Transaction Trending, a podcast by ETA

ETA CEO Jodie Kelley joins the podcast to discuss recent trends and research regarding payments and COVID-19, as well as what to expect at TRANSACT Connect.

Alecia Muth, Director of Market Intelligence at The Strawhecker Group, provides data that gives on SMBs and payments that gives dimension to our collective understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Derek Webster, CEO of CardFlight, and Adam Bloomston, President of Payroc, join Amy Zirkle, VP of Industry Affairs, to discuss the unique challenges facing SMBs and payments companies during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Amy is joined by Scott Talbott, SVP of Government Affairs at ETA. Together, they walk you through the landscape of COVID-19 for the payments technology industry – what it means for our advocacy work as well as how our members are responding.

Dave Ellis, VP of Forensic Investigations at SecurityMetrics, talks payments fraud trends and his career in law enforcement with Amy.

Adam Bloomston, President of Payroc, joins Amy to discuss the four-way merger of Payroc, Payscape, NXGEN and BluePay Canada.

On this episode of Transaction Trending, Amy is joined by Dimitri Akhrin, founder and President of IRIS CRM.

Stacy Hughes, SVP of IT Governance, Risk and Compliance at Global Payments joins Amy to discuss PCI, payments security and data.

NCR Payments Solutions COO Diana Mehochko talks trends in 2020 and marketing a fully-integrated payments solution.

Rupa Krishnan, Vice President of Network Services at American Express, discusses Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) with Amy.

On another special episode, Transaction Trending rewinds to the first part of our first spin-off podcast, SoundBytes: Women Driving Payments Innovation.

On this special episode, Transaction Trending rewinds to the third part of our first spin-off podcast, SoundBytes: Women Driving Payments Innovation.

Elavon Chief Strategy Officer Brian Mahony joins Amy to discuss software strategies for merchant acquirers.

Amy talks to Richie Serna, CEO and co-founder of Finix, a SF-based startup that works with SaaS companies to help them do their payments.

Visa Global Head of Contactless Payments Dan Sanford talks promoting contactless payments in the United States.

On this episode of Transaction Trending, podcast host Amy Zirkle is joined by Jeff Johnson, Senior Vice President of Commercial Prepaid at Netspend for a conversation on the prepaid marketplace.

On this episode, Transaction Trending host Amy Zirkle is joined by Steve Sotis, founder and CEO of eProcessing Network, for a conversation on his business, his observations on the changing landscape for payments companies like his, and his views on the trends and tactics that are driving payments innovation.

On this episode, Julie Pukas, Head of Commercial Product and Merchant Solutions for TD Bank, joins Amy Zirkle on the podcast to discuss her career, her opinions on continuing education and professional development for payments professionals, and her unique perspective as a leader with experience on both the issuing and acquiring sides of our industry

Derek Webster, Founder and CEO of CardFlight, joined Interim ETA CEO Amy Zirkle to talk about his journey founding and building CardFlight. The conversation was a “how I built this” look at his motivations, challenges and successes in payments entrepreneurship.

On this episode of Transaction Trending, ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle is joined by Diane to discuss her career, her advice to young leaders, and her observations on the direction of the payments technology industry.

Laura Wagner, Chief Visionary Officer of Digitzs, joins ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle for a conversation on her career, Digitzs and her vision of leadership in a fast-changing market.

On this episode, a conversation on what's new in payments security with Troy Leach, Chief Technology Officer at the PCI Standards Security Council.

On this episode of Transaction Trending, we continue our conversation on where politics, policy and payments meet. Joining Interim CEO of ETA Amy Zirkle and ETA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Scott Talbott on this episode is a real leader for FinTech in Congress: Rep. Gregory Meeks.

Ralph Dangelmaier, CEO of BlueSnap and member of ETA’s Board of Directors, joins ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle at TRANSACT to talk about his career, the growing and changing payments marketplace, and opportunities for ISVs and payments platforms in the payments industry.

OB Rawls, President of Payment Processing North America with Paysafe, joins ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle at TRANSACT to talk about his career, his observations on our changing industry, and Paysafe.

On this special edition of Transaction Trending, host and ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle talks to members of ETA's staff to hear more about what's next and exciting at TRANSACT, the world's largest payments technology event, April 30-May 2 in Las Vegas.

On this episode, ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle is joined by Kevin Brown, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Marketing at Wirecard North America. He leads go-to-market strategy, brand expansion, and the marketing and communications organization at Wirecard North America, and is an expert in new payments channels in ecommerce and mobile.

In the final episode, we examine the changing face of payments innovation, and hear perspectives on leadership, culture, and diversity from women driving the future of payments. We ask – what can we learn? And how can we make the future of commerce not only more powerful in its products and services, but the best industry for amplifying opportunities for women to succeed?

