Orlando CNP Expo Recap 2015

To ensure sustainability and longevity, merchants are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to excel in the highly competitive card-not-present environment. One valuable resource is the annual CNP Expo. This year, Chargebacks911® was honored to be involved in this unique experience. Below are some photos from the event and highlights from our Merchant Boot Camp.

What is the CNP Expo?

The CNP Expo, an annual information conference, is orchestrated by CardNotPresent.com. CardNotPresent.com bills the event as a one-stop-shop for the information, tools, and networking that merchants need to maximize their revenue and minimize fraud risk.

The CNP Expo is unlike any other industry event because it relies on the involvement of conference attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors to address the numerous topics involved in the ecommerce environment.

More than 1,000 attendees were present at the 2015 CNP Expo, traveling from more than 20 different countries. Thirty panel sessions and 100 speakers addressed Expo attendees at the four day event. Chargebacks911® was honored to be a sponsor, presenter, and booth exhibitor at the largest CNP Expo to date.

The CNP Merchant Boot Camp

The CNP Boot Camp is one of the two initial sessions offered to conference attendees. It is specially designed as a comprehensive, all-inclusive training session to share as much information as possible, as quickly as possible.

The Boot Camp, a three-hour immersive training session, serves as the foundational education card-not-present merchants need to succeed.

Chargebacks911® was proud to host the 2015 CNP Boot Camp. We were honored to take such an influential role in the conference and appreciated the opportunity to solidify our reputation as esteemed thought leaders in the payment industry.

As veteran merchants ourselves, we know the ecommerce environment is challenging for newcomers. That’s why it was so important for us to participate in the CNP Boot Camp. Our presentation was designed to help merchants avoid both the pitfalls of setting up online payment processing and the fraud that comes with it.

Some of the topics Chargebacks911® executives addressed include:

Understanding industry terminology, regulations, and processes
Optimizing fees and rates
Addressing payment information security
Identifying emerging fraud trends
Growing revenue with limited CNP payment costs
Adapting for future payment alternatives
Preventing and disputing chargebacks

Speaker Highlights

Not only was it a privilege to share our expertise with CNP Expo attendees, it was also an honor to present alongside some of the most well-known global brands. Speakers at the CNP Boot Camp included:

Monica Eaton, COO at Chargebacks911®

Entrepreneur and business leader
Expertise in technology systems and threat metrics, product development, e-commerce retention, risk relativity and agile process design
Co-founded and fulfills executive management roles with Chargebacks911®, eConsumer Services® and Global Risk Technologies™

Monica spoke about the challenges that card-not-present merchants face and how evolving technology will further contribute to the risks of online credit card processing. She discussed some of the CNP basics and used live-polling software to illustrate misconceptions merchants have about the card-not present environment.

At one point during the Boot Camp, Monica used an exercise that asked attendees to fold paper airplanes and try to hit a target. This exercise was used to illustrate how automated systems fail to account for all of the variables of the “human factor.”

William Lee, Vice President, National Sales at WorldPay US

Responsible for leading new sales opportunities
Calls on mid-market and national clients with an emphasis on CNP, emerging markets, retail, and restaurant businesses
Over 20 years’ experience managing and selling in payments, telecommunications, and direct marketing industries

William offered valuable insider secrets associated with payment processors. He advised merchants on how to select a processor and how processors evaluate merchants. William also explained how processors determine risk, the factors that affect rates, and the difference between domestic and international processors.

Michael Caruana, Vice President of Business Development at Chargebacks911®

Manages Chargebacks911®’s New York office
Experience with various components of the payment processing industry
Former Vice President of Sales at Retail Decisions (ReD)
Former Vice President of Retail Markets at MasterCard

Michael addressed what he jokingly called the “sexy” parts of card-not-present processing. This included some of the important elements of merchant accounts, transaction compliance standards, and the different card processing fees. Michael also spoke on the subject of chargeback thresholds, highlighting the devastating penalties merchants may face for breaching those thresholds.

