Green Sheet interviews ETA's Scott Talbott about Payments Compliance Conference

The Electronic Transactions Association will host its annual Payments Compliance Conference Nov. 4 and 5, 2026, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Pentagon City, Virginia. The event will provide opportunities for compliance professionals to discuss issues and trends with representatives from the major card brands. Scott Talbott, executive vice president at ETA, shared details about the event with The Green Sheet. Following are interview highlights.

Green Sheet: What prompted ETA to create the Annual Payments Compliance Program, and what industry need were you trying to address?

Scott Talbott: Compliance changes with new laws and regulations and network rules. Payments companies needed timely, practical guidance on how to comply with both laws and regulations and network rules while continuing to innovate and serve their customers. 

Compliance teams navigate federal requirements, state laws and network rules, often across multiple products and markets. ETA created its annual Payments Compliance Conference (PCC) to bring these perspectives together in one place. 

The event brings attendees case-study workshops, discussions with regulators, experienced payments compliance attorneys, industry executives, and all four major payment networks. The agenda reflects ETA's broader role: connecting the payments ecosystem and helping companies turn complex requirements into effective business practices.

GS: What did you learn from the inaugural program about the compliance challenges payments companies are struggling with most?

ST: The central takeaway was the importance of connecting compliance teams with the day-to-day payment operations. Understanding a rule is one thing; translating it into merchant onboarding, contracts, monitoring and customer experiences is another. This year's program builds on this through workshops on surcharging, payment facilitators, enforcement and anti-money laundering.

We also create opportunities for deeper conversations with regulators, attorneys, and peers throughout the program. The goal of ETA's  PCC is is to give compliance professionals guidance they can use when they return to their organizations.

GS: This year's agenda ranges from longstanding issues such as surcharging, money transmission and anti-money laundering to agentic commerce, stablecoins and prediction markets. What does that breadth tell you about how the compliance function is changing?

ST: Payments are changing rapidly and compliance teams must manage today's obligations while helping their companies prepare for tomorrow's products. For example, an AI-initiated payment or a stablecoin transaction still raises familiar questions about authorization, fraud, sanctions and consumer protection, but in a new setting.

That requires both strong fundamentals and the ability to evaluate rapidly developing products and services. ETA's PCC connects those needs, bringing established compliance disciplines into the same conversation as emerging technologies. Compliance expertise is an increasingly essential part of how payments companies design products, enter markets and earn customer trust.

GS: Are compliance teams increasingly being brought into conversations earlier, as new products and business models are being developed, rather than after decisions have already been made?

ST: They are. Decisions about authentication, data collection, payment flows and business partners all have compliance implications. Addressing those questions during product development will prevent costly redesigns and make the customer experience stronger. Compliance teams help companies identify a workable path to launch, establish appropriate controls and anticipate regulatory questions.

ETA's PCC plays a crucial role in preparing compliance executives with the sessions on agentic commerce, digital assets, and open banking are designed to help them participate confidently in those early conversations.

GS: Agentic commerce raises new questions around authentication, authorization, liability, privacy and consumer protection. Where do you see the biggest unanswered compliance questions as AI begins initiating transactions on consumers' behalf?

ST: The biggest question is how to establish—and prove—the boundaries of a consumer's permission. What may an agent buy, how much may it spend, and when must it seek fresh approval? Companies also need to determine how consumers revoke that authority and who is responsible when an agent exceeds it or a transaction goes wrong.

Authentication must address both the consumer and the agent acting for them. ETA's PCC is bringing these issues into practical compliance discussions because clear permissions, accountability and effective remedies will be essential to consumer confidence.

GS: Payments companies are navigating federal requirements, state legislation and card network rules simultaneously. Where are you seeing the greatest complexity or uncertainty for companies trying to operate across those different layers? 

ST: The greatest complexity arises when those layers address the same activity differently. Surcharging and cash discounting are good examples: companies must consider state requirements, network rules and how merchants explain prices to customers. Money transmission creates another set of challenges as companies introduce new payment models across jurisdictions.

Our agenda also addresses state interchange legislation and subscription cancellation requirements. ETA works with federal and state policy makers, allowing PCC to help attendees understand both the obligations they face today and the changes that could affect their operations next.

GS: When attendees leave Washington after two days of discussion with regulators, attorneys, networks, and their industry peers, what do you hope they will bring back to their organizations and put into practice?

ST: We want attendees to return with clear priorities: which controls to review, which questions to bring to their product teams and where their organizations may need to strengthen training or oversight. We also want them to understand where payments policies are headed.

Finally, we also want them to leave with relationships they can draw on throughout the year. Direct conversations with network representatives, attorneys, and fellow compliance professionals makes PCC especially valuable. ETA's objective is to help companies build stronger compliance programs, support responsible innovation, and deliver secure, trusted payments for consumers and businesses. 

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