Eldred F Garcia is the SVP of Business and Partner Development at First Atlantic Commerce & PowerTranz. He brings 25+ years of experience in the payments industry through banking, consulting, the major credit card brands, processors, 3rd party vendors, and on the merchant side as well. Eldred’s focus has been primarily on the payments industry and, more specifically, on emerging technologies and fraud prevention. While at Visa, Eldred was responsible for cardholder authentication in e- commerce for Latin America and the Caribbean region. Eldred also directed the Latin America and Caribbean region for TowerGroup, a research and consulting firm in Boston owned by MasterCard, Accertify, a fraud prevention company owned by American Express, and EPX, an international payments processor. On the merchant side, Eldred owned and operated a restaurant & entertainment establishment where he launched the first “Hot Zone” in partnership with the local city and a fortune 500 telecommunications company. Eldred served in the City of Miami’s Technology Advisory Board and with the United States Secret Service MECTF and ADFIN Groups and was head of the EMV Readiness Committee. Eldred holds a BA in International Business and Management from FIU and an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Barry University.