Transact 2025 Wrap Up

by Tom McCole

This year’s ETA Transact event was simply the best payments industry event ever. It is a dynamic time to be in this industry with the unrelenting rate of advancements in mobile payments, kiosks, identity verification, self-checkout all other areas of the POS business.

The ETA staff’s educational speaker program delivered the latest industry revelations as well as direction for successful merchant adoption on three separate stages: Ideas, Growth, and Tech. The expo hosted the usual industry drivers–card brands, banks, hardware and software providers–as well as several new tech firms that have developed amazing new commerce technologies. The key education topics included Open Banking, The Subscription Economy, Embedded Payments, Real-Time Payments, Stable Coin, and demystifying AI in payments.

Innovations in payment technologies and processes were the stars of the show for me.

Wink and Phoenix Managed Networks announced their recent merger to accelerate AI-driven innovations in payments and identity. They displayed their complete AI-biometric pay-by-face checkout system that rides on the Phoenix payment rails.

Nexgo Global displayed their MPoC-certified Android terminals for tap-to-pay along with their new self-service kiosk for supermarkets, quick-serve, and other applications. They also highlighted their pocket mPOS device that fits in the palm of your hand for mobile applications.

Newland NPT, a (new to the U.S.) payment hardware, cloud services, and estate management solution, displayed its broad product line. The company, headquartered in Singapore, has deployed over 100 million terminals globally over its 30-year history.

Truist Bank’s Chris Ward, Head of Enterprise Payments, shared his perspective regarding the benefits of real-time 24/7 payments. Additional benefits include eliminating the cost of check and cash handling, and reducing receivable costs.

Discover hosted a terrific reception at Skyfall. It was a great mixer with the absolute best view of Las Vegas at night!