In part two of SoundBytes: Women Driving Payments Innovation, Interim CEO and podcast host Amy Zirkle explores a seemingly simple question: what does software innovation mean for merchants and consumers?

In the first part of SoundBytes: Women Driving Payments Innovation, Interim CEO and podcast host Amy Zirkle dives into the nuts and bolts of the data, technology and partnerships that are driving forward new and innovative approaches to solving payments acceptance for merchants.

Introducing SoundBytes: Women Driving Payments Innovation, a three-part limited series which takes a look at the future of commerce and the women who power it. Interim CEO of ETA Amy Zirkle brings you the stories, people, and technologies leading the payments industry. Stay tuned on this channel this week to hear this new podcast.

ETA Interim CEO Amy Zirkle talks to Jon Pollock, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Worldpay, to discuss startups, payments innovation and the new Payments' NexTen program at TRANSACT.

On this special episode of Transaction Trending, Jason Oxman introduces Amy Zirkle, Interim CEO of ETA, as the podcast's new host.

Phil Goldfeder, SVP of Public Affairs at Cross River Bank, and Chris Koegel, Director of Regulatory Affairs at T-Mobile, join ETA CEO Jason Oxman to discuss FinTech, policy and expanding access to financial services for underserved consumers.

ETA Board President and CEO of Celero Commerce Kevin Jones joins Jason Oxman on the podcast to discuss private equity, payments entrepreneurship, trends in 2019 and his focus as ETA's top volunteer leader.

ETA CEO Jason Oxman joins Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R-MO-3] in his Capitol Hill office to discuss payments technology policy from his perspective as a member of Congress.

Transaction Trending is back for 2019! We discuss some big topics on this podcast - data security, next-gen solutions like biometrics and AI, mobile payments, value-added solutions and the cloud. But what do these macro trends mean for American entrepreneurs and small businesses? And how can ETA members best support SMB growth? On this episode, Todd Linden, CEO, Payments Processing North America for Paysafe, breaks down what payments technology innovation means for SMBs by highlighting data from Paysafe's recent "Lost in Transaction: The Future of Payments for SMBs" report.

We are nearing the end of 2018. It’s been an electrifying year in payments technology. High-profile mergers and acquisitions totaling over $40 billion, a rapidly-changing sales channel, and the proliferation of new payments solutions have made 2018 one of the most innovative years in our industry’s history. The end of the year also marks the end of our first year of podcasting at ETA. We’ve featured a myriad of voices on the Transaction Trending podcast. Twenty-two leaders from across the payments ecosystem have joined us on the show, including the CEO of the world’s largest payments processor, startup entrepreneurs in the ISV, PayFac and FinTech spaces, payments security experts, sales channel experts, industry analysts, bankers, policy experts, and retailers. Their perspectives point to so many examples of a new trend that is defining the industry – the “tech-ification” of payments. In this best-of spotlight of 2018 podcasts, we'll highlight interviews from top leaders we've had on the show this year, including: -Rushi Patel, co-founder of Homebase -Rich Aberman, co-founder of WePay -Henry Helgeson, founder of Cayan -Emi Yoshikawa, Director of Joint Venture Partnerships, Ripple -Reed Luhtanen, Senior Director of Global Treasury, WalMart -Kim Crawford Goodman, President, Card Services, Fiserv Transaction Trending will be back on January 2nd, 2019 for another year of exploring the people, places and things that make payments creative and cutting-edge.

Predicting the future is impossible. But for payments technology executives, seeing around the corner, reading the market and leaning-in to future-forward innovation is essential. It’s not easy, but leaders who excel at it are the ones who shape the way the world pays. On this episode of Transaction Trending, we’re joined by one of our industry's most recognized leaders. Kim Crawford Goodman is the current President of Card Services at Fiserv, an international fintech powerhouse, where she oversees the company’s debit and credit processing and payments solutions. Kim has more than 25 years of experience in driving innovation and growth in fast-paced markets like financial services and technology. Prior to joining Fiserv earlier this year, Kim served as CEO of Worldpay US, President of American Express’ Global Business Travel and President of Merchant Services Americas, and Vice President of Software and Peripherals at Dell. Kim joined ETA CEO Jason Oxman just after giving a keynote at ETA’s Strategic Leadership Forum to discuss her view of the changing landscape for payments technology and the most important opportunities and challenges for payments tech leaders to consider moving into the future.

