With more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, Angie Smith is an industry recognized expert in check and electronic payments regulation. She has an extensive background in the development and implementation of policies and procedures related to check/image processing, exception processing and remote deposit capture product offerings. During her tenure at the Federal Reserve, she helped to develop the enterprise-wide FRB Adjustment System and worked on the Check 21 Act. She offers an in-depth, detailed understanding of check laws and rules, and how financial institutions can effectively manage operations in support of regulatory compliance. In her role as a Senior Payments Consultant with Wespay Advisors, Angie works with clients on projects related to check operations, remote deposit capture, bill payment and fraud mitigation.

Angie is a graduate of The Maryland Banking School and The Payments Institute. She holds various certificates in training and management courses, and earned a Bachelor of Science from Columbia Union College. She is an active participant on various industry work groups and is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and a National Check Professional (NCP).

Select Areas of Expertise:

• Check Rules & Regulation
• Remote Deposit Capture
• Fraud Prevention & Mitigation
• Operations Management
• Regulatory Compliance

Bill Schoch brings more than thirty years of electronic payments experience to his role as a Senior Payments Consultant for Wespay Advisors. With his background working for leading payments organizations, including Visa International, Citibank, N.A., and Nacha, he offers both the network and financial institution perspectives for client engagements. Bill has extensive experience in the development and implementation of products and services related to ACH, wire transfer, purchasing card, debit card, P2P payments, and money transfer networks. As the President and CEO of Wespay – Wespay Advisors’ parent company – he is responsible for strategic initiatives to grow the association and provide maximum value to members.

During his tenure at Visa International, Bill served in product leadership positions and was responsible for managing Visa’s global remittance service and initiatives to expand financial services to the unbanked in emerging markets. He was the global product manager for Visa’s debit products and was the founder of the Visa International Global Debit Forum. Prior to Visa, Bill spent eight years in the Global Cash Management division of Citibank, where he was responsible for strategic sales, product management and client on-boarding of domestic and cross-border payment solutions. Bill consults with Wespay Advisors’ clients on projects related to faster payments and emerging technologies, payments strategy, card solutions and consumer payments.

Bill currently serves on the Boards of Wespay, Nacha, and Wespay Advisors. He also serves on the Operations Committee of the U.S. Faster Payments Council and is the immediate Past Chair of the Center for Payments. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Select Areas of Expertise: 

• Payments Strategy
• Faster Payments and Emerging Technologies
• Consumer Payments
• Product Management
• Card Payments

Brian Stearns is a Senior Payments Consultant with Wespay Advisors, in addition to his role as Vice President, Supervisor of Risk Management Services. Brian spent almost 10 years working for credit unions processing and managing electronic payments systems, including over 6 years at Farmers Insurance Group Federal Credit Union where he managed the ACH, Share Draft and Wire Transfer payment channels. He has an extensive background in risk management and leveraging risk mitigation to pursue strategic goals. Brian has consulted with clients on a variety of projects, including developing an E-Banking Risk Review, Remote Deposit Capture risk management, implementing ACH origination and Operations Process Improvements.

Brian served on Wespay’s Rules Advisory Council where he acted as a voice for credit unions regarding rule changes in the ACH Network. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Argosy University and is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), National Check Professional (NCP) and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).

Select Areas of Expertise:

• Credit Union Management
• Wire Transfer Rules and Regulations
• Risk Management and Compliance
• Consumer Payments

Carol Burnett brings over 13 years of experience to her role as Wespay Advisors’ Risk & Compliance Associate. She started her payment career at the National Clearing House Association before joining Wespay Advisors. Carol is instrumental in working with clients to facilitate scheduling Risk Management Services, handling invoices and is our point person for day-to-day needs during Audits and Risk Reviews.

As the President of Wespay Advisors, Chris Selmi is responsible for defining and executing initiatives to position the organization as a trusted knowledge source for payments-related regulatory impacts. With over 25 years in the financial services industry, Chris’ extensive
background in electronic payments affords a unique perspective in helping clients develop processes and programs designed to facilitate compliance with payments law, regulations and industry standards. Prior to joining Wespay, Chris spent 16 years in the electronic payments
organization at Bank of America where he served in a variety of capacities within the operations team, including production manager, project support, client and application testing, and compliance and regulatory control manager. Chris has worked with Wespay Advisors’ clients on a variety of projects, including launching a new debit card product, developing faster payments solutions, ACH efficiency studies, and offering ACH Origination services.

