he Electronic Transactions Association announced it is taking the next step in the growth of the organization: New headquarters in Washington, D.C., and a full-time staff dedicated to running the non-profit payment industry association soon will be realities.

"This has been talked about for many, many years," ETA President Mary Gerdts said. "The timing was just right. This is a very exciting move for the organization."

Gerdts said the board reached the decision after carefully considering the recommendations of a consulting firm, Consensus Management Group (CMG). ETA's contract with the Robstan Group of Kansas City, Mo., expires on June 30, 2003; Gerdts said the Robstan Group has been responsible for day-to-day operations of ETA since 1991.

Washington was selected because it will give the association better access to government officials, policymakers and high caliber job applicants, she said.

The new staff will take over all duties, such as administration and publications production. She compared the ETA's plan to hire an executive director and a staff of up to seven to an ISO no longer contracting out for back-office services and instead bringing them in-house.

CMG will continue on retainer with ETA to oversee the move and hiring processes. It will look for an executive director with previous association management experience; because the payment industry is so complicated, Gerdts said, the ideal candidate also will have experience in this area.

Gerdts has served on the ETA board for eight years, including her current one-year term as President. She said the board has faced some serious issues in the last year and credits board members with putting in tremendous amounts of volunteer time to deal with problems facing both the payment industry and the ETA itself.

President-elect Mary Dees will begin serving in her new role on July 1, 2003.