his is the premiere edition of a new, ongoing section of The Green Sheet. Within the payment processing industry are several national and regional trade associations. Each month I will provide an update on what the many trade associations are doing and have scheduled for the coming months.

To initiate this section I will introduce each of the associations, including their mission statement, membership policy and Board of Directors. Additionally, I will list the next event each group has scheduled.

In the coming months I will discuss the initiatives, special-interest committees and accomplishments of these groups. The Green Sheet will be participating and sponsoring many of the association meetings and will publish reminders and reviews of these events.

The associations' events are listed in the Trade Show directory available on www.greensheet.com. 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.

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 following information was available on the ETA Web site as of April 21, 2003. Description

"ETA is an international trade association representing companies who offer electronic transaction processing products and services. The purpose of ETA is to influence policy within the transaction processing industry by providing leadership through education, advocacy and the exchange of information.

"Member companies represent the industry's leaders, with companies like First Data Corporation, VeriFone, Hypercom, Global Payments, Chase Merchant Services, U.S. Wireless Data and Cardservice International. These companies sell services to merchants and to other companies facilitating the process by which electronic payment transactions are accepted and ultimately settled."

Mission Purpose and History

"ETA is the international trade association serving the needs of organizations offering transaction processing products/services. The association began in 1990 as the Bankcard Services Association (with fewer than 20 people from the industry gathering to discuss ways to develop a credible voice within the industry).

"In 1996, the group realized the need to broaden its scope of industry representation and changed its name to the Electronic Transactions Association. ETA is now an international association with more than 425 member companies from seven different countries. ETA experienced an impressive 30 percent growth from 2001 and 2002, and all indications are the association can expect similar growth in years to come.

"ETA's stated mission is to fully serve its members and advance their profession by providing leadership through education, advocacy and the exchange of information."

Membership Information Membership in ETA is a corporate membership, with the membership year running from July 1 to June 30. Membership is available in the following categories:

• Service Providers: Any business entity or individual providing transaction-processing services between merchants and settlement banks.
• Financial Institutions: Any business that is state or federally regulated as a financial institution.
• Associate: Any business or individual providing equipment or services to merchants or service providers that does not directly engage in settlement services.

Executive Officers

• President: Mary Gerdts, President/CEO, POST Integrations, Inc., mgerdts@postint.com
• President-Elect: Mary F. Dees, President/CEO, creditranz.com, mdees@creditranz.com
• Treasurer: Diane Vogt, Executive Vice President, Strategic Market Development, First Data Merchant Services, diane.vogt@firstdata.com
• Secretary: Daniel J. Neistadt, Executive Vice President, KeyBank USA, Daniel_neistadt@keybank.com
• Immediate Past President: Jim Plappert, Executive Vice President, First American Payment Systems LP, jplappertemail@aol.com

Next Event

September 2003 meeting; check Web site for date and location TBA

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

• Accounts Payable/Receivable-finance@fwi.org
• FWI Foundation-foundation@fwi.org
• General Requests-info@fwi.org
• Membership Questions-membership@fwi.org
• Media Requests-publicaffairs@fwi.org
• Publications Inquiries-publications@fwi.org

The following information was available on the FWI Web site as of April 21, 2003.

History & Mission

"Financial Women International, Inc. (formerly the National Association of Bank Women) was founded in 1921 - one year after women won the right to vote - by a group of New York City women bankers.

"FWI serves women in the financial services industry who seek to expand their personal and professional capabilities through self-directed growth in a supportive environment.

"FWI is a professional association of women working together to achieve success in the financial services industry. We provide a supportive environment for lifelong learning and professional growth to help members be successful throughout their careers.

"We believe that women in financial services make significant contributions to the industry by reaching their full potential as balanced and focused professionals; FWI exists to make this happen

"FWI's mission is to help women in the financial services industry be successful in their careers."

Membership Information

FWI memberships are available in the following categories:

• Active: Open to all eligible individuals actively employed by, or serving as directors or trustees in, businesses engaged primarily in, or providing services to, the financial services industry. Active members have full privileges and benefits of membership.
• Allied: Open to individuals who wish to affiliate with the association and subscribe to the association's mission statement but who do not qualify for active membership.
• Retired: Open to individuals who formerly were active members provided they are age 55 or older and are not employed on a full-time basis. Retired members have all the privileges and benefits of membership.
• Interim: Open to any active members who lose eligibility and do not regain eligibility within the current fiscal year. Interim members electing to pay active dues may vote, hold office and chair committees at all levels of the association.
• Student: Any individuals who are currently enrolled as full-time students at an accredited college/university and are not working more than 20 hours per week.
• Virtual: Same as active membership but receives all information online.

