Keep Pace With Payments Trends and Embrace Networking at 2025 Smarter Faster Payments Conference

Payments industry insiders, inspirational business leaders, and a former astronaut will all be in attendance at Smarter Faster Payments 2025, a conference hosted by Nacha, the organization that manages the ACH network. The event runs from April 27-30 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Conference attendees can expect a rich, interactive experience at Smarter Faster Payments 2025. In addition to in-depth sessions that cover topics pertinent to payments professionals, this year’s conference features a trio of keynote presentations. 

Kyle Scheele — an author, speaker, and self-proclaimed “champion of crazy ideas” — delivers the conference’s opening keynote address. Scheele has presented to more than 350,000 people in the last 12 years, delivering the message that creativity is a skill that can be cultivated. Scheele’s speech is sure to make an impact on payments professionals looking for a jolt of inspiration to springboard their strategies to new heights.

Payments fraud is a significant problem in the U.S., causing billions of dollars in losses in recent years, according to FBI reports. But payments fraud can occur anywhere, particularly as solutions such as account-to account payments remove barriers to money movement.

Jane Larimer, the President and CEO of Nacha, will speak during an industry-focused keynote presentation that will center on what U.S. payments players can learn from other countries’ experiences in detecting and preventing payments fraud. The session will include a panel discussion of payments executives from around the world.

Smarter Faster Payments 2025 attendees won’t want to miss the conference’s final keynote presentation, which features Mike Massimino, a Columbia Professor and New York Times best-selling author. Massimino is a former astronaut who sent the first tweet from space. He now delivers a message on Earth that teaches audiences the value of teamwork under pressure. 

Massimino encountered a series of challenges during his space adventures that he and his fellow astronauts overcame by working together. Payments leaders can apply the leadership strategies Massimino espouses to help their organizations reach their goals.  

Going to a conference helps to boost your professional development, but the experience can be overwhelming because many sessions run at conflicting times. You can only be in one place at a time, so it takes careful planning to make the most of your time at conferences. Smarter Faster Payments 2025 helps attendees plan their days by grouping sessions into tracks.

Attendees interested in particular topics can peruse which tracks align with their interests and take note of can’t-miss sessions within different tracks. The tracks offered at the conference include:

• AI-Driven Innovations and Strategies: Artificial intelligence is a topic that shows no signs of ceasing to buzz anytime soon. The technology has the potential to impact many facets of modern life, including payments. Expect to learn how advanced analytics, automation, and machine learning are changing the way buyers and sellers transact.
• Compliance and Regulatory: From AI to account-to-account offerings, the payments landscape is evolving quickly. Compliance specialists must ensure they’re up to speed with the latest rules and regulations that govern the industry. In addition to regulatory updates, this track also focuses on managing relationships with third parties.
• Cybersecurity and Risk: A conference covering payments wouldn’t be complete without devoting time to managing risk and preventing fraud. Attendees on this track will learn how to recognize strategies to help their organization shore up cybersecurity deficiencies. Sessions will also reveal how organizations can use AI and data to combat fraud.
• Small to Large Business Perspectives: The differences between small businesses and large corporations range from the size of their budgets for payments services to the geographic regions they serve. But whether a business is small or large, it must be able to accept payments from its customers. This track hones in on solutions that can help businesses of all sizes build and maintain successful payments practices. 

Smarter Faster Payments 2025 also features a plethora of exhibitors for attendees to network with, including Federal Reserve Financial Services, Mastercard, and Visa.

Registration for Smarter Faster Payments 2025 is open. Those who register by March 13 can access discounted rates. The conference values the next generation of payments professionals and offers exclusive rates to first-time attendees who meet certain requirements.

A word to the wise: The dates for Smarter Faster Payments 2025 overlap with this year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which drew approximately 500,000 visitors in 2024. With some savvy planning, conference attendees may be able to carve out time to see some of the music industry’s biggest acts while in town for Smarter Faster Payments 2025. Music fans from all over the world attend the festival, so area hotels may be more full than usual.

Those who can’t make the conference’s April dates will be pleased to learn that Nacha is offering a virtual event, Remote Connect, from June 9-11.

Remote Connect will provide participants with live sessions, an exclusive keynote address, and post-event access to session and presentations recordings.

Attendees seeking continuing education credits should note that Smarter Faster Payments 2025 offers credits that are applicable to several professionals, including Accredited Payments Risk Professionals and Accredited ACH Professionals. The conference also offers legal educational credits to attorneys.