How ProPay Became ISO of the Year: Mobile, Social and Security

By PYMNTS | April 19, 2011

Name: Chris Mark

Title: EVP; Emerging Markets at ProPay, Inc.

What I’m working on now… Developing mobile payment platforms with a strong focus on security

When I’m not working I like to… Play with my 18-month-old son and live life in Park City, Utah

The next big thing in payments is… Mobile payments with a social flair

Education… B.A. from Auburn University, MBA from UMUC and a variety of professional and vendor certifications

My favorite payment factor is… What else? Mobile!

Advertisement: Scroll to Continue

Cash is… What is cash?

Checks are… Necessary at times but decreasing in utility.

NFC is/will… A great technology, growing in prominence in the race to establish primacy of mobile technologies, but ultimately still unproven in the U.S. market

EMV is/will… A good step in the fight to prevent fraudulent transactions but not likely to be adopted in the United States for a very long time

P2P is/will… Continue to grow and increasingly replace cash/checks for personal payments

My mentor is/I’ve learned from my mentor… Bob Russo of the PCI SSC. He brought me into the security industry and specifically into payment security. His business acumen and willingness to teach was and is invaluable. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned from Bob was that, at the end of the day, business is done between people, not companies.

Bio: Chris Mark currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Emerging Markets for ProPay, Inc. Chris is widely regarded as a payment security expert. His experience in payment security includes working at MasterCard Worldwide, as a founding member of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), with Visa as their primary Cardholder Information Security Program (CISP) trainer, and as the global trainer of Qualified Security Assessors (QSA) on behalf of the PCI SSC. This has provided him a unique perspective on the industry and how companies can balance security and business objectives effectively. Chris holds a BA, and Master of Business Administration degree, as well as various professional and technical certifications. Mr. Mark has published numerous articles and whitepapers on the topic of payment card security and is a frequent speaker on the topic.