Blogs

Following the session with David, attendees were able to choose their perfect education destination with four concurrent sessions including Customer Authority: What Does it Mean, Why is it Important and How Do We Get it? with Scott Jones, Esq. of Adams & Reese, LLP and Fintech: Knowing the Risk for the Reward with John Calderon, MBA, CAMS, Bison State Bank.

The final general session of the day was A Look at Cyber Crime With the FBI with FBI Agent George Schultzel. Our first day concluded with an A-List caliber Gala Reception, filled with delicious hors d'oeuvres, fun games and plenty of networking. During the Gala, and all throughout the conference, attendees were able to visit Hoot-E’s Photo Spot, where they were asked to grab a prop and strike a pose! You can check out all the photos on our Facebook and NEW Instagram page.

Our second day began with a warm breakfast and an early flight into payments with The Morning Payments Show with The Payments Professor. Attendees started their day off with all the news and information needed to successfully navigate the ever-changing world of electronic payments. The Payments Professor provided a candid conversation, diving into the many nuances of the electronic payments world, exploring everything from fraud and compliance to trends and new developments. Panelists on the Morning Payments Show included Monique-Renee Canty, AAP, APRP, CAMS of The Clearing House; Joni Hopkins, AAP of the Federal Reserve Financial Services; Devon Marsh, APRP of Nacha and Abhishek Veeraghanta of Pidgin.

During Tuesday’s luncheon, guests were treated to Building Ethical Strength with Aaron Beam (pictured right). This session provided a first-hand account of why large corporate frauds such as Enron, Worldcom and Healthsouth occur from a former Healthsouth executive. Aaron shared how the company began and grew to one of the largest healthcare companies in the U.S., as well as how the accounting fraud started and the roles that Sarbanes-Oxley played in the fraud exposure. Attendees learned how companies and individuals can build ethical strength and prevent such disasters from occurring.

Day two's sessions continued to bring insights from experts at the forefront of the payments industry. In addition to five vendor showcases, our sessions included Building an Effective Risk Management Program - Jenga Style! with Nanci McKenzie, JM, AAP, APRP of Affirmative Technologies, Handling Various Reg E Disputes with Jennifer Aguilar, APRP, Alston & Bird, OFAC, AML and GLBA: Making Sense of the Regulatory Alphabet Soup with Matthew C. Luzadder, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and more.

We concluded day two by hearing from attendee-favorite speaker Jim Stickley of Stickley on Security. During Jim’s presentation, attendees learned about the latest techniques criminals are using to gain access to systems and corporate networks. Jim also demonstrated the scary truth of what’s available on the Dark Web, how criminals are using it and criminals’ methods and strategies when it comes to their use of the Dark Web.

Upon the conclusion of day two, everyone was invited to join EPCOR staff and other conference attendees at our attendee-favorite Dining with Strangers event. EPCOR arranged transportation for attendees and staff to local restaurants for an evening of dining and networking in small groups. This event allowed participants to engage and share a delicious meal while connecting with new and old friends alike.

On our final day of flying together, we kicked off the day listening to the extremely impactful and inspiring session Paralyzed to Powerful with Robert Paylor. Attendees were able to hear Robert’s story and learn about the tools that he continues to use to overcome his spinal cord injury, which helps others to both identify and conquer that which paralyzes them. His message reminded everyone to cultivate purpose in their work, fully access the collective resilience of their team, develop a reflexive sense of gratitude and maintain positivity through even the most daunting challenges.

Next, attendees picked their travel destination from four different concurrent sessions: Walking the Wire: Wire Transfer Strategy and Fraud Mitigation with Trevor Witchey, AAP, NCP of EPCOR, Writing Policies and Procedures: Best Practices with Amy Donaghue, AAP, APRP, NCP of EPCOR, Navigating the Cards Landscape: Debit Profitability in a Digital World with Diana Kern, AAP of Shazam and ACH Rules Update with Shelly Sipple, AAP, APRP, NCP of EPCOR.

Our final general session was Ok, Now What? Developing a Plan to Implement with The Payments Professor, which provided attendees with ways to put their learning into action.

After our final session, it was time for prizes! Our popular Passport to Prizes contest challenged attendees to tour the exhibit hall throughout the conference, receiving signatures from each exhibitor to be entered into drawings for many generous prizes. Attendees were eligible to win a variety of goodies including accreditation frames, a vast number of gift cards, discounts to our Prep Programs, free event registrations, discounted services, a Hoot-Efied JBL Speaker and more!

Upon the conclusion of the conference, attendees parted company with their fellow co-pilots, traveling back to their respective organizations with a carry-on filled with the newfound knowledge and connections they formed during their time in Overland Park.