Electronic Transactions Association Announces Judges for $10,000 E-Pay Innovation Award

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the trade association of the global electronic payments industry, today announced the panel of judges for the inaugural E-Pay Innovation Award which will be presented at the 2013 ETA Annual Meeting & Expo in New Orleans from April 30 to May 2, 2013.The $10,000 prize, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will go to the exhibitor whose product has the most potential to make a profound impact on the global market by providing financial services to underserved communities.

The judges are Megan Oxman, program officer of innovative finance, Financial Services for the Poor (FSP) team, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; James Wester, senior editor, Mobile Payments Today; Chris Lee, president of North American strategic partnerships and emerging markets, Moneris Solutions; Steve Chu, regional sales manager, Layered Tech; Allen Weinberg, Partner, Glenbrook Partners, and Rori Ferensic, director of education and professional development, ETA.

"With all exhibitors eligible to win the $10,000 prize, the E-Pay Innovation Award promises to be one of the most compelling storylines of a greatly expanded 2013 ETA Annual Meeting & Expo," said Jason Oxman, CEO of ETA. "The meeting & expo are the best places to do business in the electronic transactions industry, and the E-Pay Innovation Award makes it the place to unveil and discover the next game-changing electronic payments products and services."

All companies exhibiting at the 2013 ETA Annual Meeting and Expo will be eligible to win the E-Pay Innovation Award. In order to be considered, exhibitors must display the most innovative electronic payment product or service that provides financial services to unserved or underserved individuals or communities. Entries should be capable of commercial viability within one year, and must be demonstrated live at the 2013 ETA Annual Meeting and Expo as a prototype or software mockup.

As the world's largest stage for payments innovation, the ETA Annual Meeting and Expo brings together thousands of payments and technology industry executives, venture capitalists and media from ten countries to conduct business, strategize, unveil new products and network. Key conference highlights include:

• Keynote Addresses – David W. Nelms, Chairman and CEO of Discover Financial Services and Michael Abbott, CEO of ISIS
• Educational Supersessions – The largest selection of payments learning opportunities of the entire year, all in one place. Topics include electronic processing, legislation, fraud prevention, marketing, financing, recruiting and revolutionary payment startups
• Exhibit Hall - The exhibit hall features 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 and Expo – including the brand-new Mobile Pay Zone and the brand-new Payments Next Zone – establishes the ETA show as the hub of activity in the electronic transactions industry.
• ETA's Small Business Forum; How Mobile Payments Grows Small Business - The forum will feature small business owners from New Orleans and payments industry experts discussing how small business can benefit from mobile payment solutions.
• ETA Executive Press Luncheon – A private lunch meeting with ETA CEO, Jason Oxman will include the release of the latest Economic Indicator Report and all-new Mobile Payments Committee consumer resource tips.

Other event highlights include:

• Mobile Payment Innovations 2013, an all-day conference on April 30 full of 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.
• ETA University (ETAU), a series of live, instructor-led, interactive classes that address key facets of the industry that are necessary for expanding attendees' knowledge and expertise
• ETA's Compliance Day, an all-day event on April 30 that will provide critical information on compliance, new standards, card company rules and mandates, and access to experts from card brands and other compliance space entities to get answers to pressing questions.
• ETA's Government Panel, a discussion with the most influential professionals working on payments issues in the U.S. government. Speakers include top officials in both the executive and legislative branches of government including officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission.
• The Investment Community Forum, an all-day event on April 30 that brings the payments industry together with the investors and investment companies that can help fund the innovation and entrepreneurial energy that drive the future of payments.
• EMV Day, an all-day event on April 30 for issuers, processors, acquirers and merchant to deliver comprehensive discussion about EMV, the global standard for chip-enabled cards.  Presented in partnership with MasterCard Advisors.

For the full schedule of conference and pre-conference events, visit http://www2.electran.org/am13/schedule-of-events/.

For more information about ETA's 2013 Annual Meeting and Expo or to register, visit http://www.electran.org/am13.

SOURCE Electronic Transactions Association