Executive Officers

President: Vicki M. Daughdrill-Managing Member, Small Business Resources LLC, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Vice President: Carol A. Crilly-Vice President, Citizens Development Co., Billings, MT

Treasurer, Caroline S. Fulmer-Senior Vice President, National Bank of Commerce, Tuscaloosa, AL

Secretary/Bylaws Chair, Julia J. Lenners-Vice President, Pinnacle Bank, Beatrice, NE Membership Group/Vitality Chair, Rilla P. Dath-Vice President, Fleet Bank, North Haven, CT Foundation Chair, Cindy L. Bateman-VP/Business Sales Manager, Key Bank, Boise, ID

Nominating Committee Chair, Julie Cripe-President, Omnibank NA, Houston, TX

Next Event

FWI's 81st Annual Conference

September 6-9, 2003

Honolulu, Hawaii

Brochure & registration available online:

www.fwifoundation.org/81stconference.htm

Regional meetings and Chapter organizations:

www.fwi.org/newevents/calendar.htm

National Association of Payment Professionals

Editor's note: This association is still in the formation stage. Visit the Web site at www.naopp.org

"On February 24, 2003 in Tampa, Fla., a new association began its formation efforts. This organization has a different mission than any previous industry association formed to date - it hopes to garner the support of ALL of the Feet on the Street as it caters directly to the sales professional.

"This new association, temporarily dubbed NAPP (National Association of Payment Professionals), hopes to eventually call every salesperson in the payment industry a member.

"While everyone in the industry was invited, about 60 people attended the formation meeting and approved the creation of a not-for-profit association with the following mission statement:

" 'This organization shall exist for all those selling in the Payment Processing industry, by providing Education, Benefits, Liaison/Representation and Certification.'

"Perhaps the most interesting resolution put forth in the meeting was that NAPP should always have as a majority of its Board of Directors individuals who sell and sign contracts within our industry. Even more interesting is that this concept of a 'sales-controlled Board of Directors' was unanimously approved by those present."

Originally posted on The Green Sheet Online 02-26-2003.

Executive Committee

• Executive Director, Brett Mansdorf mansdorf@msn.com

• President, Steve Norell steven@us-merchantservices.com

• Vice President, Bill Paul MerchTPS@bellsouth.net

• Secretary, Carmen Carrero cufsmgmtgroup@bellsouth.net

• Treasurer, Keri Golden scout@austintexas.net

Membership criteria and categories, along with the by-laws, remain to be defined by this newly formed association. IRS 501-C filing pending.

Next Event

TBA

Western Payments Alliance (WesPay)

Headquarters

100 Bush Street, Suite 400

San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: 415-433-1230

Fax: 415-433-1370

www.wespay.org

Southern California Clearing Office

950 Grand Avenue, First Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90015

Phone: 213-896-0491

Fax: 213-896-0227

• General Requests info@wespay.org
• Membership Questions membership@wespay.org
• Media Requests: Blue Marlin Partners,Greg Berardi greg@bluemarlinpartners.com
• ACH Rules Department 415-373-1200
• Accounting Department 415-373-1212
• Check Services Department 800-814-4488
• Education Services Department 415-373-1188

The following information was available on the WesPay Web site as of April 24, 2003.

History and Mission

"The Western Payments Alliance (WesPay) is one of 21 regional payments associations and eight individual institutions that, together with NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association, serve as rule-maker for the Automated Clearing House network. WesPay's operating area includes about 30% of the country's land mass in seven western states - California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and part of Washington - as well as American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The area is home to 20% of the nation's population and a proportional volume of payments. "WesPay membership includes more than 1,000 depository institutions and 70 corporations supplying payments-related services to financial institutions and their account owners. The third-largest regional payments association in terms of membership, WesPay is second in payment volume exchanged by members through the ACH network.

"WesPay's check services, the largest in the U.S., daily collect five million checks worth $7 billion for member institutions. Check services include exchanges, returns, adjustments, settlement, emergency communications, transportation and fraud-avoidance services.

"Education and publications services deliver information on a variety of payments-related subjects in both traditional and electronic formats. Bulletins inform members of changes in payment rules, standards and associated regulatory compliance and risk-management issues.

"A quarterly newsletter provides more general information. Help desk services are available to members during office hours. The Web site, www.wespay.org, is available continuously.

"WesPay is organized as a California nonprofit association. The board of directors is comprised of representatives from member financial institutions balanced by charter type, geography and size.

