(Nov. 17, 2016) Live, work, code and sell at the beach.
That’s the mantra of tech company Electronic Transaction Systems (ETS), which will open an office soon inside the former South Moon Under building on Franklin Avenue in Berlin.
The Virginia-based mobile commerce company, run by Ed Vaughan, will be overseen locally by New Jersey native and recent Salisbury University graduate Ryan Pappas.
Worcester County Economic Development Director Merry Mears said her department helped nurture the project through its business incubator in Pocomoke several years ago.
“We cultivated him (Pappas) here, and now it is materializing in front of our eyes,” she said. “I have noticed a young, innovative tech community sprouting up in northern part of Worcester – this is a physical manifestation of it.”
Pappas said Berlin was chosen as the latest ETS office site – along with the corporate home office there are also satellites in Germany, Canada and Ireland – because of its proximity to a certain ocean.
“When we first began our discussion about how [Vaughan] and I could potentially work together, we both started to think that a beach office might be desirable, given the market out here for our products and services,” Pappas said. “All of the merchants in the area could benefit from having a five-minute meeting with one of our representatives and save their business money.”
The ETS flagship product is the EMoney app, which shares some DNA with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in that consumers can pay for things using a mobile app on their phones that can access their bank accounts.
“Both of those are great electronic wallets, but the main problem is you have Apple in one corner saying ‘Hey, use our Apple Pay’ and you have Samsung in the other corner saying ‘Hey, use our Samsung Pay.’ The EMoney e-wallet is platform agnostic, meaning that it can run on any operating system and allow that user to make purchases without having to be device-bound,” Pappas said. “It lets you have freedom from Apple or Samsung’s grasp on your data.”
Pappas said the app emulates a credit or debit card using a mobile device. There is no additional charge for the consumer.
“It’s still a standard debit/credit transaction, it’s just running from this amazing electronic platform,” he said. “A business would have to utilize our services to allow its customers to benefit from the e-wallet.”
The Town of Ocean City is a client, meaning users of the app can do everything from pay their bills, to catch a bus.
“You look at Ocean City and there’s probably already over 20,000 people with the e-wallet on their phone on any given summer,” Pappas said. “The technology is already existent and people are already using it all over Ocean City, it’s just a matter of us trying to bring different businesses on board.”
As for the potential for new jobs in the area, Pappas said he would be hiring inside sales representatives to work at the call center from the Berlin office, as well outside sales representatives, who would meet directly with area merchants.
He also expects to bring several computer engineers and “development interns” on board.
“We’re going to be cycling 15 interns at a time, each semester, from Salisbury, U-Del and UMES – any school that feeds into an internship program,” Pappas said.
While running for a third term, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams repeatedly said that, along with health care and hospitality, technology jobs were the future of the town.
During a 90-minute Coastal Association of Realtors forum in September, Williams went as far as to say Berlin was “on the cusp of bringing some of those jobs here.”
During a phone interview last Friday, Williams admitted he had an inkling then that ETS might be opening up shop.
“I’m sure that there will at least be some very interesting proposals that are across the spectrum of potential development, because I’ve heard from so many folks since the election,” Williams said. “The key for the community is to make sure these things happen in a way that is compatible with our current town.”
Williams said ETS was a great example of the type of jobs the town should be pursuing “for the foreseeable future.”
“This is the kind of industry that can be almost anywhere, but to attract good people it has to be a good place to live as well,” he said. “I think that’s why it’s a perfect marriage, because people who have those kinds of technological skills and education care about where their families live. I know I’m the mayor, but I think, being objective, we’re pretty competitive when it comes to quality of life.”
Pappas said the new office could be ready by Dec. 1, and that hiring could begin shortly after. To inquire about a position, visit www.liveworkcode.com.
“For Berlin and for this area, we’re looking at an area with a large talent pool that’s been untapped,” he said. “The goal for the company is to ‘uniform’ this e-wallet. When you go to Ocean City I want people to already have that wallet on their phone and know that they don’t have to take their actual wallet anywhere. That’s a ‘Millennial’ style thing, but it’ll catch on. Once the kids are doing it, then the parents will start doing it too because they’ll see how easy it is to pay for things.
“These families are spending all this money to come down here and have a great trip, and as crazy as it sounds, that takes time out of their trip,” he added. “If you make 30 purchases while you’re in Ocean City, that’s a lot of time to spend at the checkout, especially with the lines in the summer. It makes it easier to pay for products, which for consumers might make them more inclined to pay for that product, which makes everything easier and increases business.”
