WSAA 2023 celebrates 20-year milestone

In a fitting finale to the 2023 payment conference season, the Western States Acquirers Association held its 20th annual conference at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., attracting more than 1,400 attendees, 150 exhibitors, 50 sponsors and 500 organizations.

Managed by a board of industry volunteers, WSAA serves individuals and businesses focused on selling merchant acquiring-related services to retail and ecommerce business owners. Board members of the 501(c)(6) nonprofit and non-member trade association thanked exhibitors, sponsors and registrants for making WSAA 2023 possible, stating the event is a place to renew friendships, network, explore emerging technologies and leverage in-person communications.

Mike Ackerman, president at DigiPay Solutions, said he looks forward to seeing old and new friends at WSAA every year and participating in the Ken Elderts Memorial Golf Tournament, pre-holiday parties, such as this year's Halloween gala, and other annual traditions.

"We work in a small industry where everyone knows each other and even your competitors are your friends," he said. "Besides the fact that this year's show was held practically in my backyard, I had a chance to go around and catch up with people I have known for years."

Expanded agenda

WSAA 2023 organizers pointed out that unlike previous conferences, this year's expanded agenda offered two full days of curated content, citing the following agenda highlights:

• Card brand thought leadership: Mastercard's Jeff White, global acquirer products, led a discussion on risk management with Richard Parrott, vice president, risk & compliance at Talus Pay; Will Seitz, director of sales, Americas for G2 Web Services; Kort Gibson, director of merchant sales at Midigator; Robert Palmer, sales manager for Kount, an Equifax Company; and Conlen Pritchette, director, C&I products business development at Mastercard, aimed at integrating tools to resolve fraudulent practices and de-risk businesses.

  Visa's Curtis Webb, senior director, head of disbursements, NA at Visa Direct, moderated a panel with William Hay, senior manager, banking, capital markets and payments at Accenture and Robert Clayton, vice president, digital payouts for Fiserv, exploring fast payments in the on-demand economy.

  Separate discussions led by Christina Rivers, director, business development, NA acquiring at Visa, with Jamie Johnson, merchant risk quality control manager at Chesapeake Bank; and Roger McNamara, director, B2B acceptance, strategic merchant services at Visa with Perryn Holtrop, founder and CEO at PayNation and Greg Cohen, chairman and CEO for Fortis, focused on payfac buzzwords and emerging B2B payment trends, respectively.

• A view from Capitol Hill: Scott Talbott, executive vice president of the ETA, shared insights on how Congress and federal regulators from the CFPB to the FTC are scrutinizing the payments industry and prioritizing policies around AI, crypto and surcharging in response to address looming threats and emerging opportunities.

• Sustainability, resilience: A panel of industry leaders explored fintech and payments industry resilience in the face of challenging economic times, evolving capital market trends and the impact of publicly traded payments companies restricting valuations. Participants included Todd Ablowitz, co-CEO and co-founder at Infinicept; Abigail Anderson Berard, chief of staff, corporate development for Celero Commerce; Amar Mehta, managing director at FT Partners; and Marcus Dagenais, corporate development for Payroc.

• Human resource management: Noting that organizations could embrace diversity by hiring outside of their immediate networks, this panel of experts discussed how AI, machine learning and automation may affect ISO, payfac, and fintech staffing practices. Nick Bencigena, vice president, US SMB sales at Paysafe, led the discussion with Elaina Smith, CFO, Secure Bancard; Liz Pike, president at Green Rhino Recruitment; and Kevin Smith, president and CEO for Secure Bancard.

• Cash discount, surcharging practices: This panel explored changing rules and regulations in cash discount and surcharging programs, such as Visa's 3 percent surcharging cap, that make it difficult for ISOs and merchant level salespeople to stay compliant and avoid harsh fines and penalties. Led by James Huber, partner at Global Legal Law Firm, panelists included Rob Johnson, senior director, Head of Visa Rules Management at Visa; Adam Friedman, president at Bank Transactions Inc.; Kavan Thanasith, CEO for Coastal Pay LLC; and Travis Everett, COO at National Merchants Association.

• AI's impact on payments: Led by Jason Selby, business development manager at Maverick Payments, this discussion with Seshu Madabushi, founder and CEO at mKonnekt LLC, and Ramandeep Randhawa, senior vice dean of academic programs and professor of data sciences and operations at USC Marshall School of Business, explored challenges and opportunities of using AI, its potential impact on the payments industry and ethical considerations. 

• Entrepreneurship: Businesses need to invest in new technologies and skilled professionals to grow, scale and stay ahead of the curve, according to Austin Talley, founder and CEO at Everyware, and Joe Daly, principal at Argyle Payments, in this panel discussion moderated by Kevin Calabrese, executive vice president for Fluid Pay.

• Keynote address: Noted author and speaker Scott McKain presented five steps for creating an ultimate customer experience, explaining why experience, not service, generates loyalty and what you need to do to create it.

A show to remember

Amanda Beem, ETA CPP and director of partner success at Maverick Payments, stated she is honored to be a WSAA board member and thanked everyone for supporting WSAA for 20 years.

"It's truly a labor of love, but happy to give back to a community that I've received so much from," she said in a Nov. 7, 2023, LinkedIn post. "I could not be more proud of serving on the Western States Acquirers Association Board of Directors and extremely grateful to be supported by my amazing employer, Maverick Payments and team!"

Ackerman praised WSAA 2023 board of directors, organizers and volunteers for putting on a memorable event with a broadly appealing agenda and vibrant exhibit hall. He also mentioned that like him, fellow payments industry veterans with whom he spoke at the show are thinking about how to create their own lasting impressions on a new generation of leaders.

"Most payments industry professionals want to be remembered as good people who did the right thing," he said.

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