"Committees of the Board oversee the member services. A small professional staff manages the association from offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles." Membership Information

Why WesPay?

WesPay enables financial institutions to reduce processing costs and minimize risk by working cooperatively with every segment of the payment community.

Members also have a unique opportunity to test emerging payments technologies through WesPay's participation in pilot programs to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

WesPay members also benefit from the following:

• Discounted pricing on a full range of check and payment services
• Timely information that enables members to remain in compliance with ACH rules
• Participation in FraudBAN, the nation's first online, anti-fraud network for payments
• Access to in-house payments experts who can interpret the implementation of ACH rules
• A voice in the formation of legislation and regulations governing the payment system
• Participation in WesPay's annual conference, Payments Symposium 2003

WesPay Regular Members include a wide range of financial institution companies operating in California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and a portion of Washington, as well as American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Associate Membership is open to professional services firms, technology providers, payments processesors, trade groups and government entities. WesPay offers Platinum, Gold and Silver Associate Memberships.

All Associate Members receive passes or discounts to the annual Payments Symposium, and Platinum and Gold Members have an opportunity to exhibit at the Symposium.

For more information, contact Peter Yeatrakas at (415) 433-1230 or pyeatrakas@wespay.org.

Executive Officers

• President and Chief Executive Officer, Gerard F. Milano

• President Emeritus, Peter Yeatrakas

• Senior Vice President, Member Services, Phil Holmes

• Senior Vice President, Member Services, David Huffine

• Vice President, Finance, Mike Briones
• Vice President, Member Services, Michael Gilchrist

• Assistant Vice President, Executive Offices, Caroline d'Emery

• Assistant Vice President, Information Technology, Ryan Gullum

• Assistant Vice President, Education Services, Regis McKenna

• Assistant Vice President, Database Manager, Donald Phelps

Next Event

Payments Symposium 2003

September 28-30 at The Palace Hotel, San Francisco

Payments Symposium 2003 is an exclusive educational event that focuses on the key payments issues that affect your clients and their institutions. This year's conference is WesPay's second annual Symposium and follows last year's highly successful event, which attracted 250 delegates and 13 sponsors.

Payments Symposium 2003 will focus on payment interchange, security and cost reduction and will feature keynotes, panels and lectures from the nation's most respected payments professionals. The Symposium includes demonstrations of leading payment technologies and solutions. It also will incorporate WesPay's second annual awards ceremony, the unveiling of exclusive WesPay-sponsored research and provide plenty of time for payments executives and other professionals to meet one another and network.

Payments Symposium 2003 is the premiere executive-level conference, bringing together the payment community within the western United States to interact and exchange ideas that shape today's - and tomorrow's - rapidly changing payments landscape.

Confirmed 2003 Keynote Speakers

Danne Buchanan, Executive Vice President, Zions Bancorporation

Nancy Grant, Senior Director, Electronic Check Services, NACHA

Richard Hartnack, Vice Chair, Union Bank and Chairman, California Bankers Association

Leonard Heckwolf, SVP, Bank One and Chairman, NACHA

Steve Ledford, President, Global Concepts

Gerard Milano, CEO, Western Payments Alliance

Kathleen Milner, Senior Vice President, Union Bank of California, Symposium Chair

Jonathan Rusch, Special Counsel for Fraud Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice

Elizabeth Robertson, Senior Analyst, Global Payments, TowerGroup

Margaret Silvers, Vice President and Bank Secrecy Act Officer, Greater Bay Bancorp

Ralph Thomas, Senior Vice President, Information Management & Systems Division, Bank of Hawaii

Dennis Toda, Vice President, Operational Integrity, WesCorp, Chairman of WesPay

Payments Symposium 2003 Sessions

The Fed and Your Institution: Upcoming Products, Plans, and Policies Controlling Payments Fraud

Best Practices in Payments Processing

Who's In Control of Internet Payments? Banks vs. Technology Upstarts

Combating Identity Theft: Know Your Customer

A Case Study: Preventing Identity Theft

Changing Consumer Behavior: Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment

An Endangered Species? The Truth About Paying By Check

Cutting Processing Costs: Lockbox to ARC

At The Point-of-Sale: Debit Cards, RCK and eChecks

From the Capitol: Legislative Changes You Need to Follow

Whose Clock? Rule 9 and the Threat Posed by Reversing Price v. Neal

A Case Study: Implementing a Major Image Processing Project

Keeping Pace: Next Generation ACH Processing

REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Midwest Acquirers Association

c/o Jim McCormick,

General Credit Forms, Inc.

