Article

How do you follow a year of ATM industry 'firsts'?

With a year of nexts, of course. After a year on the job, David Tente of ATMIA is bringing it on for the ATM industry.

May 9, 2013

by David Tente

It hardly seems possible, but the end of this month marks the end of my first year with ATMIA. And that is far from being the only "first" I've logged in the past twelve months.

The ATMIA annual conference held in February in Scottsdale, Ariz., was actually my first ATMIA event ever. Though I worked in the ATM industry for a while before assuming my current role, supporting that particular event never fell upon my shoulders.

It's easy to understand now why the show has continued to grow, despite challenging times. We have a great events team and a dedicated group of members and sponsors — all of whom work tirelessly to bring together the best of all that our industry has to offer. It was exciting to be part of another record-breaking effort.

Never before have I been involved in any sort of legislative effort; much less one that was successful in a relatively short period of time.

Last year's revision of Reg E to eliminate the dual fee notification for ATM users came about as a result of efforts by a large coalition, but one in which ATMIA and ATMIA members played a key role.

That was also my first opportunity to work closely with EFTA and our larger ISOs. Although no legislative issue for this year has claimed as bright a spotlight as Reg E, it continues to be a very interesting aspect of my job.

Having worked my way through college as a disc jockey — a bit of personal trivia not too many people know (and I mean commercial radio, not weddings and clubs), I have to admit that I almost always enjoy talking to the press.

This recently included my first interview with the Wall Street Journal, in conjunction with ATMIA efforts to push back the April 2013 EMV liability shift for ATM owners.

Not all interviews are with such prominent business news publications, however. Two of my other interviews were live radio with The Voice of Russia and Aspen Public Radio — draw your own conclusions.

This is also the first time I have worked for a nonprofit; my first involvement with class action litigation (merchants v. global card brands); my first blog; and a few more things I'll probably remember tomorrow.

But what I'm really looking forward to now are the firsts that will be happening over the next twelve months.

ATMIA has a lot on its plate through the end of 2014, which marks the end of our current 5-year plan. A major announcement will be coming soon on an e-learning initiative that has been in the works for quite some time. And I am leading the development of a new ATM Business Empowerment Program, designed to provide ATM operators with new tools and updated Best Practices.

Coupled with EMV migration, new regulatory demands, the occasional patent troll, and ATM platforms that are headed into the payments realm — work is never boring. I'll try to make sure this blog never is, either.

ATM Marketplace is pleased to introduce
new blogger David Tente. David is the
executive director of the U.S. chapter
of the ATM Industry Association, a nonprofit 
organization that supports the interests and
goals of the global ATM industry through
chapters worldwide.

In his blog, "US Industry Perspectives," David
will assess ATM industry issues and events
from a broad U.S. regional point of view.

Read more about associations and conferences.

photo: a forest frolic

Included In This Story

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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