Celero Commerce recently sent teams from our corporate office and the Dallas-Fort Worth area to one of the premier events in the processing world, the Annual Conference of the Western States Acquirers Association (WSAA).
The Western States Acquirers Association is a nonprofit that provides an independent forum dedicated to keeping acquirers educated and informed on the ever-changing needs of the financial services industry.
Held October 13-14 at the Omni Hotel Fort Worth, the WSSA Annual Conference delivered on its mission on multiple fronts. The event featured several celebrations and networking sessions, as well as notable industry speakers, panels, and educational seminars hosted by the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA).
Celero’s founder and CEO Kevin Jones was honored to participate in an industry panel alongside Greg Cohen of FortisPay and Erick Lookhoff of Quickfee. With the recent acquisitions of TransNational Payments, FlashBanc, RazorSync, and CashierLive, Jones came to the convention with fresh and unique perspectives on mergers and acquisitions in the fintech space. During the panel, titled “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly – M & A impacts on ISO and Fintech,” Kevin focused on Celero’s highly intentional approach to transactions, our mission of serving small to midsize businesses, and the importance of company culture when integrating organizations.
“For us, culture fit is very important,” Kevin explained. “If you run across obstacles with people who are bought in and rowing in the same direction, it’s infinitely easier to combat those obstacles than it is if people aren’t working together.”
Kevin believes that in the next 5 years, we’ll see more change in the fintech industry than we have in the past 20. As more merchants adopt the mindset that fintech is at the very core of their success, businesses like Celero must find new, faster, and better ways of meeting the technological needs of their customers.
“I firmly believe that M & A is a positive force for the payments ecosystem and that it’s a conduit that brings new ideas to life,” Kevin continued during the panel discussion. “While innovation and growth can happen independently, M & A is a great option that is proven to be a very effective path forward.”
To learn more about the WSAA, visit https://westernstatesacquirers.net/.