This week, the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) held Transact 16 in Las Vegas. The event was host to over 4,000 attendees, 200 exhibitors, and countless announcements.
The Strawhecker Group (TSG), a Gold Sponsor, was present at the show. Afterwards, the team put together commentary to summarize key topics heard at Transact 16:
- EMV Chargebacks
- While talking to major acquirers at Transact, the conversation has shifted over the past six months from EMV compliance to EMV related chargebacks. As TSG reported, overall chargebacks increased 15.3% in bank card $ volume YOY and 30.9% of bank card transactions. This topic certainly dominated conversations with some large acquirers as they are attempting to determine the root cause of this increase which is not only increasing expense, but also merchant complaints. More to come on this issue as additional data is analyzed.
- Big Transactions
- TransFirst is TSYS – was apparent at Transact with the two companies sharing booth space as well as a new management team, after the transaction closed on April 1. Several TSYS clients commented that it will be an interesting transition for the company.
- Global Payments’ acquisition of Heartland closed on Thursday, April 21. With both Bob Carr and Bob Baldwin set to retire, the industry is losing two very influential participants that have made an impact.