John Lees, VP Merchant Retail at ACI Worldwide

Successful track record in client relations and business development
Works internationally with merchants, banks and corporates
Wide-ranging experience across multiple payment mechanisms and platforms
Strong commercial understanding of the unique challenges and risks facing merchants today
Helps merchants minimize online fraud within their e-commerce sales strategy

John Lees and Mike Kasley of ACI Worldwide offered a unique perspective on the global acceleration of ecommerce. They spoke about how the adoption of EMV will contribute to be an escalating trend in card-not-present fraud, highlighted some alarming statistics, and encouraged merchants to be prepared. John and Mike also discussed some fraud prevention tools and stressed the importance of comprehensive reporting.

Brian Arnone, Manager of Online Fraud at Universal Orlando

Extensive experience in the fraud prevention industry
Creates efficiencies within the e-commerce environment, prevents fraudulent activity, and manages risk assessment activities
Former Fraud Prevention Analyst at Universal Orlando
Former Loss Prevention Officer at Universal Orlando

Brian was the first of our merchant guest speakers. He addressed some of the fraud trends he’s observed within Universal Orlando’s online ticketing sales. He gave valuable insight into some of the best practices to stifle fraud attempts. These tips included knowing your customer, knowing your data, studying your chargebacks, using tools, and networking.

George Soto, Director of Corporate/Global Investigations and e-Commerce at Office Depot

Leads major internal investigations globally
Mitigates CNP fraud for all North American websites
Recipient of several Office Depot leadership awards
- Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Financial Crimes Investigator, and Certified Forensic Interviewer with over 20 years’ experience in financial crimes

George was another insightful merchant guest speaker. He shared what he believes to be the top five merchant errors: not knowing what an acceptable fraud level is and how rates compare to industry standards; not understanding the types of fraud being committed; not having a fraud detection system; not defining fraud detection metrics; and not aligning the fraud strategy with the marketing team.

Jason Hogsed, head of global trust and safety operations at StubHub

Acts as the 24/7 eyes and ears at StubHub, protecting the company, marketplace, and fans around the globe
Uses a combination of big data analytics, technology, and effective people management to develop anti-fraud strategies
Has oversight of transactional fraud risk, risk modeling, user agreement adherence, chargebacks, and collections handling

As the final merchant guest speaker, one of Jason’s primary points was to mitigate fraud on both sides of the transaction. He also offered additional insight into chargeback causes and m-commerce fraud. In closing, Jason shared interesting examples of how to use social media to dispute friendly fraud.

Gary Cardone, CEO at Chargebacks911®

Former CEO and President of Dynegy Europe
Pioneered one of the largest commodity markets in Europe
Credited as the architect of the National Balancing Point, the most efficient energy trading hubs in the world
Has years of first-hand experience as a merchant
Know unique problems of CNP environment
Predicted the payments industry as a highly commoditized environment
Co-founded Chargebacks911®

Gary closed the enthralling presentation with some valuable takeaways about growing a business. He emphasized the popularity of both credit card spending and ecommerce. He also focused on the future, addressing ways to prepare for what’s in store for the CNP environment. Gary pointed out merchant processing risks are an enemy to everyone involved in the transaction process, but it is important to balance revenue and risk in order to achieve stable growth.

The Exhibit Hall Booth

Chargebacks911® representatives were also available to meet with conference attendees in an exhibit booth. The exhibit floor was buzzing with excitement as merchants, payment industry members, and event speakers enjoyed the unique networking opportunity.

We were thrilled to meet so many merchants and industry members who are dedicated to creating a less-risky ecommerce environment and ensuring long-term sustainability.

If we didn’t get a chance to connect with you personally, be sure to check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

Continuing to Provide Industry Insight

Being involved in the 2015 CNP Expo was a great opportunity for Chargebacks911® executives to gain a better understanding of the threats merchants face while fulfilling our role as industry thought leaders.

We will continue to provide industry insight at various conferences and expos throughout the year. If you haven’t already signed up for email list or found Chargebacks911® on social media, take a moment to get connected. Then, join us at one of our upcoming presentations!