WASHINGTON, DC — August 17, 2004 — Fast-rising electronic transaction fees, privacy, security, biometrics, proliferating payment cards, check fraud, RFID — the issues and their solutions — will take center stage at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) 2004 Electronic Payment Systems (EPS) Conference, October 5 – 7 in Lake Buena Vista, FL. The program will feature today’s leading banking, technology and payments industry executives, and the government officials that regulate the industry.
     

“Today’s consumers have a seemingly endless assortment of electronic payment options, many of which are just beginning to gain in popularity,” said John Briggs, vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, Hy-Vee Supermarkets, and chairperson of the FMI EPS committee. “These options provide retailers with enormous opportunity, but they also come with serious consequences that retailers must consider when determining which payment options will best serve their company and their customers. The EPS conference will provide attendees with the information they need to make these important decisions.”
     

The conference is designed for I/T executives, electronic payment systems support personnel, controllers, treasurers, accounting managers and other individuals involved in financial services management.
     

Specific sessions at the conference will include:

• Litigation and the Interchange Structure — This opening keynote will provide an overview of the changes retailers have seen in card interchange and merchant agreements following last year’s settlement of the Visa/MasterCard antitrust lawsuit. It will explore the impact of the decision to allow financial institutions to issue American Express and Discover cards.




• Check 21 – 101 — This real-world analysis will explore how the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21 Act) will change how paper checks are processed. The session will highlight how banks, retailers and consumers will be affected, and what it will mean to the processing and settlement of check transactions in the future.




• Privacy, Security and Card Payments Open Forum — Bankers and retailers will share ideas for creating a more dynamic and cooperative approach in developing standards that secure consumer privacy while mitigating card fraud. Representatives from leading card industry associations will discuss their security requirements, and retailers will share their experiences with developing their own security and loss-prevention measures.




• Biometric, Smart Cards, RFID: Payments Fad or Future? — Have biometrics, smart cards and RFID payments lived up to the hype of being the next big thing? This session will examine the status of these payment projects and reveal what the future holds for each payment type.
• Retailer Driven Payments — Speakers will explore different payment options retailers might find attractive for their ease of use, speed of funds availability and lower overall costs. Session will feature options like ACH payments and prepaid cards, which are becoming increasingly attractive to retailers who seek a role in the payments driver’s seat.

For more information on the 2004 Electronic Payment Systems Conference, please contact Stacy Fitzgerald-Redd (202-220-0736, sfitz@fmi.org) or Elaine Sherman (202-220-0702, esherman@fmi.org), or visit http://www.fmi.org/events/.