Episode Summary
Welcome to the first episode of Wrestling Payments by NEACH, a member-based payment association for financial institutions in other organizations supplying payment-related services. NEACH is a recognized and licensed ACH education, publications, and support provider.
In the show's first episode, we are joined by Sean Carter, the president & CEO, and Sandy Ortins, the SVP of Operations, at NEACH. Sean and Sandy reveal why they decided to start a podcast, who it is for, the issues they will tackle, the guest list, and how they came up with the name.
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Podcast Expert
Name: Sean Carter, Sandy Ortins
What they do: Sean is the president & CEO; Sandy is the SVP of Operations.
Company: NEACH
Noteworthy: Sean has been with NEACH for around 25 years. He started in accounting and is currently responsible for the company's strategic direction. Sandy has a banking background, and before working at NEACH, she worked at a community bank. She oversees education membership at NEACH.
Where to find them: Sean: LinkedIn; Sandy: LinkedIn
Podcast Insights
🎙Digitalization concerns both FIs and their users. It's one of the most critical changes in the finance space. And so, as digitalization has entered every pore of the business world, the financial space must adapt to it. Therefore, a partnership between a bank and a vendor is a prerequisite for growth. ''There's no growth strategy that doesn't include some form of digitalization. And a lot of that is related to payments. So people didn't think about that when we were just starting. We were excited when we would get an originating depository institution. That was a big win for us to say, ‘Oh, we have a new member FI that originates payments.’ And now the conversations are more about what network are you playing in, where are you driving your customers, who are your partners, what are you looking to invest in next?" says Sean.
🎙Our podcast is not only for FIs and associated institutions. Instead, it's for everyone who can encounter any payment issue at an individual or an organizational level. ''Many of the challenges in payments today are because of the end users, either the sender or the receiver of the payment, which is not the financial institution. So I think for corporations, especially with all the changes that the banks go through, that ends up in their lap. So if a bank is going more digital, ultimately, their customers have to get digital. So I do think there's a broader audience," explains Sean.
🎙We must initiate and encourage conversations with FinTech companies, as we are the link to bringing their offer closer to the customers and resolving any concerns customers can come across when considering a particular service provider. ''It's important for those conversations to happen for us because we can support the members through not pre-qualifying or — I can't think of the word. But almost when we're working with a vendor or FinTech that wants to deal with an FI, we can help those conversations and help the FinTech be a little more aware of what they should be discussing,'' says Sean.
Episode Highlights
How Payments Have Evolved And Changed Over Time
''I was on a call earlier talking about the AAP exam, and people brought up how, back then, it was two SEC Codes, no international payments in ACH, and no new settlement windows. So a dramatic change over the last ten years, specifically in ACH. And that's just a small piece.
The world around payments has changed rapidly. We saw it in ACH with the rise of third parties that are so critical to the network, but then you have to govern them and make sure that everybody's managing the risk in the network. [...]
And the same thing is happening for FIs today, looking for their FinTech partnerships that allow them to innovate and all that touches payments. [...] The biggest change is that the discussions are so different now than ever,'' says Sean.
Sandy's Background in Banking Is a Value Add Because She Brings a New Perspective
''I guess I have a different perspective than you guys probably have. We've had conversations, I remember. Joe, years ago when the healthcare payment CCD+ Rule came, and you were like, ‘Everyone needs to know this.’ And I was like, ‘Nobody cares.’
It is because I worked in that industry. You care about what gets you through the day. Having a CCD+ and knowing the re-association number, no one cares about that.
They're trying to get through the day, meet all their deadlines, get everything out the door that they're supposed to; disasters always happen, but finding out what a re-association number is not one of 'em,'' explains Sandy.
The Rationale Behind the NEACH Team's Decision to Start a Podcast
''NEACH, at its core, is a trade association. We are here to bring information to our members so they can strive in whatever they try. And so, a podcast is another way to get that content out to people. And we can do it in a way that makes it easily more relatable to the listener.
Think about going to a workshop. There might be four hours in a workshop, and maybe an hour and a half of that applies to your job, and you need to learn, know, and understand it. Whereas podcasting allows busy people, folks trying to get through the day, but they still need to develop; they need to be able to bring information back to management or to help themselves become management. So this gives them the ability to do that,'' says Sean.
Why NEACH Uses ''Wrestling'' in the Show's Name
''For the payments industry, it is a perfect metaphor for what they're doing. What's the number one move in wrestling? It is the grapple. So you have to grapple each day with time, resources, and where we are going to deploy. What's at the heart of wrestling? It's competition.
And so, now you see all these new players. We have FedNow; we have RTP. They're not fighting each other, but it is a competition between who's offering the better product at the better price and who's easier to connect to. So the financial institution and the corporate end users have to grapple with which direction works for them and their business,'' explains Sean.
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