UMACHA 50 years of guiding payments

Navigating Payments 2024: Looking Back. Moving Forward.

Published on July 18, 2024



INTERVIEWEES


UMACHA’s annual Navigating Payments conference will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 24 and 25, at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center, minutes north of downtown Minneapolis. While our team gets excited about the conference every year, we are particularly excited about the 2024 conference because UMACHA is celebrating 50 years of guiding payments and being a key partner for our members!

To help get you ready (and excited) for this year’s conference, we brought together Angi Farren, President and CEO, and Jennifer Miller, Senior Director of Services, to answer a few questions about what to expect from Navigating Payments 2024.

(UMACHA staff gathering for a team picture on the center stage of Navigating Payments 2023.)

With UMACHA celebrating its 50th birthday this year, how is the excitement of this major milestone going to shine through at the conference? ​
“Cake, of course. All good celebrations include cake! This is also going to be a great chance to show our longevity. Over 200 of UMACHA’s members have been with us since the beginning, and we really hope to see them at the conference. This year, we want to pause and reflect on the industry’s collective accomplishments of the past and look forward as we all venture together through the crazy rapid pace of change.” – Angi

“We are also being intentional about bringing the birthday into all aspects of the conference, including the speakers and session topics, the decorations, and the giveaways.” – Jennifer

Who are the keynote speakers for the conference this year, and what will they be discussing? ​
“We are looking forward to hearing from our industry partners, Brad Smith with Nacha and Jason Carone with The Clearing House, who will provide insights into the current state of the ACH Network, including discussions about exciting initiatives to expand the network's capabilities.

We are also excited for our closing keynote speaker, Jack Uldrich, a leading futurist, author, and speaker. Jack helps organizations gain the critical foresight they need to create a successful future. His work is based on the principles of unlearning – or freeing yourself from obsolete knowledge and assumptions – as a strategy to survive and thrive in an era of unparalleled change.

With the rapid pace of change in the payments industry, we think Jack’s message is very timely!” – Jennifer

What other sessions or aspects of the conference have you most excited this year? ​
“With our “Looking Back. Moving Forward” theme for 2024, I am really looking forward to the “Payments Through Time: Reflecting on the Past & Charting the Future” session. We have been able to pull together a fantastic panel of “Fred’s Friends,” as I like to call them, but they are all truly friends of the payments industry. The panel includes Norm Robinson, a former employee of Nacha and retired CEO of another Payments Association, Paul Carrubba of Adams and Reese LLP, and, Rich Oliver, a former employee of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and co-author of ‘The Story of Payments: How The Industrialization of Trust Created the Modern Payments System.’ Each of these panelists have been staples on the Navigating Payments agenda throughout the years!” – Angi

“I would love to have an opportunity for our members to reminisce about UMACHA, including memories of the past, what they remember about Fred, and other memories about the payments industry. Some of those stories would be quite fun to share with the audience. So, I’m speaking to you (the one reading this) and asking you to begin thinking about any memories you are willing to share!” – Jennifer

What would you say to someone who has never attended a Navigating Payments conference before but is thinking about attending this year?​
“There are great networking opportunities to connect with your peers through general and breakout sessions, vendors, or even folks from the Federal Reserve Bank and The Clearing House – this is such an amazing opportunity to build connections that can help you down the road.

We will also make sure everyone is comfortable, including those who are attending by themselves, or this is their first year. We see you, and we want you to be comfortable here.” – Angi

What opportunities will there be for networking and collaboration among attendees?​
“We are intentional about building in lots of networking opportunities, including time between sessions and at the reception. Lunch is also a great chance to step outside your comfort zone and meet someone new! The lineup of vendors will be placed around the edge of the ballroom, and they would like to say hello and learn more about your needs and how they can help your organization. Make sure to bring lots of business cards, because you will make connections.” – Angi

“We will also have roundtables set up during the conference so that you can meet with like-minded people to discuss topics relevant to you” – Jennifer

There are a lot of conferences in the payments industry. What makes Navigating Payments stand out as a must-attend conference?​
“I think it is truly the caliber of speakers we pull together for this conference that sets us apart. Once again, we were able to get a tremendous lineup of speakers that we are confident will deliver a great experience. We have speakers addressing timely topics like instant payments, including RTP and the FedNow Service, without forgetting the basics – including a breakout session on ACH basics this year. We also have a well-rounded group of vendors that want to engage with organizations’ decision-makers. There is truly something for everyone at the conference.” – Angi

“Navigating Payments is a very economical conference in your own backyard, equivalent to the types and caliber of speakers you see at national conferences.” – Jennifer

Do you have any final thoughts about this year’s conference?​
“We are just really excited for the conference this year and being able to see so many of our members in-person once again! Don’t forget, we are doing Throwback Day dress theme for day one (wear your favorite 70s clothing) and Spirit Wear Day on day two (wear company logo, favorite sports team, high school or college alma mater, etc.).” – Angi and Jennifer

(‘A Cannabis Conversation’ with Erica El Hilali – Green Check Verified, Alex Bilski – North American Banking Company, and Val McCune – RLR Management Consulting, Inc. during Navigating Payments 2023.)​

We hope you are getting as excited as we are for Navigating Payments 2024! If you are not yet registered, don’t miss your opportunity to join us this year.

Online registration is open now, and you save if you register by August 30th. Remember, discounted pricing is available for each additional registration from your organization. Need help registering? Give us a call at (763) 549-7000 or send an email to info@umacha.org and we would love to help you get registered.

Want to Learn More About Navigating Payments? 
Stay connected with Angi Farren, Jennifer Miller, and UMACHA on LinkedIn!