Mobile Payments Headliners Bring Good Vibes to Transact 15 Conference

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - March 24, 2015) - No one disputes that mobile payments are changing the way the world transacts. But, will mobile payment use eventually rise to replace plastic cards and checks? Trillions of dollars in payments are projected to be transacted via mobile phones, pads and tablets in coming years, so join four experts at the Transact 15 conference for a look at what is coming and how anyone can benefit from this payments juggernaut. Mobile Payments: Rocking Your World! is Tuesday, March 31, from 1:45 p.m. until 2:45 p.m., in Room 305 of The Moscone Center, in San Francisco California.

Thousands of executives from top companies and financial institutions in 30+ countries will convene next week at Transact 15, the annual electronic payments conference powered by the Electronic Transactions Association. This three-day event, known for shaping the evolution of electronic payments, will feature four experts that are impacting tomorrow's electronic and mobile payments spaces, today:

• James Wester is Research Director for the Global Payments Practice at IDC Financial Insights. As a mobile payments analyst, he makes frequent contributions to news outlets that include the NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and others. James brings the latest payments ecosystem insights to the Transact 15 stage.

• Richard Love is CEO of AP Technology, a pioneer in the field of payments for more than 25 years. Love is the holder of several patents, and his company's software processes billions of dollars annually for AP Technology's business customers. In 2015, Love's AP Technology introduces super-security and a new approach for consumer-to-business payments.

• Having performed at venues around the world, singer/songwriter Rick Monroe is one of Country Music's most prolific ambassadors. Rick is a passionate first-adopter of technologies, and on the Transact 15 stage he will share how mobile transactions will forever change the music industry. Hits that include, "Fires Out" and "Midnight Rider" make Rick Monroe a frequent resident on Billboard's music chart.

• Greg Wilfahrt is Chief Mobility and Marketing Officer at AP Technology. Wilfahrt will moderate the March 31 mobile payments panel. Immersed in mobile technology for 15 years, Greg co-founded a wireless company with nearly 60 million users, achieving mobile billing integration with wireless carriers in 180+ countries. He has appeared on/in CNBC Europe, FOX News, NY Times, Forbes, Businessweek, and more news outlets.

"There are already more active mobile devices on the planet than there are people," said Wilfahrt. "Mobile payments have long been a natural extension for these everything-in-one devices, so it should come as no surprise that transacting anytime and anywhere, in such vast numbers, is impacting so profoundly business and consumer behaviors.

"Still, where money exchanges exist, so too do opportunities for theft, fraud, and other misfortunes," continued Wilfahrt. "The 'Mobile Payments: Rocking Your World!' panel is about digging-down into real best practices for transactional security. It's also an occasion to learn from experts on the front lines how mobile payments are done right -- and how attendees can make mobile payments work for them."

James Wester of IDC is an expert at analyzing mobile payment activities and predicting trends. His firm has more than 1,100 analysts that provide market intelligence in over 110 countries. His appearance on-stage at the "Mobile Payments: Rocking Your World" session will provide the latest industry insights and intelligence for anyone navigating the payments space.

"New mobile wallet and other payment options are being made available to consumers and businesses," says Wester. "Adoption of technologies from providers such as Apple, Google, and Samsung, are opening the door for start-ups and more established payment companies, like AP Technology. As these companies advance new payment innovations, security, conveniences, and retention programs, that's when we will see just how powerful the mobile device can be as a payment technology.

"It is our intention that the 'Rocking Your World' mobile payments track at Transact 15 will afford attendees a glimpse into the future of mobile transactions. For anyone in the mobile payments ecosystem, these are exciting times," Wester said.

AP Technology is a company that has processed secure payments for more than 25 years. Richard Love, that company's CEO, agrees with IDC's Wester and reiterated that in addition to strong security, the future growth of mobile payments is tethered to customer experience. "Businesses and consumers want simplicity, they want ubiquity and they want confidence when transacting," remarked Love.

"With regard to security, there is a lot of buzz right now around tokenization. While that approach toward securing transactions is a step forward, we believe there are other ways to further enhance security and accelerate trust in mobile payments. That trust is critical for global adoption of mobile devices as a payment choice," asserted Love.

"I know that my fellow panelists and I are looking forward to a lively discussion on existing payment standards and what the user experience needs to be for the ideal of anytime, anyplace payments to become a global habit," Love concluded.

Mobile payments are presenting new opportunities across every industry, with few better examples than music. Those opportunities are being evangelized and advanced by early technology adopters such as Country Music Singer/Songwriter, Rick Monroe.

"I see mobile payments as the arrival of a perfect storm-technology and the means to exchange funds are finally meeting the pent-up demand of anyone to pay directly for the goods and services they want," says Monroe, whose song "Fires Out" currently ranks on the Billboard Country Music chart.

"Mobile devices are not merely accelerating our evolution, they are instigating a revolution -- a better way for artists to connect directly with fans. Mobile payments present opportunities for, not just artists, but really anyone to generate non-traditional monies in a more intimate relationship with their customers than was previously possible," said Monroe.

The Transact 15 panel discussion, Mobile Payments: Rocking Your World is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, from 1:45 p.m. until 2:45 p.m., in Room 305 of The Moscone Center, in San Francisco California.

About AP Technology

AP Technology is a Carlsbad, California-based company that processes $30 billion in payments annually for a growing base of 6,000 customers that include financial institutions, government organizations, universities, and an array of businesses. After more than 25 years, AP Technology continues to define and evolve the payments industry with disruptive software products providing next-generation security, efficiency, speed, mobility, and data management. For more information on AP Technology products, please visit www.aptechnology.com.

The following files are available for download:

• Transact 15-March 2015