Most consumers don’t think about payment processing. They choose what they want to buy, place it in a physical or virtual cart, pay with a credit or debit card, and go on their way. Unless there is a problem –like a credit card denial at the register or a double charge later discovered on a bill– they’re blissfully unaware of everything that goes on after the merchant collects their payment data.

The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), on the other hand, is very aware of the players involved in taking that data and processing the actual payment. As the leading trade association for the payments industry, looking out for those companies is the ETA’s sole purpose. RewardExpert recently spoke with Interim CEO Amy Zirkle to find out more.