ETA Names Eight Payments Pioneers to the 2018 ETA Hall of Fame

Washington, D.C. – August 29, 2018 – The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) announced the inaugural class of the ETA Hall of Fame. The ETA Hall of Fame was developed to recognize the achievements of payments professionals from all corners of the industry who have made significant and lasting contributions.

“Through long and distinguished careers as advocates and innovators,” said Jason Oxman, CEO, ETA, “the inaugural class of the ETA Hall of Fame have displayed an unrelenting spirit of innovation, ambition and professionalism.  Without them, the payments industry would not be able to power the economy through secure, reliable and rewarding experiences for both merchants and consumers.”

The nominating committee of esteemed industry professionals selected the following inductees:

  • Chuck Burtzloff founded Card Services International in his living room in 1988. By 1998, Card Services International was processing payments for tens of thousands of merchants entirely online, pioneering the age of e-commerce and expanding the payments industry’s reach into the online world of commerce.
  • Diane Faro is a pioneer and leader in payments processing. Across 40 years in the industry, Faro has served as CEO of Chase Merchant Services LLC, CEO of JetPay, and multiple executive positions at First Data, including President of Global Merchant Services. Faro is a recognized innovator in the payments industry, receiving honors for accelerating the electronification of payments and contributing to the industry through volunteer leadership.
  • Paul Garcia presided over Global Payments Inc.’s tremendous growth from a $300-millon-a-year spinoff of National Data Corp, to a $2.5 billion international payments technology giant. As CEO, Garcia led Global Payments Inc. through its IPO, and is recognized as the leader in bringing ISVs, VARs and other software disrupters into the payments ecosystem.
  • Dee Hock is the mind behind the early development of Visa and was the payments giant’s first Chief Executive Officer. An icon of the nascent years of the payments ecosystem, Hock was integral in creating Visa as a decentralized credit network accessible to financial institutions and consumers across the globe.
  • Joe Kaplan was a well-known and respected entrepreneur and passionate advocate for ETA and its member companies. Kaplan was the founder of Superior Bankcard Services, CEO of Total Merchant Services, founder and CEO of Innovative Merchant Solutions and Innovative Gateway Solutions – companies he successful built, brought to market and sold. Kaplan served multiple terms on ETA’s Board of Directors, including as President from 2006-2007.
  • Ed Labry is a long-time executive and leader at the First Data Corporation, as well as founder of Concord EFS Inc. At Concord, he pioneered the acceptance of credit, debit and EBT transactions in supermarkets, and introduced pay-at-the-pump technology for gasoline stations. He served as President of North America at First Data and eventually as Interim CEO after Concord’s successful acquisition by the company in 2004.
  • Frank McNamara founded Diners Club International, conceiving and executing an idea that established the credit card as a fixture of American consumer life. As the first independent credit card company in the world, Diners Club was the first company to bring everyday Americans access to credit in the form of a charge card that could be used at a network of merchants.
  • Debra Rossi is an innovator of e-commerce and payments leadership. Across a decades-long career at Wells Fargo Merchant Services, Rossi led Wells Fargo to be the first bank to process a secure credit card transaction on the internet and oversaw the launch of the first credit and debit point-of-sale solution for grocery and quick-service restaurants in the United States.

The ETA Hall of Fame nominating committee members were:

  • John Barrett
  • Chris Lee
  • Robin Leidenthal
  • Rick Pylant
  • Holli Targan
  • James Wester

ETA will honor the inductees at the ETA Hall of Fame Breakfast, presented by Visa, on Wednesday, October 3, at the ETA Strategic Leadership Forum event in Dana Point, California. Complete inductee biographies and coverage from the Hall of Fame ceremony will appear in the November/December issue of Transaction Trends, the official publication of the Electronic Transactions Association.

Click here to register for ETA’s Strategic Leadership Forum in Dana Point, California, October 2-4, 2018.