Friday, April 25, 2008
Held from April 14 to 18, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the multifaceted expo was packed with announcements of interest industrywide; individual company product and program rollouts and demonstrations; and speeches, panels and informational sessions galore. Of the issues explored, education and security seemed to have particular resonance.
On Tues., April 15, the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (SSC) released version 1.1 of the Payment Application (PA) Data Security Standard (DSS), which replaced Visa Inc.'s Payment Application Best Practices (PABP). PA DSS establishes criteria for secure applications in all payment card transactions and enables the council to manage a globally recognized list of validated payment applications. When implemented in a PCI DSS-compliant environment, PA DSS-validated applications minimize the potential for data security breaches. PA DSS applies to all payment application providers, but individual card brands determine whether the standards will be mandatory.
Also, in addition to offering traditional ETA University (ETAU) classes on a range of essential topics for payments professionals, the ETA introduced ETAU online. The new program consists of interactive, Web-based certificate courses, which are accessible 24/7. The first to be offered is Sales Channel Development. Coming soon are introductory courses on electronic processing, operations, sales and marketing, and technology.
On April 15, the ETA held its gala President's Dinner, a much-anticipated event at which ETA Star Awards winners were announced, as follows:
Many companies wait until the ETA's annual meeting to officially celebrate their latest developments and achievements. Just a few of the many highlights include:
To celebrate Elavon's ascendance as a global force, the company hosted a party at Mix Lounge, high atop THEhotel at Mandalay Bay, where howling winds may have forced the event inside but did nothing to dampen enthusiasm. Harvey predicted, however, tougher times ahead for smaller acquirers that do not compete worldwide.
Also, at the VeriFone booth Paul Rasori told The Green Sheet the issue of encrypting transaction data while it is in transit is something the PCI SSC just may examine in the near future.
The Green Sheet received press releases from numerous exhibiting companies and posted the news on our home page (www.greensheet.com ) under News From the Wire. Take a look at the posts from April 14 to 18, and you will to see just how much more action there was.
From the opening address by Brit Hume, Managing Editor of the Fox News Channel – he talked politics to a crowd that was warmed up by The Capitol Players, who poked fun at Hillary Clinton, Barak Obama and John McCain in equal measure – to the closing panel of pros – who discussed the state of the payments industry – and every session in between, payments professionals generously shared their knowledge with one another.
Many presentations took place in rooms partitioned in the back of the exhibition hall, which made them highly convenient to attend, thereby increasing attendance. Here's a sampling of topics that whetted many an attendee's appetite:
And then, of course, there were the happy hours and parties, public and private. But you know what they say about Vegas.
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.