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Letter from the editor

s the payments indus-
try evolves, so do the
associations formed to
A support professionals
working within it The Electronic
Transactions Association, originally founded as the
Bankcard Services Association in 1990, was renamed
the Electronic Transactions Association in 1996 to
reflect its focus on electronic payments and trans-
actions beyond bankcards. The Secure Technology
Alliance, founded as the Smart Card Forum in 2001
and renamed the Smart Card Alliance in 2002, trans-
formed into the Secure Technology Alliance in 2017
to convey its broader focus on secure technologies
beyond smart cards.

Another dynamic industry association, PayTech Wom-
en, is the subject of this issue's lead article. Founded as
Women Networking in Electronic Transactions (W.net)
in 2005 with the goal of helping women in payments
connect, share resources and support each other, the
organization became Women's Network in Electronic
Transactions (Wnet) in 2012, and took on the arresting
PayTech Women moniker in 2022, a rebranding that
reflects its expanded mission and growing influence
across the fintech sphere. Through a diverse set of pro-
grams, the group is working daily to create a more vital
and diverse payments industry for us all.

Also elevating the industry for our common good, ex-
pert contributors to this magazine share herein knowl-
edge of such topics as how businesses can use cash dis-
counting and surcharging to mitigate processing fees;
how to win by helping retailers capture and retain cus-
tomer attention in today's competitive environment;
why it's time to look into BTMs, which provide custom-
ers a convenient way to buy bitcoin and increase foot
traffic for merchants; how Gen Z's preferences and hab-
its are changing the world of finance; and why loosen-
ing restrictions on dual pricing could mitigate soaring
interchange rates in the United States.

News stories highlighted for you include concern
among senators in Washington sparked by increased
use of buy now, pay later; recent U.S. Census data that
confirms the National Retail Federation's robust holi-
day spending forecast; Elon Musk's intention to disrupt
the payments industry by expanding X to become an
"everything app"; AI's rise, enthralling both public and
private sectors; new partnerships forming to combat
new and increasing identity theft, first-party fraud and
other financial crimes; and a delay in the Fed's debit
cap plan.
We hope you find much value in the news, features,
updates and profiles included in this issue. Please send
your questions and suggestions to greensheet@green-
sheet.com and your news to press@greensheet.com.
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