TRANSACT Mobile Payments Conference Gets a New Keynote Speaker

One of the biggest events in the mobile payments space is TRANSACT, the official event of the Electronic Transactions Association. A big event calls for a major-league keynote speaker to kick the whole thing off, and the good news is that TRANSACT has just that based on word it sent our way. The keynote speaker in question? It’s none other than Apple vice president of internet services, Jennifer Bailey.

Bailey was instrumental, reports note, in the launch of Apple Pay back in 2014, the event that really saw the mobile payments market take off. Sure, there were mobile payments tools before Apple Pay, but with Apple Pay, just about every device maker and operating system provider around got in on the fray as well, leading to the glut of mobile payments systems we have today.

Apple Pay boasts over 5,200 banking partners in 26 different markets, and even represents loyalty program cards and a contactless student ID at several major universities.

ETA CEO Jason Oxman noted “Apple Pay has transformed our industry by enabling customers to pay using their favorite Apple devices. With contactless sweeping the U.S. in 2019, we look forward to hearing from Jennifer about the latest mobile payments news and how Apple is creating new consumer experiences.”

With over 4,000 attendees and over 200 exhibitors, TRANSACT looks to deliver vital insight and networking opportunities to the upcoming event. It will be held April 30 to May 2 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.

It’s hard not to be convinced that one of the biggest names behind Apple Pay is worth having in play at one of mobile payments’ biggest conventions. It’s almost like having the inventor of the Mustang show up at the International Auto Show or the like. This is a good pick, and there’s no doubt about that. Might there have been better picks? Sure, maybe someone from Square or Visa, who’d been in play before Apple Pay, but it’s almost academic at this point to suggest anyone who’s much better than Bailey.

It should prove quite the show at the end. Bailey alone is a big deal, but she’s just the start of the show. There’s plenty else waiting for those who attend afterward.