Chris served on the Wespay Board as Bank of America’s representative from 2008 to 2012 and chaired its Rules Advisory Council and Risk Management Advisory Council, and is a current member of Nacha’s Rules and Operations Committee. He holds the designation of Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) from the National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha), Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) from the Institute of Certified Bankers, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Select Areas of Expertise:

• ACH Operations
• Risk Management and Compliance
• Launching ACH Origination
• Third-Party Sender Due Diligence
• Faster Payments

Connie LaChance is a Payments Consultant & Auditor with over 19 years of experience in the financial industry. In her experience as the Payments Systems Manager at Ent Credit Union, Connie has an extensive background in vendor evaluation, system conversions and overall system management for the institution’s ACH platform. During her tenure at the credit union, she helped launch corporate ACH origination, as well as managed the bill payment solution for members.

Connie works with Wespay Advisors’ clients on projects related to launching an ACH origination program, process improvement and policy management for existing solutions, and vendor evaluation and selection. Connie holds the Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP), and National Check Professional (NCP) credentials. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Regis University.

Select Areas of Expertise:

• ACH Operations
• Credit Union Management
• Vendor Relations
• Check Rules
• Regulation E

In her role as a Payments Consultant & Auditor with Wespay Advisors, Jenni Giguere performs audits, risk reviews and consulting engagements.  Jenni spent 16 years at a community bank in Minnesota in both the front and back offices.  She was involved in various compliance and operational projects, including implementation of a prepaid card program, and preparing the bank for remittance transfer processing.  Jenni spent 2 years with another Payments Association performing audits, risk assessments and helping to develop customized training and educational materials for members.  She moved to Washington in 2017 to join Banner Bank where she supervised the E-Banking team, providing support and operational functions for retail and small business clients, as well as the treasury management team.

Throughout her career, she has focused on process efficiencies, quality assurance and leveraging vendor relationships.  Jenni is currently pursuing a business degree at Purdue Global University and is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and a National Check Professional (NCP).

 Select Areas of Expertise:

• E-Banking Products and Services
• Retail Banking
• ACH and Wire Operations
• Risk Management and Compliance
• Launching Treasury Management Services

As a Payments Consultant with Wespay Advisors, Jim Petkovits has more than 25 years of experience in the payments industry focusing on ACH and Check rules and regulations. Jim has an extensive background in providing education and training to financial institutions, service providers and payments innovators.

During his tenure in payments, he has become a subject matter expert on Federal Regulation E and Cannabis Banking, a growing area of focus for some financial institutions. Jim has worked with Wespay Advisors’ clients on Third-Party Sender identification and management, as well as providing ACH audits and risk review services. He holds the Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP), and National Check Professional (NCP) designations.

Select Areas of Expertise: 

• Check Rules and Regulation
• ACH Operations
• Cannabis Banking
• Regulation E

As a Senior Payments Consultant, John Curtis offers over 30 years of experience in payments and financial services. John has deep expertise in management of retail branch operations, core system conversions and integration, and treasury and product management for payments applications in both financial institutions and payment service providers. Throughout his career, he has gleaned experience from implementing new products, determining business case/strategy, evaluating risk, crafting policies and procedures, implementation and rollout, and sales training. John has consulted with Wespay Advisors’ clients on numerous projects, including implementing third-party programs, launching ACH origination, ACH due diligence, risk mitigation and ACH process improvement.

He has contributed to multiple projects with Nacha and continues to sit on industry task forces, helping to shape the future of payments. John is a frequent speaker at industry events, such as the Nacha Payments Conference and local Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) groups. He is a graduate of The Payments Institute and has previous involvement in the American Bankers Association Task Force on Payments Law and past board chair of Payments Resource One.

John holds the Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP) and National Check Professional (NCP) designations.