Earlier this year, ETA announced that it was expanding its advocacy work in Canada. Our new expanded efforts give the payments industry a stronger voice in Canada for forward-thinking policy that supports innovation and global partnerships. Canada’s payments marketplace – and the policy environment that it operates in - is one that is unique and very much different to that of the United States. With it comes its own unique challenges, and opportunities, for payments companies in Canada and around the world. Joining us on this episode of Transaction Trending is Angela Brown, President and CEO of Moneris. Moneris is Canada’s largest payments processors and is among the biggest worldwide. Angela is an incredible leader in our industry – across her 25-year career in payments, she’s served as an executive at companies including MasterCard, Visa, TSYS and The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Working in both the United States and Canada before coming to the helm at Moneris in 2013, Angela has a unique expertise on the form and function of the Canadian payments ecosystem. She joined us at ETA’s Strategic Leadership Forum in the Kount podcast production studio to talk about Canada, Moneris and her vision for the future of payments in North America.

When Vantiv acquired Worldpay in a ten-billion-dollar deal at the beginning of 2018, the coming together of these two giants created the largest payments processor by volume in the world. From its beginnings a little over a decade ago as a spin-off of Fifth Third Bank, Vantiv, now Worldpay’s journey was rapid ascent thanks in large part to its leadership. On this episode of Transaction Trending, ETA CEO Jason Oxman sits with Charles Drucker, CEO and Executive Chairman of Worldpay. Charles joined Vantiv as President in 2004 before he was named CEO of Vantiv in 2009. As Worldpay’s leader, Charles has been at the helm of the company’s remarkable growth in the payments industry. Charles joined Jason in the Kount podcast production studio at ETA’s Strategic Leadership Forum to talk about his vision for Worldpay, the future of the payments industry, and what it means to be a good leader in the industry.

Brad Wiskirchen, CEO of Kount, joined Jason in the Kount podcast production studio at ETA’s Strategic Leadership Forum to talk about ecommerce and the future of the payments security in an increasingly online world.

According to ETA’s Payments Trends to Watch report, merchants will spend $2.2 billion this year alone on software solutions for their point-of-sale devices. Our report predicts that merchants will spend even more – up to $2.4 billion – in 2019. It’s no secret why. As we’ve discussed with ISV and PayFac leaders on this podcast, software solutions deliver a lot of functionality to merchants. But for acquirers, ISOs and payments processors, software can be a vital tool for driving new products, enhancing services, and extending the reach of payments to new verticals. All told, these solutions have unlocked a new and innovative time for the payments industry. On this episode of Transaction Trending, we are tapping into some of the excellent content we had at this year’s TRANSACT, the world’s most important payments technology event. Marc Abbey, Managing Partner at Accenture Payments, kicked off our Integrated Payments and Software track at TRANSACT with an overview of the evolving ISV marketplace. As a leading observer, analyst and advisor to the payments industry, Marc shared insights on how the ISV market has evolved, the opportunities it presents and what future trends may emerge. We bring his address to you now from the halls of TRANSACT.

As the voice of the payments industry, ETA is always busy meeting with policymakers, Members of Congress and industry leaders to promote a policy environment that fosters growth and accessibility for payments. An important element of our advocacy is working closely with our members to educate policymakers on the ins-and-outs of our industry. On this episode of Transaction Trending, ETA CEO Jason Oxman is joined by Deron Hicks, Vice President of Government Affairs at TSYS. An industry expert, policy wonk and lawyer, Deron is one our industry’s best advocates. He’s an expert on payments policy, and knows what it takes to promote a positive policy environment for payments technology companies. Listen for insights into how payments technology companies advocate for a positive public policy environment, and for tips on how your payments company can make a difference.

This week on the show, we are building on last week’s conversation with Rushi Patel, co-founder of Homebase. Rushi and ETA CEO Jason Oxman discussed the growing role of software developers in the payments ecosystem. Software solutions from software developers are bringing more than payments acceptance to a merchant’s countertop. And through partnerships with high-tech, powerful integrated point-of-sale manufacturers, they can increase stickiness and fight merchant attrition for acquirers and their sales channel partners. The benefits, and new challenges, of this emerging ecosystem between hardware manufacturers and software solutions providers was the topic of one of our best keynotes this year at TRANSACT, the world’s largest payments technology event. At the show, ETA members Poynt, a hardware manufacturer, and talech, a software company, announced a partnership from the Trustwave keynote stage. Together, the companies will enable talech’s suite of software solutions on the Poynt terminal, unlocking new capabilities for merchants. Jason moderated a discussion between Poynt CEO Osama Bedier and talech CEO and co-founder Irv Henderson detailing their new partnership and offering TRANSACT attendees the opportunity to get an inside look at the future of hardware-software partnerships.

