ETA Transact ‘26
March brings us both the best of Madness and clarity, the annual NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament, and more importantly, the Electronic Transaction Association’s premier convocation for the payment industry. Transact ’26 will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta and host 3000+ attendees, 150+ exhibitors, and 140+ speakers. Transact focuses solely on the merchant services ecosystem, comprised of card brands, acquirers, banks, gateways, ISOs, and technology providers. The event is a veritable showcase of technology advances. Transact is a “must attend” for anyone engaged in any aspect of the payments landscape.
Education sessions led by industry experts are hosted on three stages—Tech Zone, Idea Zone, and Growth Zone—providing real-world insights into the virtual “New World” of merchant payment services. There has never been a more monumental technology advance in payments than right now. Leading the technology discussion this year is the real-time implementation and commercialization of AI products and services. The promised AI commerce tools are now real-world ready. We have crossed over the bridge from the future-value hype of AI to the real-world of ROI in agentic commerce, customer support, fraud detection, risk management, and sales generation. Transact’s education sessions will offer insight into understanding how AI tools are reshaping leadership roles, ethical AI implementation considerations, and the use of new productivity tools.
This year’s exhibitors offer a plethora of exciting new products and services ranging from new android POS terminals, mobile payments, SoftPos payments, biometric checkout, crypto coin and services, mobile wallets, embedded payments, online checkout solutions, BNPL, unattended payment devices, and tap-to-own software.
The best part of Transact is networking with your peers, making new contacts, and expanding your industry acuity. There is no better way to increase your skills than to learn first-hand from other payment industry professionals. The ETA and numerous vendors host nightly receptions providing a friendly networking atmosphere for sharing knowledge and experiences, and building your most important life-long career asset—your trusted network! Make the most of it!
See you in the ATL!
Tom McCole is a veteran payment technology executive and business development consultant based in Atlanta.
