The Canadian Prepaid Payments Organization (CPPO), the voice of the prepaid payments industry in Canada , today announced that its board of directors has elected Karen Budahazy , vice president of digital enablement and issuing at Peoples Group, as CPPO board chair. The CPPO also added six new companies to its membership list: Carta Worldwide, FinAvator, i2c Inc., KOHO, Marqeta and Revolut.
Karen brings 20 years of experience in prepaid payments and a wealth of business and financial services experience to her leadership role. She works closely with the Canadian fintech community and other partners to enable them with prepaid programs and many other financial services. Karen has been a member of the board of directors since the CPPO’s inception in 2015 and succeeds Peter Read , advisor of Peoples’ group of companies, who served as board chair since 2018.
“As the prepaid industry continues to grow and evolve in Canada , prepaid platforms and technology are increasingly driving new market opportunities that improve customer experience, financial inclusion and B2B payments delivery,” said Karen Budahazy , vice president of digital enablement and issuing at Peoples Group and CPPO board chair. “I am looking forward to representing the strong economic and social impact prepaid technology has on the Canadian economy.”
“We are pleased to welcome Karen as the board chair, given her experience, knowledge, industry relationships and long-serving role as a board director,” said Jennifer Tramontana, CPPO co-founder and executive director. “Prepaid currently tops $4.3 billion in annual loads, providing an innovative platform for a vast range of financial products and solutions that are transforming the way we pay and get paid. Our new members represent the importance of prepaid technology in powering the newest fintech developments.”
The 2020 CPPO Symposium will be held on April 23, 2020 in Toronto under the theme, Leading the transformation to digital banking. Speakers at this year’s Symposium include more than 25 industry, government and payment system thought leaders with global vantage points around payment technology for consumer and business applications.
About The Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO)
The CPPO is a not-for-profit organization and the collective voice of the – prepaid payments industry in Canada . It is the only association solely focused on this growing industry and is supported by major financial institutions, processors, fintechs, card networks and other industry players. For further information, visit www.cppo.ca. Connect with CPPO on Twitter and LinkedIn.