NEAA – 40 years and counting

The Northeast Acquirers Association celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, with a conference in Atlantic City. The conference was chock full of educational sessions, networking opportunities, and an exhibit hall brimming with innovative products and services.

Alan Forgione, the association’s president, estimated that close to 1,000 merchant services professionals attended the event.

One of the highlights of the yearly NEAA show has been the Catapult Innovation competition, which this year featured four tech startups that leverage artificial intelligence to drive efficiencies and new ways of doing business.

And just for fun, the event included a game-show themed presentation that tested the audience's payments expertise. Loosely based on Wheel of Fortune, Jaron Rice and Bart Kohler served as co-hosts; Amanda Beam was a Vanna White-type character; and contestants, billed as industry legends, were Donna Embry, Dale Laszig and Scott Goldthwaite, all of whom had previously served on the first ETA CPP exam committee.

AI-powered competition

First-place winner, BodegAi Point of Sale, developed an AI-based smart register for a gamut of mom-and-pop shops – bodegas, smoke shops and liquor stores to name a few, explained Jason Diaz, the creator of BodegAi Point of Sale. It comes preloaded with a master database of over 200,000 SKUs.

BodegAi Point of Sale leverages AI to provide the kind of smart pricing, inventory management and product scanning that previously could only be done by big chain stores. Diaz affirmed that it is fully compliant with dual pricing rules – it displays cash and credit prices with dual pricing labels and QR code price checks. It also automatically calculates surcharges, taxes and EBT eligibility. And it helps store owners optimize product placements.

Plus, store owners can track sales, manage prices and view transactions in real time using their mobile phones. Not only does BodegAi simplify the work of storeowners, “With AI, we can actually help a store make more money,” Diaz said, adding that the product is optimal for stores with thousands of SKUs that generate at least $35,000 a month in credit card sales.

AI shapes the future

BodegAi had stiff competition from second-place winner Payzli for EchoAI, an AI-powered tool designed to gamify the customer review process; third-place winner Keyra AI, an automated order management solution for restaurants that integrates with kitchen and POS systems; and fourth-place winner Payarc for PIE, an AI-powered business management suite.

The AI theme was pervasive throughout the event. Presenter Sam Maule, head of business development at Moov who is a mentor, thought leader focused on the human element of digital and banking innovation, demonstrated the "fundamental shift in the scale of fraud due to AI."

AI has numerous use cases, Maule added, beyond fraud prevention and chargeback management, citing examples such as recommendation engines, conversational chatbots, dynamic pricing and risk assessments and intelligent payment acceptance.

“We can no longer ignore this technology or live in fear with our heads in the sand,” Maule said.

In the closing session of the conference, titled “Game Changing Technology,” payments journalist Dale Laszig moderated a panel with Vlad Sadovskiy, founder and CEO of Netevia, and Dustin Siner, chief revenue officer at Payarc. In assessing the evolving payments landscape, the industry leaders stated that AI is the future of payments and urged the audience to leverage the numerous AI-powered tools currently available to stay competitive and relevant.

Whether you want to upgrade your POS offerings, find a payment gateway partner, bone up on fintech regs or PCI requirements, find an upcoming trade show, read about faster payments, or discover the latest innovations in merchant acquiring, The Green Sheet is the resource for you. Since 1983, we've helped empower and connect payments professionals, starting with the merchant level salespeople who bring tailored payment acceptance and digital commerce tools, along with a host of other business services to merchants across the globe. The Green Sheet Inc. is also a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals.

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