That’s the mantra of tech company Electronic Transaction Systems (ETS), which will open an office soon inside the former South Moon Under building on Franklin Avenue in Berlin.
The Virginia-based mobile commerce company, run by Ed Vaughan, will be overseen locally by New Jersey native and recent Salisbury University graduate Ryan Pappas.
Worcester County Economic Development Director Merry Mears said her department helped nurture the project through its business incubator in Pocomoke several years ago.
“We cultivated him (Pappas) here, and now it is materializing in front of our eyes,” she said. “I have noticed a young, innovative tech community sprouting up in northern part of Worcester – this is a physical manifestation of it.”
Pappas said Berlin was chosen as the latest ETS office site – along with the corporate home office there are also satellites in Germany, Canada and Ireland – because of its proximity to a certain ocean.
“When we first began our discussion about how [Vaughan] and I could potentially work together, we both started to think that a beach office might be desirable, given the market out here for our products and services,” Pappas said. “All of the merchants in the area could benefit from having a five-minute meeting with one of our representatives and save their business money.”
The ETS flagship product is the EMoney app, which shares some DNA with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in that consumers can pay for things using a mobile app on their phones that can access their bank accounts.
“Both of those are great electronic wallets, but the main problem is you have Apple in one corner saying ‘Hey, use our Apple Pay’ and you have Samsung in the other corner saying ‘Hey, use our Samsung Pay.’ The EMoney e-wallet is platform agnostic, meaning that it can run on any operating system and allow that user to make purchases without having to be device-bound,” Pappas said. “It lets you have freedom from Apple or Samsung’s grasp on your data.”
Pappas said the app emulates a credit or debit card using a mobile device. There is no additional charge for the consumer.
“It’s still a standard debit/credit transaction, it’s just running from this amazing electronic platform,” he said. “A business would have to utilize our services to allow its customers to benefit from the e-wallet.”
The Town of Ocean City is a client, meaning users of the app can do everything from pay their bills, to catch a bus.
“You look at Ocean City and there’s probably already over 20,000 people with the e-wallet on their phone on any given summer,” Pappas said. “The technology is already existent and people are already using it all over Ocean City, it’s just a matter of us trying to bring different businesses on board.”
As for the potential for new jobs in the area, Pappas said he would be hiring inside sales representatives to work at the call center from the Berlin office, as well outside sales representatives, who would meet directly with area merchants.
He also expects to bring several computer engineers and “development interns” on board.
“We’re going to be cycling 15 interns at a time, each semester, from Salisbury, U-Del and UMES – any school that feeds into an internship program,” Pappas said.
While running for a third term, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams repeatedly said that, along with health care and hospitality, technology jobs were the future of the town.
During a 90-minute Coastal Association of Realtors forum in September, Williams went as far as to say Berlin was “on the cusp of bringing some of those jobs here.”
During a phone interview last Friday, Williams admitted he had an inkling then that ETS might be opening up shop.
“I’m sure that there will at least be some very interesting proposals that are across the spectrum of potential development, because I’ve heard from so many folks since the election,” Williams said. “The key for the community is to make sure these things happen in a way that is compatible with our current town.”
Williams said ETS was a great example of the type of jobs the town should be pursuing “for the foreseeable future.”
“This is the kind of industry that can be almost anywhere, but to attract good people it has to be a good place to live as well,” he said. “I think that’s why it’s a perfect marriage, because people who have those kinds of technological skills and education care about where their families live. I know I’m the mayor, but I think, being objective, we’re pretty competitive when it comes to quality of life.”
Pappas said the new office could be ready by Dec. 1, and that hiring could begin shortly after. To inquire about a position, visit www.liveworkcode.com.
“For Berlin and for this area, we’re looking at an area with a large talent pool that’s been untapped,” he said. “The goal for the company is to ‘uniform’ this e-wallet. When you go to Ocean City I want people to already have that wallet on their phone and know that they don’t have to take their actual wallet anywhere. That’s a ‘Millennial’ style thing, but it’ll catch on. Once the kids are doing it, then the parents will start doing it too because they’ll see how easy it is to pay for things.
“These families are spending all this money to come down here and have a great trip, and as crazy as it sounds, that takes time out of their trip,” he added. “If you make 30 purchases while you’re in Ocean City, that’s a lot of time to spend at the checkout, especially with the lines in the summer. It makes it easier to pay for products, which for consumers might make them more inclined to pay for that product, which makes everything easier and increases business.”