When merchants power up their new, smart, integrated point-of-sale systems, they want more than just payments acceptance. They want data. They want analytics. They want scheduling and HR tools, inventory management, accounting software, ecommerce integrations, and more. Payments tech companies have been stepping up to deliver. That’s where companies like Homebase come in. Homebase is an Independent Software Vendor, or ISV. Through a suite of software products, Homebase offers merchants scheduling, timesheet and hiring software, integrated directly into point-of-sale systems. ISVs like Homebase are offering payments companies the value-adds that merchants want. In some cases, ISVs are even venturing into payments processing themselves. At ETA's recent TRANSACT Tech Atlanta event, ETA CEO Jason Oxman sat down with Rushi Patel. Rushi is the co-founder of Homebase and a former payments industry analyst. What's next for the ISV marketplace, and how can payments technology companies capitalize? Listen in.

Payment facilitators are shaking up the sales channel in the payments industry. With a new approach to underwriting and a heavy emphasis on fintech, Payment facilitators like Square and Stripe are providing new payments solutions to merchants of all sizes. Payment facilitators are important to ETA. Our new committee on Payment Facilitators meets regularly to discuss the industry and make connections. We also bring hundreds of payment facilitator and software leaders together at our events like TRANSACT and the TRANSACT Tech series. ETA CEO Jason Oxman met up with Mark Bishopp earlier this summer at TRANSACT Tech Atlanta. Mark is CEO of Amaryllis, a full-service software platform that can service any payment facilitator. Under his leadership, Amaryllis has forged partnerships with some big players in payments technology. Mark is an expert in the nuts and bolts of the PayFac marketplace, so Jason and Mark took a moment between sessions at TRANSACT Tech Atlanta to discuss PayFacs and how the market is responding to their innovations.

What started as a ripple has now become a wave. More and more, people across the tech world are setting their sights on a technology that its staunchest proponents say will fundamentally change not only the payments industry, but every industry. The technology is blockchain, and while its not exactly new, its development, implementation and impact within the payments ecosystem is yet to be fully understood. On this episode, ETA CEO Jason Oxman is joined by Emi Yoshikawa, Director of Joint Venture Partnerships at Ripple, one of the world’s most prominent blockchain startups. Ripple has developed blockchain technology that can provide global financial settlement solutions to financial institutions. As Director of Joint Venture Partnerships, Emi manages business development for Ripple in Asia. Emi is an expert in the utilization of blockchain technology for financial institutions. Earlier this year, she participated on a keynote panel on blockchain at TRANSACT, the world’s largest payments technology event.

Tap-and-go: three words that will come to define the payments experience in the United States. Contactless payments are coming stateside, and the new wave of technological change is being powered by ETA members like Wells Fargo Merchant Services, whose Executive Vice President, Liz Ryan, is the chair of ETA’s Contactless Task Force. The ETA Contactless Task Force met this year at TRANSACT as part of its ongoing mission to develop and implement an industry-wide plan that encourages the adoption of contactless payments. The task force is co-chaired by Melanie Gluck, VP, Mastercard and includes executive leaders from all relevant segments of the payments technology industry, including all major card networks, payment processors and merchant acquirers, financial institutions, software and tech firms, hardware developers and sales channel organizations. ETA CEO Jason Oxman caught up with Liz – who, in addition to chairing the task force, also sits on ETA’s Board of Directors – on the show floor to talk about the ETA Contactless Task Force. She also gave her view of the changing sales channel and role of disruptive software in shaping payments technology.

In 1998, Henry Helgeson founded Merchant Warehouse in upstate New York. He was selling simple terminals and printers to small businesses. In December of 2017, TSYS acquired Cayan – the company Merchant Warehouse would eventually become under Henry’s leadership as CEO - for $1.05 billion. In the twenty years in-between, Henry grew Cayan into a major innovator in the payments marketplace. Cayan has built a portfolio of 70,000 small business merchants and has over 100 integrated partners. Through its Genius platform, Cayan has brought to market a suite of software and hardware products that offers small and medium business owners a variety of advanced payments capabilities. On this podcast, Henry takes listeners through the history of Cayan, how he capitalized on the early days of ecommerce to build a billion dollar payments technology company, the company's acquisition by TSYS, and his insights into the future of payments technology. Henry is a leader and an innovator in the payments industry with decades of experience growing Cayan. He was recently honored at TRANSACT for being awarded ETA’s Distinguished Payments Professional for his work in advancing the industry. Take a listen here.

If you’ve tapped, dipped or swiped your card recently, chances are it was on a Verifone terminal. For over 30 years, the hardware company and its terminals have been a staple of many payments solutions for merchants across the world. However, as ETA CEO Jason Oxman often discusses on this podcast, the payments industry has changed in some major ways. Once a relatively simple piece of hardware, modern payments devices from companies like Verifone must be dynamic, powerful unions of advanced software and hardware. They must be elegant, capable, adaptable, and above all, secure. On this episode of Transaction Trending, a conversation on the innovations at Verifone that drive these products and the payments ecosystem forward with Drago Dzerve, Vice President, Product Management at Verifone.