Some of the payment conferences for March and April have been rescheduled, postponed, or under review due to COVID-19, most are going forward, according to PYVNTS. However, expect extensive sanitation practices with all events inside or outside the U.S. for the next several months, notes CardTrak.
Even those events going forward, especially outside the U.S., will not permit entry to any Chinese delegates from the Hubei or Wuhan provinces, the specific lockdown areas in Northern Italy as designated by the Italian government and parts of South Korea. Additionally, events to be held are taking extraordinary measures to monitor attendees.
Senior Analyst Robert McKinley for CardWeb, Bankcenter and CardBuzz says in addition to barring attendees from high-risk COVID-19 areas, event organizers will monitor all speakers, attendees and sponsors for fevers, provide extensive sanitation procedures, no self-serve, rather staff-served buffets and, understandably, a no handshake policy.
Payment Conference Upcoming March – What’s ON – What’s OFF
PYVNTS reports the connect:ID Conference scheduled for March 11-12 in Washington, DC will be held. However, some of the events scheduled to begin this weekend have been changed.
The CPI Europe Summit event for March 16-17 in Amsterdam is being rescheduled and the Blockchain Expo Global event scheduled for March 17-18 in London has been postponed.
However, the AI in Financial Services on March 17 in London is being held, as well as the Cashless Congress March 17-18 in Warsaw and iSMG Fraud Summit on March 18 in New York City.
Among other upcoming changes the Money 20/20 Asia event for March 24-26 in Singapore has been rescheduled for August 25-27, 2020; Seamless Middle East slated for March 25-26 in Dubai has been postponed to September 8-9; RISE scheduled for March 30-Apr 2 has been cancelled this year but will be held in Hong Kong on March 2021; and Retail Marketing Summit originally set for this month has been rescheduled to October 2020.
Payment Conference Upcoming April – Changes
PYVNTS also reports some events slated for April have also been changed. The Fintech & Emerging Payments Systems event in New York City is now set for May 5-6, 2020. The World Retail Conference, scheduled for April 28-30 in Rome has been rescheduled for October 28-30, 2020.
Most U.S. event organizers indicate they are closely following U.S. CDC guidelines, local and state public authorities, and U.S. State Department travel rules related to COVID-19 virus. International event organizers are monitoring WHO and respective government guidelines as well as barring entry to attendees from high risk areas.
Extraordinary Conference Safety Procedures
MarketforceLive, organizers of the TechNOVA: AI in Financial Services event March 17 in London says the event will take place as planned but they will monitor all speakers, attendees and sponsors via these seven steps:
*Conducting temperature checks on all attendees upon entry to the event. If anyone is found to have a body temperature exceeding 37.5°C or 99.5°F, they will politely be declined admission and assistance will be provided to the attendee to obtain medical advice
*Increased cleaning and disinfection of all communal areas at the venues e.g. exhibition areas and conference rooms
*Insure availability of sanitizing and disinfection materials for public use
*Provide new signage onsite reminding delegates of hygiene recommendations
*Requiring all food to be served by venue staff to stop cross contamination at buffets
*Registration for events will be conducted by MarketforceLive staff to avoid multiple people using the same touchscreen devices
*Adopting a ‘no-handshake policy,’ until further notice
March Events Going Forward as Planned
PYVNTS notes the following March events are going forward as scheduled but continue to review and monitor the COVID-19 situation.
March 11-12 — Washington, D.C.
March 17 — London
March 17-18 — Warsaw, Poland
March 18 — New York City
March 23-25 — Championsgate, Florida
Biometrics Institute U.S. Conference
March 24 — Washington, DC
March 25-26 —Boston
March 25-26 — London
ABA Risk Management Conference
March 25-27 — New Orleans
Enterprise Connect Conference/Expo
March 30- April 2 —Orlando
March 31- April 1 — London
March 31 – Apr 3 — Las Vegas
April Events Going Forward as Planned
PYVNTS notes the following April events are going forward as scheduled but continue to review and monitor the COVID-19 situation.
DT Fraud Conference – Banking & Payments
April 1-2 — London
April 1-2 — Birmingham, U.K.
April 1-3 — Panama City, Panama
April 6-9 — San Jose
Southeast Acquirers Association Conference
April 6-8 — Miami
NAPCP Commercial Card & Payment Conference
April 6-9 — Las Vegas
April 8-9 — Cape Town, South Africa
April 15 — Houston
April 19-22 — Washington, D.C.
April 20-22 — New Orleans
April 20-22 — Singapore
Innovate Finance Global Summit
April 20-24 — London
April 21 — Chicago
April 21 — Cincinnati, Ohio
Retail Banking International Conference
April 22 — London
April 27-30 — Las Vegas
Digital Banking and Mobile Payments Summit
April 28-30 — Vienna, Austria
Future Cannabis Strategies: West Coast
April 29-30 — Los Angeles
Business Travel Spending
Global business spending on travel could fall by more than $150 billion in the first three months. Consumer spending on travel will likely decline by $300 billion in the first quarter, according to RAM Research, CardData and PYRPTS.
The Global Business Travel Association’s (GBTA) survey of 401 companies found nearly two-thirds reported that they had canceled at least some already scheduled meetings, events or conferences due to concerns about the conferences. The virus has had a major impact on business travel to Asia. Of the respondents, 95% report that their companies have canceled or suspended “most” or “all” business trips to China.
A majority of respondents have taken similar steps for events in Hong Kong (73%) and Taiwan (54%), and a substantial number of companies (45%) have also canceled or suspended travel to and meetings in other Asian Pacific countries (e.g., Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia). Almost one-fourth of respondents report their company has canceled or suspended at least some trips to European countries (e.g., Italy, Germany, and France). Only 8% report having canceled or suspended “most” or “all” of their European trips, however.
PYVNTS
PYVNTS, a unit of Ruebud Media, follows global payment events focusing on: ecommerce, mcommerce, credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, virtual cards, ATMs, kiosks, POS, digital payments, cross-border transactions, EMV, NFC, fraud, factor/device security, cybersecurity, and tokenization/encryption.
PYVNTS global payment events emerging areas of focus include fintech, blockchain, biometrics, cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, mobile wallets, open banking, alternative payments, P2P, IoT, cybercrime and money laundering.
Sources: CardData; RAM Research; CardTrak; CardFlash; Cardworthy; CardWeb; PYRPTS; CardBuzz; Bankcenter; PYVNTS; Ruebud Media; Red3 Media; Robear’s List
