Payments industry event organizers made lemonade when measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 handed them lemons in the form of cancelled in-person events. They regrouped, pivoted, researched and took swift action to bring people together in virtual ways. In the process they discovered promising new options, some of which they will continue to employ after colleagues eager to network and learn together will once again be able to gather in person.
This issue's lead article shares what went into planning some of this year's premier virtual events, what worked well and what those on the front lines learned. Despite the stressful circumstances that prompted their digital transformations, the innovators interviewed for this article found the experience to be enjoyable, edifying and beneficial in multiple ways.
Industry experts contributing to our print and expanded online editions also spotlighted several ways that payments professionals are adapting during the pandemic. They discussed why those who do not adopt new sales approaches are risking their livelihoods; how to sustain your business through portfolio diversification and offering merchants what they need right now; how to help merchants adopt safer payments acceptance as COVID-19 restrictions ease; ways fraudsters are finding new victims during pandemic; how SMBs can compete with larger merchants and provide easy-to-use, customer-pleasing services at the POS; and the benefits to merchants of fintech-driven MCAs.
Responses to the pandemic are naturally part of payments' daily news cycle, but other developments and trends haven't ground to a halt. Several recent news stories posted under Breaking Industry News on our homepage are highlighted herein. These include interchange optimization's potential to lower fees and make price integral to the sales process; a virtual summit featuring a who's who of leaders in data security; an EMV implementation deadline extension for petroleum retailers; and how the National ATM Council is working with private and government sectors to support the retail ATM industry during the pandemic.
Additionally, you'll find product and company profiles, along with notices of new company leadership, industry research, partnerships, acquisitions and other company and individual milestones in our realm. While we don't have room to include all the news we receive in our magazine, we do post relevant news daily under News From the Wire, so send your press releases to press@greensheet.com. And if you have questions or feedback, please email us at greensheet@greensheet.com. 
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Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
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