News from the Wire

Kaplan joins Total Merchant Services as CEO

Tuesday, January 17, 2012 — 13:25:26 (EST)

Basalt, Colo., Jan. 16, 2012 – Total Merchant Services announces that payments industry leader Joe Kaplan has joined the company as its new CEO. Joe Kaplan originally opened Superior Bankcard Service in November 1994 with the belief that first-rate service organizations are built by providing the best customer service in the industry. That philosophy paid off, because in less than one year SBS became the 12th largest non-bank acquirer in the United States. Superior Bankcard Service was part of the Elavon’s (formerly NOVA) acquisition of PMT. After earning over $100 million from the sale of his company, Joe founded Innovative Merchant Solutions.

Innovative Merchant Solutions was founded in October 1999 with the same business principles that made Superior a success. In 2003, Innovative merged with the financial software leader, INTUIT, Inc. (the company behind Quickbooks and Turbo Tax software). In this transaction, Joe sold his second bankcard acquiring company for $116 million, and since that time, both companies have worked together to emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the bankcard industry.

Ed Freedman, Chairman and Founder of Total Merchant Services, explains the story behind the partnership with Joe Kaplan. "Joe Kaplan has been a great friend and mentor to me over the years. He’s been the first person I would call for advice. I called Joe a few months ago and told him that we were looking for a CEO to lead our company into the future. I explained what we were looking for. We wanted a person that succeeded consistently over the past twenty years. We wanted a person that’s led large merchant account acquiring organizations, a person that really understood it all - sales and marketing, operations, finance and technology. We wanted an industry veteran, a person that everyone knew and respected. In summary, we wanted a ‘Joe Kaplan’ - a real rainmaker. At the end of the conversation, we both agreed that the best person for this job might actually be - Joe Kaplan himself. Fast forward a few months, and we’re very pleased and honored to announce that Joe Kaplan will be the new CEO of our company, Total Merchant Services. We are all really excited to be working with Joe and trust his leadership and vision of where we need to go, and how we will get there."

Joe Kaplan explains, “Recently, I’ve been offered many great opportunities in the bankcard business. I decided to join Total Merchant Services because I’ve respected their track record of success over the past 15 years, and because we share a vision of what it will take to succeed moving forward. I’m looking forward to my new role in leading Total Merchant Services through its transformation from a sales and service organization, to a next generation, payment processing company, offering innovative payment processing solutions to merchants that will be the envy of the entire industry.

I’ve admired Total Merchant Services’ approach to the marketplace. They’ve been aggressive. There is not a “wait and see” attitude happening at this company. They are leading the way. They are constantly reinventing their company, and in the process, they’ve become one of the most disruptive forces in our business. I believe that Total Merchant Services is uniquely well-positioned to grow dramatically in the coming years. I’m very excited about the opportunity to lead this well-respected, successful company.”

About Total Merchant Services Total Merchant Services is a 15 year-old, Colorado-based ISO that offers innovative and cost-effective solutions currently to over 100,000 merchants who accept credit cards for the payment of their goods and services. Recently passing the $9 billion processing milestone, Total Merchant Services is one of the fastest growing credit card merchant account acquirers in the nation and adding over 4,000 new merchants to its roster each month. Its customers include retail storefronts, virtual storefronts, wireless terminal users and mail order/telephone/Internet-based merchants. Total Merchant Services also offers one of the most innovative free terminal programs and one of the most comprehensive compensation programs in the industry today. In addition, Total Merchant Services is hosting a $1 million giveaway in conjunction with its wireless/mobile program. For additional information about the company and its services as well as to learn more about partnering with Total Merchant Services, visit www.upfrontandresiduals.com .

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Source: Company press release.