Retail Council's Coons earns Certified Payments Professional designation

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Michele Coons, CPP

ALBANY, NY (01/10/2013)(readMedia)-- The Retail Council of New York State announced today that Member Services Manager Michele Coons has been granted the designation of Certified Payments Professional™ (CPP), a professional certification of the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA).

By successfully meeting the ETA's rigorous examination requirements, Ms. Coons joins an exclusive community of credit card processing professionals who have earned this distinguished certification. In doing so, she brings the highest level of expertise and distinction in electronic transactions to the Retail Council and its members. Recognizing the unique skills and special knowledge required of credit card processing professionals, ETA launched the certification program in 2011. Only 18 New York men and women have achieved this certification.

In addition to meeting the program's education and experience requirements, those awarded the CPP™ designation must complete a minimum of 36 hours of industry-related continuing professional education every three years.

Ms. Coons joined the Retail Council in 2001 as merchant services coordinator, and was promoted to member services manager in 2004. She helps Council members resolve credit card processing technology, operations, risk, compliance and security issues, and uses her expertise to train retailers and other business owners on proper acceptance of credit cards.

"The credit card processing industry is complex and change can occur overnight. It takes a real expert to prepare for and pass this certification exam, and we are proud of Michele for this professional achievement," said Retail Council President and Chief Executive Officer James R. Sherin. "The CPP designation confirmed what our members already rave about – Michele's in-depth knowledge of every aspect of credit card processing."

For a complete list of ETA Certified Payments Professionals, please visit the ETA CPP Registry at www.electran.org/cppregistry.com.

About ETA Certified Payments Professional (CPP)

The ETA CPP credential is the standard for professional performance in the payments industry and a symbol of excellence. It signifies that an individual has demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to perform competently in today's complex electronic payments environment. The program recognizes that today's merchant service providers must have a broad knowledge of the industry and must demonstrate mastery not only of sales, but also pricing and interchange; business process, operations and workflow; products and solutions; risk; and regulatory, compliance and security matters.

About The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA)

ETA is an international trade association representing more than 500 companies that offer electronic transaction processing products and services. ETA's mission is to advance the payments industry profession by providing leadership through education, advocacy and the exchange of information.

About the Retail Council of New York State:

The "Voice of Retailing" in New York state, the Retail Council represents thousands of member stores of all sort and size. The Retail Council offers money-saving group benefit programs and government relations expertise to its members. For more information, please visit www.retailcouncilnys.com or Facebook.com/RetailCouncilNYS.

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