VO LU M E 10 • I S S U E 2 • S U M M E R 2 017

Innovative Programs,Technology & Partnerships

WINNERS’ SHOWCASE2017 INDUSTRY ACHIEVEMENT WINNERS Cathy Beyda, Paul Hastings LLP; and Suresh Vaghjiani, GPS PLUS

3 Under-Tapped Markets for Prepaid

11th Anniversary Edition: Best of the 2017 Pay Awards

In our 11th annual Pay Awards, we spotlight the best of the best in a fiercely competitive global payments industry. Our winners hail from the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Finland, Germany, Gibraltar, Turkey,

Latin America and Australia. Although they do busi-ness in various (and often multiple) markets, they share a commitment to innovation and problem- solving that rivals the luminaries in any field.

Nominations increased by 25 percent over the 2016 competition, and our expert judges faced a daunting task of selecting three winners in more than 20 categories. They then were tasked with selecting one Best-in-Category winner, all of which are featured on the following pages.

We owe a tremendous thank-you to the men and women who contributed their time and expertise to this gargantuan judging effort (see below), and we’d

also like to thank the 33,000+ Paybefore.com visitors who made their picks for Best-in-Category, as well. Online votes were aggregated and added to our judging panel votes to determine the overall winner in each category. The online voting supported or swayed the outcome in five categories.

“We are proud to celebrate the accomplishments of those that rose to the top of each category and the two individuals who were selected for our prestigious Industry Achievement Award,” said Loraine DeBonis, Paybefore’s Editor-in-Chief and chair of the judging panels. “For the first time, we recognize a payments leader from the U.S. alongside one from Europe, both of whom are dedicated to propelling the industry forward to the benefit of businesses and consumers. Through this rigorous competition, our industry leaders have shown once again that ingenuity, collaboration and innovation are the lifeblood of payments.”

By Loraine DeBonis, Editor-in-Chief

Thanks to our expert judges, including Craig James, Neopay CEO and PIF chairman; Brad Fauss, former president and CEO, NBPCA (now general counsel, Wirecard North America); Tim Spenny, senior vice president, GfK Research; Matt Davies, founder, Gift Card Network, and CEO, Powerhouse Brands; Kieran Hines, practice leader, financial services technology, Ovum; Rick Oglesby, president, AZ Payments Group; Jennifer Tescher, president and CEO, Center for Financial Services Innovation; and Thea Garon, manager, CFSI.

The 2017 Industry Achievement Judges included an esteemed panel of past recipients, including Jeremy Kuiper, EVP, head of payment solutions, The Bancorp; Stefan Happ, EVP and GM of prepaid and alternative payments, American Express; and Judith Rinearson, partner, K&L Gates.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR JUDGES!

1010

10

Winners’SHOWCASE

4

PAY AWARDS

What it Is: Mastercard’s largest European prepaid issuer is changing payments with new partners and product launches that support innovation across form factors, payments methods and channels.

Why it Works: Wirecard provides end-to-end acquiring, issuing, processing and program management services, which supported the 2016 launches of some of Europe’s most innovative fintech solutions, including chal-lenger bank propositions, expense-manage-

ment apps and an all-in-one debit/credit proposition.

Differentiators: Wirecard Card Solutions, a subsidiary of Wirecard AG, actively issues across all of the SEPA region and continues to expand its services, including Apple Pay

integration, wearables, HCE and agency banking solutions. In 2016, Wirecard launched boon. with Apple Pay across multiple European markets. Boon. is Wirecard’s first fully digitized mobile payment solution.

Why it Matters: With scale, expertise and continental reach, Wirecard supports a variety of partners—telecommunications providers, retailers, financial institutions and fintech start-ups—in creating value propositions that drive loyalty and new, more convenient ways to pay.

What the Judges Said: Wirecard has grown at an exponential rate by identifying opportunities and acquiring new businesses globally. It continues to be at the forefront of payments technology and product launches that chal-lenge the status quo.

The payments technology company that contributed most to the advancement or evolution of the industry in the past 12 months.

CHANGE AGENT OF THE YEAR

WINNERS InstaMedInstaMed, Mastercard Walmart MoneyCard by Green Dot Green Dot, Walmart

Wirecard

pay

me

nts

te

chn

olo

gy

PAY AWARDS

50