As payments industry professionals worldwide gear up for Transact 19, to be held April 30 to May 2, 2019, at the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Hotel and Convention Center, support is pouring in for the Electronic Transactions Association's interim CEO, Amy Zirkle. She took over the reins of the leading payments industry trade association on Feb. 22, 2019, following the departure of Jason Oxman, who had served as ETA's CEO for seven years. Oxman is now president and CEO of the trade association ITI.

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Despite the proliferation of new payment form factors – from cards to mobile apps – most Americans still carry cash, and better than half hate the idea of life without cash. What’s more, just over 45 percent of Americans say they see no reason to use mobile payments, according to a new study. Not surprisingly, younger consumers are more likely to use mobile wallets and app-based payments, like Apple Pay and Venmo, than their elders. Cashless Culture, a new study from the marketing agency Hill Holliday, revealed that 88 percent of consumers under the age of 40 have tried mobile payments compared with just 55 percent of those over the age of 40.

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Consumers and payments analysts are discussing JCPenney's recent decision to stop supporting Apple Pay and other forms of near field communications (NFC) payments at its stores. In a statement to TechCrunch, the company explained it was discontinuing support of legacy contactless payment schemes that no longer comply with EMV guidelines. "A third-party credit card brand made the requirement for all merchants to actively support EMV contactless functionality effective April 13, retiring the legacy MSD [magnetic stripe data] contactless technology in place," JCPenney representatives stated. "Given the resources and lead time associated with meeting the new mandate, JCPenney chose to suspend all contactless payment options until a later date."

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A new report from Transaction Network Services Inc. reveals a notable number of consumers own Internet of Things-connected devices, like smart assistants., Wi-Fi refrigerators and connected automobiles And many consumers have or are interested in using those devices to initiate payments. But security concerns run deep, with nearly three of four consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia admitting security concerns are impediments to adoption.

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The Hawaii Senate confirmed payments veteran John Beebe's appointment to a three-year term on Hawaii's Council on Developmental Disabilities on April 12, 2019. The Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health recognized Beebe's public service, business expertise and personal commitment to helping families with developmentally challenged children. In a letter of recommendation to Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi, president of the Senate Thirtieth State Legislature, supporters cited Beebe's current role as president and CEO at Celestial Payments and prior service as commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, and emphasized life experiences that "have enabled him to create real world solutions that bridge the public and private sectors and given him diplomatic and relationship building skills."

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The Electronic Transactions Association is vibrant with activity in advance of Transact 2019, taking place April 30 through May 2 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Among the trade association’s latest initiatives for the upcoming expo are the Payments’ NexTen program and a collaboration with the PCI Security Standards Council and EMVCo. The Payments’ NexTen program, sponsored by Worldpay, provides an opportunity for 10 payments technology startups to be in the spotlight at Transact as they pitch their solutions to a panel of industry mentors.

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U.S. companies are getting hammered by payments fraud. And scams involving automated clearing house (ACH) payments are increasing faster than most other fraud. Fraud involving checks, wire transfers and credit and debit cards, although still being perpetrated against companies, is declining. And while all fraud attempts don't result in financial losses, 43 percent of U.S. businesses did take financial hits due to payments fraud in 2018. These are key findings of the 2019 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey, which elicited responses from more than 600 corporate finance professionals about 2018 payments fraud experiences.

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The Strawhecker Group released the newest edition of the Directory of U.S. Merchant Acquirers to a receptive audience. The Omaha-based analytics and consulting firm noted that payments industry stakeholders have indicated the annual report is now an indispensable resource, bringing it to industry-standard status in the acquiring community. The comprehensive guide lists the top 300 merchant acquirers in the United States in a searchable format. Selected companies are ranked by processing volumes and merchant portfolios, the company stated. Jared Drieling, senior director of business intelligence at TSG, said, "Many entities and industry journals in our space reference this report when discussing their status compared to other competitors," he stated. "In terms of comprehensiveness and depth, there is not another source for this type of data in our space. We have a lot of clients that eagerly await these results."

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Ingenico Group’s global ecommerce division has taken a leading role in helping enterprise-level merchants reach Russian consumers with Ingenico ePayments, a new ecommerce solution. Designed to improve risk management while reducing legal fees and compliance issues, the solution enables international merchants promote their products and services across the Russian online marketplace, Ingenico representatives stated. In addition, Ingenico ePayments partnered with inCruises International, a cruise membership club, to offer value-added services to the company’s customers and independent representatives. By supporting multiple currencies, including Russian MIR cards, the solution will enable Russian customers and independent representatives to transact in native currencies while eliminating fluctuating pricing and conversion fees, Ingenico said.

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Finance professionals from all sectors of alternative lending will convene Mon., May 6, 2019, at New York City's Roosevelt Hotel for the second annual Broker Fair. Broker Fair 2019 expects about 600 guests and will provide larger meeting spaces, a fleet of kiosks to expedite check-ins and an eclectic mix of networking and presentations. Event organizers are urging attendees to register early: Sunday evening's pre-show party has already sold out. Conference host Sean Murray, chief editor and publisher of deBanked magazine, pointed out that Broker Fair 2018 filled a void with the first-ever merchant cash advance conference. A year later, the show continues to cater to individual sales agents and brokers while broadening its scope.

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With the threat of data breaches ever present, compliance with the Payment Card Industry data, device and software security standards is integral to protecting payments enterprises and merchants from malicious intrusions. And, according to SecurityMetrics, conducting a PCI Audit is one way to make sure your organization is not leaving any holes for cyber criminals to slip through and steal cardholder data. Before such an audit, it's critical to prepare in advance to derive as much benefit from an audit as possible. To facilitate this, SecurityMetrics is hosting a webinar on Wed., April 10, 2019, at 10 a.m. Mountain Time (noon Eastern).

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An executive order, signed into law Feb. 11, 2019, aims to solidify U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). Describing AI leadership as critical to U.S. economic growth and national security, the multipronged initiative calls for government and private sectors to expand AI research and deployments to stay apace with global AI innovation. The American AI initiative will stimulate investment in AI infrastructure while ensuring that government regulations are met, stated Sriram Chakravarthy, chief technology officer and co-founder of Avaamo, a deep learning company.

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