Post pandemic, NEAA lights up Philadelphia

The city of brotherly love was a fitting backdrop for the 36th annual Northeast Acquirers Association conference, held April 6 and 7, 2022, at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown. After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-related shutdowns and travel restrictions, the annual on-site conference returned with a packed exhibit hall and diverse conference agenda reflecting the trade association's heritage of serving and educating payments professionals since 1985.

Tom Falcone, national sales director, ISO sales and global business solutions at Fiserv, observed a renewed sense of purpose and energy among attendees, exhibitors and sponsors. "There was a lot of pent-up, very positive energy here in the exhibit hall," he said. "People were alert, focused and trying to get stuff done."

Falcone additionally noted that attendees were eager to network, observe on-site demos and catch up on emerging trends throughout the two-day event, which began with a panel discussion on the payments landscape and opportunities, which was moderated by Don Apgar, director, merchant services and acquiring practice at Mercator Advisory Goup.

Panelists included Amy Crawford, executive vice president, growth strategies and business development at Liquid Payments; David Young, senior director, business development for ACI Worldwide; and Eugene DeSilva, general manager at Aliaswire. The discussion highlighted three top opportunities in digital commerce: embedded payments, buy now, pay later (BNPL) and cryptocurrencies.

Catapult honorees

Fintech startups competed in front of a live audience and judging panel in Catapult, a Shark Tank-style competition featuring 10-minute competitions and a short Q&A. Four contestants, chosen from a large pool of qualified applicants, received the following recognition:

• Fourth place: Vality Corp., a software platform designed to protect and secure payment transactions. It uses advanced technologies to combat quantum computing attacks and stop card-not-present fraud, protect ecommerce merchants and issuers against breaches.

• Third place: Under, a software platform designed to simplify data collection and electronic documentation. The processor-agnostic platform integrates with multiple processor CRM platforms and onboarding APIs and can map data onto other applications.

• Second place: Staitment, a software solution designed to automate merchant statement analysis and create instant proposals. The AI-powered solution simplifies and expedites the formerly manual process to identify related fees and pricing structures.

• First place: Arcum Partners, an advanced, customizable customer retention solution designed to identify at-risk customers before they attrit. The data-driven tool helps service providers proactively address issues while customer relationships are still intact.

Diverse agenda topics

NEAA presentations by a diverse cohort of industry specialists included the following:

• View from the hill: Scott Talbott, senior vice president, government relations at the ETA, provided insights and updates on cryptocurrency, BNPL, open banking, cannabis payment processing, and other emerging regulatory trends and government agency activities.

• ISO Landscape and opportunities: Moderator Peggy Olson, president and CEO at Strategic Marketing, discussed top trending issues with Lazaros Kalemis, CEO for Simpay; Mike DePinto, director, partner relations, for Talus Pay; and John Buchanan, senior vice president, sales, at Agile Financial Systems.

• Value Add spotlight: B2B: Roger McNamara, director of B2B acceptance at Visa and president of Guide2Interchange, covered nuances of B2B commerce business development, including supplier payment strategies, operational processes, tax benefits and the true cost of plastic.

• BNPL-deep dive panel: Moderator Dale Laszig, senior staff writer at The Green Sheet, explored the BNPL ecosystem with panelists Eric Lookhoff, CEO of QuickFee; T. T. Gambrell, sales director for PAX Technology; Ashley Korody, vice president business development for ChargeAfter; and Silvana Hernandez, senior vice president, digital payments at Mastercard. "It was clear today that the BNPL industry is entering into its next wave of solutions," Korody said afterward. "What initially began as a way to provide consumers with more flexible payments has certainly created an entire ecosystem that is continuing to evolve itself to serve a more cohesive and relevant consumer experience."

Thursday presentations were followed by a closing reception in the exhibit hall, giving participants a final chance to network and explore an array of merchant acquirers and technology solutions.

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