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NEAA Meeting Report The 2003 summer meeting of the Northeast Acquirers Association took place June 11-12 in Atlantic City, N.J. This was a very successful meeting, with more than 325 attendees. The vendor comments were unanimously positive, and the consensus was that this show was highly focused on the Merchant Level Salesperson (MLS). As I met with each of the vendors in the expo area, several factors for this meeting's success became apparent:
The NEAA seminar presentations were focused on business opportunities for the MLS. Each presentation was a concise 45-minute discussion. Presenters included American Express, STAR Network, MasterCard and Visa International. We will have detailed articles on each of the presentations in future issues of The Green Sheet. Alan Forgione, Nancy Austin, Jacques Breton and the rest of the NEAA board deserve a substantial round of applause for their successful efforts in organizing this meeting. I had the opportunity to speak with many attendees who shared their enthusiasm for the event with me. Universally, the sales professionals I spoke with said:
The GS staff will attend each of the regional acquirers association meetings in the coming months. We look forward to the opportunity to support these events and would encourage our readers to attend the event in your area. The future meetings will be highlighted in this column and are listed online in the Tradeshow Directory. NATIONAL AND MULTINATIONAL ASSOCIATIONSElectronic Transactions Association 1101 16th Street NW, 4th floor Washington, DC 20005 Phone: 800-695-5509 Fax: 202-828-2639 The ETA committees for the 2003-04 year are being formed and will be announced following the July 18 board meeting. The new office in Washington, D.C., opened July 1, 2003. Financial Women International, Inc. 200 North Glebe Rd., Suite 820 Arlington, VA 22203-3728 Phone: 703-807-2007 Fax: 703-807-0111 Next Event FWI's 81st Annual Conference September 6-9, 2003 Honolulu Brochure and registration available online: www.fwifoundation.org/81stconference.htm Regional Meetings and Chapter Organizations www.fwi.org/newevents/calendar.htm National Association of Payment Professionals Web site: www.naopp.net The temporary Board of Directors for the National Association of Payment Professionals (NAOPP) met for the second time to ratify the by-laws and map out the short-term assignments for the board members and committees. Following the meeting in Atlanta, the interim board announced the reorganization of the association. This organization is being designed to assist the Merchant Level Salesperson (MLS). NAOPP's Mission Statement states: "This organization shall exist for all those selling in the Payment Processing industry, by providing Education, Benefits, Liaison/Representation and Certification." A great number of positive events occurred at the meeting. The overall feeling was that this organization has a fighting chance to succeed. Interim Officers:
Interim Non-MLS Directors:
Next Event The first open meeting for all members and potential members is tentatively scheduled to take place in Orlando in conjunction with the SEAA meeting in October. For more info on this organization and how to join, please refer to the Web site at www.naopp.net. The National Clearing House 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 1500 Dallas, TX 75201 Phone: 214-953-4708 Contact: Barbara Lozzi, Director of Sales and Marketing E-mail: Barbara.lozzi@thencha.com Web site: www.thencha.com The National Clearing House is a not-for-profit, nationwide payment transactions clearing house whose mission is to continually enhance the efficiency of the payment system of the United States for all financial institutions. Member services presently include local, regional and national check clearing and settlement (for checks and check images), joint transportation programs and risk-management initiatives. Settlement services are also extended to other clearing houses across the country. Members are divided into two classes: Regional Members and National Members. Regional Membership is comprised of depository institutions that exchange and settle checks drawn on other Regional Members within a local or regional geographical area. National Membership is comprised of depository institutions located throughout the United States that exchange and settle checks and check images drawn on one another and one another's local check clearing house members under an operational and cost structure that ensures a common benefit to all participants. The NCHA's goals and objectives are in step with the industry's goals of national standardized rules and a national settlement platform. Recent accomplishments related to these goals and objectives include:
Current initiatives include:
Next Event Annual membership meeting September 18-19, 2003 Philadelphia The purpose of the membership meeting is to communicate association goals and accomplishments, solicit members' thoughts and ideas and provide information on the latest industry issues. Obtain the hotel event rate by registering before August 15, 2003. Contact Karroll Searcy, 214-953-4723, for registration information. Officers:
For additional information, contact Barbara Lozzi, Director of Sales and Marketing, at the address listed above. Western Payments Alliance (WesPay) 100 Bush Street, Suite 400 San Francisco, CA 94104 Phone: 415-433-1230 Fax: 415-433-1370 Next Event Payments Symposium 2003 September 28-30 The Palace Hotel, San Francisco Please see GS issue 03:05:01 for complete details Registration available online at Web site listed above REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONSBankcard Association of Southern California (BASC) P.O. Box 301772 Escondido, CA 92030-1772 What is the BASC? It was founded in 1977 by a group of credit card and ATM managers, ISOs and service firms/vendors. The purpose of the BASC is to further the interests and use of electronic-commerce including credit cards, debit cards, e-commerce, ATM cards and all other products offered by the card industry. BASC's goal is "to help educate our attendees on industry trends, including regulation updates, hardware, software applications, online banking services and overall the 'hot' topics related to the [payment processing] industry." Like the other regional associations, BASC is a non-profit group. However, it differs in that it is a membership-based organization. Members and non-members may attend the quarterly meetings. Unlike the NEAA, SEAA and MWAA, this organization is not focused on the MLS/ISO but rather on providing banks and credit unions with information and access to the card associations. Nevertheless, the one-day quarterly meetings will be of interest to MLS/ISOs in the Southern California area. Annual Membership Fees:
Next Events August 28, 2003: Gift and Loyalty Card Programs November 6, 2003: BASC Annual Vendor Expo Location for All Meetings The Holiday Inn Monrovia 924 W. Huntington Drive Monrovia, CA Phone: 626-357-1900 BASC Officers and Board Members
Anyone interested in finding out more about BASC may contact Sherry Friedrichsen at 760-243-7990 or sfriedrichsen@gcfinc.com Midwest Acquirers Association c/o Jim McCormick General Credit Forms, Inc. 3595 Rider Trail South Earth City, MO, 63045 Web site: www.midwestacquirers.com The MWAA Web site is now live and is a terrific gateway to this newly formed regional association. The recently completed site includes:
Please visit the Web site for complete meeting details: www.midwestacquirers.com/index.html First Meeting July 30-August 1, 2003 Hotel Allegro 171 West Randolph St. Chicago, IL Registration information: Jim McCormick E-mail: info@midwestacquirers.com Fax: 815-577-1402 Northeast Acquirers Association 11 Westman Street Somersworth, NH 03878 Phone: 603-692-2408 Fax: 603-692-2384 Next Event Winter 2004 Gathering February 4-5, 2004 Grand Summit, Mt. Snow, Vermont Southeast Acquirers Association c/o John McCormick General Credit Forms, Inc. 3595 Rider Trail South Earth City, MO, 63045 Next Event 3rd Annual Meeting October 8-9, 2003 The Rosen Centre Hotel 9840 International Drive Orlando, FL 32819 Phone: 407-996-9840 Fax: 407-996-2659 Please see GS issue 03:05:01 for complete details. For registration information, please e-mail John McCormick at jmccormick@gcfinc.com of phone him at 800-325-1158. |
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© 2003, The Green Sheet, Inc. |
he associations' events are listed in the Trade Show directory available on the Green Sheet Online. Additional information on the meetings, such as agendas and direct links for registration and hotels, are on our Web site when available. If you know of an association that is not listed or if you have a question you would like posted to the associations, please write to me at