HI, I'M KEVIN
An entrepreneur, mentor, and speaker dedicated to helping others find ways to learn and grow professionally.
My journey in the exciting world of electronic payments remains etched in my memory, as vivid as the day it started. Stepping into the world of a banking software development company, developing check scanning and ACH processing software, I found myself immersed in a sea of TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). I heard words and a language I had never experienced before.
Overwhelmed, bewildered, and plagued by the fear of impending unemployment, my apprehensions and anxiety had taken control before my first official break for lunch.
By the end of the day, I had been handed a copy of the ACH Operating Rules, which they were called then, and Regulation CC with instructions to go home and study this, and we will review it in the morning. At home that night, my family asked how the day went. I replied it was terrifying and that I had no idea what these people were saying or doing. I spent the night reading, sleepless, and wondering how I would make next month's mortgage payment, let alone feed my kids.
The next day I arrived and told my supervisor, Katie V, I was completely lost and reading these books made me even more confused.
She said not to worry as I would be attending some online classes today, and they would help. Those were the early days of online classes. I remember logging in, the roll call, the multiple mute-your-line reminders, and the ensuing torture. The speaker would read the slide verbatim then tell the host, “Next slide please,” where again the speaker would read every word slowly in a monotone voice before welcoming, “Next slide please.” It was a mechanical experience of continuous torture, hoping that the next slide please would end and I could crawl in a ball under my desk and cry from the pain in my brain.
Ninety minutes of monotonous chatter from Charlie Brown's teacher's hypnotizing agony, and I felt as if I knew even less than when it had started.
As the webinar ended, the speaker said, “Any questions,” and I so desperately wanted to ask, “WTF was that?” but like all the other attendees, I was grateful to just hang up and end the torture.
I left my cubicle and walked to Katie to let her know the news. “I can't do this” I had never failed at anything in my life, I had recently graduated with a computer degree that was achieved while working sixty-plus hour weeks. I had memorized the periodic table, mastered algorithms, and turned myself into a Windows networking wizard, but electronic payment rules were the kryptonite that brought me to my knees.
Katie laughed and smiled, then looked at me and said, “Kev” take a seat, and let’s get started. Suddenly I felt at ease, a short burst of serenity, and I fell into that seat.
Katie then took the books, the PowerPoints, and the TLAs and put them into a language I could understand.
She took real-life examples, from buying gas at the pump to receiving my paycheck to even handing money back and forth with people, and explained how each process related to how money moved electronically. How each participant was responsible for specific steps and why they were responsible. She made jokes about the system, made me laugh, and explained what happens when things go wrong and why it was so important for us to do the work we were doing. Katie was an angel in many ways.
That day and many that followed, she shared her unique ways of viewing electronic payments daily, simplifying every aspect of the system and how it doesn't have to be so complicated.
She opened my eyes, my mind, and the rules of regulations of electronic payments in a way I had never thought possible.
It's been a couple of decades since I worked with Katie, but I strive to keep her spirit alive in Payments.
Always looking for ways to help others take on this intricate niche of chaotic regulatory madness and finding ways to share it with others that don’t have to be so complicated.
From the days before the Payments Professor went public, I have helped hundreds achieve professional certification by designing engaging, entertaining, and applicable courses.
+ Developing presentations that killed the "slideument" (Slides that are filled with so many words, they are nearly impossible to read and resemble small font legal documents).
+ Presentations that incorporate simplified terms and examples with graphics that enhance the learning experience.
+ Creating workshops with interactive, hands-on projects.
+ The first to offer YouTube videos that led to the catering of the Payments Professor courses, comprising short videos with workbooks and interactive courses
+ Taking complicated subjects, the ones that don't have to be so complicated, turning them into bite-size, fun-size, topic-specific classes.
+ The Payments Professor created the "engaged" webinar for those still craving the classic webinar.
+ Mixing live-action multiple camera angles with dynamic integration of data and information.
+ The Payments Professor even went as far as to obtain a master's degree in Industrial & Organizational Psychology to discover additional ways to enhance the education of adults and professionals.
I've experienced the same pain you're feeling.
Learning the technicalities, legalities, and ever-changing regulations of electronic payments can be overwhelming.
No one should have to feel lost and hopeless when it comes to learning about electronic payments. That is why I have dedicated decades to improving electronic payment education that is fun, entertaining, engaging, and, most of all, created to help you succeed!
