TSYS, the payment processing company, announced on Monday (Aug. 22) that Karim Ahmad, a veteran of the financial services and consulting industries, has been named executive vice president of global product and innovation. The appointment is effective Sept. 6.
Ahmad will report directly to Pam Joseph, president and chief operating officer of the company. According to TSYS, Ahmad has more than 20 years of experience in financial services and consulting. Most recently, he was a partner at Bain & Company, where he served in the company’s payments, financial services and performance improvement practices. Prior to joining Bain & Company, he served in a variety of roles at the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.
“We are excited to welcome someone with Karim’s industry knowledge and experience to our executive leadership team at TSYS,” said Joseph in a press release announcing Ahmad’s appointment. “He will focus on accelerating our product development efforts and speed-to-market capabilities, positioning TSYS as a thought leader in all aspects of the payments industry.”
The appointment of Ahmad is just the latest in a bevy of announcements in recent weeks. Last week, the company said it has extended its payments agreement with Swisscard AECS. Under the terms of the extended agreement, TSYS will continue to process the company’s consumer credit card and commercial card portfolio on the TS2 platform. TSYS will also provide Swisscard with other payment services. Swisscard AECS is a joint venture between Credit Suisse and American Express. It’s the only company in Switzerland that is offering American Express, Mastercard and Visa from a single source.
In May, the firm revealed the rollout of its commercial payment solution, TSYS Virtual Payment Precept (VPP), a virtual payment tool for accounts payable and accounts receivable to streamline reconciliation and heighten risk controls in the B2B payments space, the company said. TSYS is launching its VPP tool as corporations engage in a massive shift toward electronic payments; according to the company, up to 80 percent of businesses surveyed by the Association for Financial Professionals last year said they are transitioning to electronic payments for B2B transactions.