ETA Looks to the Future and Reaches Out to a Larger Constituency
If you are a small sales organization selling in the Financial Services Industry, representing Bankcard, Check, Debit, or T&E services, and you have not as yet come to the conclusion that you should be part of ETA, perhaps you should check them out again.
While he Green Sheet has spent a number of years being critical of the direction of ETA (formerly Bankcard Services Association), our criticism had always been that ETA had too narrow a focus, in being exclusively Bankcard-centric, and that it generally did not meet the needs of the independent entrepreneurial salesperson. While BSA has not always been happy with the things printed in the pages of The Green Sheet, Ken Bowman, Executive Director of ETA said in a recent interview, "Paul has been a voice in the wilderness for many years, pushing us to broaden our horizons."
Well, today things are changing at ETA, beginning with the name change which was ratified in September. A new direction and expansion of the mission of ETA is emerging, along with a strong desire, expressed by Ken Bowman, that ETA reach out to everyone in the industry, from the smallest to the largest ISOs/MSPs.
With the ETA meeting just ten days away, The Green Sheet interviewed Mr. Bowman to gain a fresh perspective on the history as well as the new direction of ETA.
With many changes already taking place, the Spring Meeting is also the first time ETA has presented a full-blown trade show, complete with expanded vendor participation. This Spring Meeting will include vendors and seminars, and also has the support of some major players in the industry. An additional day has been added to the show and the theme is, as you might guess, "New Directions." ETA is encouraging members to move forward and explore those new directions and, as this meeting proves, they are teaching by example.
In the beginning :
Just in case you came in late, Electronic Transactions Association was chartered as BankCard Services Association (BSA) in 1990 in Washington, DC, with a membership of approximately 15 people. Today ETA has grown to 214 member companies who represent 70-80 percent of all credit card volume in the United States.
"The original dozen or so pioneers knew there was a need for an association such as ETA due to some 'less than scrupulous' companies in the marketplace, Peachtree being the most infamous of the group," says Bowman. Bowman further notes, "Companies such as these cast a negative shadow on the entire industry, which was unfortunate because most of the companies were very competent. ETA's mission six years ago was to bring a higher level of visibility and credibility to ISOs."
The following years :
A year after the first meeting in Washington, those charter members met in Denver to measure the interest in an organization such as ETA. Approximately 60 people attended this second meeting, an increase of more than 300%. The answer was clear.
The year was 1991 and ETA was an intimate group of small but dedicated ISOs. The association was not only challenged with overcoming the ethical problems within the industry, but also with gaining recognition and credibility for the association itself.
ETA hired Ken Bowman and his association management firm Robstan Group, Inc., in 1991. Robstan performs the day to day work of this non-profit organization, including growing memberships and building positive relationships with Visa and MasterCard and various government entities.
Building a Reputation :
According to Bowman, "The first few years were tough. Understandably, many companies were unwilling to assume the risk of becoming associated with ETA before it had built a credible reputation." Bowman is proud of the original members who put their reputations on the line by becoming involved.
Due to the perseverance of these charter members and others, the association gained visibility and offered credibility to the services they provided merchants. Now they were ready to move on to their main goal, education. According to Bowman, "Probably our biggest mission today is education and communication to our members first, and the industry second."
Persuading Bankcard Companies to Talk :
When Bowman joined ETA, one of his challenges was to open a dialogue between ETA and the card associations. At the time, it was the policy of the card associations to talk only with banks. No one had a direct line and Bowman was challenged with finding a way to open communications.
It took a full year just to get a return phone call. Bowman is quick to point out that this non-communication was due more to a procedural, wait and see attitude than to a card association's desire to avoid ETA. Today ETA is proud to report they have representatives from all the card associations either as members or on the advisory council. They have come a long way from not being recognized by the companies to having them as active participants.
Even though ETA is no longer called BSA or the BankCard Services Association, it is still important to Bowman and the association to have a relationship with card companies, as well as acquiring banks. In fact, one of ETA's goals is to be an active industry liaison between ISOs and card companies. The first meeting to this end was four years ago and now ETA meets with card representatives on a regular basis to discuss issues and to determine goals.
BSA Becomes ETA :
The industry was changing rapidly and last year it became apparent to the association that the focus was limited. As the association matured, ETA realized the industry was comprised of many types of businesses and functions, including, but not limited to, credit cards.
The board met a year ago in Dallas to discuss the future of the industry and ETA. They realized that the industry was broadening in scope of service and to be an accurate representative, the association needed to change its focus, and hence BankCard Services Association became Electronic Transactions Association in September of last year.
The changes in the association's mission and name mean that ISO/BSPs, debit network, banks, and check guarantee companies now have one organization that provides opportunities for all.
At the March meeting members will have the opportunity to ratify new bylaws, which reflect the changes in name and goals. The Board will also address the issue of its membership base. In Bowman's view, if there is a negative aspect to the way ETA is set up today, it's that the membership is based on companies rather than individuals. Unfortunately, in this configuration the smaller companies can be overlooked. Additionally, due to consolidations and buyouts, ETA has a smaller company membership number but this number actually represents more individuals. It is expected that at this meeting, possible resolutions to this dilemma will be discussed.
Changes & Growth :
Additional changes at ETA include membership dues, training, and publications. At one time, all members paid the same dues. To bring fairness to the structure, ETA has tiered the dues according to volume. The financial and association members pay a flat rate and the membership fee for service providers varies dependent on volume.
Another change is ETA's certification training program. The program is in modification right now since it was originally geared to Bankcard Service Providers. ETA is broadening that training to include all members of ETA. Changes are also happening with the association's publications, Transaction Trends (formerly Cardlines) and Interconnect (formerly Member News). Transaction Trends will debut in April with more of a journal approach. The magazine, published four times a year, will aim to provide in-depth coverage of topics relevant to the bankcard acquiring side of the Financial Services Industry. In Bowman's terms, the publication "...may not be able to do fast breaking news like The Green Sheet or The Nilson Report," but will provide a more in depth coverage on a quarterly basis. The first issued is slated for release April 15. During the other eight months of the year, when Transaction Trends is not released, the association will publish Interconnect. Interconnect will continue to attempt to keep members up-to-date on a broad range of issues.
Bowman sees both publications as a way to reach the smaller companies that may have been overlooked due to the company membership system.
ETA Today :
In the beginning, the focus of BSA was to increase the visibility and credibility of ISO/BSPs. Today, the organization is an international trade association representing companies offering all types of transaction processing products and services. The purpose now is to influence policy within the transaction processing industry by providing leadership through education, advocacy, and the exchange of information.
ETA Tomorrow :
Bowman is thinking globally for the future of Electronic Transactions Association. His goals are to expand the reach of the association, becoming a resource for all companies involved in the Financial Services Industry including check guarantee, ATM deployment, and credit card service providers. He envisions ETA as being THE association that represents the merchant acquiring, or sales, side of the Financial Services Industry.
With this new direction and thinking, perhaps its time to have your voice join those of the other 231 members of ETA. While ETA today represents a large portion of the bankcard volume processed and or sold in the U.S., it continues to represent only a fraction of the small independent sales entrepreneurs that have made the industry so prosperous. Perhaps it is time for this also to change.
For more information on ETA contact member services at (800) 695-5509.
