It's an honor to be included in this series on people who are enjoying careers in transaction processing. At CheckFree, the communications team is integrated into nearly every area of the business, so we learn about "cool stuff" underway in our three divisions, and then contribute our talents in writing, persuasion and visual communications to articulate complex technologies and launch them externally via national, trade and consumer media, and industry analysts. We are privileged to bring to market the hard work of our product, development and operations teams who work 24/7 to support more than 2,000 financial services sites where consumers view and pay bills.

We regularly work with third party "influencers," such as personal finance columnists and authors, who have the power to cause a consumer to take action, such as try the electronic billing and payment service offered at their bank or biller (credit card, telco, utility, cable, etc.) web site. We promote the category of "paying bills online," among other services, to accelerate behavior change and transaction volume across our customer base. The company's commitment to data-driven decisions means we have the latest market research to plan effective campaigns. We are literally studying consumer preferences year-round - from the technology enthusiast who's been paying his bills online since the 1990s to the college student who just opened her first bank account.

To be able to participate in a technology adoption shift is something you read about in marketing textbooks but rarely get to execute. All of us in this industry are part of the movement from paper to electronic that truly is improving quality of life. Working parents, for example, who say, "My biggest problem? Not enough time!" gain back a few hours a month from electronic payments. The cumulative impact, and the rewarding conversations I have 1:1 with consumers who say they love the service and would "never go back to paper," makes this a pretty terrific job.