(PRESS RELEASE) -- Leading payments provider Paysafe Group (Paysafe) today announced that the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) has selected O.B. Rawls, President of Payment Processing North America, for its 2019 ‘Distinguished Payments Professional’ Star Award. Rawls will receive his award 30 April at the Visa President’s Dinner & Star Awards Gala, part of the TRANSACT payments technology event in Las Vegas, where Paysafe will exhibit 30 April to 2 May.
This year’s ‘Distinguished Payments Professional’ ETA Star Award recognizes Rawls’s outstanding contribution to driving payment industry trends throughout a career spanning more than 30 years. Prior to his current role at Paysafe, he served as CEO of iPayment. Rawls was responsible for successfully growing the provider of payment and processing solutions until its June 2018 acquisition by Paysafe, which elevated Paysafe to one of the top-5 non-bank acquirers in the U.S.
Previous landmarks on Rawls’s career include running First Data’s hardware division TASQ, overseeing global sales and operations at point of sale (POS) hardware company Hypercom and an executive leadership role in Bank of America’s acquiring division.
Rawls said, “I’m truly honored and humbled by this recognition. I love my work and the payments industry, and I’m grateful to those throughout my career who have challenged and supported me. I look forward to receiving this award during TRANSACT with my colleagues from Paysafe, which represents the next phase of my payments career.”
Rawls and the other Star Awards recipients will be honored at TRANSACT’s Visa President’s Dinner & Awards Gala in Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay from 7:15 p.m. on 30 April. Paysafe will be exhibiting at Booth 2103 throughout the event.
The Paysafe booth will also host the Women’s Network in Electronic Transactions (Wnet) Networking Reception from 5 p.m. on 1 May.
Wnet member Melissa Pauléat, Paysafe’s Vice President of Group Marketing Services, and Jaredd Galloway, Director of Operations & Complex Services, were selected by ETA in February for its 2019 ‘Forty Under 40’ class. They will join their fellow recipients for the Champagne Recognition Breakfast from 8:30 a.m. on 1 May.
In addition, Paysafe VP, Gateway Technology Markiyan Malko will take part in the TRANSACT panel discussion ‘Something New, Something Outsourced and Less Work to Do’ at 3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. on 30 April. Then, from 9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. on 2 May, SVP of Sales Denise Tahali joins the panel ‘Helping SMBs Get the Right Products and Solutions for their Business.’