Select Areas of Expertise:

• Product Management
• Retail Banking
• System Conversions and Integration
• Third-Party Sender Due Diligence
• Launching ACH Origination

As a Risk & Compliance Auditor for Wespay Advisors, Kristin Butcher conducts ACH Audits and Risk Reviews for our clients. Prior to joining our company, she spent 15 years as an Assistant ACH Manager for a credit union where she managed the ACH processing team, including compliance, audits, daily transaction processing, and oversight for projects to launch new processes and products. As a payments enthusiast, Kristin earned her Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) designation in 2016.

Select Areas of Expertise:

• ACH Operations
• Regulatory Compliance
• Risk Mitigation

Mark Dixon has served in the financial services sector since 2005 working for institutions of varying size and complexity. He has worked in roles related to sales, operations, payments, cash management, and information technology. Mark has experience with supporting banking products, including implementation and management of technology. Prior to joining Wespay Advisors, Mark worked for NEACH (New England Automated Clearing House) where he was focused on the study of payments innovation and strategy.

Mark is passionate about payments, financial services, and technology. He serves as a Senior Payments Consultant for Wespay Advisors in addition to his role as VP, Payments Strategy for Wespay. He serves as a lead consultant working on most consulting engagements the company conducts providing services such as new product rollout, process development and improvement, regulatory compliance, and payment-related-strategy. Mark serves on multiple payment industry groups such as the Payments Innovation Alliance, Faster Payments Council, X9 Standards, and Business Payment Coalition. He also holds the Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP), and National Check Professional (NCP) accreditations.

Mark completed his bachelor’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University where he focused on Business Administration and organizational leadership. He also completed his Master of Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University where he focused on Business intelligence studies. In addition, Mark completed the Northern New England School of Banking and graduated from the New England School for Financial Studies.

Select areas of expertise

• Payments Operation
• ACH Origination
• Electronic Banking
• Risk Management
• Faster Payments and Emerging Technologies
• Payments Strategy

Melissa Giddens is the Senior Vice President, Consulting Business Leader for Wespay Advisors, where she facilitates and oversees consulting projects from commencement to completion. Growing up in the financial services industry, Melissa has spent over 25 years working with community, regional and large financial institutions on both the east and west coasts. During her tenure in banking, she worked with commercial clients from start-ups to multinational companies to provide guidance on building optimal structures for managing payables and receivables, mitigating the risk of fraud, and maximizing cash flow. Melissa has consulted with Wespay Advisors’ clients around enhancing business services, developing a payments strategy, ACH underwriting, and treasury management sales and servicing.

Melissa served as the Chair of Wespay’s Member Advisory Council and on the Board for the Northwest Association for Financial Professionals. In 2016, Melissa was the recipient of the Frank E. Zima Payments Advocacy Award and has won numerous sales awards throughout her career. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from DeVry University and her Master of Business Administration from Green Mountain College. As a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP), Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and National Check Professional (NCP), Melissa was one of the first individuals in the country to earn all three designations.

Select Areas of Expertise: 

• Treasury Management
• Sales and Servicing
• Commercial Banking
• Fraud Prevention
• ACH Underwriting

As a Payments Consultant & Auditor with Wespay Advisors, Nathan Carman brings over 20 years of experience in the banking industry, including over 14 years in various positions in retail branch banking and almost 6 years at Technology Credit Union managing ACH, Share Draft, Wire, ATM and Card Services. He has focused his career on process improvement and creating operational efficiency through automation and system integration. Nathan works with our clients on conducting Audits and Risk Reviews, as well as consulting projects around ACH process improvements, mitigating fraud risk, launching ACH origination, and workflow management.

Nathan earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from University California Irvine and a Masters in Business Administration from University of Phoenix. He is a National Check Professional (NCP), Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), and Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP).

Select Areas of Expertise:

• Wire Transfer Rules & Regulations
• Risk Management & Compliance
• ACH Operations
• Retail Banking

Patty Presta works with Wespay Advisors’ clients to conduct ACH Audits, helping our clients meet annual compliance requirements. As a long-term payments professional, Patty is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and a National Check Professional (NCP). She currently sits on Nacha’s AAP Blue Ribbon Panel and regularly teaches courses on a variety of payments-related topics.

Select Areas of Expertise:

• ACH Origination
• Elder Abuse
• Risk Mitigation