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don't even have a will or a trust, in part, because they are One track was held in what looked like a boxing ring.
intimidated by the cost or don't know who to go to, this Participants were given small radio transmitters and
seems like a perfect example of a financial disruptor. earphones to aid listening because presenters did not have
traditional microphones. I thought this was a good idea,
Checks, paper and virtual although in a session I attended, organizers ran out of
Since I live in the check world of corporate cash transmitters.
management, I attended a presentation called Paper Card brands under pressure
Checks are Under Fire. Thirty years ago, I worked at a
leading cash management bank, First Chicago, which One presenter noted that it took 60 years for the card brands
was implementing the General Motors Electronic Data to issue 3 billion cards and equip 44 million merchants
Interchange (EDI) project, expected to be a revolution in worldwide to take card payments. However, there soon
payments. Today, EDI has had limited success or adoption will be ten times the coverage in terms of ways to reach
beyond the very largest enterprises and perhaps the top customers and accept payments. Visa is now giving out
15 retailers. APIs and SDKs to developers; for all of its previous history,
it was a closed shop.
The majority of B2B payments are still made using paper
checks, much to the amazement of the attendees at this This is a big change for the card brands, which are
conference. With the exception of EDI, it is difficult keenly aware that many disruptors are building ways for
for businesses to exchange purchase order and invoice consumers to pay so that merchants do not have to pay
information electronically, unless they are using the interchange. This brings to mind a memorable comment
same accounting system, which is unlikely. Further, by a presenter whose name I can't recall: "I've learned two
many businesses do not want to share their bank account things in life: don't start a land war in Asia and don't bring
information with anyone else, including their suppliers. up the topic of interchange at Money20/20."

At the conference, any mention of paper checks was About 1,500 fintech startups are operating in the payments
greeted with muffled laughter. But for some time, virtually segment. As writer Elena Mesropyan put it in her regular
all checks have been converted to digital image files and column at https://letstalkpayments.com, "The vast majority
cleared electronically for next-business-day settlement; of fintech startups around the world are competing for
they don't take longer to clear than ACH transactions. capital, traction, and an extended runway before the next
If you run a large enterprise, you want the safety and round. On that level, the only competition that matters is
security of the Uniform Commercial Code and 200 years of with fellow startups …only a handful have a chance in an
banking law behind you, not the NACHA Rules and Regs intensely competitive market."
and Reg. E, which is a consumer protection statute. My
company is working on solutions that enable consumers Most such fintechs will not survive the cash-flow needs
to write virtual checks if they don't have checkbooks; the of starting a new enterprise and building it to be self-
paper aspect is just not all that relevant anymore. sustaining or sold to someone else. Until now, banks
haven't been particularly forward-thinking about digital
Many tempting tracks strategies, but now many banks are talking to fintech
The event's presentations were divided into tracks startups about how their products can help commercial
comprising regulation, entrepreneurship, financial banks transition to the next stage of the digital economy.
inclusion, globalization, payments, commerce, security, I suspect this progress will be slower than many would
banking, blockchain, lending and the customer want. In speculating about the future, I heard one attendee
experience. It would be impossible for one individual to see say, "What if Amazon buys ADP?" ADP is a provider of
everything. My guess is that to cover the show thoroughly, human resources management software and services.
it would take a team of at least three people from a given Big changes.
organization ‒ two to attend the presentations and one to
cover the tradeshow floor, and even then, you'd still miss Brandes Elitch, Director of Partner Acquisition for CrossCheck Inc., has
a lot. been a cash management practitioner for several Fortune 500 com-
panies, sold cash management services for major banks and served
Most of the presentations I attended were in the payments as a consultant to bankcard acquirers. A Certified Cash Manager
track. The show started at 9 a.m. on Sunday and finished and Accredited ACH Professional, Brandes has a Master's in Business
at noon on Wednesday. Four nights at the Venetian, airfare Administration from New York University and a Juris Doctor from Santa
and the ticket price would take up most of $5,000, so it's Clara University. He can be reached a brandese@cross-check.com.
a bit of a rarefied atmosphere. I'd say many senior level
people in the payments industry attended from all over
the world, judging from the different languages I heard
spoken.

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