TRANSACT 2025 to Honor the Payments Industry's Top Innovators and Leaders

Honorees will be celebrated at TRANSACT 2025 in Las Vegas, April 2-4, where the leaders in payments will come together to recognize their achievements.

LAS VEGAS, NV, UNITED STATES, February 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 ETA TRANSACT Awards, honoring individuals and companies that are driving payments innovation, shaping industry advancements, and fostering excellence. Honorees will be celebrated at TRANSACT 2025 in Las Vegas, April 2-4, where the industry's top leaders will come together to recognize their achievements.

The ETA TRANSACT Awards program honors outstanding contributions across the industry, including the introduction of a new category-ETA Certified Payments Professional (ETA CPP) of the Year-highlighting excellence in professional certification.

“The ETA TRANSACT Awards spotlight the leaders and organizations setting new standards in the payments industry,” said Jodie Kelley, CEO of ETA. “These honorees are advancing payments through innovation, thought leadership, and a commitment to excellence. Their contributions are moving the industry forward in meaningful ways, and we are proud to recognize their achievements.”

The ETA Industry Affairs Awards & Recognition Committee, composed of payments executives from ETA member companies, reviewed nominations and selected winners in the following categories:

ETA CERTIFIED PAYMENTS PROFESSIONAL (CPP) OF THE YEAR - NEW!
• Katie Hackney, Senior Trainer, North

STAR AWARDS
All honorees will be recognized at the Visa Celebration & ETA Star Awards at TRANSACT, April 2-4, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas.

Committee Volunteer of the Year
Recognizing a volunteer who has dedicated extraordinary time and effort to an ETA committee's success.
- Kevin Shamoun, SVP Product & Innovation, Fortis Pay

Pay It Forward
Honoring an industry professional or company making a difference through community service.
- Robert Martin (posthumously)

Distinguished Payments Professional
The payments industry's highest honor, awarded to a leader who has made significant contributions, set industry benchmarks, and is widely recognized for their impact and leadership.
- Cameron Bready, CEO, Global Payments

Business Partner of the Year
Honoring an ETA member company that has demonstrated strong commitment to the association through sponsorship, thought leadership, and industry engagement.
- Bank of America

Independent Sales Organization (ISO) of the Year
Honoring an ISO that has demonstrated high ethical standards, embraced innovation, and successfully navigated industry challenges with measurable impact.
- Winner: Payarc

Most Innovative Product or Solution
Honoring a proven product or solution that enhances customer usability, increases profitability, reduces friction, or enables significant advances within the payments ecosystem.
- Winners: Kompliant; Popcodes

TOP 10 PAYMENTS ISVs
Recognizing ISVs that are driving innovation and improving payment processing through cutting-edge software solutions, enhancing user experience, security, and efficiency.
- Recipients: Authvia, CenterEdge Software, DepositFix, LaunderPay, Run Payments, Transaction Validation Inc., Trident1, Parky by Volt Merchant, Weave

TOP PAYMENTS SALES PROFESSIONALS
Honoring outstanding sales leaders driving strategic growth in payments.
Recipients: Connor Doyle (Stax Payments), Ross McFerrin (Trustly, Inc.), Aaron Steinberg (Rainforest), Catherine Xu, Jessica Alves (PSP Services Inc.), Mingxi Chen (Universal Processing), Thomas Sheridan (Visa), Paden Glancie (Moneris), Todd Bellino (Payroc), Max Sinovoi (Hubwallet), Danielle Betters (NMI), Chris Williams (North), Sara Bednara (U.S. Bank/Elavon), Dave Snakenborg (NMI), Jim Maddox (Talus Pay), Max Venn-Russell (NMI), Marshall McCulloch (North), Josephine Parisi (Ingenico Canada Ltd.), Adam Schoh (Wells Fargo), Megan Schultz (Wells Fargo Bank), Ashley Bruno (American Express), Melissa Hurd (American Express), John Buchanan (Payarc), Sid Masso (Finix), and Lexy Werner (Mastercard)

ETA YOUNG PAYMENTS PROFESSIONALS (YPP)
Recognizing young professionals and their mentors shaping the future of payments.
- Recipients: William Childress (Bank of America), Allison Francke (US Alliance Group), Ashley Starnes (Featurespace, a Visa Solution), Takia Robinson (Discover Financial Services), Nicholas Martin (First Atlantic Commerce), Jordyn Shelton (American Express | Global Payments Consulting Group), Diego Amaya Rodriguez (U.S. Bank / Elavon), Aris Gao (Universal Processing), and Charles Meyer (Payroc)

FORTY UNDER 40
Celebrating next-generation leaders in payments.
- Recipients: Allison Raley (Arnall Golden Gregory), Joe Helmy (JP Morgan), Jerry Lee (Stripe, Inc.), Charles Cicack (High Wire Payments), Jonathan Cole (Corepay), Chelsye Toliver (Novo Platform Inc.), Ning Wang (CORE Business Technologies), Sandra Ishak (Ingenico Inc.), Daniel Resendez (FIS/WP), Nicole Pirog (Bishota Law PLLC), Dustin Magaziner (PayBright), Lysandra Justiniano (Stax Payments), Ashton Radican (Encytro), Anna Connors (Adyen), Matthew Hernandez (Maverick Payments), Evan O'Brien (Payroc), Robert Newton (CardFlight), Greg Gorman (North), Sophie Zhai (Universal Processing LLC.), Sean McDonald (PNC Bank), Casey Golden (Talus Payments), Danny Ferens (MAPP Advisors), Uri Kunstlinger (Sola), Michelle Travers (Humboldt Merchant Services), Travis Jordan (Merchant Focus), Joseph Saahene (Usio, Inc.), Steve Lovasz (U.S. Bank / Elavon), Alexis McDonough (PAYARC), Nabil Manji (Worldpay), Jimmy Virk (Beyond Bancard), Stacee Birdsong (Rainforest Pay, Inc.), Scott Hart (NMI), Brent Zucker (Featurespace, a Visa Solution), Jenny Miller (Wise US Inc.), Katie Klein (Mastercard), Conn Byrne (Payroc), Alex Paull (American Express), Zack Zahl (Verifone Inc.), Abubacker Nainamohamed (Valor Paytech), and Dakotah Dugan (Discover)

"TRANSACT 2025 is the gathering place for payments leaders," Kelley added. "These awards highlight the industry’s visionaries, and we look forward to celebrating their contributions."

For more on the ETA Star Awards, honorees, or this year’s TRANSACT, visit TRANSACTshow.com.

About ETA
The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) is the world’s leading advocacy and trade association for the payments industry. Our members span the breadth of payments and fintech companies, from the largest incumbent players to the emerging disruptors in the U.S. and in more than a dozen countries around the world. ETA members make commerce possible by processing approximately $52.7 trillion annually in purchases and P2P payments worldwide and deploying payments innovation to merchants and consumers.

About Trifecta Collective
Known as architects of innovation in the event industry, Trifecta Collective LLC is a unique trade show organizer whose mission is to elevate B2B events to unprecedented heights, infusing every event with a touch of ingenuity and forward-thinking brilliance. With extensive leadership experience in building and leading industry events and backed by a dynamic partnership with GreyLion, Trifecta seeks partnerships to strategically align with visionary leaders who have already laid the groundwork for success within an industry vertical. Since 2021, Trifecta Collective has been building a portfolio of market-leading trade shows and events that are leaders in their respective market segments.

Chela Piacentini
TRANSACT
chela@transactshow.com
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