Meet the Electronic Transaction Association (ETA)

Last April, more than 2,500 electronic payments professionals representing several hundred domestic and international companies came together at the Electronic Transactions Association’s (ETA’s) Annual Meeting & Expo. Their purpose: to expand existing business relationships, build new ones, and gather information about the products and services they can offer their merchant customers.

Over a 20-plus year span, ETA has emerged as the preeminent representative organization in the payments industry, which encompasses not only traditional credit and debit card processing, but check and stored-value card processing and even alternative payment systems like PayPal and Revolution.

Despite representing the whole of the payments processing industry, ETA’s focus has been to meet the needs of those companies who sell the industry’s products and services to merchants. They’re the ones who hire, train, and field the sales representatives who work directly with merchants – from small shops to restaurants to big-box retailers. The association’s goal is to influence, monitor and help shape the merchant-acquiring industry by providing leadership through education, advocacy, and the exchange of information. Membership, which numbers nearly 500, spans the breadth of the payments industry, from financial institutions to transaction processors to independent sales organizations (ISOs) to equipment suppliers.

Membership in the ETA, which is on a corporate basis, has become crucial for those involved in the electronic transactions industry. First and foremost, ETA membership is a key that gives access to the rich network of leading companies in the industry, from acquiring financial institutions, to processors, to security firms, technology companies, and sales organizations. But there is more.

Membership Privileges include:

• member registration and discount exhibitor rates to the ETA Annual Meeting & ETA Strategic Leadership Forum (savings of 25-35%)
• discounted member advertising rates for Transaction Trends, ETA’s flagship publication
• custom education and member-only rates to ETA University courses and specialty programs
• news & information, including member-only access to ETA’s website; Transaction Trends; a weekly electronic news digest, Currents; a quarterly economic indicators report, white papers and other publications
• advocacy efforts that monitor and influence legislative and regulatory issues and that represent member concerns to government and private entities about the laws, regulations, and guidelines that affect the industry
• member involvement – be eligible to serve on an ETA committee, addressing current and emerging issues, and providing opportunities to build your network of industry connections

For those companies who want to tap into the relationships ETA’s members have with their merchant customers, ETA offers several important showcases for new products and services. At the top of that list is the exhibition that accompanies each Annual Meeting. Typically, nearly 200 companies participate in the expo, which draws 2,500 to 3,000 visitors each year. The Annual Meeting also features a Technology Super Session, which puts a spotlight on 6-10 products that are at the leading edge of payments technology, with live demonstrations and extensive promotion. ETA also sponsors an annual Strategic Leadership Forum, which concentrates on the trends and products that will shape the payments industry’s future.

Over the next year, the association is planning two digital initiatives. First it will launch a new web portal that provides ETA-vetted resources for merchants, covering the entire card acceptance process and make that available to sales representatives from ETA member companies for use with their customers. Second, ETA plans to launch a unique business networking platform that combines aspects of services such as Linked-In or Facebook in an industry specific context.

The credit card business is approaching its 60th anniversary, and ETA, like the rest of the industry has grown in its sophistication and expertise. And as the industry changes, ETA will be at the forefront on behalf of its members.

Electronic Transactions Association
1101 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Toll Free: 800-695-5509
Tel: 202-828-2635
Fax: 202-828-2639