Electronic Transactions Association Wraps Largest Show in Its 23-year History

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) today closed its 2013 Annual Meeting & Expo at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. This year, the industry's largest trade show welcomed a record number of exhibitors across 150,000 square feet of floor space, the largest in ETA's history. The Annual Meeting featured numerous experts and panelists to highlight the latest trends, developments and innovations in payments technology.

"The 2013 Annual Meeting & Expo was our largest event yet, further positioning ETA's show as the best place to do business in the payments industry," said Jason Oxman, CEO of ETA. "With 80% of the show floor already sold for the ETA show in Las Vegas in 2014, our exhibitors know that more business gets done at the ETA show than any other event all year."

"As a payments innovator, we recognize the ETA show as the hub of activity for EMV and mobile payments," said Ingrid Anusic, head of marketing for CreditCall. "All the players, partners and opportunities are here. Based on the quality of delegates and the show, we decided to double our space on the exhibit floor for 2014."

Highlights of the 2013 Annual Meeting & Expo included a government panel addressing current payment issues with influential policy makers. Topics included mobile payments, privacy, cyber security and pre-paid cards. The panelists were Maximilian D. Schmeiser, an economist with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; Patricia Poss, chief of the mobile technology unit at the Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade Commission; and Marla Blow, associate director of the cards and prepaid services division at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The experts on the government panel provided guidance on the regulatory framework for mobile payments. According to the panelists, in order to achieve widespread consumer adoption of mobile payments the industry needs to work closely with regulators to provide consumers with clear, concise disclosures on the privacy and security of mobile payments.

The Mobile Pay Zone and the Payments Next Zone were among the new features in the exhibit hall, which included a record number of more than 200 exhibitors across 150,000 square feet. Through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Payments Next Zone scholarships provided exhibit space to innovative startups seeking to launch payments technology to serve global consumers. Trak won the $10,000 E-Pay Innovations Award for its next-generation POS card reader, app and mobile payment platform for Latin America, which demonstrated strong potential to make a profound impact on the global market and help to bring financial services to under- and un-banked communities.

Key conference highlights included:

• Mobile Payment Innovations 2013 – An all-day conference April 30 that provided attendees with actionable business information from speakers representing a cross-section of players within the mobile payments ecosystem. Presented in partnership with Strategic Solutions Network, the creators of the industry-renowned Mobile Contactless Payment Innovations series of events.
• Electronic Transactions Association University (ETAU) – A series of live, instructor-led, interactive classes that addressed key facets of the industry that are necessary for expanding attendees' knowledge and expertise.
• Keynote Addresses – David Nelms, CEO of Discover Financial Services and Michael Abbott, CEO of ISIS.
• Educational Supersessions – Throughout the annual meeting, education sessions focused on the most pressing issues for the industry. Sessions included "To Aggregate, or Not to Aggregate," "The New Payments Paradigm: How Payment Start-Ups Will Change Our Industry," "Who Do You Think You Are? The Value of Brand Equity to Your Business," "NFC vs. Cloud: The Best Method to Engage Customers and Increase Sales," and many more.
• Exhibit Hall – The exhibit hall featured more than 200 exhibitors across 150,000 square feet at the state-of-the-art Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in the heart of New Orleans. A significant expansion of ETA's 2013 Annual Meeting & Expo – including the brand-new Mobile Pay Zone and the brand-new Payments Next Zone – established the ETA show as the hub of activity in the electronic transactions industry.
• ETA Executive Luncheon – A private lunch meeting with ETA CEO Jason Oxman included the release of the latest Economic Indicators Report and all-new Mobile Payments Committee consumer resource tips.

ETA's Annual Meeting & Expo will return to Las Vegas in 2014 with an even larger show, building upon the success of the record-breaking 2013 Expo. Due to unprecedented early demand, ETA has expanded its show floor by 30 percent to 200,000 square feet, and has already sold 80 percent of the exhibit space.

If you are interested in exhibiting at the 2014 ETA Annual Meeting & Expo, please contact Todd Ogranovitch at 703.964.1240 or [email protected]

About ETA

The Electronic Transactions Association is an international trade association representing more than 500 companies that offer electronic transaction processing products and services. ETA's mission is to advance the payments industry profession by providing leadership through education, advocacy and the exchange of information.

SOURCE Electronic Transactions Association