SEAA 2023 welcomes next-gen tech, leaders

The Southeast Acquirers Association held its 22nd annual conference at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla., attracting over 1,300 payments professionals. The two-and-a-half day event featured education, training and networking with thought leaders, technology providers and legal and regulatory experts.

Event organizers welcomed sponsors, exhibitors and attendees with cocktail receptions on Sunday evening, setting a celebratory mood ahead of Monday's presentations and opening reception. Monday highlights included presentations by ETA certified payment professionals Jaron Rice, founder and CEO at Magothy Payments, and Bart Kohler, chief revenue officer at Paynuity. Demo Day presentations included rapid-fire live demos by Card Market, Clearent, Payverse, Paysley, Round 2, Under, Accept.blue and Elavon.

A video display near the registration desk honored Derek Vowels, a long-time SEAA advisory board member, payments industry leader and beloved friend to many in the industry, who had been instrumental in planning this year's conference before he passed away on May 11, 2023. As noted in The Green Sheet, Vowels will long be remembered for his team spirit, humor, boundless enthusiasm and numerous contributions.

Emphasis on training and connection

Ekta Iyer, co-founder and CEO at Alliance Bancard Systems, was impressed by the numerous first-time attendees and payments industry newcomers at the conference, stating she would advise them to find new ways to differentiate in this highly competitive space.

"You can't repeat what was done before and you can't copy what your neighbors are doing," she said. "I'm not saying, 'do it the way I did it;' you have to make your own way and figure out your own blueprint."

Iyer shared additional insights in a panel discussion on transitioning from ISO to VAR, held on Tues., June 13, with Ashley Naggy, vice president sales, RSPA; Dan Brattland, owner, CoCard; and Keith Sampson, president, Fyre Training and Consulting.

Mark L. Walberg, American actor, television personality, and game show host best known for Antiques Roadshow, Temptation Island, and The Moment of Truth on Fox, gave a keynote address on the power of connection, a prevalent theme throughout the conference that underscored the deep, abiding friendships and partnerships among sponsors, exhibitors, attendees and SEAA advisory board members, many of whom have been coming to the show for more than 20 years.

Further inspiration

Following are highlights from Tuesday's presentations:

• A different approach to signing partners and people: Five industry leaders: Genevieve Dozier, director, business development with Finova Capital; Elizabeth Rucker, director of sales for VizyPay; Nathan Cedor, senior sales executive at RS2 Software; Amanda Beam, vice president, partner relations with Signature Payments; and Sebastian Builes, founder and CEO at Arcum, discuss sales and partnership strategies.

• Self-checkout, RFID, and the future of retail payments: Till Freier, CEO for Coinbase USA, discussed the rise of self-attended solutions in the retail industry, security aspects of RFID technology and related benefits for payment processors.

• Digital payments transformation: Bob Wesley, global head of commerce sales and business development for GoDaddy, assessed the pandemic's impact on businesses and consumers and how it has opened new opportunities for merchants and service providers.

• Selling smart POS: Steven Koller, new business development at Paysafe; Liz Everett, director of payment solutions for TRG; Natalia Leonardis, vice president, business development with CardFlight; and Stephanie DeLeve, vice president, strategic partnerships at PAX Technology, spoke about how intelligent POS systems can help merchants grow and scale.

• Embedded banking: Natasa Cvijanovic, CEO of Tesla Payments; John McCormick, vice president at General Credit Forms and SEAA past president and founding member; Vlad Sadovskiy, CEO for Netevia; Phil Ricci, senior vice president, payment solutions with Pathward; and Guiseppi Marzelli, co-founder at OvationCXM, assessed embedded banking, what it means and how it can help ISOs and acquirers diversify revenue streams and stay competitive in the digital age.

Appreciating sponsors

The SEAA issued a statement on social media, writing, ""Once again, we'd like to thank all of our very generous sponsors who allowed us to make #SEAA2023 happen!"

This year's honor roll includes the following sponsors:

• Flamingo Sponsors: American Express, First Citizens Bank, Merchant Lynx Services, Netevia, Us Bank|Elavon, Payarc, Valor Paytech and Worldpay
 

• Palm Sponsors: CardConnect, Clearent by Xplor, Discover Global Network, Electronic Merchant Systems, ElectronicPayments, Fiserv, General Credit Forms Inc., GlobalPayments, Maverick, PAAY, Paysafe, Priority and Tilled
 

• Sun and In-Kind Sponsors: Amaryllis, Bodman, BeyondBancard, CardFlight, Chargebacks 911, CoCard, Cybersource, Cypress Planning Group, Electronic Verification Systems, Impact PaySystem, JCB, LINGA, MAPP Advisors, MerchantE, Merrick Bank, NMA, PAX, Rise Strategic Group, Sunfire POS, Savify, TRG, Tesla Payments, Rectangle Health, Trust Payments, VISA and Zuza

"SEAA 2023 was an incredible success, and we want to thank all of our attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors for their support and commitment to our show!" SEAA organizers wrote. "This year's show brought a record-breaking attendance, and we could not have made that possible without the very generous support of our sponsors and exhibitors who allow us to make it all happen, and to an amazing group of attendees. Thank you to all of those who attended, participated, sponsored, and exhibited. It wouldn't be possible without you."



Event organizers added that they are looking forward to SEAA 2024 in New Orleans.

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