3595 Rider Trail South,

Earth City, MO, 63045

www.midwestacquirers.com (under construction)

Founded in 2003, the Midwest Acquirer's Association was established on the belief that it is important to educate the ISO and MSP community with the constantly changing information that the payment processing industry dictates.

The "sister conferences" on the East Coast (the Northeast Acquirers Association and the Southeast Acquirers Association) have been educating forums for some time. The MWAA believes that it's time to bring this format to the Midwest.

Mission Statement The mission of the MWAA is to provide a regional opportunity for training, education and networking in the Midwest acquiring community. Membership

MWAA is a not-for-profit, non-membership, independent association.

Mission Statement

Mark Dunn, President, 414-831-3937 mdunn@newtekmerchantsolutions.com

Caroline Marino, Vice President, 636-451-5512 cmarino@ingenico-us.com

Jim McCormick, Secretary/Treasurer, 314-216-8600 jimmccormick@gcfinc.com

Lori Carney, Board Member, 402-222-4405 lori.carney@firstdatacorp.com

Lisa Lenczyk, Board Member, 502-420-6841 lisa_l3@verifone.com

Mistee Spry, Board Member, 314-216-8600 mspry@gcfinc.com

Next Event

1st Annual Meeting

July 30-August 1, 2003

Hotel Allegro

171 West Randolph St., Chicago

Registration information: Jim McCormick

E-mail: jimmccormick@gcfinc.com

Fax: 815-577-1402

ETA's Introduction to Electronic Processing is scheduled for July 30 - discount MWAA fee, $150

Registration information: Granville Loar, g.loar@electran.org

Northeast Acquirers Association

11 Westman Street

Somersworth, NH 03878

Phone: 603 692 2408

Fax: 603 692 2384

www.northeastacquirers.com

The Northeast Acquirers Association, formerly known as the Northeast Bankcard, has been the host of Summer Seminars and Outings for more than 18 years. Its latest event, in February in Mt. Snow, VT, had more than 45 vendors and 250 participants.

Originally focused on the New England region, the association has grown to include the area from Virginia north during the last two years. NEAA receives and communicates information on the latest technology, the hottest topics in the payment industry and new changes to rules and regulations from the various card associations.

NEAA is focused on providing a forum in the most economical way so all can take part in the educational and networking opportunities.

Mission Statement

The Northeast Acquirers Association (NEAA) was founded with one primary objective: to serve as an educational forum for financial institutions and ISO/MSPs in the acquiring industry on a regional basis. Membership

NEAA is a not-for-profit, non-membership association. Events are funded through vendor sponsorship and minimal registration fees. Vendors are identified as those organizations or individuals that primarily sell to the acquiring industry. Attendees are defined as financial institutions, independent sales organizations, or individuals who primarily sell acquiring-related services directly to the retail industry. NEAA is open to all who want to attend these seminars.

Executive Officers

President, Alan V. Forgione, Cardsystems Solutions, Inc.

Vice President, Nancy Austin, VeriFone

Treasurer, Jacques Breton, General Credit Forms

Board Members

Lisa Grace, Continuum Card, LLC,

Diane Passardi, Citizens Bank

Shawn O'Sullivan, Fleet Bank

Michael Sosik, Northeast Merchant Systems

Next Event

Summer Seminar & Golf Outing

June 11-12, 2003

Tropicana Casino & Resort

Atlantic City, NJ

Registration and information available online at www.northeastacquirers.com

Southeast Acquirers Association

c/o John McCormick,

General Credit Forms, Inc.

3595 Rider Trail South,

Earth City, MO, 63045

Founded in 2000, the Southeast Acquirers Association was established on the belief that it is important to educate the ISO and MSP community with the constantly changing information that the payment processing industry dictates.

Mission Statement

The SEAA services the southeast region of the United States. Its goal is to serve as a forum for financial institutions and ISOs/MSPs in the acquiring industry.

Its focus is to provide this forum in the most economical way so all can take part in the educational and networking opportunities available between vendors and acquirers as well as between acquirers.

Membership

SEAA is a not-for-profit, non-membership, independent association.

Executive Officers

Judy Foster, Thales e-Transactions, 404-257-5561 judy.foster@thales-e-trans.com

Audrey Blackmon, POS Portal, Inc, 916-563-7845 ablackmon@posportal.com

John McCormick, General Credit Forms, 800-325-1158 jmccormick@gcfinc.com

Margaret Jordan, Lipman USA, 407-774-6569 Margaret@lipmanusa.com

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

Registration and vendor information:

Contact any of the executive officers.

If you have information about an association and would like to have it included in future reports, e-mail it to julie@greensheet.com.