the card associations. Nevertheless, the one-day quarterly meetings will be of interest to MLS/ISOs in the Southern California area.

Annual Membership Fees:

  • Financial institutions: New Membership = $100

    Renewal = $75

  • Service providers (vendors, ISOs, processors, etc.):

    New Membership = $250

    Renewal = $200

Next Events

August 28, 2003: Gift and Loyalty Card Programs

November 6, 2003: BASC Annual Vendor Expo

Location for All Meetings

The Holiday Inn Monrovia

924 W. Huntington Drive

Monrovia, CA

Phone: 626-357-1900

BASC Officers and Board Members

Anyone interested in finding out more about BASC may contact Sherry Friedrichsen at 760-243-7990 or sfriedrichsen@gcfinc.com

Midwest Acquirers Association

c/o Jim McCormick

General Credit Forms, Inc.

3595 Rider Trail South

Earth City, MO, 63045

Web site: www.midwestacquirers.com

The MWAA Web site is now live and is a terrific gateway to this newly formed regional association. The recently completed site includes:

  • Registration information for vendors and attendees

  • Meeting agenda

  • The association's mission statement and contact link

Please visit the Web site for complete meeting details:

www.midwestacquirers.com/index.html

First Meeting

July 30-August 1, 2003

Hotel Allegro

171 West Randolph St.

Chicago, IL

Registration information: Jim McCormick

E-mail: info@midwestacquirers.com

Fax: 815-577-1402

Northeast Acquirers Association

11 Westman Street

Somersworth, NH 03878

Phone: 603-692-2408

Fax: 603-692-2384

www.northeastacquirers.com

Next Event

Winter 2004 Gathering

February 4-5, 2004

Grand Summit, Mt. Snow, Vermont

Southeast Acquirers Association

c/o John McCormick

General Credit Forms, Inc.

3595 Rider Trail South

Earth City, MO, 63045

Next Event

3rd Annual Meeting

October 8-9, 2003

The Rosen Centre Hotel

9840 International Drive

Orlando, FL 32819

Phone: 407-996-9840

Fax: 407-996-2659

Please see GS issue 03:05:01 for complete details. For registration information, please e-mail John McCormick at jmccormick@gcfinc.com of phone him at 800-325-1158.

Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
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