Record Breaking East Event

For the record breaking 560 ATMIA Conference East attendees who made their way to Walt Disney World’s posh Swan hotel, the trek was well worth the effort.   The ATM Industry Association’s seventh-annual East event focused on security from all angles.  

From the pre-conference training, to the standing-room-only keynote presentations, to the five-star annual global industry awards banquet.

The presence of Mr. Frank W. Abagnale was the highlight of the event.  Mr. Abagnale, one of the world's most respected authorities on the subjects of forgery, embezzlement and secure documents and the subject of the blockbuster Steven Spielberg movie "Catch Me If You Can," had the attendees on the edge of their seats, as he spoke candidly about his life on the run, to describing the ease with which criminals defraud companies through stolen identities and simple scams. His insight was entertaining — and a bit frightening. 

The opening address by New York State Police investigator Kevin Sullivan focused on fraud in a more ATM –centric way, paying special attention to money laundering. Sullivan was invited directly after his address to meet with the ATMIA Sponsoring Financial Institutions Committee, where they discussed the current procedures in place, and set up an Anti-Money Laundering Sub-committee to focus specifically on Money Laundering and managing transactions.    

As the networks continue addressing security from a variety of angles, ATMIA will continue to host pre-conference workshops reviewing best practices in a changing ATM world.

The buzz in the exhibit hall was like no other ATMIA event.  60-vendors came and left happy by the traffic they received while showcasing their wares.

All in all, this event will be hard to top, but with the 2007 East event celebrating ATMIA’s 10-year anniversary, it will be an event not to miss, ATMIA International Director of Operations, Lana Harmelink, said.